Chapter 409 (Patreon)

The next day arrived, and as Kana had already expected, her new companions were completely useless once the sun climbed into the sky.

The entire company had disappeared into their rooms as soon as morning came, leaving the larger living room strangely quiet after the long conversations they had shared throughout the night. Everyone had been given their own room, though Zaa’rd was the obvious exception. His body was far too tall and broad for an ordinary human bed, so he had claimed the long couch in the common room as his sleeping place. Judging from the way he had sprawled across it, Kana suspected he had no complaints.

She could understand the [Dark Night] and [Night Stalker] classes being more active after sunset. Her own class worked much better in darkness, after all, so that part wasn't particularly strange to her. What confused Kana was Telia. A [Great Sorcerer] should have been able to function normally during the day, or at least that was what Kana had assumed.

After asking about it, however, she discovered that Telia actually could live like a normal person if she wanted to. Her body simply didn't function quite like one anymore. The mana she possessed was different from ordinary mana, a strange black mana that replenished far more efficiently during the night, while her mind became considerably sharper once the sun disappeared. During the day, she could still fight and cast skills, but she was nowhere near as efficient.

Kana quietly stored every bit of that information in her mind.

For some reason, his classmate, Roy immediately came to mind.

The [Necromancer] had always been an unusual class, and Kana wondered whether the black mana Telia described had anything to do with the way his abilities worked. She made a mental note to tell him about it once she returned to the academy. If nothing else, Roy would probably be interested in hearing that another class used a similar kind of mana.

Kana yawned as she stretched both arms above her head, feeling the stiffness slowly leave her body. It had been a long time since she had slept this well. The bed was softer than anything she normally used, and the room had remained completely undisturbed throughout the day. Nobody had knocked on her door, nobody had dragged her out of bed, and nobody had shouted at her to wake up.

For once, she had actually been allowed to sleep.

Kana opened her door and nearly startled because of Zaa’rd even though she knew he was already there.

The wolf-headed man was lying lazily across the enormous couch, chewing on a large piece of bone as though it were the most ordinary breakfast in the world. His long legs hung over one side while his head rested against the armrest, and judging from the amount of bone scattered around him, he had apparently been awake for quite some time.

Prime was sitting nearby with his usual perfect posture, a book held comfortably in his hands. Kana glanced at the book again.

She was still curious about what he was reading, but she decided she could ask him later.

Telia, however, was nowhere to be seen. Is she still sleeping?

Kana barely had time to wonder before several knocks echoed through the room. Zaa’rd immediately sat upright.

His ears perked, his eyes widened, and the next moment his sharp canine teeth were on full display. Kana still couldn't decide whether the expression on his face counted as a smile or a warning.

“Finally!” Zaa’rd exclaimed as he jumped from the couch. “I thought we were going to stay here for an entire year waiting!”

Kana blinked and rubbed one eye. “How long are you wait—”

“Two months!” Zaa’rd didn't even let her finish.

He marched toward the door with the enthusiasm of someone who had been waiting for this particular moment for far too long.

“It’s been two months since we've been sitting around doing nothing!”

Kana froze. Then she quietly breathed out in relief. At least she wasn't the last one to arrive.

Zaa’rd pulled the door open so quickly that Kana wondered if he had been standing beside it the entire time. The moment he saw the person outside, his expression brightened even further.

A young man stood there, wearing a long white robe that nearly reached the floor. His silver hair reminded Kana of Elle York, though unlike Elle, his frame was shorter and slightly chubby. He looked to be somewhere in his early twenties, although his height made it easy to mistake him for someone much younger.

There was sweat across his forehead, as if he had been running for quite some distance. He adjusted his glasses while trying to catch his breath.

“Zaa’rd,” the young man gasped, “you’re going to kill me.”

Zaa’rd immediately grabbed him and lifted him off the ground in a massive hug. “Sorry, sorry!”

He finally put the young man back down, though he still kept one hand on his shoulder. “We missed you, Rad. Why are you so late? We're staying in your city and you're still late!”

The young man pushed his glasses back into place and gave a tired smile. “Ah... the replacement for my church duties, the Archbishop, only arrived yesterday.”

Kana's expression changed. She stared at him for a moment before asking, “Don't tell me... the Archbishop is named Shaf?”

The young man's eyes widened. “Right. How did you know?”

Kana forced a smile. “I joined his company to get here.”

The young man stared at her for a moment before suddenly laughing. “You must have been exhausted from listening to him talk.”

Kana couldn't help laughing as well. She could almost hear Shaf's voice again, filling an entire carriage with stories about gods, miracles, history, and things Kana hadn't even known could be turned into a story.

The young man was still smiling when he finally seemed to realize something.

He looked past Zaa’rd. Then his eyes settled on Kana. “Who are you?”

Zaa’rd casually placed one large hand over the young man's shoulder. “She’s our new member.”

The young man slowly turned his head toward Zaa’rd. “Is she actually that young, or is this another skill?”

Kana almost laughed. She managed to swallow it at the last second and covered the reaction with a cough.

“Nice to meet you. I'm Kana of Saltrain Village from the Northern Kingdom. My class is [Nightblade Ranger]. I'm a close-range damage dealer, but I can switch to long-range combat when necessary.”

She paused briefly before adding, almost as if she had learned to expect the question by now. “And I'm sixteen this year. That is my real age.”

The young man's face immediately turned red. “Sorry... I was fooled once.”

He straightened himself and gave a small, embarrassed bow. “I'm Gerad, one of the Bishops of the Holy City. My class is [Black Mystic]. I'm a support, and most of my abilities revolve around curses.”

Kana nodded slowly.

Another evolved class.

Another person with abilities she had never encountered before. And judging from the strange atmosphere surrounding the group, she suspected Gerad would be just as unusual as the others.

Before Kana could ask anything else, a door behind them opened.

Telia stepped out of her room, her long hair slightly disheveled from sleep. She glanced at Gerad, then at Kana, before giving a small smile.

“My age might be quite high,” she said, walking toward them, “but my heart is still the same as the maiden standing in front of you.”

Gerad's face somehow became even redder.

Zaa’rd burst into laughter.

Prime simply lowered his book.

Kana stood there in silence, wondering what kind of party she had gotten herself into.

Kana was both surprised and impressed by how quickly Gerad’s arrival changed the atmosphere of their party. They had barely exchanged introductions before everyone was already preparing to leave, and by early evening, the entire group had made their way out of the room and begun their journey toward the northern port city of the Holy Kingdom, where a ship would carry them farther toward the cursed island.

The inn’s stable was already prepared for their departure, and waiting there was a sturdy wagon pulled by four enormous stallions, their bodies thick with muscle and their hooves striking against the stone floor as if they were impatient to leave. Kana stopped for a moment when she saw the black stallion she had borrowed from Guildmaster Ruven, the horse that had carried her across the holy kingdom without once seeming exhausted. She gave it one last pat before leaving, then paid the stableman enough coins to make certain the horse would be properly cared for until she returned.

If she returned. Kana quickly pushed the thought aside.

She climbed into the wagon last, expecting to find everyone preparing their weapons for the journey, but instead, she found something completely different. Zaa’rd was sitting comfortably, Prime was reading, Telia was fixing her hair, and Gerad was adjusting his glasses, yet none of them seemed to be carrying a weapon. Not a sword, spear, bow, staff, or even a simple dagger could be seen anywhere.

Kana frowned. She looked around the spacious wagon once more before finally asking, “Where are your weapons?”

Telia suddenly clapped her hands together as if she had only just remembered something important. “Right. It’s been a long time since we had a new member.”

She raised one hand, and a faint ripple of mana appeared around her fingers before disappearing almost immediately.

“I learned a skill called [Storage]. It can hold about half the space of a small room, so we keep most of our belongings inside it. Weapons, supplies, clothes, food, everything we might need during a long journey.”

Kana forced a smile.  It was basically the same principle as her [Inventory], although she was fairly certain her own storage space was considerably larger than Telia’s. Still, the skill itself was incredibly useful, especially for someone like Suri who always seemed to carry enough equipment to prepare for three different disasters at once.

Kana hesitated before asking, “Uhm... Is it possible to get a skill book like that?”

Telia immediately laughed. “Of course you want one. Everyone does.”

She leaned back against the seat with a knowing smile.

“Unfortunately, [Storage] is an extremely rare skill. As far as I know, only three skill books have ever been sold through auction houses. I obtained mine twenty years ago, and it cost my entire family a fortune.”

Kana's eyebrows rose. “Your entire family?”

“Almost.” Telia laughed again, though there was a hint of pain behind the amusement. “I’m still paying them back.”

Kana silently decided that perhaps Suri did not need the skill that badly.

Before she could say anything else, Prime pulled a small bundle of notes from inside his clothes and cleared his throat, apparently deciding that their conversation had gone far enough.

“I’ll begin our briefing.” The joking atmosphere disappeared almost immediately.

Everyone turned toward him.

Prime unfolded the notes across his lap and looked around the wagon before continuing. “The nearest port city is approximately a week away from here. From there, we will need another week of travel by ship before reaching our destination.”

He paused for a moment. “The Curse Island of the Holy Kingdom.”

“The reason our party was selected for this mission is because every previous attempt to investigate the island failed. The greatest problem is the nighttime. The monsters become far more active after sunset, and some of the most dangerous creatures on the island are believed to specifically hunt humans during the night.”

Kana listened carefully.

“The dead and injured among the high-ranking adventurers all shared one thing in common,” Prime said. “They were attacked during the night.”

The wagon continued rolling beneath them, its wheels producing a steady rhythm against the road, but nobody interrupted him.

Prime lowered his notes slightly. “The Huntsmen themselves have little interest in the island. What caught their attention was something.. One of the surviving adventurers reported seeing.”

He continued,“It was similar to one of the anomalies encountered by the ageless during the Great Old War.”

Prime's fingers tightened slightly around his notes. “They believed the creature was one of the surviving anomalies from that era.”

He paused before finally saying its name. “Sin, the Wrongness.”

Prime looked toward each of them. “They originally believed Sin, the wrongness was dead. However, they cannot confirm whether the creature seen on the island was actually the same monster. It might be another creature entirely, or it might be something that only resembles it.”

He folded the notes and placed them beside him. “But that distinction does not matter.”

His eyes became cold. 

“Our orders are simple.” Prime looked directly at Kana. “We find the monster.”

A short silence followed. “Then we kill it.”

He leaned back. “That is the quest given to us by Sir Stolz.”

Post note:

It will be Kana’s permanent party as the huntsmen. (unless some unforeseen circumstances happen.)

Third chap of the week.

Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂

Click here