Vol 4 Chapter 1

#(1)

"...It seems a few Chilaka-like monsters are approaching from afar."

Un-o, who had been looking into the distance with his hand over his eyes from atop a tree, finally took his gaze away and spoke to the others below.

Chilaka were beast monsters that seemed like a mix of predators, characterized by their threatening red-spotted fur color and habit of moving in packs. In many cases, they would migrate in groups of several dozen, often terrifying traveling users.

But for these pack-loving monsters to be described as "a few"... Given that Un-o, with his eagle-like vision from his Hunter skill, had said "from afar," it meant that it would take at least a few minutes for them to reach here. They had gained some time, but the problem was the "few" describing the quantity.

"Uh... Chilaka, you say. How many are there?"

As Kran asked with a slightly anxious look, Un-o looked into the distance again and answered nonchalantly.

"Judging by their grouped appearance, it seems there are over twenty. Are you going to change direction, or..."

"Hmm... That number seems manageable, but..."

While Kran was at a crossroads, pressing his temple and contemplating whether to change direction again or push through and secure the path to their destination, Kapros slowly rotated his shoulders and stretched his neck. What was there to think about?

"I'll handle it."

"Again? Won't you run out of mana at this rate?"

Kapros quietly ignored him and checked how much mana he had left.

Since learning the 6th circle Aerial Servant, his mana had been increasing relentlessly even without doing anything special. Compared to the number of spells he could cast simultaneously, everything he had done until now felt like child's play.

Even though they had just been through a battle, Kapros thought that with the mana he had left, he could handle about twenty Chilaka using a combination of 6th circle spells. Although Kran still looked worried, he seemed to respect Kapros's will and didn't suggest retreating.

In fact, Kran's leadership strongly tended towards taking everyone to safety rather than making dangerous challenges. That wasn't necessarily bad, but rather, while being so cautious, it felt like the fun of playing the game was disappearing and their bodies were stiffening up.

This kind of thinking, which he had never had before, came from the foolishly simple realization that 'games are games' and 'reality is reality', that the two are completely different and don't necessarily need to be thought of on the same level. This realization had been given by Kion-hyung, that is, Ju-yeol-hyung's words.

[ So, you think you've found a way to solve it now? ]

As soon as he returned from meeting Yu-wan, Kapros had connected a video call with Ju-yeol-hyung, and he was able to nod without hesitation at hyung's question. Hyung rejoiced as if it were his own matter and offered words of congratulation. After talking a bit more, just before hanging up, Kapros brought up a question he had been hesitating to ask.

"Hyung."

[ Huh? ]

"Why do you think people play games?"

Until recently, Kapros had a definite answer to that question.

Because it's like my second life.

But in the current situation, that answer didn't seem right. Hyung, who seemed lost in thought, closed and opened his eyes a few times before smiling and answering after a moment.

"Because it's fun. I like thrills, you know? But if you look for thrills in reality, even several lives wouldn't be enough. You can't feel this kind of thrill anywhere else, where you can recklessly rush in and experience life-and-death situations hundreds of times firsthand. Hehehe."

In fact, Kapros had never died in the game until now. According to Kran and Un-o, such users were extremely rare except for non-combat users who don't enjoy battles, so if he was lucky, it was indeed a very fortunate thing.

In Kran's case, he said he had died many times in the beginning, recklessly jumping into various situations without knowing better. Un-o also said he had grown through countless life-and-death crises. However, Kapros had briefly hunted with Kion-hyung at the start and then trained magic alone, and afterwards had mainly traveled through dungeons with skilled companions like Yu-wan and Kran, so he hadn't had any occasions to die.

As a result, he realized then that he had unconsciously made 'not dying' his in-game policy. Just like how in reality, one naturally lives to avoid death.

But users in THE MIST are revived after a certain time even if they face death. This aspect was no different from ordinary games, except for the longer death delay before being able to reconnect.

If he was going to play the game anyway, shouldn't he be less cautious and enjoy the challenges? Since when had he become someone so busy preserving his own life? He wanted to return to his initial mindset, enjoy freely, and let loose.

"Well, I guess we have no choice... [Holy Bestowal], [Holy Protection]!"

Seeing what Kapros was doing, Kran extended his left hand and called out his skills. These were part of the divine sword-breaking buff skills Kran had first obtained, which he hadn't used much until now. Given Kran's tendency to enjoy rushing in to attack first during battles, despite his sky-high compassion and consideration for others, he rarely had the opportunity to use these calm, supportive buff skills.

But that was until recently. After discovering the secret that the maiden statue in the center of Russil village was actually a goddess statue, obtaining new skills and completing the quest, Kran had left a curious comment.

"I think I've been thinking wrong all this time. I've realized the meaning of my sword."

Although it wasn't clear what memories he had seen, since then, he had become less actively engaged in combat like before, and instead focused more on buffs like now or stepped back slightly to observe the situation.

"Kap. Are you okay with me using Holy Protection too?"

"Hmm..."

As a white and blue light enveloped and then shattered around his body in succession after Kran's shout, Kapros nodded vaguely in response. He saw his head become refreshed and a faint light emanating from his entire body. The refreshed feeling in his head was the effect of Holy Bestowal, which cleared the mind, while the faint light surrounding him was the effect of Holy Protection.