The group consumed the crystals for a while, then moved on.
Soon, the glowing of the crystals stopped, and I crawled out of the sloped rock and deactivated my skill.
'Those things are definitely an A-rank elite monsters.'
Normally, it would take two or three A-rank experts, or a master, to bring down an A-rank elite monster.
I stood up and checked my status,
-------------------
Name: Roy
Age: 26
Bloodline: --/--
Mana core: A->D (fractured)
fragments: [--/--] (fractured)
Combat level: Master->Expert (fractured pathways)
Battle arts: Weapon master [★★★]
Skills: [stealth(C)],[Feather steps(D)]
Subspace: [twin swords (C)],[Ebonsteel sword (D)], [First aid box(-)], [Curse of Crown(-)]
-------------------
My lips twitched slightly, looking at the last item in my subspace.
'Why did I even buy that romance fantasy book? Should I sing those monsters the poem of the last sailor?'
[Curse of Crown]
It was just a simple book, my old man had written himself, calling it his greatest piece of work.
In truth, it was garbage through and through.
But for some reason, I used to enjoy it in my childhood.
Was it because he said that this book was for me and me alone?
I felt a special connection with it. So, after years, when I found it again, I couldn't help but take it with me.
As the last moment of the old man.
'I should have grabbed some health potion instead.'
I looked at my other status.
I had already hit my core limits long ago.
And not a single thing in my possession could be of any help to me in this situation. All the potions and food were in Robert's subspace.
I sighed and then continued to follow in the direction pointed by the compass.
At this point, I wasn't sure if it was working correctly because it was leading me past the mountains straight into the depths of the dead zone.
But this was my only lifeline; if even this won't work, then my life was pretty much over.
Despite my heavy heart, I limped slowly and carefully.
After three hours of continuous hiding and limping, I finally found what I was looking for.
I stood in front of the Ashford mercenary group's uniform, ripped from inside by the jagged red crystals.
Nearby, a health potion lay on the ground, half spilled, its contents seeping into the glittering shards.
I knew exactly who this uniform belonged to.
On this raid, only one other person besides me was from the Ashford Mercenary Group.
A chain tag dangled from a red crystal, catching the light just enough to reveal the name.
[Robert Ashford]
My chest tightened,
Somehow, my friend had turned into a crystal corpse. Most likely after touching some cursed crystal.
'No, it's not just crystals.'
I glanced at my own hand, small crystal buds forming on my skin.
'The very air in here is infectious. The crystals accelerate the transformation.'
I just stood there staring at the red crystals.
'...He hadn't paid me my money back yet.'
I had wanted to say so many things to Robert, to curse him, to let out all my anger, but now, standing here, I found myself at a loss for words.
'I can't even touch these crystals... let alone take them back with me.'
After a long silence, I finally spoke.
"Look at you, all shiny and glittery now. Seems like you finally made it in life. Don't worry about the debt; I'll sell all your artifacts and be content with what they fetch."
But no response came.
For a second, I thought I heard him yelling at me, calling me a bastard.
Must be my imagination.
I freed the chain tag from the grip of the red crystal,
"Rest well, Robert Ashford."
Then I crouched down and picked the health potion.
"You will be remembered."
I drank the last drops of the health potion, the bitter taste lingering on my tongue.
Then I got up and looked at the chain tags I had gathered.
There were nine people on this raid.
Four low-ranked ones were found dead, impaled on sharp crystals when they were hurled out of the rift.
I had heard the screams of two earlier, most likely killed by Crystalis.
And I just found Robert transformed into crystals by the infection.
That left only me and Leo.
At this point, even if I found Leo, nothing was going to change. But I still carried on.
After searching for a while, I came across Leo's body near a lake.
The upper half of the body was gone, organs scattered across the ground, and blood smeared a trail toward the lake as if something had dragged it there.
I knew this was Leo's body from the dagger embedded in the ground near the corpse.
I put the compass back in subspace.
'There is no need to look anymore.'
I picked up the dagger and put it inside the subspace, too. Then he hurriedly left the lake area.
Leo was a fiercer warrior than I was.
But even he fell.
I walked as far as possible from the lake.
_kreeee!
Suddenly,
The cry of a bird rang out. I quickly found a sloped rock, activated the [stealth], and hid under it.
Rays of blinding light swept across the earth, and a giant peacock made of crystals landed beside the corpse of Leo.
I didn't dare to look.
I didn't even breathe. From the glow of the crystals on the ground, I can tell something far more dangerous than Crystalis has descended on the ground.
I just lay there, praying not to be noticed.
The peacock scanned its surroundings, as if searching for something. After finding nothing for a while, it spread its wings and flew away.
_Kree!
Soon, the glow of crystals slowly faded, signaling that the danger had passed.
But I remained lying beneath the rock.
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it.'
All of my comrades were dead.
And even though I was a (D)-rank expert, in the dead zone that housed the monsters no weaker than (A)-rank, I was nothing more than a sitting duck, waiting to be slaughtered.
I can't even fight properly with a fractured mana core.
I thought that if I managed to regroup with others, Leo could attempt to break through to (A)-rank, and that might increase their chances of escape.
Now that even Leo is dead, all the hopes were lost.
'Damn it.'
I gritted my teeth, slamming my head on the rock.
_Crack!
But instead of the dull thud of flesh and bone, the sound of shattering crystal rang in my ears.
I froze.
Slowly, my trembling fingers reached for my forehead, only to feel the cold, unyielding surface of crystal where skin should have been.
My gaze fell to my hands and arms.
They had already hardened into jagged crimson shards, half of my body already overtaken by the unnatural growth.
I exhaled a heavy sigh and let myself sink against the ground. My body refused to move.
'Ah! Guess this is it for me.'