The spear of white light that came crashing down on the Phantom Frog was only a little more than two meters long, not even half as big as the frog itself. Yet, the momentum it came crashing down with was so strong, that it made it all the way through the frog, leaving just a trail of white light behind on its path as evidence of its existence. And of course, the fountain of blood that rushed out of the frog’s head.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Just a little tried from releasing all those Arcanas and Glyphs one after another,” Alnea said, sighing with relief, before putting on a grin. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

  “You would have dealt with it regardless.”

  “But then, I would have been even more tired.”

  “…If you are done being cheeky, then come out of the swamp. Everyone is waiting for you.”

  Nodding towards Yuri, Alnea reached back into the swamp to pull out his storage pouch, and put away his Glyph Tools, before putting his storage pouch away once again, and wading his way through the swamp towards the bank where the spear of light had come from. Towards the place, where his teammates were waiting for him, with all kinds of expressions on their faces.

  “What took you so long?” Alnea said, as he grabbed on to Norren’s hand, and pulled himself back onto land. “If it had not been for the Blood Spirit Tear, I might have been enjoying a trip to the frog’s stomach right now.”

  “That does not sound like half a bad idea,” Norren said with a laugh. “Touring a Phantom Frog’s stomach… Although you would not have been the first Wanderer to come back alive from such a tour, you surely would have been one of the rare few. That would have given you another thing to brag about.”

  “…Being eaten by an Oren Beast is not exactly something that I would like to brag about,” Alnea said, activating the golden thorns on his robe to get rid of the mud clinging to him, as he glanced at the rest of his teammates. “Is everyone alright?”

  “We are fine,” Vestia said, letting out a few giggles, as her gaze roved over him. “Most of us did not even encounter any danger, and those that did, faced just some Initial or Intermediate phase Oren Beasts. Not to mention that we did not land too far away from each other. We almost thought that we were needlessly worrying about the Final World.”

  “That was until we felt the fluctuation of Mysteries from your fight against the Phantom Frog,” Karl said, glancing at the frog’s body in the swamp. “It must be the overlord of this territory, and the reason why there are no other formidable Oren Beasts in this area.”

  “It looks like I got the short end of the deal then,” Alnea said, smiling at himself, before putting on a solemn look. “Have you surveyed our surroundings? Do you know how large is this forest? Does it have any other swamps? What about the Oren Beasts? Have you figured out their territories?”

  “…Stop grilling us the moment we meet,” Cecilia grumbled, as the cat next to her feet glanced at the frog’s lifeless body in the swamp with a little unwillingness, before shifting its gaze towards him with disdain, probably resenting him for wasting such a good meal. “We have been running around the forest, searching for everyone, making sure that they were not in danger. When would we have had the chance to do any of those things?”

  “…It was my mistake,” Alnea said, trying to ignore the cat’s transgression. He had gotten surprisingly good at that over the past few months. There were even times, when he addressed the cat like the girls, and not like a waste of space that it was. “You did not face any troubles, did you?”

  “…The only one who faced any troubles was you. Like the vixen said, we did not face any formidable enemies, and we did not land too far from each other either. Although the introduction about the Final World said that we might be transported within hundred metres of each other, most of us came to this world within just twenty to thirty metres of each other. Only you were the sole exception. That is the reason why we were a little slow to find you.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “It is my fault,” Karl said in a gloomy voice, laced with guilt and hesitation. “When we did not see you within thirty metres of Yuri after the designated time, we thought that you might have been held back by something in the Blood Hall. Only Yuri stayed adamant that you had already come, and might be in danger, but she could not find your exact location either. I thought that she was just overreacting after the incident earlier in the Blood Hall, so I did not pay heed to her words…”

  “It is not just you,” Aren said to Karl, in a voice that carried just as much guilt as Karl’s, before turning towards Alnea. “Most of us thought that you had just not come to the Final World yet, so we did not put too much effort into looking for you. Had you not released your Arcanas and Glyph Arrays so quickly one after another, causing the fluctuation of Mysteries to spread to us, we might not have thought of looking for you this far out.”

  “So, being a little reckless helped me this time?” Alnea said, letting out a light laugh, only to be glared at by Cecilia and Vestia.

  “This is not something to laugh about,” Cecilia said, putting on a dissatisfied pout. “Have you already forgotten what happened in the Blood Hall because of your carelessness?”

  “…If I was careless, I would have entered that frog’s stomach just moments after coming to this world,” Alnea said, pointing to the frog’s body, before putting on a confident smile. “Rest assured. Since I have promised, I will always be careful.”

  “Still, to think that not only were you transported at the edge of hundred metres from Yuri, but were also sent directly into the Phantom Frog’s swamp…” Vestia said, trailing off towards the end.

  “Now that you say it, I cannot help wondering about the things that happened to you today,” Ralph said, leaning his weight on to his spear. “Whether it was getting stabbed by a girl who has just recently become a Wanderer, when you have never even so much as suffered a wound even against the strongest of our enemies, or getting almost eaten by an Oren Beast the moment you come to the Final World… It looks like Fortune may not be on your side today.”

  “Then what about the ambushes we encountered in the desert, or the repeated setbacks we faced in the city?” Yuri said, glancing indifferently at Ralph. “According to your logic, Fortune has never been on our side.”

  “…I was just saying that Captain’s luck has not been very good recently.”

  “And what does that change?” Yuri said, becoming even more indifferent to Ralph’s nervous response. “Luck and Fortune may help Wanderers from time to time, but those who rely solely on Fortune never make it far on their paths. Rather, it is those who have not been favoured by Fortune, and have to fight every step of their path, who become great Wanderers. People whom everyone respects and adore.”

  “…I…”

  “It is alright, Yuri,” Alnea said, waving his hands, signalling Ralph to calm down. “Ralph was just trying to lighten the situation. I am sure he did not mean to imply anything with his words.”

  “That’s right,” Ralph said, putting his spear away, while vehemently nodding his head. “What could I have implied about the Captain? He is the reason why I have come this far.”

  “…It is good that you know,” Yuri said, withdrawing her silent glare from Ralph, and turning towards Alnea. “You can decide what to do next.”

  Nodding to Yuri, Alnea put on a solemn face, and said, “Since everyone has gathered, then let us discuss our plans. The other participants of the Final Trial may be coming here at any time. And if the Trial happens to be of the kind that reveals our location, then we might get into some trouble. As such, it would be best if we can secure our surroundings, and lay down some traps before the Final Trial starts.

  “Still, just because we need to hurry does not mean that we can be careless. Everyone has already seen how deceptive the Final World can be. It might give us a sense of safety for a moment, only to snatch it back in the next. For now, let us proceed while assuming that there is more than just one overlord in this forest.

  “As for this forest itself, its terrain seems to be a mix of forest, river basin, and swamp. Though, in a sense, all three of them can still be considered to be a part of the forest biome. Regardless, let us divide this forest according to the plans we had discussed. Lia, you take the lead when we are still in the forest, and Vestia will take the lead when we need to investigate swamps or any rivers we come across. Everyone else, follow the arrangements that we had discussed earlier. Is that clear?”

  “Clear.”

  “Understood.”

  “…I was thinking the same.”

  “Then let us get into our positions,” Alnea said, nodding in satisfaction, ignoring the last erratic sentence that a certain narcissistic Arcanist had put in. “It is time for us to begin with our exploration of the Final World.”