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Chapter 59: I’m Not Heavy at All

“Dimas? Didn’t you leave?” Reiner had never imagined that he would actually return.

“I am a knight; I don’t abandon my companions.” Dimas answered decisively, paused for a few seconds, and continued, “I failed to foresee the situation, so I apologize for what just happened; once we’re out, I’ll compensate you.”

With that, he put his helmet back on.

Anna held a torch, the light casting eerie shadows on her profile. “We’ve been looking for you for quite a while. There’s a magitech stone nearby, only a few hundred meters from here, and the necromancer is not far from it, so let’s hurry over.”

Reiner followed them into a narrow alley.

On the way, he asked Anna, “How are Junice and Nora?”

“Junice stepped on a trap during the retreat and her leg got caught; as for your slave, I don’t really know, but she’s still unconscious.”

Reiner felt a sinking in his chest and could not help worrying about Nora.

After weaving through alleys for a while, they bumped into more skeletons, though only a scattered few.

“Leave them to me.” A green wind blade formed in Anna’s hand, and with a light flick the skeletons’ heads rolled to the ground.

After they passed through the alley and walked a bit farther, Reiner spotted a magitech stone surrounded by a crowd of wandering skeletons.

Yet he saw no sign of any skeletal knights among them.

Dimas swung his knight’s sword and, with two retainers, prepared to carve a bloody path.

“I’ll handle it this time; I’ll blow them away, then we rush to the magitech stone.” Reiner raised Breath of the Red Dragon and began charging a Fireball.

“Boom!”

He failed to control the power, and the Fireball exploded around the magitech stone, a vortex of flames roaring upward.

The skeletons at the center were instantly charred, while those farther away were blasted aside by the heat.

This commotion would surely draw the necromancer.

Seeing that, everyone seized the chance and sprinted toward the magitech stone.

For this teleport, Reiner was the first to lay his hand on it.

Once he saw that everyone was ready, he poured mana into it and teleported away.

The scene before his eyes changed instantly, and Reiner saw a number of militiamen.

“They made it out, they made it out!”

“God bless them.”

“It’s truly a miracle.”

Realizing they were safe, Reiner let out a long breath.

It was still early; the team had spent less than 8 hours in and out of the ruins, and it wasn’t even late afternoon yet.

Reiner looked around, searching for the culprit.

He finally found that militiaman in a patch of grass.

The man had apparently been beaten by someone and was bruised and swollen.

When he saw Reiner approaching, he lowered his head. “Master Reiner, please forgive me. I thought you had already grabbed Sir Dimas’s hand. When I saw the necromancer chanting, I was so terrified that I instinctively poured mana into the stone. I’m very sorry…”

Before he could finish, a passing militiaman kicked him and knocked him flat.

Reiner was fuming.

Because of this man’s blunder, he and Martina had nearly died inside the ruins.

Reiner glanced at Nora out of the corner of his eye, tapped the militiaman’s head with his staff, and said, “Count yourself lucky; I’ll settle accounts with you later.”

He strode quickly to Junice.

Nora lay on her lap, hair a tangled mess, looking as though she were asleep.

“Thanks for carrying her out.”

“No need to thank me; Nora is my friend too,” Junice whispered.

“How is she now?”

“Still unconscious. She’s been like this since we left the ruins. I don’t know what’s wrong; I’ve never seen this before.”

At that moment Anna walked over, squatted down, lifted Nora’s eyelid for a look, and after thinking for a moment said, “When a Spirit is lightly damaged it turns erratic, but with severe damage it falls into slumber. About 10 years ago I fought the necromancer in these ruins, so I have some experience.”

Reiner gently stroked her cat ears and asked softly, “How can we cure her?”

“Just kill the necromancer who cast the spell.” Anna looked around at the injured and crippled militiamen and added, “They won’t be going back into the ruins anytime soon, and I don’t believe you can defeat the necromancer by yourself.”

Reiner scanned the surroundings.

Because of the necromancer’s spirit corruption, many of the militiamen had gone mad and were shouting wildly.

Some were even lying motionless on the lawn.

He let out a long sigh and gently lifted Nora from the ground into his arms.

“Is there really no other way?”

“Someone with a steely will can recover on their own, but I doubt she can; it’s exceedingly rare.” Anna shook her head and went on, “If it comes to it just buy another slave, it doesn’t matter.”

Reiner shook his head and replied softly, “She is anything but common.”

He turned to Junice and asked, “I heard you stepped on a trap; is your leg okay? Need me to take a look?”

Junice scratched her head. “I treated it with Heal Water; I can’t run, but walking is fine.”

Just then Dimas walked over.

He handed Reiner a pouch of money. “Here is your pay; thank you for your efforts.”

Looking at the pouch in his hand, Reiner sighed.

He had suffered a double loss.

Martina’s leg was injured, Nora was in a coma, and the necromancer was still alive, so the mission could not proceed for now.

If possible, he wished Nora could wake up right now.

Dimas nodded, then pulled out a gold coin and handed it to Junice.

Reiner reached into the pouch as well; it was full of heavy gold coins, certainly more than 15.

Perhaps this was Dimas’s compensation for his Spirit loss.

But it probably didn’t cover the value of the gear he had left in the ruins.

He had gone in fully armored, but between him and Martina the only thing that came out was a single staff.

Plate and chainmail armor were all left behind.

Reiner took 2 gold coins from the pouch and placed them in Junice’s hand. “Take them; you earned it.”

“I don’t need…”

Reiner cut her off. “Just take it.”

He then forced the coins into her hand.

Dimas looked at Martina, still on Reiner’s back, and asked, “Where is your armor?”

“It was too heavy. I ditched it so I could carry her out alive.”

Dimas sighed. “That is my mistake… I will reimburse you.”

With that he turned and walked toward the militia.

This time no one had died, but quite a few militiamen had suffered Spirit collapse.

Dimas likely would not re-enter the ruins any time soon.

After resting outside the ruins for a while, Reiner picked up the still-sleeping Nora.

Carrying just Martina on his back was manageable, but with Nora in his arms as well he could hardly move.

He set Martina down, knocked a thick branch off a tree with Water Orb, and said, “Use this as a crutch and walk on your own. You’re too heavy; I can’t carry you.”

Martina puffed out her cheeks…

(I’m not heavy at all!)

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