Ugh... My head... I did my best and stood up, trying not to fall in the process. My head was throbbing and my body felt numb. When I looked around, I realized I was still in the bar with Bibian and Ysera, who were sleeping on the floor.
"Damn... Did we drink that much?"
I asked myself, before lifting them both onto my shoulders and carrying them to the inn where we were staying.
As soon as I opened the front door, a bright light blinded me completely.
"Damn sun."
Little by little, my eyes adjusted to the light and I started walking.
When I got to the inn, I realized something: I didn't know which rooms these two were in. I decided not to bother and went to my room, throwing them on the bed.
My headache still persisted, along with my dry throat, so I went downstairs to get some water.
"Wow, Conan, looks like you had a good night."
Jack, the innkeeper, spoke.
"I hate the side effects of alcohol."
I sat down at one of the tables in the dining room. Jack approached and set down a green drink.
"I hate this stuff too,"
I said, looking at the drink. It wasn't the first time I'd had it, but its strong taste never went away. It was a drink to help me get rid of the alcohol, so I had to drink it.
"By the way, did you hear the news from the guild?"
"What happened?"
I don't remember anything important, other than the appearance of the champion. Maybe that's it.
"A group went to one of the dungeons and encountered a necromancer."
Ah... That's it. They were unlucky, no doubt.
Necromancers are undoubtedly a headache. Their ability to revive the dead is tedious, and since they are among the most mentally powerful people, along with magic swordsmen, not many usually come out alive.
"Do you know what rank he was?"
Depending on what rank he belongs to, he may have stronger soldiers or more of them.
"From what I heard, he was rank A."
"That's bad."
A necromancer of that level can have up to 20 soldiers or 3 of the same rank. Of course, if his soul allows it.
"From what I heard, the members of the group almost died, but fortunately another group was there and was able to calm the necromancer down."
"Ahhh... So they mistook him for a magical creature and attacked him?"
I asked with a smile. There are two types of necromancers, the friendly ones and the not-so-friendly ones. The friendly ones can even be magical creatures, but they are intelligent enough to join a guild. The latter kill everything they see.
"Three cities ahead there's another guild, maybe it's around there... Well, I'm going to the guild, I'll laugh at the newbies."
I downed the drink, resisting its horrible taste, and stood up, leaving the inn.
<<>>
I slammed the door open, surprising those inside.
"Who got into trouble?"
I asked, looking ahead.
At a table sat Hyeol, a tall, thin figure wearing a black coat that covered his entire body, and... Anna and the others, just as I imagined.
"It didn't take you long to get into trouble, did it?"
I asked Anna with a smile, putting my hand on Ghislaine's shoulder.
"Stop bothering us, don't you have missions to complete?"
Hyeol said, waving his hand as if shooing away a fly.
"We didn't know necromancers could join the members,"
Anna said, her face red with embarrassment.
Now that I think about it, what does this guy look like? The last necromancer I saw was an ordinary guy. When I turned to look at him, I could see that his face was covered by a raven mask.
"It's normal, you don't have to worry,"
said the guy, reassuring the group.
"Fortunately, Kang-wol, he comes from an allied guild. If he had been from another guild, it wouldn't have ended with a handshake."
Hyeol's words made me realize something: the necromancer's hands were covered by gloves... Maybe he's a skeleton. I couldn't help myself and decided to ask.
"Hey... Kang-wol, what are you?"
I asked, approaching him.
To answer my question, he brought his hand to his face and removed his mask, revealing a skeletal head.
"Your friends saw me without my mask and decided to attack me."
"Well, you don't exactly have a pleasant face."
I said, smiling at him. Before he put his mask back on his face.
"I used to have runes that blurred my face, but the fabric wore out too much and they stopped working."
<<>>
After a while, the necromancer left, with what I could deduce was a smile. I took advantage of the situation and approached Anna and the others, who were still being scolded by Hyeol.
"Here."
I left a bag full of coins on the table in front of Ghislaine.
"Why did you give us this?"
she asked, taking the bag.
"That will help you out for a while. Try not to spend it all; it was hard to come by."
Now that I've finished what I came for, I should entertain myself with something, right? Thinking about that, I decided to go to the mission board, but just like before, there was little to nothing there. Lately, missions have become scarce. I could go kill some creatures and sell their remains, but missions are more convenient and pay well.
"...Now that I think about it, where are Hwa-rak and his group? I haven't seen them in a long time."
The last time I saw them was when they offered to go to the ancient forest together. I don't think anything bad has happened to them, that forest isn't a place where high-ranking creatures gather... For some reason, I started to have a bad feeling.
Doubt began to gnaw at my mind. I didn't want to ask Hyeol, because if something was wrong, she would be the first to put together a rescue party.
"There's nothing wrong with going alone, right?"
I tried to convince myself as I went to the inn and picked up my axes. Ysera and Bibian were still fast asleep, so I didn't disturb them and moved on.
In no time, I was on the outskirts of the city. The Gwi-rim Forest isn't far, but as soon as I was out of sight of the guards at the entrance, I ran with all my might.
"I hope it's just unfounded fear,"
I said as I ran, ignoring the little slimes bouncing on the ground.