Chapter 16: Outskirts of the Ruined Town (3)

All things considered, our first expedition had gone pretty well.

We’d taken down nearly twenty lizardmen, along with three newly discovered acid-spitting variants. That was a solid record. No one had been seriously injured, and Rena had done a stellar job; every time someone got hurt, even if it was just a scrape, she’d heal them right away. In a place like this, where medicine was scarce to nonexistent, even a minor wound could lead to a lethal infection. We couldn’t afford to be careless.

“Yahaha~ Looks like we’re actually kind of strong, huh?”

“That’s a death flag. Shut it.”

“Ugh… don’t jinx us.”

Booker, Jelena, and Mizan collapsed into their chairs, exhausted, but in good spirits. The smooth success of our first outing had given them a much-needed confidence boost. They weren’t as scared anymore. Even the trauma of witnessing Vaclav’s death seemed to be easing, at least a little, for Booker and Jelena.

Crunch crunch, wipe wipe, crunch crunch, wipe wipe…

Felice sat off to the side, nibbling on our hard-earned reward, some sort of snack. It was awful. Crunchy, dry, tasted like wood, but marginally better than our usual rations. 

As she chewed, she meticulously wiped the filth from her rapier with a small cloth, fully absorbed in her task.

Rena had fallen asleep on the table, snoring softly. Frequent spellcasting—especially for beginners—was mentally draining. Let her rest.

As for me—

“That’s about it. We made it to the barns near the edge of the town. That’s as far as the rotted-face people can go.”

—I was debriefing the chieftain about our expedition.

“So a new type of monster appeared.” His gray eyebrows furrowed.

“Seems to be a lizardman variant. About human-sized, physically weaker, but capable of spitting highly corrosive venom.”

“Venom… how effective?”

“It turned hay to ash in seconds. Even just a splash on clothing left clear corrosion marks. Looks like it’s especially harsh on fibers.”

I thought back carefully.

“It eats through metal too. Nearly melted through Mizan’s iron shield. But my outerwear, which had leather, showed barely any corrosion.”

“So more destructive to fabric and metal, but not as effective on leather. There is a miracle that protects gear from corrosion; we could look into that.”

***

Eventually, night came, and it was time for sleep.

At the chieftain’s suggestion, we indulged a little—took a bath. Well, more like we wiped ourselves down with wet towels, but even that was a luxury. The girls aside, even Mizan and Booker were practically singing as they scrubbed themselves clean, wringing pitch-black water from their rags when they were done.

I washed myself too, all the while thinking about the town.

After our first outing and comparing notes with the rough sketch drawn from the rotted-face people’s memory, I was beginning to form a clearer picture of the town’s layout. From a bird’s-eye view, the Sanctuary Forest lay to the east; the Rooted Town to the west. A river flowed from west to east, cutting through the town and into the forest, dividing the town into north and south sections. The outskirts we’d explored were warehouse zones, with a large river nearby—the small stream that crossed the town was a branch of it.

We’d followed that stream out of the forest into the town. Once we arrived, we moved clockwise along the outer edge. We’d made it to roughly the rear half of the town’s perimeter—that’s where the mist pressure had suddenly intensified.

Hmm…

Thinking about it more now, something felt… off.

Originally, I’d thought we simply needed to push through the Ruined Town like beating levels in a game. But that didn’t seem to be the case. According to the chieftain, fog spreads outward from a central point. The abrupt increase in mist pressure likely marked the beginning of our approach to the fog’s core.

And if the mist expands from a central point, the logical shape is a circle.

Which meant—

My stomach dropped.

If I was right, then the epicenter of this region’s fog wasn’t in the Ruined Town.

It was beyond it.

West of the town. Somewhere deeper, further out.

The Ruined Town was only the front half of the entire fog zone.

***

“As I thought, Lord Yuhong and I have come to the same conclusion.”

Later that night, in the chieftain’s room, we sat across from each other with a flickering candle between us.

“We’ve sent people to explore before, of course. But, as you know, due to our frailty and the mist’s pressure, we rotted-face folk can’t go far. Even so, based on those attempts, I’ve become convinced: the source of this area’s fog, the Mist King, lies deeper within.”

“So it’s true.”

“…”

“…”

We both fell silent.

The source of the mist.

The Mist King.

Back when the mist disasters first began—before Yardelan was fully isolated by fog walls—people could still share information. The chieftain had learned of this back then.

Each region’s fog spreads from a central eruption point.

Fog fiends originate from these eruption points.

Each eruption point is guarded by a singular, exceptionally powerful fog fiend tied directly to the mist’s origin—a Mist King. In theory, only by defeating the Mist King can the fog in a region be truly dispelled. When that happens, the gray mist clears, sunlight returns, and the fog fiends vanish.

Or as Jelena would call it: the boss monster of the zone.

The closer you get to the mist’s core, the more suffocating the pressure becomes. Once we identify the Mist King’s location, the only ones capable of fighting it are us Earthlings.

Fortunately, at least for now, the Ruined Town didn’t seem to have a high difficulty—using Jelena’s gaming terms again.

There were five original eruption points across Yardelan—the very first places the mist appeared, and the most deeply corrupted. The fog fiends and Mist Kings that dwell there are said to be unimaginably powerful. Thinking about facing one of those someday made my stomach twist.

“Lord Yuhong, your body…?”

“More or less holding up?”

The chieftain looked at me with concern. I sighed and rolled up my sleeve.

It wasn’t obvious, but there were patches of dead skin, scabs—maybe even rot—forming on my arms. They’d been laughing and joking while cleaning earlier, probably assuming these were just minor scrapes.

They weren’t.

“We may need to speed things up.”

“Yes”

***

And so began our four-day recovery period.

First came equipment upgrades.

Now that we knew about acid-spitting lizardmen and the kind of damage they could cause, we modified our gear accordingly. The rotted-face people worked quickly, adding extra leather to our armor, which had proven surprisingly resistant to the acid. Shields, especially, were reinforced; each was given a thick leather overlay to help block corrosive attacks.

Next was physical training.

After our first real battle, we had to ride the momentum—get used to that sense of combat before it faded. 

Everyone trained hard. 

Booker stopped joking around. Jelena stopped whining. Mizan got even more focused. Their base aptitude was better than I expected. Booker adapted quickly to the straight sword. Jelena’s spear work became much more accurate. Mizan picked up shield-bashing and charge techniques. Felice’s fencing improved so much that I suspected she could win an Olympic gold medal in épée.

And me? After that first fight, I became even more convinced mobility was key. Against certain attacks—like acid—it was best to dodge altogether. Taking a hit should always be the last resort. Parrying worked well against smaller enemies, and after more training, my parry success rate was rising.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but now it was clear—

The gods of Yardelan didn’t randomly pick which Earthlings to bring here.

So far, we all showed some kind of talent for combat. Physically, we were above average. With effort, we were learning skills at an impressive pace.

Then came the new miracle training.

To prepare for future fog fiends capable of corroding our gear, the chieftain taught us a support miracle: Durability Maintenance. It slowed down equipment wear, but couldn’t repair already damaged gear. There was a miracle that could repair it—Equipment Restoration—but it was beyond our current reach.

Truthfully, only Rena and I took the training seriously. The others lacked magical aptitude and preferred to focus on martial skills.

Rena’s gift for spellcasting was undeniable. She’d already begun practicing an advanced healing spell beyond Spirit Mend. Finding someone like the chieftain—a genuine miracle caster—and having a gifted teammate like Rena, here, of all places… Maybe that was our one stroke of luck in this nightmare.

“Spirit Mend.”

I focused my thoughts, trying to let my subconscious handle the meditation, just as the chieftain had taught. I guided my will into a self-inflicted cut on my hand. Slowly, the not-so-shallow wound closed.

I exhaled deeply. The healing was slow, but I didn’t feel much mental drain. Maybe I did have a little talent after all.

Wound myself, heal with Spirit Mend, repeat. It was becoming a habit. I was also trying to grasp Durability Maintenance, but truth be told—

What really occupied my attention wasn’t miracles.

It was something else entirely.

Another spell system—the Mysteries.

Miracles: phenomena triggered by a being’s spiritual energy—manifestations of soul and spirit. They were easy to start learning, and mostly focused on healing, defense, or enhancing people or objects. The powerful, offensive ones could only be cast by high-level miracle casters.

But what I wanted was something faster, more versatile, more reliable in combat—Mysteries.

So the chieftain lent me his private library.

Mysteries: laws that govern the hidden side of the world. Studied, understood, and manipulated by scholars to produce effects. Among the three systems—miracles, mysteries, and arcana—mysteries were the closest to what we’d call magic on Earth.

The catch?

Mysteries were the hardest to learn.

They sounded impressive, but at their core, they were built on knowledge. Massive, exhaustive knowledge. The only way to grasp it quickly was under the guidance of a teacher, starting from the very basics.

The two spells I had my eye on were Cat’s Step and Aether Infusion. Both extremely practical.

The upside of mysteries was that while the entry threshold was high, once you crossed it, you could pick up other spells in that tier much more easily.

Here’s hoping I can break through that barrier soon.

We don’t have much time.

And honestly, for the sake of morale, the chieftain and I agreed not to tell the others just yet.

But in the end, this was still just studying.

I’ll treat it like cramming for finals.

After all, I was this year’s provincial top scorer.

#####

Durability Maintenance
 • Type: Miracle · Support
 • Stamina Cost: Low
 • Effect: Increases the durability of equipment, making it more resistant to wear and tear. Does not enhance defense or repair already damaged gear.
 • Background: Created by a now-forgotten order of wandering knights during the rise of miracles in Yardelan. Originally intended to reduce equipment wear during long, jarring journeys. While it improves durability, it does not alter the item’s defense or attack power. With advanced use, it can also reduce damage from corrosion, fire, and similar hazards.
 • Acquisition: Learn from a related miracle user, or study books on miracle theory.

Cat’s Step
 • Type: Mystery · Support
 • Stamina Cost: Low
 • Effect: Reduces fall damage and muffles footsteps. With increased proficiency, it also slightly enhances agility.
 • Background: Originally created by a nonhuman race in the northern mountains of Yardelan, who mimicked the movements of animals. The technique later spread and was formalized by Mystery casters into an official spell. Due to its practicality and low stamina cost, it is one of the most commonly chosen beginner skills for Mystery practitioners.
 • Acquisition: Learn from any Mystery caster, or study books related to Mysteries.

Aether Infusion
 • Type: Mystery · Support / Offense
 • Spirit Cost: Medium
 • Effect: Concentrates aether and infuses it into equipment. Temporarily enhances the defense of armor or sharpness of weapons.
 • Background: Aether is considered the pure, formless essence of nature—free from external structures. Mystery casters believe it to be the fundamental substance of the world, and learning to manipulate it is a core part of their training. Imbuing armor with aether is a basic method of self-preservation, while enhancing weapons with aether is an effective strategy when close combat becomes unavoidable. Due to its practicality, even many warriors dedicate themselves to studying the spell’s complex, dazzling theory in order to master it.
 • Acquisition: Learn from a Mystery caster, or study books related to Mysteries.