Vol 6 Chapter 59

In his sleep, he felt like his lips were blocked for a moment, but that was all.

"Ah~ this damn desert. It really never ends, no matter how far we go!"

Kion-hyung grumbled loudly while glaring at the blazing sun. Kapros stepped heavily onto the sand one foot at a time with his body slumped, too exhausted to speak. Looking at how quickly his stamina was dropping, he would soon need to drink Edenia's potion again.

'Damn. This is terrible.'

"Kar, are you feeling alright?"

"...I won't die at least."

After answering Hyung's concern sincerely, Kapros muttered "Potion" while holding up the Ring of Storage, and a blue potion bottle appeared in his hand. Though it was the color of a beautiful sea, to Kapros who had already tasted its flavor and scent to the point of death, it felt more like hellfire than the sea.

After struggling to pull out the cork sealing the bottle, he downed it in one gulp, and an indescribably foul odor rose from his stomach while an intense bathroom taste spread in his mouth. Simply put, it felt like he was going to throw up.

However, this potion's one advantage was its quick effectiveness, and right after drinking it, a wave of energy swept through his body, allowing him to recover his strength considerably.

'Still tastes too awful.'

Thinking that if he got another chance to meet Edenia, he would definitely ask what this potion was made of, he put strength into his newly energized limbs.

"Map window."

When he called up the map window to check how far they had come, a translucent continent map appeared before his eyes with a swoosh. Roughly judging their position, it seemed they would reach the Elven Forest if they continued just a bit further.

"Hyung, I think we'll arrive after going a little more."

"Oh, really? Should we pick up the pace then?"

Hyung brightened and quickened his steps. Kapros also followed closely behind while desperately hoping for the Elven Forest to appear soon. Beyond the horizon of sand that their feet kept sinking into, he thought he could faintly see waves of green.

Much later, when a peridot-colored forest rising from the desert actually appeared before their eyes, Kion-hyung, seeing this sight for the first time, gaped in amazement.

"Wow... this is really incredible."

However, the one feeling even more moved than the amazed Hyung was actually Kapros. Even when he had come with Kran before, he had felt relieved at no longer needing to drink the potion, but this time he was so happy he wanted to shout with joy as if finally becoming a free person.

As he stepped slowly into the forest while enduring the feeling that a foul smell was wafting from his mouth, he could properly feel the sensation of stepping on solid ground rather than sticky sand at the boundary where trees began rising. When he took a deep breath and exhaled, the clear oxygen seemed to fill his lungs and wash away the desert dust, replacing the suffocating air.

"Whew... so this is where the other race lives?"

Hyung followed behind Kapros, touching the trees and jumping on the ground with eyes full of anticipation.

"Kar, since you've been here before, you must have seen what race they are? What race are they?"

"Yeah, elves."

"Elves? Wow. Ah, ugh."

Hyung, who had brightened at the word "elves," barely managed to keep his balance after almost running into a tree while turning around.

"So other races really do exist in MIST. That's amazing. It's really great to see things like this while doing quests. They're all NPCs, right? How were they? If they're elves, they must be beautiful!"

"..."

Due to Hyung's excessive interest, Kapros had to recall his memories from when he had been here before.

As for elves whose detailed faces he could remember, there were only Siravi Ren and Ilumine... Siravi Ren had looked so delicate it was hard to guess their gender, but the other male elves he had met in the elven village hadn't been like that, and though the female elves had gentle features, they hadn't left much of an impression. Then would Ilumine be the elf who could be called the most beautiful?

"Well... I suppose they were like that..."

Though he hedged his answer, Hyung seemed sufficiently excited just by that and urged Kapros to hurry. However, when trying to lead the way, Kapros couldn't quite remember exactly which direction he had taken in the forest back then.

"Kar, aren't you going?"

"Wait a moment..."

How could he tell which way was the path when all the trees looked the same wherever he looked? While looking around searching for the way, he found a part where the grass was trampled in various directions from people walking.

'Is it this way?'

"This way."

His eyes hurt from carefully trying to find parts where the grass was bent while feeling his way forward. Around this point before, he thought a proper path had appeared after walking some distance... but where exactly had that been?

"Ah, Kar. There, doesn't something like a white path seem visible over there?"

Whoosh-

At that moment, along with a sharp sound of wind being cut that he had heard somewhere before, someone jumped down from the endlessly tall trees overhead and landed smoothly in front of them. From the springy landing method of slightly bending and straightening the knees, the towering height, and the large bow on their back, Kapros immediately recognized who it was.

"Who goes there!"

However, unlike Kapros, Kion-hyung, who was here for the first time, startled and immediately clenched his fists into a fighting stance while sending wary glances.

"Identify yourself!"

"Hyung. Wait. That person is..."

"Guests of El Prama. I am Kil Razil, the Guardian Arrow."

Kil Razil, looking exactly the same as when Kapros had seen them before with Kran, with their cold face and short hair, greeted them. Even Hyung, who had been wary at first, seemed to realize they were an elf when he saw their long ears properly revealed as they raised their head, and loosened his fists hesitantly.

"An elf...!"

"Lady Ilumine is already waiting. Shall we go?"

Their manner of showing no interest in others' words, saying only what they needed to say, and turning around with military precision to lead the way hadn't changed at all either. As Kapros quietly followed behind Kil Razil, who reminded him exactly of a soldier, Hyung whispered from beside him.