Chapter 70: Trapper

Yulis gulped.

"C-corruption. I saw traces of corruption."

Ralph failed to keep his voice low, practically shouting:

"Corruption?! Yulis, are you sure your head’s okay?!"

"I... I know what I saw."

Yulis proceeded to explain what he’d seen in detail, all the while Peace stood in the back with an even expression.

’Fuck... shit, fuck, fuck! She’s here! Why?! How?!’

The Ghost Girl, Witch of Corruption, had already located Peace.

At least, that was his conjecture. He couldn’t think of any other way for Corruption to have made its way into the dungeon.

The argument continued for some time, with Ralph refusing to believe the young elf and demanding he own up to whatever had actually happened. Eventually, Peace spoke up.

"I think he’s telling the truth. Let’s keep going. I’m getting chills."

Ralph’s eye twitched.

"Huh? Pariah here’s gettin’ Diver’s intuition?" Shrugging, he sighed. "So be it. It’s a shame such a bright young man has lost it, but I’ll overlook it just this once."

"I told you, I’m not crazy!"

’Shut up both of you! Can we hurry and get away from here!’

Not that any amount of distance mattered...

He’d watched her walk at a leisurely pace, moving at least twice as fast as he could run.

***

They needed to rest, and so they did.

’I’m getting sleepy...’

After confirming they were well outside the Gusto spawning zone and hadn’t wandered into another, Yulis went back to conceal their tracks as best he could, while the rest of the party set up camp.

Unlike back in the Convergence Zone, perhaps because of the ambush, Ralph wasn’t nearly as lax about staying quiet and watchful.

At all times, two of them had to keep watch. One stationed in the trees, the other on the ground. Peace and Yulis were to alternate in the tree position; Ralph and Maura, on the ground.

’It feels weird how quickly the dynamic changed...’

They were trusting him enough to keep watch.

But Peace wasn’t going to complain too much.

He knew it wasn’t out of kindness or the goodness of their hearts. It was merely tolerance born of necessity.

Oddly, that put him more at ease than if they had welcomed him with open arms.

In any case, he and Maura took the first watch, preparing for what should have been an uneventful two hours...

Well, it was uneventful, save for one discovery.

Through the dense leaves, he’d spotted it. The Light Temple.

It wasn’t exactly close, but they could easily make it there within the day.

When Peace finally descended and woke Ralph up, he shared his findings.

Yawning as he stretch, stood, and leisurely pulled out his rocking chair, Ralph said:

"Why would we still go there?"

Peace closed his mouth.

’Ah— right.’

So Peace’s initial reasoning for why Ralph had chosen the temple as their destination had been correct after all.

However...

"I’m afraid we’re still going."

’I’ve already accepted a slow start, but I can’t handle a slow finish too.’

Peace wasn’t here to scrape by. He was here for strength. And, as it so happened, the Light Temple had the highest concentration of diverse monsters in all of the Bright Forest. Not only would he have no shortage of unique monsters to kill, but the potential drops were nearly the best in all of the first floor.

Ralph’s expression twisted.

"Huh? What right do you have to decide that, Pariah?"

"You said that’s where we were going. A friend wouldn’t go back on his word, would he?"

Like a golden retriever, Volkar’s head perked up upon hearing his favorite word.

Ralph stared into the Giant’s pleading eyes, then sighed at Peace.

"Do you know how dangerous that place is?"

Peace nodded.

"I do."

Ralph’s face slowly morphed from minor annoyance into utter dismay, but he quickly relented.

"...Ah, damn it. Fine."

Though he’d agreed, his expression made one thing clear: he intended to let Peace ’learn his lesson the hard way.’

With that out of the way...

Peace looked Ralph dead in the face.

"I think it’s about time you explain. Who was Drathar? And how did you know him?"

Scratching his chin, Ralph said:

"I was wondering when you’d ask... He’s a rat bastard, that’s who he is."

After a slight pause, Ralph clenched his fist and added:

"He was our fifth... but, as it turned out, he’d been playing us. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the term ’Trapping’, but he’d joined us and gained our trust only to lure us into an ambush."

Hanging his head, Ralph continued:

"We survived, and I thought that would be the end of him. We reported him as a Trapper, and he became a wanted criminal. I don’t know how he got back in the dungeon, how he wasn’t caught, or why he came back after us. I didn’t do shit to deserve having that asshole after me! Ah, oops."

Rolling his eyes at Ralph’s sudden outburst, Peace said:

"I highly doubt that last part."

"No, really. There’s a lot of others who I’d understand for comin’ after me, but that guy? He’s got some serious issues. Almost as many as you."

Peace sneered.

"You barely even know me."

Ralph shook his head.

"Yet I’ve seen enough."

’...This guy needs to invest in a mirror.’

Peace took a long breath.

’What right does he have to call anyone else crazy?!’

What sane person brought a rocking chair into the dungeon? Especially when it took up 90% of their carrying capacity.

Letting out a sigh, Ralph added:

"That guy is quite the problem, considering how long he was with us. He knows our fighting styles and weaknesses. I doubt he’ll leave us alone for very long. Who knows, he might come back with a stronger crew."

Peace nodded along as he spoke.

"I see... so, you’re saying we should abandon you and he’ll leave us alone? Got it."

Ralph rocked back so violently he nearly tipped over.

"H-hey! That’s not— woa-ah!"