Haroon

《Quest Accomplished》

 As soon as Devron came back to the group with Haroon, Doran started preparing dinner. The party ended up eating bread and water, as they weren"t in the mood for Doran"s usual soup. The situation didn"t allow Doran to light a fire anyway.

 Devron seemed quite peaceful, despite how serious he was when he saw the Sun Guards. But Doran and Hall"s faces were quite serious after seeing Devron. Haroon had no idea about what Devron chose to do. He didn"t even notice the atmosphere, as he was busy enough with thinking of new skills and the cla.s.s advancement.

 Somewhen, he realized how the others were barely eating their bread in silence, including the Quad w.a.n.kers. They too, were nervous as they"d gone through a death-threat from one of the strongest forces in the nation. He also noticed that Devron was the only one who seemed to be peaceful.

 "Did he come up with a good plan?" Haroon thought

 He had no idea what Devron was thinking. And seeing the enemies down the mountain made him feel frustrated.

 "How are we supposed to cross the river through that defence?" So that"s how hard a D quest is, huh," he thought.

 Without knowing, he drew a deep sigh. It was quite loud and it drew everyone"s attention. They turned their heads towards Haroon.

 "Boss, you came up with a great idea, right? Right?"

 Serinn, the troublemaker, made trouble for Haroon once again. People"s gazes on Haroon got intense.

 "Oh, s.h.i.t!"

 As he was getting all the attention from the party his face started turning red because of the pressure. To him, the others" hopeful faces seemed like they were blaming him for discouraging the party, when they were in a serious atmosphere already.

 "Actually, there is one thing I could try,  if I only had enough mana potions……." Said Haroon.

 He didn"t know what he was saying. That was what he came up with as an excuse. But a train of thoughts were established from that excuse.

 "So you do have an idea?" Devron asked.

 A strange expression floated up to his face. The others" faces significantly changed as well.

 "Maybe, just maybe," Haroon replied.

 The train pa.s.sed the station named Brat. Brat has absorbed thousands of different elements over the years, so one of the kinds of its poison got to have a sleep inducing effect or something that makes humans lose consciousness for a moment.

 But to use Brat"s poison to break the defense, he wouldn"t have sufficient mana.

 When they were crossing Sharon Wetland, all he needed was mana to keep Brat summoned, as Brat used its own power to absorb poison. But in this kind of situation, he will need to use E.F.P. as well.

 "Enlighten us," said Devron.

 The others came closer to Haroon to hear him out.

 "I have a strong sleep-inducing medicine. And I can spread this medicine using my spirit"s power. But to spread it wide enough for us to get through, I will need lots of elemental force and mana. Fortunately, I have enough elemental force. If I have enough mana potions, we might earn enough time to sneakily go across the river by swimming or using some kind of raft."

 Devron"s eyes brightened up with quick thoughts. The plan of spreading medicine with an elemental spirit was absolutely preposterous, but it was a sound plan if it was possible.

 "Hall, take out all of your mana potions," Devron ordered.

 Hall"s face was still in doubt, but she followed his orders with haste.

 "I"ve got 12 of them," said Hall.

 Her hands were full of mana potions with 7 mid-quality ones and 5 low-quality ones.

 "Would this be enough?" Devron asked Haroon.

 "Let me think about it…"

 Haroon started calculating.

 "Looking at the enemy"s movements, it looks like we can climb down safely. If we choose the shortest route from the mountain to the riverside, how far would it be?"

 It was hard for him to figure out the distance as everything seemed small, so he decided to ask Teeno.

 "Teeno, How far would it be from that boulder down there to the riverside?"

 It was sudden, but Teeno sensed the importance of the answer. He carefully looked down the mountain once again.

 "I am not confident, but it should be around 1500 to 1600 steps."

 Haroon trusted him.

 "And how about the distance between the soldiers?"

 Haroon pointed at the groups of soldiers who were in patrol.

 "It"s about 100 steps. Like a chess board, they are keeping the distance of 100 steps between each group."

 It seemed like Teeno had checked that already.

 "To keep Brat summoned and spread poison, I"ll probably need 30~50 mana per second. It shouldn"t be more than that as spirit-integrated throwing knives requires 50 mana per second. With my mana which is just over 400, 9 seconds is all I got."

 Then he realized that he got a cla.s.s advancement just moments ago.

 "Right, why didn"t I think of that?" He thought, opening his status window.

Name: Haroon
Race: Human
Cla.s.s: Swordsman
Level: 10
t.i.tle: Mercenary guild leader(and 4 others)
Health Points: 1,310
Mana Points: 1,340
E.F.P.: 410
Strength: 49(+15)      Stamina: 40
Intellect: 23                Wisdom: 42
Luck: 28                      Agility: 35(+12)
Sustenance: 14          E.S.P: 10
Focus: 18                    S.P.: 3
Fame: 600                  Leadership: 350
Fire Resistance: +10%
Magic Resistance: +10%

He dropped his jaw without knowing. Seeing increased numbers in one"s status might be one of the happiest moments to gamers. To Haroon, it was even better as it was what he achieved through effort and pain.

 One of the biggest changes after the cla.s.s advancement was that his H.P. and M.P. increased more than double of their original values. Of course, 80 S.P. was spent in the process, but there were many opportunities to gain some.

 "Then I can maintain it summoned for 20 second while it"s spreading the poison, then I"ll have to unsummon it. So it depends on how wide it can spread within 20 seconds."

 There was only one way to find out. He had more than 20 mid-quality potions in his inventory as well, so it should be enough time for them. If Brat was able to spread the poison to a 50-step radius within 20 seconds, the plan would work. If not, there was no chance.

"It"s 50-50," Haroon concluded.

 To be honest, he knew he had a greater chance than 50 percent, but he made safe a.s.sumptions. Doran"s face suddenly brightened up when he heard 50 percent.

 "Devron, let’s follow Haroon"s plan instead," said Doran.

 "Yes, I think we should."

 Doran gave a sigh of relief, and Devron seemed positive about Haroon"s plan. It seemed that they had thought of another plan, but following Haroon"s plan had a higher chance of success.

 "Hall, hand all potions to Haroon."

 "All- All of them?"

 "You heard me right."

 Hall hesitated, but Devron"s words were absolute. She couldn"t oppose Devron"s firm decision.

 "Let"s get to the details of the plan. Listen carefully to what Haroon has to tell us, and do exactly what he says. So far, he has been our saving grace in various situations. But now, he is the one who holds all our hope."

 Everyone, including Briella, nodded with determined expressions on their faces.

The party quietly climbed down the mountain. They could see the bonfires made by soldiers, and soldiers eating their dinner around it. Seeing countless bonfires lit aligned like a chessboard in the darkness was quite a view despite the situation they were in.

 "Then, I’ll begin."

 Haroon moved next to the boulder the party was hiding behind. While crouching, he moved 20 steps. He took an antidote in prior, and summoned Brat.

 "You heard me, right?"

 "Of course. You are desperate for my help, right?"

 As Brat"s c.o.c.kiness goes high up in the air, Haroon"s fist followed high up in the air. It was fortunate that they were in darkness, or else, the party would have thought that Haroon has quite a strange way to communicate with the spirits.

 "Move with haste, if you know what to do."

 "Okie."

 Brat started to spread sleep-inducing particles in every direction. Counting to exactly 20, Haroon unsummoned Brat.

 "Then, let’s see."

 Haroon started walking slowly towards the river. He maintained a low-pose just in case. The party, who already took an antidote like Haroon told them in prior, followed Haroon. Haroon stopped at exactly 220 steps. He could see the soldiers sleeping soundly.  

 "Oh, it can spread wider than I"ve imagined. I have enough mana potions, then."

 After taking a low-quality potion, Haroon waited until his mana fully regenerated, and summoned Brat.

 "Then, Let’s move."

 "Oh, you are enjoying this. Why are you enjoying this more than me when I am doing all the work?"

 It was being c.o.c.ky towards its master again as it now had something to brag about. It annoyed Haroon, but Haroon decided to deal with it as what Brat had to do was very important for the party.

 The party was able to reach the riverside after Haroon had taken another antidote and 7 low-quality mana potions. All thanks to Brat"s work.

 "Finally, we are at the river."

 Soon, the rest of the party came next to Haroon. Devron and Doran showed their thumbs up to show their appreciation.

 "Our boss really is something," said Gitan

 "Hoho, if not, why would I, Serinn still be in the Gusts of wind doing mere labors?"

 "Shh! We are not out yet," Hall shushed on Gitan and Serinn.

 The two shut their mouths, and cringed their faces. Of course, they knew it wasn"t the time for chatter and laughs.

 "What should we do now? There are guards at the riverside too……." said Doran, Worriedly

 Devron smiled and answered.

 "Haroon, Hall and I will take care of them. Just go with rest of the Gusts of Wind and Teeno, get the raft ready."

 Doran nodded, and put the logs they brought down on the ground. Philip and Gitan also brought some logs, and they started building raft out of them.

 Teeno, who had lots of talent and quick hands, built the raft easily with the three others" help. He connected the logs, and started attaching wooden panels using strings made out of orc tendon.

 Devron moved up the river and hall moved down. They will need to take out the guards in at least two watchpoints. Haroon crept across the ground next to the riverside. There were bonfires lit with a 30 steps interval, and two guards were patrolling, crossing each other"s paths occasionally.

 There must be guards watching from the bridge anyways, so from now on, this was a matter of time. They needed to take out the guards, and set the raft afloat before anyone notices.

 Haroon took out a throwing knife, and put it back again. He had to kill some knights before, but he didn"t want to kill the soldiers, who are probably acting against them only because they were ordered to do so. Instead, he could just use Brat"s sleeping poison once again. So he summoned Brat.

 "Brat, same thing, one more time."

 "You are being peculiarly disturbing today."

 Haroon gnashed his teeth at Brat"s brattish behaviour. At least it could take physical damage from him, as it was an essential spirit. But that kind of threat only worked temporarily. He thought he must find some new kind of weakness to take the lead back.

 The guards who were patrolling 7 bonfires right and left of him had fallen asleep.

 "Let"s go," said Haroon.

 With his signal, Serinn and Ritrina lifted Briella and the two kids with their arms and ran down to the river. The other four launched the makeshift raft and followed the girls.

 "Who is it?!"

 "Somebody"s trying to cross the river!"

 The fallen guards had been spotted already. The party could hear commotions rising up from places far away. Haroon could see Devron and Hall running towards the river from 100 steps away. Haroon had another task to do. As soon as he saw Doran and Teeno boarding the kids and Briella on the raft, he summoned Brat once again.

 "Extinguish the bonfire as much as you can."

 "Geez."

 Brat moved without even saying yes. Something was trying to burst out from the depths of his mind, but he just didn"t bother to. It was not the time.

 It didn"t last a few seconds before he felt strong feeling of mana dropping down. His body was getting into a bad state. Haroon quickly unsummoned Brat and took an antidote and a mana potion.

 "Oh gosh. I feel alive again. d.a.m.n, I could have died there."

 He should have taken a mana potion after taking the guards down, and he simply forgot. So he didn"t have enough mana to keep Brat summoned, and he still did, and that was why he felt like he was losing his consciousness.

 When Haroon ran down the the river, he could see that a large portion of the riverside darkened. It was a short moment, but it seemed it was enough for Brat to blow 6 bonfires away. The problem was that it was too much, and a knight who was watching the river from the bridge noticed that something was off, and started ringing the bell.

 "What the h.e.l.l is going on?"
 "Enemy Spotted!"
"Where! Report the location!"
"Guards are down!"
"Take your weapons!"

 Loud noises and shouts came from every direction, but the party, including Haroon, was already in the river, making their way with the raft.

 The party used a water sack made with sheep"s stomach. They filled it with air and used it to help them stay afloat on the water. Haroon easily made it to the raft. Hall and Devron were already at the raft.

 "HAHAHA! WE MADE IT!"

 "That was great!"

 "Hohoho, those guards. Choke at your ransom, you dogs!"

 They didn"t bother to lower their voice anymore, and burst out with laughs out of happiness. The party were swimming by one hand, and pushed the raft with the other hand. It wasn"t so hard as they had 12 sheep stomachs filled with air connected to the raft.

 "We are finally arriving at Paros," said Doran, as if he was deeply moved by the situation.

 "All thanks to Haroon," said Devron, showing his thumbs up.

 "Hoho, You"ve done great, Boss!" Ritrina added.

 "I guess this is it," Haroon thought, giving a sigh of relie-

 A big bolt of light burst in the sky on top of the party.

 "Light? Who can cast light that big?" Serinn cried.

 The party looked around, and they could see lots of people standing at the riverside.

 "Shoot your arrows! Magicians, use any kind of magic! We can"t let them cross the river no matter what happens!" Someone shouted from the bridge.

 That man was wearing an armor with a giant red circle carved on his chestplate. Devron was surprised at seeing him.

"That"s Count Maxron, the Chief Knight of the Sunguards!"

 Whoever he is, it seems like that man is quite strong, seeing how surprised Devron is to see him. Everyone panicked, but Teeno calmly started untangling air sacks from the raft.

 "We got to move under the raft. Take one person with you."

 As soon as he finished his sentence, arrows were coming from the riverside. The party had already made it halfway to the other side, but they weren"t out of arrow"s range yet. They were in danger once again.

 Devron made his body thrust up by pushing the air sack down, and parried arrows with his sword. But he couldn"t parry all of them. When Devron"s body sunk again, Philip and Haroon did the same thing. Despite how they parried some portion of the arrows to protect the party, a short cry came out of Hall"s mouth.

 "Dive and go under the raft!" said Devron, hugging Briella and diving into the water.

 Doran took Sepher, while Teeno took Sepia with him. But Hall, couldn"t move. An arrow that penetrated her shoulder was still stuck to her body.

 As the Quad w.a.n.kers already dove under the raft, they didn"t know what situation Hall was in. Haroon hastily swum to Hall.

 "Kugh!" Haroon cried.

 With pain, he felt something shoving into his back, but there was no time for him to check whatsoever. Enduring the pain, Haroon grasped her head and dove under the water with her.

 Her eyes widened out of astonishment from the situation, but she didn"t resist Haroon"s hand from letting her head go and holding her waist. She knew the situation as well.

 The party could feel the noise and vibration made by the arrows. .h.i.tting the raft. The knights and soldiers were shooting so many that the party could hear the noise continuously.

 With a dim moonlight, Haroon could see Devron, Doran, and Teeno putting the air sack to the kids" lips. He saw Hall puffing her cheeks, then found out she was going out of breath. He quickly put the air sack to her lips. Unlike how she remained aloof, she knew the situation and quickly held the air sack with her mouth.

 As the party moved under the raft, they no longer had control of it. The raft flew down the river. If it continued like this, they wouldn"t make it to Paros even if they survived. Everyone knew it, and they tried to move the raft as best as they could, but they couldn"t as their hands were not free.

 With a loud explosion, the raft shattered into pieces. The pieces were pushed down to the riverbed, then was shot up in the air because of the thrust, and the group were pushed down to the bottom of the river.

 A form of magic must have smited the raft. The impact spread inside the water, and the damage of it was severe. Haroon could see Serinn, Ritrina, Hall and the kids painfully distorting their bodies. It seemed that they had breathed in water in surprise.

 The others were in a daze as well. In this exigency, the enemy would never miss the moment when they would soon resurface from the water. n.o.body would survive from the endless arrows and magics.

 Haroon bit his lips, and summoned Brat on stand-by mode.

 – "You know what"s going on, right? Push us to the opposite side of river by creating a giant wave.

 – "No! You would die!"

 Brat screamed. He would, if it followed his orders. He could feel that his health and mana is so low. He could tell from the state of his body, even if he didn"t check the status window.

 He couldn"t even drink a potion because he was still holding Hall. But if he doesn"t risk his life, n.o.body would survive.

 – "It"s OK even if I die. Your mas has the ability to revive."

 There will be death penalties. But it couldn"t be helped. The only one who can revive among the party was Haroon. Brat needed to move quickly. Haroon could feel that he was losing breath, and was falling unconscious.

 – "Alright. It would be so simple if you were escaping alone, and plus, my ability isn"t enough to create a tsunami. Tsk, tsk. I can"t understand why you want me to do such a crazy thing, but never forget my grace."

 Brat was acting arrogant instead of being c.o.c.ky as if it understood the stiuation, and Haroon could let him be. Haroon pushed Hall to Devron, moved his feet as fast as he could, and pushed his head out of the water.

 Like he expected, some arrows. .h.i.t the arm that he lifted to cover his face. Haroon took a deep breath, and summoned Brat.

 "Summon!"

 With that as his last word, he lost consciousness.

 "Stormic Wave!"

 With Brat"s elemental magic, the flow of the river suddenly changed. Instead of streaming down, the river rose high up like a tsunami, barreling towards the riverside.

 The enemies still shot arrows and attacked the wave with magic, but the fast, strong wave rapidly carried the party all the way to the bank, to the territory of Viscounty of Paros.

 "What the h.e.l.l just happened?"

 "How did the river just…….?

 The soldiers and magicians were shocked by the scene they just witnessed. They never heard of such magic, nor any natural disaster related to it.

 "f.u.c.k! Who could have known they had a magician with such ability! We lost track of another one, didn"t we?"

 Maxron clenched his fist so hard that it started bleeding.

 "But this is not the end, sir," said someone standing next to Count Maxron.

 Viscountess Char, the Chief Knight of the Red Moons, didn"t take her eyes off from the other side of the river, where the wave hit. A few people staggering and standing up came into her cold eyes. One of them was a teenage girl. Char"s eyes burned with anger upon seeing that girl.

 "Hohoho, I never thought I would get stabbed in the back like this. Not from a royal successor with the weakest force at her back."

 ""Stabbed in the back"? They"ve just sneaked out of the iron ring made by two knightages and 10,000 arms, and you call this "stabbed in the back"? No! This is what she is capable of, Viscountess Char!"

 She nodded.

 "I suppose you are right, Count Maxron. There is no way that she got out of our hands with pure luck. Which means……."

 A strange expression appeared on her face. Count Maxron"s eyes twitched with amus.e.m.e.nt.

 "This is going to be fun. A big variable has just appeared. It is quite amazing how Sir Lenion"s prediction turned out to be right."

 "Hohoho, you were right. We"ve done our best, and she still got out. Just like Sir Lenion said, this proves that she is the dark horse."

 With a mixed feeling of frustration and excitement, they looked at the opposite side of the river.

Translated by Channy_
Edited by Tom, and Kmatt

Footnotes:

Editor"s notes:

Channy_: Our blog has reached 4k views on 26th October! Thank you so much!