"Ray, come here and stop bothering him. Nova hadn't taken his potion yet, this was his first time inside the labyrinth."
Hearing Eric's voice, Ray opened his mouth in surprise, but he immediately concealed it.
Leaving Nova, he hurried towards Eric and began to mutter something in a low voice.
Due to the wind, Nova wasn't able to hear them.
'Now, there is definitely something wrong with their purpose.'
'But why are they giving so many clues? Anyone in my situation would easily guess the conspiracy.'
While talking, Eric slapped Ray's head and said loudly, "Don't judge a person without knowing everything about them."
Nova's doubt further intensified after hearing Eric.
'Is this a cover-up or something else entirely?'
"Nova, don't worry about Ray's attitude, he's just worried about his teammates, he didn't want a newbie to cause trouble and die." Eric came and explained with the same carefree smile.
'What a perfect speech! Like I would completely believe everything you said.' Nova grumbled.
"I'm sorry, Nova, I just don't want any of my teammates to die, so I went to question Eric about you without considering your feelings," Ray explained while bowing ninety degrees.
Nova became speechless after observing this. If didn't think something was wrong with their purpose, he would probably decide by their sincere expression.
"No need for that sir, I understand and I would probably do the same thing. We cannot risk the lives of the entire team just for a stranger." Nova explained carefully, leaving a way out for him. He didn't want things to get more ackward than this.
"Thank god, you understand. Now, you must call me Ray, if you don't call me that, I won't leave you." Ray said and hugged him shoulder to shoulder.
"Okay, okay, I will call you Ray from now on, just leave me alone, leave me alone, I'm suffocating…" Nova replied while pushing him away.
"Stop playing Ray," Eric said and his expression became serious. "Why did you come here? Did something happen?"
"No need to worry, nothing happened. I came to find you since you said about returning in an hour. "
"About that, I didn't find anyone to my liking, so I went to the Garden of Spring and found Nova there."
Hearing Eric's explanation, Ray didn't ask anything.
The group silently started its journey again. As they walked deeper and deeper into the Winterland, the air started getting colder and even walking became very hard, due to the presence of snow.
Nova was the one who suffered the most among the three. Both Eric and Ray consumed potion and their physical fitness and resistance were already above ordinary people, but unlike them, Nova was an ordinary person who trained a little.
He hugged his hands and walked while shivering.
'Is it always supposed to be this cold? Grandma didn't say the environment was too harsh for normal people to survive?'
"We are here."
Nova sighed in relief when he saw fire burning in the center.
Ignoring the tents and people around him, he went towards the fire and placed his hands above for comfort.
Everyone in the camp was bewildered seeing Nova's action. They didn't take any action because they saw Eric and Ray behind Nova.
"Hey Eric, is this the new guy you brought? How peculiar?" A man came out from his tent, wearing fur made of animal carcasses.
"Well, he is Nova and our new teammate," Eric replied, but he too couldn't hide his surprise.
Nova in the campfire was also listening to their conversation, but he didn't mind them.
'Try surviving in this cold without taking the potion and you will also know my pain.'
Eric, Ray and the man came to the campfire and sat near Nova.
After a few seconds of silence, Eric started the conversation.
"Nova, this is Mark Smith, my friend and also from Watson aristocracy."
Mark didn't say anything to Nova and kept his mouth closed.
Seeing Mark being silent, Nova sighed in relief and didn't say anything. He didn't want to start another ackward conversation.
'How good it would be if I chose to team up with Ryan.'
'Whatever, don't only see the negative side, see the positive side too'
'Free potions and a little bit of secret knowledge available only to Nobles.'
Nova cheered himself and he even felt a little warmer.