The Mist Vol 2 Chapter 57

Vol 2 Chapter 57

"Oh, right."

At those words, Kran, who had been staring intently into the cave as if something might jump out, quickly looked back and nodded.

Since there was no answer from Yu-wan, Kapros looked at him and saw that he was still standing with a hardened expression, his gaze fixed on empty space, in the same posture as when they had first entered. That face was different from the wariness Kapros and Kran felt towards the dangerous aura of the cave. His eyes were moving slightly as if reading something...?

'What's going on...?'

Kapros tapped Yu-wan's shoulder with his hand as he wasn't looking this way.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah."

At that, Yu-wan's whole body, which had been stiffly frozen from the shoulder where Kapros's hand touched, slowly turned to look at him after a moment and shook his head.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

Nothing?

Unlike his words, his reaction suggested it wasn't nothing at all. Kapros looked at where Yu-wan had been staring, but there was nothing special.

'There's nothing there...'

Meanwhile, Yu-wan had already returned to his usual expression and was looking at Kapros as if to ask why he was acting strange. No matter how many times Kapros looked back and forth between the empty space and Yu-wan's face, he couldn't find the cause, so he decided to think it must have been his imagination.

"Kap! Didn't you say we should hurry!"

Kapros turned his head at the voice of Kran, who had run ahead while they were dawdling, and answered.

"Coming."

As he quickly ran to catch up, the doubt he had felt just moments ago disappeared from his mind.

"Argh!"

"I've never seen such a massive onslaught in my life! Those Kalaps we met before were elite few compared to this, elite few!"

Kran shouted as he frantically dealt with more monsters that had sprung out from the front. His sword, flashing with white light and emitting a dangerous aura, was directly expressing Kran's exploding anger.

This is just the beginning of the cave, and he's already like this? But judging by his shouting, it was fortunate that he didn't seem to have lost his energy yet. Kapros shook his head and thought about a spell to support Kran, who was being pushed back by the long claw rush of the lower vampires with their large, hideous appearances.

So far, there were many manageable-level enemies, so Kapros was having quite a bit of fun using various spells he hadn't used in a while. It was also thanks to Yu-wan and Kran luring away monsters when they seemed to be swarming too much towards Kapros that he could afford this luxury.

'Right, shall I try a 4th circle spell this time?'

Although he had mainly been using Chain Lightning, there were quite a few 4th circle spells that could be useful in practical situations. Recalling one of them, he quickly chanted the spell.

"Flame Strike!"

In an instant, five or six small fireballs formed in the air and, following Kapros's will, skillfully avoided Kran while hitting the enemies and causing explosions.

Bang! Pop pop pop pop!

"Grrrk, ugh!"

"Grooar!"

"Wooah! Kap, if you're going to do that, at least give me a warning! What if I died!"

As the flying fireballs disappeared quietly and then suddenly exploded where Kapros had targeted, the enemies fell dead without a chance to prepare. Kran looked towards Kapros and exaggerated his complaint, but Kapros ignored him. He was much more concerned about the slightly unsatisfactory power of Flame Strike.

The number of fireballs manifested in Flame Strike was less than he had expected. Although he had cast it in a somewhat distracted state, only five or six... The power was decent, but it seemed he would need a lot of practice to immediately summon as many Flame Strikes as he wanted.

Looking around, he noticed Yu-wan slightly hesitating, surrounded by lower vampires that had swarmed like a pack of dogs.

'That's it.'

With Yu-wan's skills, just one swing of his aura sword would instantly wipe out those monsters, but before that, they were the best test subjects for Kapros right now.

"Yu-wan, stay right there!"

Kapros kindly told Yu-wan so he wouldn't be surprised like Kran, and without even checking if he had heard or not, immediately concentrated again.

"Flame Strike!"

This time, about thirteen Flame Strikes appeared with a whoosh. Although it was less than the fifteen he had initially aimed for, Kapros was satisfied for now and quickly threw them.

Bang! Bang! Kaboom boom boom boom!

"...Not bad."

"What do you mean not bad! Aaaah, now's not the time for magic research! We need to move forward quickly!"

Whether Yu-wan was sending an ominous glance as he was instantly swept up in the aftermath of the tremendous explosions around him, or Kran was screaming playfully at the monsters swarming again, Kapros's mind was filled only with thoughts about magic.

'This seems to have potential for application. What should I use next...?'

"Look at that expression...! He's enjoying it! He's lost it again!"

Although Kran screamed again while shuddering, Kapros paid no attention. He wasn't about to let go of such a good opportunity, wondering when it would come again.

In any case, in this way, they advanced into the depths of the cave much faster than expected. Whenever they came across a fork in the road, they unconditionally trusted Kran and followed him. Perhaps due to their long-time teamwork, dealing with monsters wasn't as difficult as anticipated. It had certainly been quite enjoyable until they suddenly encountered the ghost-like man in the black helmet standing like a guardian deity.

'Caesar...?!'

"...What's going on here? Why is that guy here?"

Kapros heard Kran muttering, but no one answered. Realizing that Caesar was just standing still, whatever his intention might be, Kran slowly approached Kapros with his sword drawn. Trying not to show his tension, Kapros checked the number of Magic Shields he currently had up, which was about five or six layers. He felt relieved that it wouldn't be easily penetrated even if they were ambushed.

"It seems we took a wrong turn. We've gone around in circles and come back near the entrance of the cave."

Yu-wan, who had been carefully looking around, said in a low voice.

"...Ha...haha."