Free Web NovelChapter 168: Path To Power
Three days later, Hajin’s group was making their way down a rough path toward an unranked Gate just outside the capital’s territory.
He walked at the front of the group, looking perfectly relaxed with his hands tucked into his pockets. Juna walked closely by his side, her tail swaying happily, while Loccy skipped just ahead of them and Vella brought up the rear of their immediate circle.
However, they were not the only ones making the trek.
Trailing a good twenty feet behind them, looking absolutely miserable, was Cassie and her party.
The three adventurers were currently hunched over, sweating profusely under the sheer weight of several massive supply backpacks. They looked more like overworked pack mules than actual combatants, groaning with every step they took up the path.
"I cannot feel my legs," the large man wheezed, his face completely red as he adjusted the giant pack on his back. "Cassie, why are we doing this? Why did we agree to this?"
Cassie wiped a thick layer of sweat from her forehead, glaring at the back of Hajin’s head. "Because he offered us ten gold coins a day just to tag along," she muttered bitterly. "And we are broke."
"But he has a spatial inventory!" the third man complained, nearly tripping over a tree root. "I literally watched him pull a whole dining table out of nowhere yesterday! Why are we carrying the physical bags?"
"Because it builds character," Hajin suddenly called back, not even turning his head.
The entire adventuring party flinched, immediately shutting their mouths. Cassie just sighed, tightening the straps on her bag as they continued to trudge forward, wondering exactly what kind of Gate they were about to walk into with this absolute lunatic.
"Actually, speaking of the Gate," Vella spoke up from the back of their group, stepping neatly over a large rock. "You still have not told us what kind of Gate we are actually going to. You just dragged us all out of bed at sunrise and told us to start walking."
Juna nodded in agreement, her ears twitching curiously while Loccy simply skipped forward without a care in the world. Even Cassie and her struggling party leaned in slightly to listen, desperate for some kind of context.
Hajin finally pulled his hands out of his pockets, turning back to look at all of them.
"The Guildmaster called me into his office yesterday," he explained, keeping his voice casual. "This specific Gate appeared a few days ago and normally, they would just send a standard scouting party, but after what happened with the Beast King Gate, the Guild doesn’t want to risk sending in random adventurers blindly."
"So they assigned it exclusively to us?" Vella asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Exactly," he smiled, turning back around to face the path. "The base pay from the Guild is incredibly good. On top of that, we get to keep absolutely everything we find inside, and we get to grind our levels in a fresh Gate. It is a complete win-win situation."
Cassie’s party let out a collective groan of misery from the back, realizing they were about to be dragged into a highly dangerous, potentially unranked anomaly just so Hajin could loot the place dry.
Cassie adjusted the straps of her bag, her face pale with worry.
"Wait," she spoke up, her voice trembling slightly. "If this Gate is so dangerous that the Guild is afraid to send in normal teams... why did you bring us? We are only two-shard adventurers. What can we possibly add to your party?"
Hajin stopped walking, his sudden pause causing the rest of the group to stop behind him. He looked over his shoulder at the exhausted adventurers.
"Do you want to stay weak forever?" he asked, his voice completely flat.
The question threw the entire adventuring party off balance. Cassie blinked, sharing a confused look with the large man standing next to her.
"I am giving you a chance to actually grow strong," he continued, his eyes locking onto Cassie’s confused expression. "You cannot expect to get stronger without taking any risks. If you just want to carry bags and stay safe, then you will remain a two-shard adventurer for the rest of your life."
Cassie stared at him in silence, chewing on her lower lip as she knew he was completely right. If they wanted to break past their limits and stop scraping the bottom of the barrel for copper coins, they had to step into the fire.
But even knowing that, this was still an incredibly massive risk.
"Why are you doing this for us?" she finally asked, her voice tight. "What do you even see in a group of failed adventurers?"
He smiled slightly, understanding exactly where her doubts were coming from. He knew these three were just normal people trying to survive in an absolutely cruel world, lacking the money and resources that nobles took for granted.
"I see great potential in you," he replied simply.
He didn’t say the words lightly. Golden mana suddenly flared in his pupils as he activated his Divine Eyes, peering deeply into the intricate flow of energy hidden inside their bodies.
"You," he said, pointing at the large man. "Your mana circuits are incredibly dense. You have been fighting defensively for years, but if you actually let your mana flow forward into your strikes, your raw power would easily match a three-shard adventurer."
The large man’s eyes went wide with shock.
"And you," he turned to the third man. "Your mana is remarkably fluid. If you stop trying to cast standard elemental spells and focus entirely on utility magic, you would cast twice as fast as anyone else in your rank."
He finally looked back at Cassie, his golden eyes glowing softly. freēwebnovel.com
"You are a natural leader, Cassie," he said, giving her a reassuring nod. "Your mana naturally extends outward to cover your team. You just need to stop being so afraid of making mistakes. Trust your instincts, and you will survive."
The three adventurers stood completely frozen on the path, staring at him in absolute awe. No one had ever spoken to them like that, let alone someone as terrifyingly strong as Hajin.
He let the golden glow fade from his eyes, his expression returning to its usual relaxed state.
"If you stick with me," he said quietly, "I can show you the path toward real strength. All you have to do is believe in my instructions."
The two men exchanged hesitant looks, clearly still a bit doubtful about surviving whatever suicidal Gate he was dragging them into.
Cassie, however, looked completely different. The heavy burden of worry had vanished from her face, replaced by a genuinely bright smile. She gripped the straps of her bag, a new spark of determination lighting up her eyes as she looked at him.
’Maybe meeting him that day in the forest really was fate,’ she thought, her heart swelling with an unfamiliar sense of hope.
"We believe you," she said firmly, speaking for her entire team. "Lead the way, Hajin."
