Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Chapter 2: Alliance #7

The orcs rested around the perimetre while In-gong, Caitlin, Carack and Seira gathered in a circle in the middle .

"It might be too early to judge but the Red Lightning tribe doesn’t seem to be using this passage . ”

After hearing Carack’s words, In-gong asked,

"Is it because a lot of monsters came out?”

“Yes, if they use it, there wouldn’t be many rock spiders .

The rock spiders had poured out from every direction in the cave . Orcs weren’t small worms, so it was hard to imagine the rock spiders leaving them alone .

‘By the way, is Carack really a genius among the orcs?’

In-gong stared at Carack with admiration while Seira, who had been watching quietly, spoke up .

“Isn’t it possible that the Red Lightning tribe are controlling the monsters? That is a possibility, so we should stay on guard . ”

Seira displayed caution despite how young she looked and sounded .

In-gong was confused because he hadn’t thought about that, so he asked Carack .

"Carack, is there anyone who has that ability in the Red Lightning tribe?”

Was there an occupation with the ability to control monsters?

Carack immediately responded to In-gong’s question like there was no need to think .

"How can I know that?”

It was reasonable that Carack wouldn’t know about the enemy .

In-gong stared at Carack with a sour expression before shifting his gaze to Seira . However, Caitlin was the one who spoke instead of Seira .

"The possibility is low . If they had such abilities, they would be controlling the monsters in the battlefield, instead of the cave . Isn’t that right, Seira?”

"Yes, Caitlin . "

Based on her reply, it seemed like she had already thought that way .

'No, then why did she ask me about it? A quarrel? Or is it to keep me in check? She wants to keep me in check?’

However, it gave him a chance to review a possibility he hadn’t thought about before . In-gong calmed down his excitement and said to everyone,

"Well, okay . Then let’s check this location for a while . Carack, give me the bag . ”

"Understood . ”

Carack handed him a small bag tied to his back . In-gong placed his hand in the bag, activated his inventory and pulled out blank paper, a map and writing instruments .

‘It is too complicated to explain the inventory to Caitlin . ’

He might explain it someday but not right now .

“Huh? Those things were inside the bag?”

"Yes, that’s right . ”

In-gong lied and spread out the map while Carack stayed silent . It was a large map showing the mountain and swamp where the cave was located .

‘The scale of this map and the mini-map . . . ’

When he focused, the cave couldn’t be seen with the naked eye . In-gong drew the mountain on a blank piece of paper . It didn’t take a long time because the map was laid out next to it .

Caitlin watched In-gong and asked .

"Are you trying to draw the map?”

“Yes, if I draw a map of the cave and the mountain then we can tell where our current location is . ”

Caitlin nodded at In-gong’s words but Seira and Carack made a strange sound .

"Prince, haven’t you walked with me so far?”

"Yes, that’s right . ”

Carack watched as In-gong drew lines slowly . It was a lot easier than the last time he drew a map in front of Caitlin and Chris due to the ‘Map Reading’ skill .

At first, Seira stared blankly but then her eyes gradually turned to disbelief . She thought he was just drawing the map roughly but it was too accurate .

"Did you remember the path all the way up to here? No, how is this possible even if you memorize it . . . ?”

It wasn’t simply memorizing . That fact that the passage coincided with the shape of the mountain meant that he knew the exact direction and length of the passage .

Was this possible for a person? Did he had a compass in his head?

“I told you that Shutra is amazing . ”

Caitlin spoke on In-gong’s behalf, boasting proudly in an odd tone .

In-gong laughed because it was quite cute, then went back to focusing on drawing the map again . Then after approximately five minutes? In-gong had completed the map up to their present location and put down the writing instrument .

"We’ve come approximately half-way . ”

In-gong had moved near to the centre of the mountain . No matter what direction they travelled, they would have to move the same distance in order to leave .

"Seira, is this the place where the Red Lightning tribe is supposed to be?”

"Yes, Princess . "

Caitlin picked up a stone and placed it on the map .

"The passage will open near that area . ”

If there was an exit behind the base of the Red Lightning tribe, they could plan an operation to strike . Some troops would lure the Red Lightning tribe while the ones moving through the cave would occupy the base .

"Uhh, but won’t it take a long time to move through the passage? We can only pack enough for a day . ”

Carack asked with an anxious face . The shape of the passage in the cave changed quite often .

Despite moving for a long time, they had only reached the middle of the passage in the cave . However, there were five passages connected to this area . It was unknown how many days it would take to go through this cave .

"Well, once Caitlin noona finds the passage linked with the cave, we can return . So, there is no need to worry . ”

“Ah, is that so? Then should we go through this passage?”

Carack pointed to one of the passages on In-gong’s map . It was the passage with the shortest line towards the base of the Red Lightning tribe .

“Yes, we will most likely have to go through a swamp . ”

As expected, Carack was smart .

In-gong nodded then pretended to place the map in the bag while storing it in his inventory and spoke to Caitlin .

"Then Noona, we should depart . We can rest somewhere else . ”

The rock spider corpses didn’t smell strangely but he couldn’t ignore the possibility of other monsters coming .

"Yes, I’ll be in the rear like before . ”

Caitlin nodded, wore the hood again and moved with Seira .

"We are leaving . Set off . ”

“Understood . ”

Carack ordered the orcs in a loud voice . It didn’t take a long time for them to depart .

&

Fortunately, the passage they took had a simple structure . In-gong stretched out a hand and touched the air as he walked with Carack .

‘If I use it a lot, the skills will increase . ’

There were generally two methods to increase skill levels in Knight Saga .

One, investing skill points to instantly raise the level .

Two, just use it often and the skill level would naturally increase .

It was obvious but the second option took longer than expected . There weren’t enough skill points .

‘There is a third method that isn’t common . ’

It didn’t involve the amount of experience or skill points . There was nothing certain about it . If he experienced a certain event or reached a certain level, the level would automatically rise .

As In-gong walked, he classified skills into four categories .

One, important skills that were worth investing skill points in . Aura and Telekinesis belonged here .

Two, there were those he would use in order to naturally increase the level . Skills like Map Reading that weren’t worth investing skill points in belonged here .

Three, there were the skills that In-gong couldn’t increase . Skills related to the Conquest Knight, such as Below the King’s Flag and the mysterious Protagonist Correction, belonged here .

Of course, there were four categories . The last one contained things like Basic Swordsmanship .

‘Uhh, should I invest the points earned this time into Aura again?’

Or Telekinesis?

‘I would like to learn swordsmanship and martial arts . ’

Although he didn’t want to invest skill points into Basic Swordsmanship, the story was different when it came to powerful martial arts .

Zephyr’s sword technique, Heavenly King Sword, sounded strong just by hearing the name . There was also Locke’s Warrior’s Sword .

The names of several martial arts techniques flashed through his mind .

‘What should I pick up?’

In fact, there were many hidden techniques in Knight Saga . They could be attained by clearing special events, defeating powerful monsters or by purchasing them from a treasure trader .

'Okay, I will focus on the things I can do . ’

In-gong organized his thoughts and activated Aura . He thought about investing skill points but there was no time to do that .

“Prince . ”

As soon as he activated Aura, Carack called out to him . In-gong deactivated Aura with a little bit of distress and looked around for Carack .

“What?”

"There is something over here . ”

Carack pointed to a small room off the passage where the interior could be seen because there was no door .

In-gong stopped the troops and entered the room with Carack . It was a square-shaped room, approximately seven metres on each side .

There was nothing special on the ceiling or walls but the floor was different . There were complex patterns engraved inside a large circle .

“Town Portal?”

“Huh? You know what it is?”

Carack asked after In-gong muttered reflexively . In-gong responded moderately with a lowered posture .

“No, I just guessed . ”

He wasn’t sure . No matter how he looked, it was similar to the magic circles that were town portals in the game .

‘It must be a dwarf version . ’

He never saw them as Zephyr but he had seen it a few times when playing as Locke .

‘Will it work if magic power is injected?’

He looked around and found a crystal ball in the middle of the circle where someone could insert magic power .

“What’s going on?”

It was Caitlin and Seira . In-gong replied,

"That . It seems like a town portal . Doesn’t it, Noona?”

Caitlin seemed confused by In-gong’s question .

“Seira?”

“It is highly likely . ”

"Indeed . "

Her cheeks turned slightly red . In-gong looked around the magic circle and asked,

"Where does it go?”

“It looks like a dwarf circle . . . It should go near here . ”

While Seira was replying, Carack called out to In-gong from one side of the room .

"Prince, letters . . . There are pictures that look like letters . ”

In-gong went over and saw letters that weren’t commonly used in the Demon World . Caitlin spoke from next to In-gong and Carack .

“They are dwarf characters . ”

“Ohh, as expected of Princess . Can you read dwarf characters?”

Carack asked with great admiration . In-gong also watched Caitlin with anticipation in his eyes .

Caitlin frowned and spoke in a timid voice,

“Uh . . . Seira?”

She couldn’t read it . In-gong suppressed his urge to smile and glanced at Seira but Seira also looked confused .

“Uh . . . Well . . . They are dwarf characters . ”

“Who doesn't know that? Princess just said it . ”

Carack stared at Seira like she was ridiculous . Seira just looked elsewhere and didn’t reply .

‘Well, it can’t be helped . ’

The dwarves had left hundreds of years ago . It was amazing that Caitlin and Seira even recognized that they were dwarf characters .

"Carack, it is natural . I mean this is . . . Jishuka Mountain’s Portal Two . It is connected with Portal Three . Eh?”

In-gong spoke unwittingly and Carack, Caitlin and Seira stared at him .

At the time, In-gong heard a clear voice in his head .

[Dwarf Characters Lv1 has been learnt . ]