Chapter 12
"The weather won't get worse in the next two or three hours."
Riftan, who was measuring the direction of the wind and the thickness of the clouds, leapt on to a rock. Ruth, who was panting laboriously as he followed him, sighed heavily and crawled up the rocky path. They hiked for another 40 minutes, then took a rest when they found a small pool of water.
"Let's take a short break here."
The wizard only nodded his head, having no energy left to respond in words. Riftan opened his canteen of water and drank the remaining content. He then scooped up some water from the pool and handed it to the wizard. Ruth plopped down on the ground, drank a bit of water and asked Riftan breathlessly.
"Will it rain?"
"... Soon."
Riftan replied in a blunt manner, took a jerky from his bag and chewed on it. After five minutes, they continued their journey again. Dark clouds began to gather above them beyond the bare, gray mountain peaks.
Feeling the wind pick up the brooding weather, Riftan hurriedly searched around the area for a place where they could shelter from the rain. As he urged the wizard to climb up the steep slope, Riftan discovered a small cave between the humongous rocks.
"At this rate, we will run out of necessities before we get to our destination."
"If so... we're not far from finding ourselves empty-handed then." Ruth responded curtly, picking up his ragged breath.
"How many people do you think are climbing Ramek Mountains at such a tremendous pace? We left right away when we received the quest, even the other mercenaries who accepted this quest and left as soon as possible, would already be behind us by now. So please stop eyeing me pathetically. No other wizard in the world can stand this as long as I do!"
"If you used your energy to walk instead of talk, we would have reached our destination by now."
Ruth opened his mouth to retaliate and disprove his statement, when a roaring sound resonated from the sky. Riftan turned his head to watch the pouring rain. It didn't take long for the black peaks of the mountains to be filtered with white mist. Ruth sat leaning against the cave's wall, mumbling grimly, perhaps to alleviate his nerves.
"If only I knew this would happen, I would have just followed other mercenaries and joined another quest. The hardships become sufferings and the criticisms are getting harsher..."
"I really hope you do, it's better if you do that next time."
Riftan muttered dryly, sitting with one leg stretched out. The rainwater quickly soaked the scrawny branches black. Ruth, who was sitting with a blanket wrapped around his body like a cocoon, suddenly opened his mouth to speak.
"Sir Calypse, why do you choose only difficult quests? Although exploring ruins and finding relics or artifacts make good money, there's a lot of danger involved. There's a high chance that you will encounter monsters or vexing traps. Wouldn't it be better to participate in war battlefields like everyone does? With your skills, Sir Calypse, you will be able to make legendary contributions..."
Riftan replied, cutting off Ruth in mid-sentence. "There's no money in wars. Catching a half-dragon will pay a lot better."
"But people who participate in wars are more likely to get ahead. If you perform well, you might catch the eyes of nobles and become a knight..."
"I'm not interested."
"... If you continue to live like this, you might die even before you reach forty years old."
