Vol 2 Chapter 63

Kapros turned to Kran in surprise. Kran was momentarily flustered by the bright light bursting through his clothes from inside his neck, but soon carefully reached in and pulled something out. It was Kran's token from the temple before, the pendant with the yellow gem.

"It's glowing."

Kran looked at it in his hand, emitting light, with a slightly trembling voice. Only then could Kapros fully relax and smile brightly.

"Well, look at that. We came to the right place after all."

Kapros could tell because he had experienced his red Superior brooch vibrating like that before. Kran, who had been there at that time too, seemed to recall it without much difficulty.

"Really..."

Kran muttered in an emotional voice and reached behind to unfasten the necklace. The necklace was still shining brightly. Kran smiled like a child, unable to take his eyes off it.

"Then we should look for the related place now."

As Kapros muttered, finally feeling relieved, Yu-wan, who had been looking somewhere, turned his head towards him.

"There, I see a bridge."

"A bridge?"

A bridge? As Kapros looked where Yu-wan was pointing, wondering what kind of bridge would be out of place here, he couldn't help but freeze his expression again.

It really was there. A ridiculously narrow and thin rock bridge.

At first, it was so thin that it was barely visible, buried in the vast surrounding environment, but a white path that looked like it might melt down like taffy at any moment could be seen stretching from here to the other side, not far away. Below it was a cliff so deep that it seemed like instant death if one were to misstep...

Though thinking it couldn't be, they approached it closely.

"...Good heavens."

Buzz buzz buzz buzz...

As they got closer, Kran's necklace clearly showed its presence and even started vibrating, filling them with despair. At the same time, Kran's face turned as white as the rocks in this place.

"This... Do we have to cross all the way over there?"

"...Probably."

It seemed that was indeed the case.

The bridge was just wide enough for one person to barely pass. Of course, there were no railings, and the length seemed like several buildings laid on their sides from here to there, with a bit of exaggeration. This seemed like it should be measured in kilometers rather than meters. They all frowned simultaneously.

Below their feet was a cliff so deep its bottom couldn't be seen. Looking down into the pitch-black darkness made even Kapros, who didn't have a fear of heights, feel dizzy. To calm his dizziness, he looked at the far side and then turned his eyes back to the bridge.

The sight of the three of them standing side by side looking at the bridge was almost funny, but it couldn't be helped. They couldn't even see what was on the other side because it was too far away.

"...We'll have to cross it anyway."

At Kapros's quiet words, Yu-wan nodded with a darkly furrowed face.

"Why does my quest have to be like this! It's all hard labor!"

"But this seems to be really the last one, so hang in there."

As Kapros quietly offered comfort to Kran, who had burst out in frustration, Kran nodded weakly with tears in his eyes.

"Yeah... That's the only thing I'm holding onto. If there's anything else they want me to do, I'd rather fall to my death here. Don't try to stop me."

"..."

They couldn't waste any more time. They carefully moved towards the bridge, feeling as if they were stepping into hell.

After that, there was just a time of running silently. Yu-wan and Kran ran across the perilous bridge as if it were flat ground, and Kapros, not wanting to fall behind, used Fly from the middle, but the destination was still far, far away. Although he had no intention of saving mana, it was such a forced march that he wondered if it would soon run out at this rate.

'If that happens, I'll be a useless burden in case anything happens later...'

Even if Kran completed his quest, they didn't know what might happen afterward. In such a situation, a mage without mana would be more of a burden than a novice user. If that happened, it would be most troublesome for Kapros himself. What should he do...

But more urgent than that was Kran's quest, which was probably nearing its time limit. Seeing Kran's hardened face, it seemed he was also very anxious.

They had run about half the distance so far. If they kept running like this, they should be able to reach their destination soon without much trouble.

"We're almost there."

At Kapros's words, Kran glanced back and smiled brightly.

"Yeah. I'll run faster. Thanks, Kap, I know you're having a hard time too."

After that, Kapros unconsciously looked back for a moment as he was turning. At that moment, a small black object like a dot or stain suddenly entered his field of vision. He had only seen it for a very brief moment, so he turned back without paying attention, but when he belatedly realized what it was, a dull shock resonated in his head. He immediately turned his head back sharply.

'No way...!'

But it wasn't 'no way'. Kapros stared speechlessly at that small dot that was gradually growing larger, then quickly came to his senses, dispelled Fly to land on the bridge, and shouted towards the front.

"Yu-wan! Yu-wan!"

He couldn't call Kran, nor could he stop him. Because there really wasn't much time left. Fortunately, his urgent call seemed to be heard, and Yu-wan, who had already run far ahead, turned back to look at him. Then he said something to Kran, who had also turned back, and ran towards Kapros. Kran looked at Kapros for a moment, then clenched his fist and turned back to continue running. Whatever Yu-wan had said, it was fortunate that he had made Kran go on ahead. With Kran's personality, he might have come this way out of unnecessary concern.

'Please go quickly.'

As Kapros was watching Kran's back, trying not to show signs of fatigue, Yu-wan's hand touched his shoulder. Although he seemed a bit drained like Kapros, his eyes, still not losing their sharpness, sent a look asking what was wrong.

"He's here."