Theo donned his armor with the help of Vivi. He fastened his belt, tied his pouch, and placed his sword on its sheath. One of good things having a Draken Steel sword was that the blade never dull, chipped, and would never rust unless there was a special condition. That reduced the maintenance time and cost from cleaning, oiling, and sharpening, to only cleaning. Even then, there was nothing much to clean. Ed and Lyana were also preparing for their mission, equipping their gear and readying their potion and scroll in the case of emergency. Lyana closed her eyes to check on her mana. She smiled and rubbed the ring on her finger that Theo gave her. She then renewed her disguise magic. She has strived to improve it ever since Theo told her about the Eternal City, its shopping district, its historical wonder, and all its magical ward that would detect her true self the moment she entered the city. And her training paid off. Thoigh not perfect, it was good enough. Theo believed that in the Encampment, only Val could see through her disguise, but they still avoided any mage to be safe. They went out their tent. The cold breeze of autumn greeted them, sending shivers down their bodies. The season has turned and the sun hasn't warmed the air. That was a good sign, they didn't oversleep. All the Kingdom adventurer gathered on the plain just outside the garrison. There was a few Giant-ranked adventurers that became the center of attention. But the true center of attention was The Miracle and Theo, who as always, caught the eyes of many women. Bry and Tomoe were surrounded by some Adventurers that were trying to hit on them. Tomoe's face was stoic, She ignored the men around her and gave a cold stare to those who were persistent. Bry, on the other hand, didn't seem to know how to handle the situation. If not for Tomoe by her side, the men wouldn't have backed down. Alina was nowhere to be seen, as expected from a ninja. Sistina was sleeping on Vex's back, and everyone was avoiding Val who had an angry expression on her usually emotionless face. When Theo approached the camp, Val and Tomoe began acting strange. Val even flew somewhere before he could get near her. 'So she's able to handle it to some degree.' Theo thought after Val didn't freeze after seeing him anymore. Vex was briefing the captain of other parties about the mission. She told them about a few hidden paths and caves along the mountain to help the Adventurers. She also gave them a [Scroll of Return]. It was an item that when used would teleport the user and those around back to the camp. It was only a one use item, however, and was short in supply, forcing them to use it only in an emergency. After the short briefing, everyone chose their own route. If Theo chooses the same route as the Miracle from the start, Tomoe and Val would reject the idea. But Theo was familiar with Mount Etna and he knew which path the Miracle took. He could take another route that would lead him to 'accidentally' meet with the Miracle halfway through. Combined with Vivi's effort of injecting suggestions to their mind, it would further his plan quite well. That was assuming the Miracle didn't blast their way to the top of the mountain. One by one, each party went to the mountain under the cover of darkness. They were all sure that their enemy also observed their movement. They have to be as discreet as possible to get the best result. Theo's party ran out to the field. Vivi's and Ed's short legs would hinder their movement so Theo and Lyana decided to carry them on their back. There was quite some distance from the camp to the base of the mountain. The ground charred black and covered with ashes after the battle the previous night. They headed towards the cave system they knew. The cave was connected to another cave that would take them around halfway up to the mountain. "From now on it will only get harder. We don't know what is inside the cave, so be careful." Theo said from the cave entrance. Theo looked at Vivi and nodded his head. She created a ball of light on her palm. She was not good at learning offensive magic other than her own mind magic and decided to learn support magic instead. Ed caught Theo's hand before Theo entered. "Wa-wait. Let me rest a second." Ed was crouching down. He hasn't fully recovered from the fatigue. "...One. Done, let's go." Theo said. "Theo, please!" He begged. He fell on his back and brushed the sweat off his brows. It seemed that the side effect of using [Dragon Breath] was greater than Theo thought. Theo sat on a flat rock in the cave. "Don't rest too long." Theo didn't have much time to spare. He has to 'meet' with the Miracle, but after some considering, the safety of his own team was much more important than his plan. He still has some time and even if he missed his chance, there were still plenty of other opportunities. Ed sighed in relief. He took a deep breath and controlled it. He has to use the time Theo gave him as best as he could. Vivi and Lyana looked around the cave wall and entrance. "I think I'll go scouting ahead." Said Lyana as she walked deeper inside. "No." Theo stopped her. "We don't know what's ahead. Remember that we have to reach the top first else we have to face Sara. We must stick together." Her body shuddered as Theo reminded her about Sara. "Y-yeah you're right." While they waited, Theo thought about what Vex said to him during the briefing. They talked about party composition, what was good what was bad. What was too much and what was not enough. His party composition was not optimal. It wasn't as if his party would last. Ed would go to Lethrand after this world quest and Theo would stop playing Adventurers while he was in the eternal city. But as long as he was still an adventurer, he needed to think about his party. Especially since this mission was of utmost importance. He was a single target melee damage dealer. Ed was a single target ranged damage dealer. Lyana, group ranged damage dealer, and Vivi was a hybrid of support and damage dealer. His party was composed of only damage dealer, no tanks, no healer, no full-time support. While he could take the role of tanks in some situations, he wouldn't be able to tank anything when things truly count. They waited around 5 minutes until Ed stood up. He recovered quicker than Theo predicted. Theo stood up and entered the cave. They walked in line with Theo in the front, Vivi second, Ed third, and Lyana last. If someone ambushed them from the front, there shouldn't be any problem. If the enemy attacked from behind, Lyana should be able to hold them with her body enhancing magic. He wasn't so sure what would happen if Vivi or Ed was the one who got attacked first though. The cave became bigger, the air hotter, and the ground steeper as they got further inside. The terrain became harder to pass, but Theo was relieved to know that the air was not hard to breathe in. He remembered about his painful past experience when he explored a cave with his father. The further he was inside the cave, the harder it was for him to breathe the air. The air made him nauseous like it was toxic. A hissing sound deeper inside stopped his thought. It was the sound of fire being extinguished by pouring a water on it. Theo raised his arm, signaling the other to be more careful. They advanced slowly until they reached a large open cave. The cave ceiling stretched far with stalactites jutting out from it. On the cavern floor was a pool and river of molten rocks. It was an intersection of caves, holes leading to other caves filled the wall. A 10-meter tall lava giant stood inside the pool of molten rock. Its body was charcoal colored with lava and fire seeping out from its pore. The appearance was not so different to the lava gargoyle with the main difference being that it was humanoid. Two groups of Demon-ranked Adventurer were fighting the giant. Theo observed them as they fought the giant. There was no woman... There were a few women there, but none caught his fancy. Their coordination was excellent and from the brief observation, he could say that they were pretty high level, equipped with high-quality gears. Most of them were probably in the range of level 20-25 with some a little bit higher. Though most of them seemed to have no talent higher than Class 2. Their party composition was also perfect. Two main tanks, one off Tank, three healers, and the rest was a combination of ranged and melee damage dealers. They should be able to win the fight. They should ... Just like the Gargoyle, Lava Giant was an Ultra-Rare Creature, almost impossible to be found on the Continent. It was unlikely that those Adventurers has faced one before or knew the secret skill the Giant has. He didn't want to help them, not yet at least. Even though he didn't want to, he has to help them, because of Ed. He looked at Ed behind him. Theo knew Ed was ready to jump into the frying pan without any plan at all. Despite shaking in his boots after looking at the monstrous Lava Giant, Ed's face showed his resolve to help the Adventurers. "Ed." Theo called. Ed's body jumped and he frantically turned his head towards Theo. "Y-ye-..uh... W-what?" "Other than your Ice [Dragon Breath], do you have any powerful ice or water spell?" Ed shook his head. "I know some Rank 2 spell, It's not that powerful. I... can create an ice barrier though." "Good. Do you have any spell that could push a group of people?" Theo asked, but Ed shook his head again. "Lyana?" "I have some air magic that could push people 5 meters or so. Do you plan to push those people into the lava?" Theo thought that she was joking, but her face showed that she was serious. He didn't know what she was thinking. Even if he planned to kill them, he wouldn't do it in front of Ed. "No. Lava Giant, when near death, will crack and shed its outer shell with a flash of explosion. Most people don't know that." he turned to face the Lava Giant. "When I give the signal, Lyana, you used the magic you just mentioned to push those people away from the explosion. Ed, cast your ice barrier around five meters in front of those people. I don't think it's strong enough to stop the explosion, but it should be able to lessen the damage." "Then let's go now." Ed stood and walked forward, but Theo grabbed his arm. "Wait! We'll wait here until just before the explosion." He said quick. "What do you mean we wait?!" He pointed at the adventurers. "You know those people are in danger and you say that we wait so that we can be a Hero?!" "What could we do to help them?" Theo asked back with a cold voice. "Of course we-" Theo interrupted Ed before he could reply. "They are doing fine. They can beat the Giant without our help. The problem is they don't know about the Giant's dying skill. If we enter the fight now, we also have to take care of ourselves. Lyana has to push not only them, but also us. Your barrier not only has to protect 16 people but twenty, can you do that? I won't take that chance." Ed pulled his arm, his eyes glared downward. He closed his lips tight, almost biting it. "I'm not saying that we shouldn't help them." Theo continued. "But we have to take care of ourselves first. We can't help people if we die. Sometimes you must let those people get hurt so that they don't die. If you haven't realized it Ed, getting hurt is much better than dying. Trying to stop people from getting hurt and end up making them die needlessly is as selfish as you can be." Ed backed down. He made a fist with his hand. "I... don't like this." Theo grabbed Ed's shoulder. "Then be strong. Strong enough so you can be as selfish as you possibly can." The Giant roared. "Prepare now. It will explode soon." Theo said.