Kase's Departure Part 7

We have 2 hours before leaving this coastal village towards the place where the temple is. It will be enough time to stock up on food and other useful things. Also, I have to make sure to activate the effect of my skill on Amelia. I want to make sure I have plenty of time before applying it again for any mishaps that could keep me away from her.

Looking around, this place is quite nice. It is such a colorful village with a warm climate, and the sea's clear blue waters seem refreshing. I'm sure Mili would love this place. I have to bring her here on vacation. I hope that by that time, Amelia, Tricia, Ilene, and Syvis will also be by my side as my wives.

Speaking of Syvis, she went off on her own. She still appears pretty upset about what happened last night. I'm sure you need to buy a lot of materials to craft her potions. She will need sufficient potions as she won't be able to purchase or craft anymore once we enter the temple.

Ashalala also left as soon as I gave her the money and told her to stay in this village until we came back. She seemed pretty excited to be able to enjoy this paradisaic place until we returned. With the money I gave her, she can do whatever she wants and most likely will spend her time fucking like a rabbit with any attractive person who crosses her path.

I walked the streets buying what I needed and collecting some important information. One of the local adventurers who went to investigate the temple approached me when he recognized me and told me that even though it is hot here, inside the cave, it is quite cold for some reason. He also told me that other groups of low-ranking adventurers who have entered the temple are still inside, indicating that they were killed by something inside the temple or it is a large enough place to spend several days inside. This information helped me prepare for a cold place and with enough provisions for a long time. My magic bag can be considered a relic of [Zrephia]. The number of things that fit inside is much more than in normal magic bags. That has helped me a lot on long trips and in situations like this.

Two hours after doing everything I needed, I returned to the meeting point. Close to the corrals, where there were only a few people nearby. Everyone was already present except Syvis.

"Syvis hasn't arrived yet?" I asked Elan as I walked towards the group.

"That's right! Miss Syvis seems to be taking her time." Elan replies to me.

"Stop calling that Dark Elf 'Miss.' It's rare to call someone of that race that way." Celeste, our Healer, said in a sarcastic and mocking tone.

"I already warned you once. Keep talking bad about Syvis, and you will pay dearly." I told her.

"What's wrong with telling things like they are? My sister didn't lie." Our Tank Valeria spoke, "You are from a noble family, Kase. You shouldn't shame your family prestige by siding with people like Syvis."

Those two sisters are precisely what I always hated about the nobles when I was a kid. For the nobles, if you are not like them, you are inferior to them. Me being a bastard child, I was always constantly reminded of that.

"You-"

I was about to speak, but Syvis interrupted me.

"I don't need you to defend me." Syvis said, looking at me as she walked towards us, "I'm here now, so let's get going."

"That's all you have to say after making us wait for you, Dark Elf? What were you doing? Fornicating with a bum or something!?" Celeste said once again with a mocking tone.

This bitch thinks she can ignore my warning. I will have to teach her not to mess with me.

In front of everybody's eyes, I became invisible.

[Silent ****]

This skill makes me invisible and soundless, eliminating my smell and presence too. Even if they are all A-rank adventurers, it is practically impossible to detect me.

The shock of all of them was evident in their expressions, especially in Celeste's.

"Wait, Kase! Don't do anything hasty!" Elan screamed.

Elan and Gin are the two people in the guild that I hang out with the most, and they know me well. Elan knows I'm not playing around.

"W-What are you doing? A-Are you crazy!?" Celeste said, looking scared and glancing everywhere.

Valeria took out her sword and shield with the intention of defending her sister Celeste. However, none of them could even react when I knocked Celeste to the ground and, with my dagger in hand, the key in her palm. I removed my invisibility and stared into her eyes.

"KYAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Celeste screamed in pain as she felt my dagger pierce her hand. Her blood began to come out, spreading all over her arm.

Valeria was about to attack me, but I turned to stare at her, "If you attack me, I will consider you my enemy, and I will kill you."

Valeria stopped her attack, looking shocked.

Both sisters are prepotent; however, they're smart enough to know that even if they both unite against me, they won't stand a chance. Regardless that they are among the top A-rankers compared to an S-rank, they are nothing. S-Rank is a whole different league.

Sitting on Celeste's stomach, still with my dagger piercing her palm, I stared at her, "Listen to me. This time I'll let you live but insult Syvis again or mess with me, and I promise I'll make you suffer until I kill you in the most painful way. Understand?"

"Y-Yes..." Celeste said quietly, looking at me with scared eyes.

"Say you understand."

"I-I... un-"

"Kase, that's enough," Syvis spoke to me.

I got up from Celeste standing in front of Syvis.

"The same goes for everyone. Talk bad about Syvis, and you will pay for it." I said before taking Syvis by the hand and starting to walk with her, "Now let's go. We have a quest to do."

It seemed like everyone was still in shock, and no one moved until after a few seconds. Valeria removed the dagger from her sister's palm and threw it to the ground. However, before my dagger hit the ground, I stretched out my hand and activated the seal on my palm. The dagger that was about to touch the ground disappeared and appeared in my hand. Elan and Gin knew about my dagger, but the others looked incredulous at what they saw. This dagger is one of my favorite relics of [Zrephia] I possess. It's the dagger I use all the time. My dagger, magic bag, and other [Zrephia] relics I own have been a great investment.

Syvis also seemed confused by everything that had happened. We walked hand in hand for a few seconds until she seemed to react, and I pulled her hand away.

"I never asked you to defend me. There was no need for all that." Syvis said, sounding angry.

"It was necessary. They never would have stopped bothering you if I hadn't done something drastic." I reply.

"I don't need anyone's protection. I never have. Stop meddling in my business."

"I can't do that. Although it may bother you, I couldn't let the person I love be disturbed before my eyes without doing anything."

My words seemed to surprise Syvis as her angry expression changed to shock for a second before returning to anger.

"Stop that already!" Syvis said, sounding mad.

"I've never said I love you to a woman. It sounds weird, but it's the truth. I will not stop until I agree to accept that you love me too."

"You are wasting your time. For the duration of this quest, stay away from me." Syvis said that before picking up her pace and walking ahead of me each time, lengthening the distance between us further.

I can see that she doesn't know what to do with me. I have to be smart and my approach to her. I'm sure I can get Darx off her mind and make her all mine.

Shortly after, Elan and Gin caught up with me.

It had been a while since we had left the village, and we were walking towards the temple. Right now, Syvis was walking ahead of everyone. Elan, Gin, and I were in the middle, and the rest of the group was behind us at a considerable distance.

"You went a bit too far. But I can see why you go so far." Elan said, looking straight ahead at Syvis' ass, "Syvis has the best ass I've ever seen."

I stared at Elan, "Do you want to die too?"

"Of course not, chill! But Syvis is walking in front of us wearing a short skirt, so I can't help but see. Besides, you put me in a difficult situation. You brutally attacked my fiance in front of me."

Gin and I stopped, shocked, "Celeste is your fiance?" Gin asked.

"That's right! Our families got us engaged when we were kids, and my mom is already pressuring me to get married."

"I must say I pity you a little," I said.

"Hey, it's not that bad. Celeste is quite beautiful, although I have to accept that her character leaves a lot to be desired." Elan replied, "For not defending her now, I look like a little man. You owe me one."

"It was her fault," I said, "I warned her several times what would happen. I don't mind letting Arthur lead, but I had to make it clear to everyone who the real leader and next guild master is."

"I have a hard time imagining the lady's-man Elan married," Gin spoke.

"You were already married, right, Gin? How is that life?" Elan asked him.

I didn't know that Gin was married. He is the oldest of this party, so it is not surprising that he was married at some point.

"For me, it was wonderful! My dear wife was the best thing that happened to me in this life." Gin replied, "Even after three years of her ****, I still miss her every day."

"Haven't you thought about getting married again?" Elan asked him.

"Not at all. My dear wife was enough for me." Gin replied with a serene countenance.

"How she died?" I asked.

"My wife had the same disease as your sister. Her own mana was poisoning her. And unfortunately, we didn't find someone like Syvis who could help her."

I turned to see Syvis's back. I really owe Syvis a lot. She saved the life of the only person I care about. Or used to be. Now I also have Amelia and Ilene. But above all, I did not lie when I told her that she is the only woman I have said 'I love you,' and it is the truth.

We keep walking until we finally arrive at the place. The scenery is as expected in an area devastated by an earthquake, except for an anomaly: a colossal entryway situated at the mountain's base amidst the chaotic terrain of uprooted trees and dirt. This entrance dwarfs any other I have laid eyes on. Strangely, the colossal gateway lacks any doors or magic barriers, and my view inside its vastness is obscured in pitch-black darkness.

"There are traces of battle," Arthur said.

"Looks like the Dark Dragons and the Stormbirds already had their first clash," Valeria spoke.

"Is this really a temple? I've seen a [Zrephia] temple before, and it doesn't look anything like it." Elan said.

"Who knows..."

"Hey, before we go in, leave traps," Diva, our cold-blooded samurai, told Syvis, "Midnight Dawn will be passing through here soon, and hopefully, it will blow up on their feet. I hope on Setos feet, hahaha!"

"Are you still obsessed with Seto? If you like him, let me tell you that trying to kill him is not the way to make him fall in love with you." Gin told her.

Elan approached me and said quietly, "I think Celeste as a fiancée isn't so bad after all. It could have been worse and been engaged to Diva."

We approached a gigantic gateway and passed through it. In that instant, we were unexpectedly greeted by a bitter cold gust of wind. Once inside, with the exception of how big it was, it appeared to be a pretty typical cave, with a heavenly ceiling and several low-ranked beastly carcasses strewn throughout the cave. Our movements were quiet and calculated as we observed our vicinity and ventured deeper into the cave. Eventually, we arrived at a towering wall etched with cryptic inscriptions obstructing our path.

After a more thorough examination, we saw stairs lying beneath the wall, bordered by crumbling statues on both sides and culminating in a small door. We entered that small door, and the atmosphere shifted dramatically from that of a crude and primitive cave to that of an awe-inspiring temple. It was a long hallway adorned with pillars.

"Wow, the walls are adorned with a multitude of intricate scribblings and illustrations, serving as some sort of visual testament to the history and culture of this mysterious place." Gin expressed with fascination.

"Shut up! We're not here to have fun," Celeste spoke.

"Well, at least now, this place does look more like a temple," Elan added.

"How can you say that when the torches' warm glow elegantly illuminated every corner of this place, further enhancing its already surreal aura." Gin continued, "I'm sure this fire is made with magic. I had heard that the people of [Zrephia] could create a fire that lasted for centuries, but I never thought I would see it with my own eyes."

"If you don't shut up, I'm really going to hit you!" Celeste said, now sounding more mad.

As we walked towards the end of the hall, an ample space opened in a circular area surrounded by numerous small doors all around. However, what catches our attention the most, is an enormous void right in the center of this place.

"Why is it so cold?" Arthur asked, "It was getting pretty hot outside, but here it looks like we're in the middle of a blizzard."

"The cold seems to be coming from that void. Whatever is freezing, this place must be at the bottom of this cave." Valeria reply.

"Kase, can you use your skills to see what's at the bottom of that void or behind all those doors?" Gin told me.

"Sure"

"[Predatory Eye]"

This skill allows me to see behind solid objects. It is quite useful for detecting people or anything that emits heat. I can't see clearly what is behind walls, but if a person is behind one, I can see that person's silhouette in color between orange and red.

I used my skill to see the bottom of the void, and I managed to see many monsters stuck to the walls of that hole. However, I couldn't see the bottom. It seems that this cave is quite deep. Then I looked at the doors, and behind them, I managed to see that each door leads to a different path. This place is a real maze.

I told everyone what I saw.

"This place is quite strange. It doesn't look like a temple at all." Elan spoke.

"That doesn't matter." Arthur spoke, "Our objective here is clear. It is to search if there are valuable things in this place, and as adventurers that we are, clean this place of dangerous things that could harm the people that live close to this cave and find out the secrets of this place."

"We're already here, so I don't think we have a choice. Let's stop wasting time and move on. Otherwise, we'll never catch up to the two guilds ahead of us." Valeria added.

Celeste tried to detect with her sensory skill where the other two guilds ahead of us were but to no avail. My skill also didn't let me see too far. It's as if this cave somehow limits those kinds of skills that would help advance faster or understand what kind of place this is.

After choosing a door, we entered the narrow path, and a frigid blast of air greeted us. The place was dark, and we could barely see anything in front of us, so magic to illuminate the area was needed. Arthur, who was the tank, led the group deeper into the cave. As we walked, we realized how big and deep this place was. As we made our way through the icy terrain, we encountered various monsters along the way. For this group, dealing with this kind of monster that we had never seen before was not a big problem, but some lower-ranking adventurers didn't have the same luck, and their corpses were scattered in some areas.

Several days have already passed since we entered this cave, and to me, it has been easy. I am an assassin. My class works better when not close to the party, so I keep my distance from them when we advance through the cave. Using [Silent ****] and [****] lets me kill any monster in one hit. It's not flashy and seems like a normal stab, but it is not. It doesn't matter the size or how thick their skin is. If I combine those two skills, they die with a confused expressions without even roaring as they don't understand what killed them.

But that's the boring part. The fun happens when we stop to rest. We are 8, so we split up and take turns to sleep. I arranged everything, so my turn was with Syvis, Elan, and Celeste.

I told Elan to find a way to leave me alone with Syvis. Elan and Celeste are engaged. Besides, Celeste is still annoyed with me and doesn't like to be around Syvis, so it was easy for Elan to convince Celeste to leave to another place when we got on guard duty. It's the perfect opportunity for them to go to a hidden place and have sex to their heart's content.

Syvis, for her part, seems worried about how extensive this cave is. After the second day, she stopped drinking the 3 potions she usually drinks daily, and instead only drinks 2.

I suspect Syvis will not have the potions she needs for the entire run. Approaching her in those long periods when she has not drunk her potion is calming her anger with me, and on the contrary, it is letting me get closer to her the way I want, now that she knows that I want her as my woman.

Everything is as I wanted. The time has come to take the next and definitive step.