«Um... To be honest, since I was a child, I have had very good intuition...».
When I gave him an incredulous look, Goblin gave me examples. His explanation was very confusing, to the point that I wondered if he knew what he was saying, but there was something that impressed me.
«The same thing happened the day the pillars of fire appeared! That day I had to enter the labyrinth, but I felt the same as I feel today...».
At first, I thought I might be a little crazy, but if I had really experienced all the things I had just listed, it was hard to ignore. After all, Sixth Sense was a real statistic that existed in Dungeon and Stone.
«Okay, go back to your position».
«Shall we go then?»
«I can't force a march based on unfounded anxiety».
«...I guess it's true, right?»
«Yeah. But I'll think about it».
Goblin left with an expression that read: «Okay, I did the best I could».
Only then did my companions say something, starting with the healer Old Didi. He settled for a more polite version of, Is that guy right in the head? «What an interesting guy».
The wizard Ashed spoke in his defense. «Maybe he received a revelation. Since he is a paladin who serves God».
Erwen, for her part, seemed a little upset. «Who is that guy? It's ruining everyone's rest when we're all tired».
«Now, now, let's calm down».
While encouraging Erwen to relax, Amelia also approached me. «Schuitz, what are you thinking? It doesn't seem like you dismissed what he said as nonsense».
«There's a reason adventurers believe in superstitions».
«So you plan to heed his warning?»
«Well...» I would have to think about it. To be honest, I had also started to have a bad feeling as soon as I heard what he had to say.
Slip.
With that in mind, I looked at the traffic light ring on my finger. It still didn't shine, but I couldn't let my guard down based on that alone.
This ring doesn't predict everything.
The Traffic Light Ring had also been like this in the game. Even if there was an event in the area, it wasn't like it had a 100% chance of activating. Instead, it was turned on randomly. If there was a green light, there was certainly something good nearby. But just because the light didn't turn on didn't mean there wasn't anything good nearby. And vice versa.
What should I do?
Just as my worries reached the boiling point, the ring activated and began to glow.
[The ring has detected your destiny].
Shaaaaaaa.
I hurried down and saw that the color of the light was a very bright red.
«Sir...?»
I got up quickly, leaving behind a confused Erwen. «Everyone ready to move!» I ended the brief pause and set the group moving again.
«...We haven't even been stopped for ten minutes yet».
«The squad members are having a hard time».
The team leaders expressed concern, but I couldn't do anything. A little exhaustion was better than running a red light, right? «In formation! We're leaving now!»
We started marching again. About thirty minutes later, the ring light went out.
Shaaaaa.
There was no way to know what kind of negative force had approached us. I was stunned, but also dumbfounded.
Sven Parav, who the hell is that bastard? Is it just a coincidence? No matter how good someone's Sixth Sense is, their radius can't be wider than that of the Traffic Light Ring, right?
As I thought that, I remembered the look on Sven's face as he tried to convince me that he had good instincts. So as we traveled, I stepped back for a moment to march alongside Goblin.
«And now? You feel good?» If he was still feeling anxious, I assumed the incident could be dismissed as a coincidence, as he knew nothing about the Traffic Light Ring or the fact that its light had already gone out.
«Ah yes... now I feel calmer».
What the hell...?
***
On the Dark Continent of the seventh floor, a human man with a body as stocky as that of a barbarian crouched down and touched the ground. «Baekho, there are footprints here!»
«Really? How many people?»
«I think more than twenty, but I can't be sure! But it's clear they didn't leave long ago!», he shouted, his voice as loud as one would expect from a man of his great stature.
«Maybe it's them», said the old man, barely able to hear himself from the ringing in his ears.
«Them?»
«You know. Those who destroyed the Eye of Heaven and fled».
«Ah, those guys...»
«Do you plan to follow them? If it's really them, we can demand a good amount of payment from Noark this time.»
«Hmm.» The blonde stroked his chin and thought about it. He then laughed and turned to the other member of his group. «Kitty, what do you think we should do?», he asked in a playful tone.
The beastwoman who received the question only frowned, disgusted. Did not answer.
«Well, I realize it only from your expression. That's a no, right?».
«...It's a waste of time», he said.
«A waste of time? I know you don't want to hurt anyone in town. How boring».
When their conversation ended, the warrior who first discovered the footprints poked Baekho into responding. «So what are you going to do? Follow them?»
«No. Why bother?». The blonde shrugged. «Anyway, we're not sure it's them, are we? What if we go and then realize that we have followed some random bastards hunting in the area?».
«It is true that it would be a waste of time. But isn't it also a loss to let them go without checking it? If we follow them now, we could reach them quickly», the old man said.
«Hey, it doesn't matter. It's not like we're going to get anything amazing for catching them». The blonde waved his hand in annoyance and pulled a chair out of the subspace. «If we ran into them here by chance, then maybe. But there is no need to follow them and check it. Let's do our own work. Don't worry about others. They will notice».
«If that's what you want, okay.»
«Okay, so let's stop that and take a lunch break before we get going again. Hey, Aures!»
«Haha! One moment! I'm going to cook delicious meat in no time!»
Before long, the smell of grilled meat began to float around him.
***
It was our sixtieth day in the maze. In other words, there were fifteen days left until the seventh floor closed.
«Somehow we ended up here». We arrive at the western area of the Dragon Well, the Loser's Resting Place.
Shaaaaaaaaaa.
A black fog filled the surroundings, refusing to disperse despite the strong winds. Through it, we could see tens of thousands of rusty swords embedded in a seemingly endless field. This place gave off a creepy atmosphere, but no one commented on it. No one had time to indulge in such feelings.
«Schuitz, we have to keep moving forward. If we stop and end up surrounded...»
«Lo sé, cállate.»
Hmm, was it too hard? The thought came to me later, but I didn't offer an apology. I couldn't afford it.
«Schuitz, don't be so worried. If the commander falters, everyone else will falter too».
I didn't expect to be the one to receive comfort. I let out a bitter laugh and sighed.
Isn't it too much to tell me not to worry?
My plan had already gone awry. We headed north, to the enemy's sphere of influence, not south, where our allies were. I thought if I chose this place, we could survive. After all, as the saying went, you often couldn't see things when they were right under your nose. But in reality?
Bastard.
Every time we slowed down for a moment, our pursuers caught up with us quickly. Because of those guys, we had been forced to go for entire days without rest, much less sleep.
«I do not understand. How do they always find our exact location?». Kaislan wondered how Noark's troops were able to follow us without fail, but I knew the answer. I had already experienced it once.
«If we hadn't cut off another arm, we could have passed him by».
In the Labyrinth of Larcaz, the Dragon Slayer used a priest from Karui to track us down. He was probably using a similar method this time as these guys were willing to sacrifice anything to achieve their goals.
«Parav. How do you feel now?»
«I think I'm fine for now...»
Goblin had played a great role in preventing any deaths up to this point. Somehow, I always felt when our pursuers were around every time we took a break. And every time we moved and he meekly asked if we could go in another direction, it always turned out that the enemy was lurking to ambush us later. As soon as I realized it, I started making him walk next to me even as we moved forward.
«Then we can rest a little more. Tell me right away if you feel anything strange».
«Okay.»
Suddenly, he fell to the ground. If he was acting like this, that meant our environment was really safe. Frankly, I also wanted to fall to the ground and close my eyes, even if it was just for a moment.
But I can't do the same.
Putting aside my weak thoughts, I gathered the team leaders for a meeting. «Shut up, Kaislan, Jun, Akurava, let me start by saying I'm sorry. I thought we could hide here until closing day, but I was wrong».
Was the apology a little misplaced? The other team leaders seemed quite surprised and offered words of comfort one by one.
«I don't think it's something you have to apologize for», Calla said.
«Yeah. Just look at our pursuers. Even if we had waited for the rescue team back there, we wouldn't have lasted a day», Jun added.
«If it weren't for you, more people would have died», Akurava said.
«I'm ashamed to say this, but when things went the way they did, I was glad I wasn't the commander. As I said before, the commander is someone who can never falter...», Kaislan said.
That takes a little weight off my shoulders.
The truth is that I had been thinking about that a lot lately: that maybe we should have waited in Deadwood to be rescued. Or maybe we should have headed south and fought our way out of enemy territory, even if it meant sacrificing many lives along the way. What if everyone died because I made the wrong decision?
Burn.
It was like living with a mountain-sized rock on my chest, but that didn't mean I could ignore my responsibilities. Even if it meant adding an even bigger rock to my chest.
«Ejem. »
«You look embarrassed.»
Whatever.
Tap, tap.
I tapped my knee and told the leaders: «Anyway, that's what I called you for. To ask your opinion».
«It seems like you've already made a decision», Akurava said.
It's true.
Still, he was just thinking about it, he still hadn't made the decision completely. «Surely you all already know this, but we won't be able to last long hidden here». Before getting to the point, I covered the basics. «If we don't keep moving, the enemy will catch up with us soon and we will be surrounded».
We were like sharks that could only breathe as long as we continued swimming forward. Slip or stop meant the end of the game. If we gave the enemy time to organize a full-scale siege against us, our tired troops would not be able to resist.
«So where are you planning to go?».
I looked at the curious team leaders and bit my lip regretfully.
«From what you say, it seems like you have a place in mind».
That's what they said. I had a place in mind. It was actually a place I had had in mind during the planning phase, not one I had thought about since I got here. Simply put, this was Plan B, an option he hadn't wanted to pursue unless things were extremely serious.
«I'm curious. Where do you plan to take us in a situation like this?», Akurava asked.
Finally, I expressed the option out loud. «We will return to Ice Rock». An exhausting journey for us would also be an exhausting one for the enemy.
Let's see how far they can follow us there.