After the day Lucen forgave Mark, except for Harlik, the other mercenaries treated Lucen a little differently. Unlike before, when they were just humoring the young man and called him a little leader, now it feels like they meant it.
They had already faced three more monster attacks, none that they couldn't handle. It was a good thing that no large monsters came looking. As long as they hold out a bit more, surely reinforcement from Lucen's father will come.
Due to the continuous monster attacks, Lucen had no time to experiment with the dragon's blood.
"Are you guys getting tired?" Lucen asked as he killed another beast with a shot to the head using the revolver he created with gun creation.
"This isn't enough to make me sweat." Mark was the first to respond.
"Hmph, this isn't enough for a warm-up." Another mercenary replied.
"Yeah, little leader, don't underestimate us."
The mercenaries still seemed to be at full health, but Lucen was starting to get worried since the intervals of each attack were getting shorter.
The others barely had time to hunt for food, and Lucen knew that he couldn't tell them to eat monster meat, knowing it might have some nasty side effects.
'Should we ration this early? If we do that, morale might drop even earlier.'
Lucen scratched his head as he was getting a little frustrated. After a while, he gave up thinking too hard about it.
"Harlik, tell the men we should ration food for now, since we don't know how long we'll be here."
Good thing we're in a snowy area, which helps in preserving the food. Harlik nodded his head and informed the men of Lucen's decision.
...
Two more days have passed, and Lucen and the mercenaries are losing steam. Their bodies were no longer moving like they wanted to. None have died yet, but they were nearing a level of exhaustion that it wouldn't be surprising if one of them slips up and dies.
During this time, Lucen had leveled up twice, but that wasn't enough to alter their predicament. Each level up relieved him of some fatigue, and it did increase his stats, but only by a little bit.
Lucen leaned back against the cold stone of the cavern wall, his breath misting out in shallow puffs. His body was sore, and his arms ached every time he conjured and fired his revolver. The recoil no longer hurt; he'd grown used to it, but the repeated casting, aiming, and killing wore on him all the same.
His mana had increased due to repeated use of Gun Creation and Bullet Creation, both of which grew to an intermediate level a day ago.
Gun Creation was now more flexible, and he could create a gun even without as much detail as before, and the speed of creation was faster. The skill itself corrects a little bit in the creation process.
As for bullet creation, it had a shorter cast time and less mana needed to use it. He could also create multiple bullets as long as he had enough mana. Unfortunately, Lucen still couldn't simply create the bullet within the gun itself, and he still needed to load it manually.
Across the camp, the mercenaries were sitting or slumped wherever they could, some trying to sharpen their weapons with trembling hands, others just resting with eyes half-lidded. The sharp banter and jokes that had filled their camp days ago had withered into simple back-and-forth; they still somehow had the energy to talk.
"Do we still have any rations?" Lucen asked Harlik who was beside him.
"Enough for one more night, assuming we live to see it," Harlik muttered.
"Seeing as how you're still able to talk back like that, we should be able to make it." Lucen smiled a little as he continued creating bullets and loading them into his revolver.
"These past few days, I've been wondering if following you was a smart move or a death sentence."
"So what's the verdict?" Lucen asked.
"It's still pending. If we die here, then it means it was a mistake; if we survive, it means I made the right bet."
"Is that so..." Lucen let out a tired breath. He had no intention of dying here, but it was truly a dire situation.
'Was I too greedy? Should I have just left the young dragon's carcass and come back to get the scraps?... Well, no choice thinking about it now, I just need to focus on survival until reinforcements arrive.'
Lucen once again looked at his men. They were all beaten and exhausted. He was only doing better because of Varkun's blessing, which helps recover from wounds and fatigue. Without the blessing and the relief he gets from leveling up, his twelve-year-old body would've collapsed the day before.
'I can't show them any weakness now, if I do, morale will plummet even more.'
Lucen stood up after resting a bit and showed the others that he was once again ready for battle.
...
It was midday, and the last wave of monsters had just been repelled. Even with all of the blessings and the power from his gun mage class, Lucen started to not only get physical fatigue but also mental and emotional fatigue. He had started using Acting Adept to bluff his way through the situation, but even he was starting to feel despair.
Lucen then noticed one of the mercenaries moving oddly. It was Niel, one of the few people who didn't show hostility to him since the beginning.
"Niel, where are you going with those rations?" Lucen asked Niel, which attracted the attention of the other mercenaries.
"..." Niel hung his head low and did not respond as he slowly got closer to the exit to the caverns.
"Are you going to leave?"
Hearing Lucen's question, Niel bit his lips and turned around to answer.
"I'm sorry, little leader, I don't want to die here. I still have things I want to do, I still have a promise to keep... I truly wanted to see the sight of that grand dream of yours, little leader, but... I don't think I'll live long enough to see it." Niel's voice cracked as he spoke, his fingers tightening around the cloth-wrapped bundle of rations.
The silence that followed was suffocating. The rest of the mercenaries, weary and worn, didn't speak.
Lucen knew that what Niel said might become a reality, seeing their situation, which was why he was not angry at the other party. It could have been anyone who could have been crushed by the despair; even Lucen, if he were weaker, would have broken all the same.
Lucen, who was using Acting Adept not to show any weakness, sighed. If he wanted to, he could tell something to Niel like one of the protagonists in different stories he had read in the past, but Lucen decided to tell him what he felt. Of course, with a sprinkle of acting.
A smile appeared on Lucen's face, which surprised not only Niel but everybody else.
"Heh, you talk like I'm sure to die. Just to be sure you understand, I don't plan on dying today. I will fulfill my promise and show you guys the sight of a grand dream!" Lucen, who was sitting on the ground, stood up.
"Still, I understand why you're doing this, and I can't blame you for it. So if any of you wish to leave," he continued, sweeping his gaze across the tired and battered faces of the mercenaries, "I won't stop you. Remember, I told you guys I'm giving you a choice of why you live and why you die."
The cavern was silent again, save for the distant drip of melting frost from the stone ceiling. The mercenaries looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Harlik and Mark stood beside Lucen, showing where they stand.
"How can I leave now, when you haven't fulfilled any of your promises. You said we get a place to stay where we can return to drink ale, a place where the bards will sing stories of our adventures, where honor and glory await. I also want to see that grand dream of yours." Harlik spoke, his vigor slowly returning.
"Didn't I say, little leader, no matter what happens, I stand beside you," Mark spoke with a slight smile on his face.
Lucen didn't say anything in response to their declarations.
He didn't need to.
The silence that followed wasn't empty.
It was full, brimming with unspoken resolve.
One by one, the mercenaries still able to stand rose to their feet. Some grunted, others winced, but none turned away, even Niel.
He stared at the bundle of rations in his hands, then slowly knelt down and placed them beside the central stash. "Choosing why to live or why to die...If I'm going to die," he muttered, "then I'll die chasing that stupid unknown dream."
...
While the group had regained some of their spirit, the sound of something approaching could be heard echoing in the caverns.
What appeared was a towering wolf-like beast, nearly four meters tall and three meters long, covered in black-and-white ice-matted fur; it had a single jagged, spiral horn of crystalline ice growing from its forehead. It was similar to the two glacier hares Lucen encountered, but it was so much larger, and one could feel mana emanating from that horn.
Lucen, who had read about the numerous monsters in the north, knew what that thing in front of them was. It was a Frosthorn Alpha, a mutation of the Frostfang wolves, which usually appears only in some packs.
The Frosthorn Alpha opened its jaws, and a swirling mist poured from its throat, freezing the blood-slicked stones beneath its feet. The mist twisted like tendrils, and everywhere it touched, frost bloomed in jagged spines.
'Is that why there were many Frostfang wolves attacking cause they had an Alpha?'
Lucen gritted his teeth as he tried formulating a plan. This monster in front of them was something you needed at least a third mantle knight to handle.
Right now, their strongest was Harlik, who was at the second mantle, but he was exhausted, and his Aura was at its weakest. The Frosthorn was circling them as they tightened their formation, their backs against each other, and the mages and healers were hiding behind them.
'There's no way I'm f*cking dying here, I haven't even done anything yet! I haven't even seen the true protagonist, I haven't even reached the true start of the story. I haven't changed anything, I haven't done anything. I won't die here!'
"Are you guys ready for one more fight?" Lucen asked his created revolvers at the ready.
"Hmph, who do you think we are?" Harlik responded, his sword and shield raised. "I guess you're about to fulfill two of your promises."
"Oh, which ones?"
"We have our blades drawn and our heads held up high... Also, surely if we die here today, once your father finds our bodies, they'll see the dead dragon and the many monsters we killed. Renz isn't some bard, but I know he would surely tell the story of how we defeated the dragon into a grand epic. Our tale will be sung by bards in all the inns, all the pubs, in houses for years to come."
The morale of the mercenaries was growing; they tightened their defensive circle as the Frosthorn Alpha continued to move around them, muscles tense, vapor hissing from its fangs, and the jagged spiral horn atop its head glowing faintly with stored mana.
The cavern air grew colder with every step it took. Frost crackled beneath its claws. The group stood shoulder to shoulder, their breath misting heavily, weapons clenched despite trembling hands, despite all that, not one of them thought to run, not anymore.
The Frosthorn Alpha stopped assessing them and had determined it would win, and lunged at the group.
BANG!
A thunderous crack rang through the cavern, then another, then dozens. It was the roar of the first opening fire of a new era.