Chapter 76: General, please take this small path
Peiya carefully studied the map, but the more she looked at it, the more something felt wrong.
As someone who used to help plan things in the team, she knew very well that making a map like this would take a lot of time.
Also, they had gone to bed at almost the same time last night. If they slept for the usual eight hours, that meant Elise only had one or two hours left.
How could she make such a detailed map in such a short time?
“Are you sure you made this this morning? You didn’t stay up all night?”
Elise lightly tapped her chin with her finger and answered casually, “Just stayed up a little.”
“Really? I don’t believe you.”
Peiya frowned and looked at Elise, who didn’t seem to care at all. “You need to take care of your body. If you keep staying up like this, it’s like you don’t care about yourself.”
Elise shook her head. “I’ve always lived like this. If it saves you some effort, then staying up late is worth it.”
Peiya bit her lip. “No, absolutely not. You’re just taking my burden and putting it on yourself. Didn’t you say yesterday that we came out here to solve problems? How can you get sick first? Don’t stay up late because of me anymore, okay? If we need to draw the map, we can just take more time during the day. We’ll finish it eventually. Oh right, when you went to the Calamity Forest alone yesterday, you didn’t get hurt, right? Don’t move, let me check first.”
Peiya’s expression turned serious. She raised her hand, and a beam of healing light scanned over Elise. After seeing nothing was wrong, she finally relaxed.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you this nervous.”
“That’s because someone doesn’t care about herself at all.”
Elise met Peiya’s honest gaze and found it interesting, so she lightly poked Peiya’s unhappy cheek.
“I’m fine. I’ve always lived like this, so I’m used to it. Or… do you think I should rely on you more?”
Peiya sighed. “If relying on me can make things easier for you, then I don’t mind… it’s just…” She paused. “I don’t really have experience with that. Are you sure I can help?”
“The first time is always new, the second time gets easier. Maybe by the third time, you’ll even take the initiative,” Elise said with a soft smile, like a gentle breeze.
But to Peiya, it didn’t feel gentle at all.
“What are you talking about? Take the initiative… what do you mean? Don’t tell me you want something more… between us?”
Peiya froze. Was she really that kind of person?
“See? You’re completely different from before. Not only are you not running away, you’re even moving closer to me now.”
It felt like something inside Peiya quietly broke. Her emotions changed again and again, and in the end, she placed a hand on her chest and said,
“Please don’t misunderstand. I just hope we can cooperate more in our studies. What are you thinking about?”
“I don’t know. But definitely not about studying.”
“…?”
That was basically saying it straight to her face, almost like saying she had feelings for her.
But they were already very close partners. If they went any further… where would that even lead?
“Forget it, I can’t argue with you.”
Peiya quickly finished a few bites of her food, then went to pack up the tent and put it back into their travel bag.
“Today we’ll use a different entrance. Adventurers from the south should have arrived already, and it’s not good if we run into them. I think they’re still trying to figure out how to deal with the bear guards. If we meet them, it might slow us down.”
Peiya looked at the map Elise had marked and noticed a small path she hadn’t seen before.
“Alright.”
Elise nodded. For her, the Ice Bear King was a bit troublesome, but compared to the Frozen Demon Eagle, it was nothing.
She was here mostly to accompany Peiya.
“How did you find this small path yesterday? I looked at the map for so long before, but I couldn’t find it.”
“I just found it while exploring. There are very few monsters on this path. I think it has something to do with the mineral crystals. To be safe, you should drink some potion.”
Elise tossed a potion that protects against crystal sickness to Peiya.
“Do we still have enough potions?”
“More than enough. Don’t worry, we’re at the entrance.”
Elise pushed aside the bushes, revealing a hidden cave. Standing outside, they could see some broken mineral pieces.
Peiya checked the surroundings. “This should be the place.”
Based on the information given earlier by Guild Leader Maya, it was almost certain.
The reason other adventurers couldn’t find this place was simple. The monster waves had forced them in the wrong direction, and normal adventurer guilds didn’t dare to explore the deeper areas. If they tried, they might end up completely wiped out.
Also, the cave with the Ice Bear King’s presence had strong mineral pollution. Without potions, Peiya and the others would likely collapse halfway through.
Elise looked at Peiya and suddenly noticed something strange. The plants that had been polluted seemed to come back to life when they touched Peiya.
This kind of ability… the last time she saw it was probably in the Holy Academy.
“Miss Peiya, have you noticed? Wherever you walk, the pollution is being cleaned.”
“What?” Peiya looked down at her feet and noticed a few plants had come back to life.
“That’s true… but I don’t remember having this kind of ability.”
She scratched her head, confused. She had already found it strange yesterday when her light magic suddenly became stronger.
Today, it wasn’t even subtle anymore. She could directly purify plants that were poisoned by mineral toxins. Could this also be a witch’s ability?
That didn’t seem right. She was supposed to be a Calamity Witch. More about destruction, not healing.
Elise crouched down as well. “Take off your shoes and let me check. I think it might be related to your body.”
Peiya’s face stiffened. She quickly stepped back, and the withered plants under her feet stood up again.
“No, absolutely not! I really don’t have purification powers. Maybe it’s just a coincidence… or maybe the poison likes me more than the plants, so it changed the magic around here.”
“That’s even stranger. Don’t you think your abilities are starting to look like Victoria’s? She’s a student of the Holy Academy, but you’re not. So I’m worried… maybe she secretly placed some kind of magic on you. Or maybe she ‘loaned’ you this power in advance, and once you get used to it, she’ll take it back. Then you’d have no choice but to join the Holy Academy. This isn’t new, they’ve done things like this before.”
“That’s… that harsh?”
“Yes. No matter what, you’ve probably already caught the attention of the Holy Academy. Those people are crazy, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything they do.”
Elise looked serious. Clearly, Peiya’s recent changes were happening too fast. The nature of her power was starting to resemble that of the Holy Academy.
Normally, this would be a good thing. The Holy Academy represents the highest level of support-type abilities. You could even say that many support skills come from it.
She didn’t mind Peiya having such high potential.
The problem was that this happened too suddenly.
Victoria had only been here for a short time, yet Peiya’s abilities had improved so much. It was hard not to be suspicious.
“…When you put it that way, I feel it too. My abilities really are leaning toward support, especially holy light magic, the kind that can only be fully developed in the Holy Academy. Let’s not jump to conclusions yet. I’ll try using light magic.”
Peiya took a deep breath and formed a small core of light in her hand. When she saw the pure white point at its center, her heart skipped a beat.
Normally, this deep level of holy light power could only be mastered by the Holy Academy. Others could only learn the basics.
But now, her holy light magic had been greatly strengthened. Light itself was the best form for fast and direct power.
Even lightning, no matter how fast, couldn’t be faster than light.
This was something Peiya had always dreamed of. Her admiration for the Holy Academy partly came from this.
But suddenly gaining this power made her feel more scared than happy.
“It really is purer now… I… I won’t be in danger, right?”
Elise held her chin and thought. “I’m not sure yet. When we go back, I’ll help you find a way to deal with what’s happening inside your body. For now, don’t think too much about it.”
“Okay.”
Peiya nodded. Elise was right, worrying now wouldn’t help. She raised her hand to light up the dark cave, and the two of them walked in, one after the other.
The cave was dim. They could hear a faint sound of flowing water around them. It seemed to be some distance away, so the sound was unclear.
The damp, sticky moss under their feet made them feel uneasy. Fortunately, it only grew near the entrance where light could reach. As they went deeper, the air became dry, and their vision became more limited.
Luckily, it was daytime, so some light still came in. If they had come last night, they would probably have kept bumping into walls.
As they moved downward, the path gradually became wider.
After walking a bit further, Peiya suddenly slipped. She felt something wet and sticky under her foot. When she looked down, she broke out in a cold sweat.
“Elise… I think I stepped on someone. But… not alive. It’s a dead body.”