"Huh... I'm so tired, wait!" Amaris said breathlessly and sat down. "I can't go on any longer," she said under her breath.
"This is your fifth rest," Cale said wearily and Amaris frowned at him.
"Maybe because of how many monsters we've killed since you and I arrived?" she said, pointing to the piles of corpses behind them. "I've been working hard to kill these for three days!"
"Could it be because you woke them all up at the same time when you could have dealt with them one by one?" he said sarcastically.
"Look who's telling me! The last time you said you'd take care of it, we almost had dinner!" grumbled Amaris.
Cale and Amaris had been traveling together through the volcano mountains for three days. But they didn't seem to enjoy the journey very much.
They were constantly getting in each other's way and causing mistakes because they were at odds with each other.
Amaris had accidentally awakened a horde of monsters. Cale, in his overconfident arrogance, was attacked and wounded by three other monsters.
"If you're rested, let's move on," Cale said, ignoring Amaris' last words and changing the subject.
He knew he had done the biggest thing he should not have done. He knew better than anyone that things always went badly when someone got arrogant, but the rate of growth in the last six months had been so great that it had inevitably built up confidence and made him arrogant.
Amaris got up without saying anything and they continued up the volcano mountain. It was so hot that both their faces were wet with sweat.
They stopped in front of a cave similar to the one they had met a few days before. The cave was so dark that they turned and looked at each other.
"Do you think the boss monster is here?" asked Amaris.
"Judging by the tracks, it looks like it."
As Cale and Amaris walked further into the cave, they could see traces of the monster's saliva on the walls, bones and claw marks on the floor that were unclear whether they were monster or human.
"The tracks look fresh," Cale said, gesturing to the pits and sword strokes on the ground ahead.
"Yes, but whoever it was seems to have failed," Amaris said, pointing to the bloodstains.
Where the sword marks ended there was a pool of blood and the blood trail continued, as if someone had dragged the wounded or the dead.
They started to follow the tracks. They were walking side by side in a corridor that narrowed as they walked. When they saw a light, they heard the growling sounds of the beast as they approached it.
As they got closer, what they saw became clearer. It was a monster at least three meters tall. Under its sickly white and red skin were things that moved like maggots.
It had big, thick legs and short arms. Its long tongue was sticking out as it ate the beast in front of it and the blood flowing from its sharp teeth looked disgusting.
As it ate the beast with its head down among the bones, Amaris nudged Cale's arm without speaking, pointing to what had caught her attention.
When Cale looked where Amaris' finger was pointing, they saw a dark-haired boy about their age lying unconscious among the dead beasts.
"Do you think he's dead?" the hunter spoke in sign language.
"Let's check," Cale said in the same way and Amaris nodded. Hunter sign language was the language hunters used to communicate when something like this happened, like when they were silent.
They moved cautiously behind the piles of bones. They certainly didn't want to attract the attention of the beast as it dived into its meal.
Reckless attacks while trying to save someone who was injured would endanger not only the two of them but also the unconscious man.
When they got to the unconscious man, Cale was relieved to check his pulse and told Amaris that he was alive.
Amaris took several healing potions from her space pocket and poured them into the young man's wounds. She put another one in his mouth and made him drink it.
Meanwhile, Cale was watching the monster.
Cale watched the monster's behavior carefully to learn its weaknesses. He couldn't get a good idea without fighting the beast, but he realized that despite its large size, it was quite fast.
Cale heard a coughing sound and looked back startled to see Amaris covering the mouth of the black-haired young man who had just woken up in a panic.
"You're choking him!" Cale said, rolling his eyes and pointing at the blushing boy.
"Sorry," Amaris said as she quickly withdrew her hand and the black-haired boy frowned and glared at her.
He was very handsome with blue eyes and black hair. His face was pale and Cale looked at his wounds and realized that they were slowly healing.
Even though technology had advanced and healing potions were available, they were potions that healed over time, depending on the depth of the wound. So it would take time to heal.
"How do you feel?" Cale asked, but got no answer.
"I'm Cale," he said, pointing at Amaris with his index finger. "And this is Amaris. What's your name?"
"You're one of those bastards, aren't you?" the black-haired boy said, suddenly grabbing Cale by the throat, and Amaris frowned and tried to pull the black-haired boy's hand away from Cale's neck.
"Hey, don't you think you're being a little too rude? Is this how you repay the people who saved your life?" Amaris said, acting serious for the first time since meeting Cale.
"Answer my question before I kill you! Did the Black King send you?"
"Look, I don't know who you're talking about, but if we were who you think we are, we wouldn't have tried to heal you, we would have let you become food for the monster that's just up ahead," Cale said, pulling his hand away and the black-haired boy groaned.
"What's your name now?"
"Hey! Do we really need to take him with us?" Amaris said, trusting Cale even though she didn't like him. But she was more annoyed with this black-haired one.
"We can't just leave him here."
"Dante."
"Well, now that we've met, let's find a way out of here."
"You know we've been looking for the boss monster for days, right?" Amaris asked with a frown.
"It's better to retreat for now with an injured man with us," he said calmly and turned to Dante. "Can you walk?"
"I can walk," Dante said as he stood up and was about to stumble and fall when Amaris grabbed him and pulled him back quickly.
"I don't need your help," Dante said gruffly, and Amaris frowned at his words and grumbled under her breath.
'I think she's cursing'
"If you can't walk, getting help is the best option. Otherwise you'll just give us more trouble," Cale said calmly, and Dante listened with a frown, but he saw the hesitation in his eyes.
Finally making up his mind, he sighed and climbed on Cale's back. Amaris in front, Cale and Dante on his back behind, they rode in silence as they had come.
As they neared the exit, Amaris stepped on a piece of bone that slipped and made a noise that froze the three of them in place. The sounds it made as it slid down caused the three to swallow hard and turn around.
The beast's bloody head turned heavily toward them, its black pupils staring at them, its prey found. With a roar from its mouth, Amaris and Cale locked eyes.
"SHIT!"
"RUN!"
When they both shouted at the same time, they rushed to the entrance. As they ran side by side through the narrow passage, they could see the monster behind them roaring and running after them, destroying the tunnel they had entered.
"God, monsters have been chasing me ever since I met this guy!" Amaris shouted in horror.
"And I'm to blame for this?" Cale frowned. "You seem to have forgotten about the monsters that woke up and came after us because of you! You're the one who wanted to come after me!"
They were still a long way from the exit when they dodged under the stone from the wall the monster had destroyed.
Amaris looked away, embarrassed by Cale's vindication.
"Oh I don't know, I don't know, but it's all because of you!" she shouted and Cale heard a chuckle at the absurd situation.
"You're too comfortable," he said sarcastically, and Dante quickly wiped the smile off his face.
"We're all going to die if we don't get out of here soon," Dante said with a frown.
"Easy to talk when you're on my back," Cale grumbled.
The three of them were relieved by the light they saw, but the monster was getting closer and closer, causing them to increase their speed.
Cale couldn't help but wonder how he had gotten involved with these two.
When they reached the exit, they jumped from where they were. Amaris created platforms of ice beneath his feet while Cale ran through the air using his space steps.