We entered the fog without much context. As we went deeper, the fog grew denser, making it much harder to navigate.
I dared to ask, "Master, are we really going to stay here for four days?!"
"No, don't worry. The fog only covers a small area, so we should be fine once we pass through it," he said, walking ahead of me.
I tried not to lose focus, since getting lost, especially in a dangerous place with no visibility, was the last thing I wanted.
"What caused this dense fog?" I asked, mostly to keep my mind engaged.
"…I don't really know. They say a dragon used to live here, and the fog is a result of its breath."
His answer surprised me. In my world, dragons were considered some of the strongest monsters to ever exist in a dungeon. They were S-rank threats.
"Have you seen one before?" I asked, hoping to learn more.
"Yes, I did, when I was little. They were terrifying, yet the most fascinating creatures. The sight of them in flight, their majestic wings… it's unforgettable," he said, with more emotion than usual.
I fell silent and returned to focusing on our path. I didn't have much to add. Everything I knew about dragons came from stories and the Internet—how they destroyed cities and leveled buildings.
We walked for a long time, and I noticed the sunlight, already weak through the fog, was growing dimmer. Night was approaching.
"We should stop and sleep here," Diego said not long after I noticed the darkening sky.
"Are you sure? With this dense fog, protecting ourselves in the dark will be much harder," I said as he looked around the area.
"This part of the region doesn't have many animals. Besides, we won't be able to see anything at night, so we might as well rest instead of getting lost," he replied with his usual calm tone.
I nodded, knowing he had far more experience than I did.
After a while, Diego found an empty cave where we could camp. I carefully built a campfire and began making dinner with what little I had and what I'd gathered along the way.
Unexpectedly, as I cooked, Diego said, "Ethan… you've learned my technique, haven't you?"
His words caught me off guard- not because of the question, but because he had noticed. It had been a while since I grasped the technique to the point where I could even explain it… but understanding it wasn't the problem.
"Yes, but I'm having trouble using it," I admitted.
"Is it because of your mana?" he asked, as though he'd anticipated my answer.
"Correct."
Mana consumption-especially for a berserker, who fights by going all-out, was far greater than I could handle.
Many powerful skills required a lot of mana, which I simply didn't have. With only 10 mana points, I couldn't muster what most techniques needed. But that wasn't a major issue. There were still rare and powerful skills that required little or no mana, so I didn't feel discouraged.
After a pause, Diego said, "You don't need to worry about mana consumption. The Frontier's Berserk Technique, the one you've seen me use, has a rare trait. Even the weakest human can use it once they've learned it."
"I don't understand," I replied honestly.
"The technique's power scales with the user's mana capacity. No matter how little mana you have, even a small amount can be used to increase your strength," he explained.
From what he said, I began to understand. In my world, there were scalable skills—abilities that could be used by anyone once learned, regardless of mana. But those skills were even rarer than unique classes, so I doubted this was the same.
"You should eat and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll be climbing for a long time," he said after the tension passed.
After dinner, I followed his advice and went to sleep in a safe spot within the cave. It was rare for me to sleep soundly on a mission, but that night, I let my guard down.
The next morning, I woke up alone, with a slight headache, probably from the cold, but it was bearable.
I looked around. The campfire was out, and daylight filtered through the fog outside… but Diego was nowhere to be seen. I figured he might be outside dealing with something, so I didn't worry.
I stood up and drank from my water bottle. There was a bit of meat left from last night's dinner, so I began eating it for breakfast... until I noticed the writing on the cave wall.
The letters were carved with a sword, their importance emphasized through exaggerated cuts and textures… but the real problem was, "I can't read a single word."
This wasn't the first time Diego had forgotten I couldn't read the local language, and it made me angry. I gathered my gear, which I'd set aside for the night, and went outside to look around.
The fog was lighter than yesterday but still thick enough to block distant vision. The cave's entrance was surrounded by trees and boulders, making it a secure place to camp. which also made sense for Diego to select the cave.
"I guess he really did leave me here, huh?" I muttered, half-expecting it.
As much as I appreciated Diego's guidance during hunts, he could be a pain… a pain I couldn't complain to anyone about. I had hoped he'd teach me more about his technique after last night's talk, but apparently, that wasn't going to happen.
I started climbing the tallest tree nearby, hoping to find a path back to Arkena. As I climbed, I felt the breeze rustling the branches and caught the fresh scent of the forest… but that wasn't all.
At the very top of the tree, the fog stopped. It didn't reach that high, revealing an awe-inspiring sight I had never seen before: a sea of white cloud covering everything as far as the eye could see… It was otherworldly.
"…I'm screwed," But that didn't matter.