That's how we returned to the Ice Rock on the seventh floor, specifically to the Glacier's Eye, its innermost area.
[You have entered a special area. Field effect – Glacier's eye is now active. All healing and recovery effects are now reversed.
[The Whisper of Immortality status effect is active. In case of death, the character will be resurrected as Undead.
The freezing air bit my lungs. It felt as if the warm sunlight on the eighth floor had been a mere illusion. We didn't even have time to adapt to the changing environment, as we had to move quickly.
«¡Naria, convokes in lells!»
The three Ice Trolls each picked up a sleigh and began to pull. There was food for about thirteen days on the sleighs. If we had requisitioned all the food stored in our personal subspaces, we could have stayed here for months, but I deliberately only took out enough to make it to closing day. We had to fill the remaining space with as many combat and expedition supplies as possible.
«Travel training!»
Our unit currently had twenty-five members. Although this may sound cold, I judged that it would be unlikely that we would encounter a food shortage problem, even with thirteen days of food.
«Forward!»
As soon as we were in formation, we headed back to the Glacier Eye, which had previously taken us ten days to descend. It was like going up a narrow, spiral-shaped road uphill along the edge of a cliff, but we had better weather than before. Since the portal was open, no monsters appeared here. At most, we could leave this area in five days. The problem would be the people who were chasing us.
Anyone in their right mind would let us go.
That was because entering the Ice Rock required a lot of preparation. Thick fur clothing was needed to block the cold, insulating stones that were a type of magical device, food, and a sleigh to transport all these things. An adventurer with the habit of carrying only objects in his subspace would end up in enormous trouble as soon as he entered this place.
But if it's him... I'm sure he'll come.
It was too early to let our guard down. Not only was my life at stake, but that of my teammates and the rest of our squad. I had to assume the worst and react accordingly.
Step step.
I forced the crew, who were still tired even after the break we took in the Land of Dawn, to quicken their pace.
About eight hours later, the wizard from Kaislan's team approached me, urgently shouting my name. «Mr. Schuitz!» He was from the Second Division of the Magic Corps. He had only spoken to her a couple of times, but he remembered her clearly from her unwelded voice. «Mr. Schuitz! Mr. Schuitz! There is a big problem. A very, very big problem».
She was much taller than Raven and seemed pretty normal, so I didn't know why she talked like that. Well, that wasn't important now.
«Big problem? Is that thing?»
«Yes! The detection spell installed in front of the portal went off!»
«I see...» That meant that the enemy had followed us to Ice Rock. I more or less expected it, but they really did it. «How many?»
«I switched to astral projection mode as soon as the detection spell was triggered and counted at least more than twenty people!».
«What do you mean by 'at least'?».
«Well... the enemy realized the spell sooner than he expected. The Magic Eye was destroyed, so I couldn't see who else entered».
I clicked my tongue at those words. That was incredibly disappointing. Knowing how many troops our enemy had would have been a great help in making future decisions. «Their appearance, what did they look like?»
«Hehe, you want to know if they were as well prepared as us, right?»
«Sí.
When I nodded, the magician smiled. «They seemed totally careless. They only wore thin layers over the equipment. They carried large backpacks that probably contained food. Since they can't be extendable backpacks, maybe they'll starve soon and leave?».
He looked like he was going to burst into tears when he first approached me, but from the way he was smiling now, I figured he thought it was good news. In reality, they were.
Layers, okay, but backpacks...? Well, to be fair, what adventurer always carries a sleigh or cart?
Backpacks had an obvious limit to their carrying capacity. In a place where hunger tripled, it was impossible to store food for thirteen days only in backpacks. They were even disadvantageous during combat. Weight was one thing, but they also restricted movement. On the first floors, where it was difficult to gather enough mana stones to afford a subspace, some groups even carried a porter to avoid the hassle of carrying their backpacks everywhere.
«Okay. Anyway, since we've confirmed that someone is following us, let's install another one of those spells here before we go. We need to have a more precise idea of how many there are».
«Okay!»
We stopped for a moment to install another detection spell. As soon as that was done, we resumed our journey, increasing our speed to make up for the pause.
***
«Mr. Schuitz! Mr. Schuitz!» Six hours later, the magician ran up to me again. «Detection spell activated!» As was obvious from the tremor in the magician's voice, it was bad news.
«...It's much earlier than I thought». The spell, which had been installed at a point on the map that should have taken about eight hours to reach, had been activated in just six hours. That meant they were faster than us. If things continued like this, they would catch up with us in two days.
«Y-I guess it's because they don't have to sled or anything... I think that's why».
I was beginning to understand the mentality with which they persecuted us. Since they didn't have enough food, they were probably trying to catch up with us as soon as possible and finish this while they still had supplies.
«How many of them are there?»
«Ah! I have confirmed it. Forty-six people».
«That's good news. Thanks.»
«Of course, that's my job!» The magician gave a playful greeting and turned around, but I assumed she suddenly remembered something else she had to report. «Oh, sure. Um...» He took another 180 degree turn, with a cautious face. «There were some unusual people among them. The dark wizard who first noticed my detection spell was one of them. Of course, it's just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt!».
«Okay, I'll keep that in mind».
«Good... Oh, and one more thing! What should I do with the spell? Launch another one?»
«Please. Now that we know more or less how many there are, we need to know when they happen».
«Okay!»
Once the mage finished delivering the message and returned to her position, Goblin let out a strange sigh from my side. «Miss Marrone is always so full of life», he said, his voice deep.
What the hell is this idiot talking about? Do you have time to worry about things like that in a situation like this?
I was going to scold him and tell him to focus, but he stopped me in my tracks the next thing that came out of his mouth. «It would be so nice if she could get home alive...», she said sadly, staring at the magician's back.
I couldn't help but agree with him. «Yes, it would be great if you could». There was silence between Goblin and me.
At that, Ravien spoke from our side. «In that sense, Mr. Parav, how do you feel now?».
Gosh, and before he treated me like crazy.
Now she was the one asking his opinion first. Well, she had also come to see Parav's terrifyingly precise intuition in action with both of her own eyes as she traveled beside me.
«Well... I'm not sure anymore. All I know is that we have to keep going no matter how tired we are.»
«...I see.» The atmosphere darkened instantly. I cleared my throat and changed the subject. «Parav, why did you join this unit?»
«...Sorry?»
«With your good intuition, shouldn't you have been able to avoid something like that?».
The truth is that I had been curious about this for a long time. He told me that he had completely avoided the war that broke out on the first floor by not entering the maze that month, so why did he end up coming this time?
«Well, to be honest... I never wanted to join».
"¿What?"
«You don't say it after the fact, do you?», Ravien asked.
«It's the truth. The archbishop kept trying to persuade me with the rewards, but I still didn't feel like it. So I tried to use a lot of excuses to get rid of it, but...».
«But?» Ravien asked.
«The archbishop looked at me and sighed. I felt a chill run down my spine, so I quickly said I was going. After all... It's better to walk a thorny path than to walk straight to the execution scaffold myself, right?».
«...Sorry?» Ravien said. «A scaffold? I do not understand».
«Well... This will probably sound strange, but for some reason, I felt like I would be killed on the spot if I refused. That was the feeling I had. Enough to think that my best option was to enter the maze».
«Ah...»
«Well, now I'm regretting it. There's no way the archbishop would have really tried to kill me. Hahaha...» Goblin laughed uncomfortably and Ravien, still skeptical of his intuition, accepted his words at face value.
But that was a little strange.
There was something that didn't fit. Although I couldn't say for sure what it was. «Parav, do you have any idea why the archbishop gave you that feeling?».
«Hmm, I don't know. I haven't thought about it... I wonder if he was planning to send me on another, more dangerous mission...».
We continued talking as we marched, but we were never able to pinpoint the exact nature of his discomfort. At some point, we stopped talking completely to preserve our resistance and continued our journey in silence. I already had many things to think about.
At this rate, the enemy will catch up with us in two days.
Accelerating wouldn't change anything. Either way, they would catch up with us before we left Glacier's Eye.
So what do I have to do? What can I do to make my teammates, my squad and I a little safer?
Thump, thump, thump.
Right now, that question was enough to overwhelm me.
***
Shink, shink.
The sound of a sword being sharpened into a whetstone.
Masticar, masticar.
The sound of someone filling their stomach with dried meat.
«Haha, is it true?»
«Yeah. Let's go together when we get back to town». I didn't believe it at first either».
Some people chatted with their friends, and others sat upright and exhaled at regular intervals. Each one had their own way of resting.
«...Lord, why don't you rest too?»
«I will rest here. You return to your position».
«But...»
«Forward.»
At my firm command, Erwen returned to her seat with her shoulders slumped, letting me gaze at the dark path below.
«I was just being considered. Did you really need to be so cold?»
«Ravien, don't overdo it».
«...Okay.» Ravien, who was about to say something else, immediately fell silent when he saw the expression on my face. I ignored her and stared into the infinite darkness.
Our current location was the center of Ojo Glaciar. As soon as we got here, our endless uphill road stopped, not of our own free will, but of someone else's. By my simple calculations, our pursuers would arrive here in an hour.
Pum, pum, pum.
My heart raced, not from anticipation of the battle ahead, but from anxiety. He had tried to come up with countless ways to avoid a fight, but he hadn't been able to come up with any clever method. The battle was inevitable. I ordered a break so the crew could rest a little earlier. But was that why?
«¡How!»
Step by step.
Masticar, masticar.
Those peaceful, everyday sounds seemed like the calm breeze before an approaching storm. That's probably why I couldn't relax and stared into the darkness. There were forty-six enemies, approximately double what our squad currently had. According to the wizard's report, ten of the enemies were especially strong. Judging only by the team, they were at a similar level to the Dragon Slayer.
Maybe they brought in some of those who stormed the eighth-floor crack.
If so, the situation had become much more dangerous. To be successful on the eighth floor, you had to be at least Amelia level. We had no chance of defeating them in an all-out war. But there was no other way. The battle was going to happen, whether we liked it or not. No matter how strong the enemy was, we had no choice but to do our best.
If we fail, everyone will die.
Latigo, latigo.
I shook my head to dislodge the distracting thoughts. From now on, I decided to think as positively as possible. For example, the enemy could end up being weaker than expected. In that case, it would be possible to defeat them here. Of course, there would still be sacrifices... but by the time we won, this quest would be over. Without needing to do any more difficult climbs, we could just sit here, eat the food we have left, and wait for this to be over.
Aprieta.
Yes, that possibility definitely existed.
«The detection spell! The detection spell went off!»
Let's do it.
«Everyone in training!»
Although we still didn't know what would be left of us after the storm contained in that ominous, silent darkness passed, we could only do one thing.
«...The enemy is approaching!»
«Prepare for battle!»