Chapter 242: Without Any Cost (5)

On the third day...

"

Chiiiiik, chnk, chiik!

"

No echoes, just silence. Nothing showed up on my Detection skill either. My bold venture aside, it was a vast mountain range. There wasn’t even a guarantee that my pronunciation was accurate.

"Will this actually work?"

"Should we stop if it doesn’t?"

Isaac didn’t press and left the decision up to me, which meant I had to keep going.

"

Chiiiiik, chnk, chiik!

"

Once again, I called out as I marched up the mountain path.

[Skill: Meditation Lv. 2 activated.]

[Skill: Focus Lv. 2 activated.]

With both skills enhancing my senses, I amplified the effect of the next one.

Detection.

I pictured the goblin mage I had never actually met. Something about it weighed on me. I’d first heard of the story from the Necron Society, right after I saved those goblins from having their heartstones extracted. All because of a request from Lime. In this life, I hadn’t even gone near that path, let alone met Lime.

What had become of the goblin village? Were they all dead by now, or perhaps still trapped in agonizing torment? Still, thinking back to what Boomgtong told me about Mudcash, there hadn’t been any mention of concern for his suffering kin.

Patter...

The sound of raindrops bouncing off branches reached my ears. Instead of falling straight to the ground, they ricocheted off several times before dripping down.

Night had fallen again. I mimicked goblin sounds a few more times, focusing on the surrounding presence. My senses stretched out for kilometers. Then, something touched the very edge of that circle. A presence was approaching.

It wasn’t some animal wandering aimlessly. It had a purpose, its move had intention—powerful, alien. Was it just my imagination? Still, through the rain, I thought I could hear slow, deliberate footsteps.

Could it really be him? Hope welled up inside me, quickening my pace. Even if he wasn’t friendly, maybe he’d at least let me prove myself. A space-warping artifact had to be incredibly useful. Even if he refused to hand it over, I could still learn something useful for my next life by exchanging a few words.

If the worst came to worst and Mudcash attacked without warning, I was confident I wouldn’t go down easily. After all, I’d already absorbed the magic of several wizards from Azure.

Isaac glanced down at me. "Found something?"

Since entering the forest, he’d mostly stayed quiet, as if he’d decided this was my mission. Maybe he was lost in thought. I nodded, a little excited.

The presence was still far enough that I would’ve missed it if I hadn’t pushed my Detection skill to the limit. I hadn’t even explored a tenth of the vast Eastern range yet. Originally, I’d planned to spend two weeks searching. And now, just on the third day, I’d found something. How lucky I was!

Under the moonlight, the mountain landscape seemed even more beautiful. I lightly jogged, following the presence that brushed against the edge of my senses. However, even after an hour had passed, the distance between us didn’t narrow.

"..."

It wasn’t a barrier, and the terrain continued to change. Isaac also hadn’t said anything that would suggest otherwise. Nevertheless, the distance remained the same. Mudcash was maintaining that gap on purpose.

Whoosh!

I tried speeding up and even broke into a run, but the distance stayed just as he wanted. It wasn’t that he was slowing down to accommodate a goblin’s shorter legs, either. Even as I picked up the pace, he effortlessly kept the same distance. That told me two things.

First, Mudcash’s senses were sharp enough to track me from this far away. Maybe he’d placed a familiar somewhere nearby. Second, Mudcash was as fast as me. When I slowed down, he slowed. When I ran, he matched my speed. Before I knew it, I was ignoring everything else in the forest, focusing entirely on that presence.

Goblin mage Mudcash. Just what was he?

Night fell again.

This time, I tried pulling away instead of closing the distance. And sure enough, he followed, slowly but steadily. To be honest, I’d found it thrilling at first, almost too easy.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

However, now, a thin thread of unease crept in. Even when I quickened my steps, the distance stayed the same. Even when I ran, it was the same. I couldn’t shake him. I even used Stealth—which had fooled Rena—yet he still tracked me without fail.

"..."

By the time night fell again, I wasn’t even sure who was chasing whom anymore. I knew I had to make a decision soon.

"Hmm..."

Isaac glanced up at the sky. His eyes calmly swept across the rising half-moon. Then he turned to me. "Is it keeping the distance steady?"

I nodded.

"Still is."

For the first time since entering the Eastern mountains, Isaac seemed serious. "Then chase him. Go after him at full speed. I’ll handle things from above."

Was it really that urgent?

Fwip!

Without waiting for a reply, Isaac soared into the sky. I had no way of knowing whether Mudcash was coming with goodwill or with hostility. If he had learned about the massacre of his goblin tribe, he’d think I was responsible. He’d assume I’d tortured someone for the password used to find him. We’d have to fight.

Clack.

I adjusted my grip on the longsword I’d picked up on the battlefield. I had two, one strapped to my back. Whatever happened, I had to see this through.

[Skill: Sprint Lv. 7 activated.]

[You can move at 500% speed.]

[Remaining time: 24:59]

Fwoosh!

The rain screamed as it sliced between the gaps in my armor like sharpened blades.

Sssshk!

[Skill: Wind Blast Lv. 2 activated.]

Over the past two years, I’d become more adept at casting magic barehanded inside the barrier. By guiding the wind to blow from behind, I propelled myself forward in sudden bursts. The abrupt acceleration startled my target. He tried to widen the distance, but eventually realized he couldn't outpace me and came to a stop.

Three hundred meters. Two hundred... One hundred... Fifty.

A massive boulder stood among the trees. The presence was coming from behind it. The closer I got, the more I realized this thing wasn’t small.

Crack.

Tightening my grip on the blade, I stepped forward. Mudcash was here.

Forty meters.

Would he attack me the moment I got close?

Thirty meters.

If that were his plan, it would've made more sense to strike from afar. A magical assault would’ve been more effective that way.

Twenty meters.

Was this a test?

Ten meters.

Could he be testing me to see if I was worthy? Would he hand over the space-warping pouch if I passed? That was simply wishful thinking. Would he ask about the goblin tribe?

Whatever the case, I moved in front of the boulder, repeating the sound I’d made for the past three days. "Chwi..."

BOOM!

A shadow leapt out from behind the boulder and erased the distance in a flash, slamming its fist into my stomach. The crash of its leap, the impact of its punch, and the crunch of my armor folding inward all rang out at once.

Clang! Thud! Thud!

A massive hand grabbed my shoulder. My stomach, chest, and face were struck by a brutal barrage. The sword I had thrust out first, unshielded by aura, snapped like a twig on the first blow. The punches landed so fast I couldn’t even count them.

CRASH!

Under the creature’s monstrous strength, the new armor I’d scavenged from the battlefield tore apart like paper. I raised my arms just in time to block a flurry of punches, but then its knees and feet came sweeping in like a storm from both sides. The blows that could shatter steel and pulverize boulders. I was pinned, unable even to be flung away by the force.

[Warning! Health has dropped below 80%!]

This wouldn’t do.

Freeze. Double Cast... Thunder Strike.

I barely managed to channel magic into my hand and grabbed the creature’s thick, pillar-like arm.

Crack Zzzzap!

A flash of yellow lightning surged along the frozen limb.

"

Khgh!

"

He finally seemed affected. With a shallow grunt, he loosened his grip on my arm, and I slammed my other hand into his cheek.

Blaze. Wind Blast.

Fwoooosh!

Flames and wind erupted from my fist, launching the massive three-meter-tall beast backward as fire swept over it. In the two years trapped in the barrier, I'd single-mindedly focused on casting magic barehanded. This was nothing like the time when I couldn't use a sword properly. Regardless, the creature rebounded instantly, lunging at me with its claws.

Shkkk!

He moved like a gray lightning bolt. Our eyes met, burning red, and only then did I realize what I was facing. It was the wolf that had been with Aezar, and definitely not Mudcash in disguise. This was my second time seeing him.

The werewolf stared at me with shimmering gray eyes. "As I thought... you're strong..."

He stood over three meters tall, the glowing crescent moon backdrop framing his silhouette like a guardian.

"I’ve come... to avenge my comrades."

The moonlight shimmered gray along his claws.