CH 105

“Well, it’s better to try anything.”

His words made sense, but Riett was genuinely surprised by his simple and brute-force approach. 

She watched Evan with a somewhat dissatisfied expression on his face. 

With a swift motion, Evan raised his sword, causing it to emit a shimmering blue light. 

‘No way.’

The intensity of the blue light grew stronger as Evan closed his eyes and focused. 

When the aura began to ripple around the sword, Evan opened his eyes and swung the sword toward the cave entrance.

There was a cracking sound as something broke. 

After Evan sheathed his sword, Riett approached the cave entrance and waved her hand. The barrier that blocked their way disappeared.

The captain of the guards, who had returned after scouting the area, widened his eyes in surprise. 

“That was…”

Riett interrupted him and asked, 

“Sword Qi?”

Evan nodded, affirming her question. 

“That’s right.”

Riett raised an eyebrow and questioned him further. 

“Since when?”

This audacious guy… He gained the ability to use Sword Qi but didn’t even bother to mention it. 

Judging from the height the aura reached, it seemed like it had been quite a while since he acquired the ability. 

Sword Qi wasn’t something anyone could use. It required extensive training and innate talent.

Knowing the original story, Riett was aware that Evan would eventually become a Swordmaster. However, witnessing the process firsthand was entirely different.

“Thought you might disassemble it.”

“What do you mean…?”

Riett tried to brush off his comment with an incredulous expression, but the thought crossed her mind that she might have done something like that in the past.

No, not just the thought—it was highly likely that she had disassembled it. She might have spent several sleepless nights practicing swordsmanship to avoid being left behind, hoping that her sword would also awaken Sword Qi.

But that wasn’t the case now. Riett didn’t feel inferior because of Evan’s progress. His sincere dedication to her… no, to their cause made all the difference.

“Ahem, disassembling it, huh? I should naturally celebrate my friend’s progress.”

Riett lightly tapped Evan’s shoulder, pretending to be nonchalant, and Evan glanced at her without saying a word.

“Friend?”

“Well… friends.”

Riett awkwardly responded, and Evan frowned for a moment before smiling.

“Yeah, for now, we’re friends.”

Pretending not to hear Evan’s strange comment, Riett brushed it off. 

They couldn’t engage in a conversation filled with embarrassment and subtle banter. Besides, they weren’t the only ones present.

However, the captain of the guards, who seemed to have noticed the change in their relationship, murmured, 

“For now… I see.”

Riett momentarily wore a perplexed expression but quickly brushed it off, turning her gaze to the cave. 

She spoke to the captain of the guards, attempting to reassure him, 

“Only Evan and I will go inside the cave.”

“Excuse me? How can I allow just the two of you to enter that dark cave?” 

The captain of the guards voiced his concern, but Riett didn’t want to endanger him either. 

Although she felt sorry for leaving him outside alone, it was safer not to take him into the cave, as they didn’t know what dangers might lie within.

“Don’t worry. You saw what Evan’s Sword Qi can do.”

Riett pointed her finger at Evan, and the captain of the guards hesitated, reluctantly stepping back. 

“Alright… I will stay here.”

Since they had witnessed the powerful Sword Qi earlier, there was no room for disagreement. 

Riett and Evan entered the cave together, which led underground. 

Once inside, the cave appeared quite ordinary, lacking any mystical aura or dangerous presence. Water dripped from the ceiling, creating small puddles on the stalagmites.

The only fortunate thing was that the path through the cave was not treacherous, and there were no forks to navigate. 

They continued walking for quite some time until they reached a dead end.

“Uh…?” 

Riett found herself facing a dead end, and since there were no forks, this meant that the cave likely ended here. 

Perplexed, Riett reached out her hand to feel the wall, hoping to find any hidden mechanism blocking the way. However, she couldn’t find anything.

‘What…? I thought there would be a Spirit Stone here…’

Riett’s initial assumption may have been incorrect. 

Frustrated, she finally called out to Mishan. With the captain of the guards gone, Mishan fully manifested.

“Entering through the protective barrier, huh?” 

Mishan remarked, looking around. Riett pointed at Evan, and Mishan shifted his gaze toward him.

“…”

“…”

Their eyes locked, and both quickly composed their expressions. 

Riett found it tiresome. She had hoped not to witness another scene of Evan and Mishan growling at each other, as was the case with Lucas. But now, even Evan and Mishan were behaving this way.

Before any more pointless conversation could ensue, Riett steered the conversation back to the main point. 

“It doesn’t matter how we got here right now. What matters is that there’s no Spirit Stone here.”

“I speculated that there might be a Spirit Stone in this cave, but it seems I was mistaken…” 

Mishan rubbed his chin with a pensive expression.

Riett became anxious. They had come all the way here, only to find themselves at a dead end. 

“If there’s no Spirit Stone here, then what was the energy that Mishan sensed earlier?”

“I did sense something, but I can’t be certain. Another spirit may have created a hiding place here.”

Mishan replied, furrowing his brow.

Of all places, it had to be here? Riett thought it was an incredibly unlikely coincidence.

“Let me take another look around the cave.”

Mishan offered. He rose into the air and disappeared from view. Similarly, Evan stated his intention to survey the surroundings before vanishing.

With the wind blowing through the cave, Riett felt as though several minutes had passed before Mishan reappeared.

“It’s true… There’s nothing here.”

Disappointed by the underwhelming conclusion, Riett still maintained a determined expression. 

“What if it’s hidden in an invisible place? Spirit Stones are valuable, so who knows where they might have hidden it?”

Mishan, appearing somewhat perplexed, glanced around before raising his finger. 

“Then let’s try this.”

Riett’s eyes lit up. 

“What is it?”

“Lean against the wall and let the power of the spirits flow through you. As the power flows, you might feel it colliding with something.”

Mishan explained.

“If we feel a collision, you mean we should dig into the wall or the ground?” 

Riett raised an eyebrow while Mishan pondered, bringing his finger to his lips.

“Perhaps…?” 

Mishan hesitantly replied.

Although it wasn’t the most appealing method, Riett figured it was worth trying for now, just to see if anything came up. 

She pressed her hand against the cave wall and closed her eyes, imagining the power of the spirits flowing through the wall in all directions. Then, she felt a pulsating sensation in her palm as the power expanded outward, just as she had imagined. 

However, manipulating the power was more challenging than she had anticipated. Despite the cold weather, sweat formed on Riett’s forehead.

As Riett exerted herself, the power eventually came to a halt, as if it had collided with something. 

No matter how hard she tried, the force couldn’t extend any further, seemingly blocked by a massive wall.

Riett’s forehead creased in frustration. 

Just as Mishan had said, there was undoubtedly something where the power had stopped. 

Concentrating further, Riett realized that the obstructing presence emitted a colossal and overwhelming energy.

Strangely, she felt a sense of familiarity. Her brow furrowed as she tried to grasp the entity’s identity. 

‘Could it be…?’

Riett wondered if it was a Spirit Stone.

Riett became certain that this formidable presence, which exuded immense power in all directions, was indeed a Spirit Stone—the very one they had been searching for. 

Yet, instead of excitement, she felt more anxious.

‘Where could it be…?’

Riett needed to pinpoint the exact location of the Spirit Stone, but her mind was as dark as when she walked blindly with her eyes closed.

Though she had a vague sense that it wasn’t far from here… perhaps she needed to break through the cave wall to find it.

Lost in her thoughts, a clump of dirt suddenly fell from the ceiling.

‘Why is there suddenly dirt…?’

Riett found it strange, but before she could contemplate further, a loud crash echoed through the cave, as if the ground itself would collapse.

“Just as I feared.”

Mishan murmured, looking up. As soon as Mishan finished speaking, the ground shook, as if it would crumble.

Evan, who had been surveying the area, returned at that moment, his expression dark. 

“Riett, we should hurry and leave.”

Riett bit her lip. 

‘There must be a Spirit Stone somewhere around here…!’

However, she couldn’t be stubborn right now. If they delayed any longer, they might be buried in this underground cave.

‘Haah.’

With a hint of disappointment, Riett turned to glance back before taking a step forward to exit the cave. The vibrations within the cave intensified, urging Riett and Evan to increase their pace. 

Like a scene from a disaster movie, as soon as they emerged from the cave, the entrance collapsed with a loud rumble.

Riett gazed at the spot where the cave entrance had been, momentarily dumbfounded. 

The cave, which had crumbled so abruptly after discovering the existence of the Spirit Stone, was still hard to believe.

Wondering if some natural disaster had occurred again, Riett looked around, but the mountains remained silent, and the snowy landscape was peaceful.

“Haah… I’m relieved that you’re both safe.”

The captain of the guards, with a pale face, approached them.

Riett briefly wondered if Mishan had also managed to escape, but fortunately, he had already concealed himself.

“I heard a strange noise coming from the cave, and it startled me.”

“Nothing happened outside?”

“No, everything was peaceful here.”

Riett glanced at Evan, hoping he had an explanation, but instead, he silently approached her and brushed off the dirt from her head. 

Then, in a quiet voice that the captain of the guards couldn’t hear, he whispered into Riett’s ear.

“Could it be that it’s influenced by the power of the spirits you used?”

For a moment, Riett entertained the thought but soon concluded that it couldn’t be the case. 

Embarrassing as it was, her abilities weren’t powerful enough to bring down this deep cave in an instant.

〈He might be right.〉

Mishan’s voice echoed in Riett’s mind, sounding serious.

〈Did you sense anything when you explored using the power of the spirits?〉

“Yeah… I definitely felt that the Spirit Stone was somewhere there.”

〈In that case, the Spirit Stone might have detected an unfamiliar force and triggered a defensive mechanism.〉

Indeed, the cave had started collapsing as soon as they detected the presence of the Spirit Stone during their exploration.

Riett looked at the collapsed cave with a disappointed expression.

‘It was probably somewhere nearby.’

It felt as if the Spirit Stone, which had been within her reach for a moment, had suddenly slipped away.

“Now we should go, Your Graces. It’s not only the cold that’s a concern, but we might also encounter wolves after sunset.”

The captain of the guards’ voice interrupted Riett’s dazed state.

Regaining her composure, Riett thought, 

‘Yes, there will be other opportunities, even if it’s not today.’

She gazed at the reddening snowfield, tainted by the glow of the setting sun, and tried her best to suppress her disappointment.