journey to south

Stay safe

Caius opened his eyes slowly — and watched the orange-haired boy fighting an invisible sword.

The clash of steel rang through the room, which made no sense; Caius had been the only one there, and the boy already had a wound in his chest wide enough to kill him. Where did that sword come from? he wondered, scrambling to his feet.

This is my chance to escape, he thought, turning toward the passage.

But before he could run, the orange-haired boy collapsed.

Blood rushed from his mouth, and a second wound gaped in his chest. Caius stared at him in shock. Did he just get stabbed? he wondered, looking at the boy’s wide-open eyes.

“Such a pity,” Caius murmured, bending down to look at the corpse.

Then panic struck him.

“No — this place is haunted. I can’t stay here.” He stumbled backward, turned to run, and found Mina standing there.

Mina rushed toward him. “Hope you’re okay,” she said, and the concern in her voice — the care — left him puzzled.

Mina and Ivy had always bullied him since childhood, and it was his own revenge plan that had gotten him stuck with them.

“I’m okay,” he said, shaking his head.

Mina patted his shoulder and walked toward the corpse.

“Wow, Caius, you managed to kill this tough guy,” she said, bending down to search the orange-haired boy for anything valuable.

“Hmph. Such an empty guy.” She frowned and kicked the corpse in frustration, one foot planted on it. She looked half-mad doing it.

The dead boy’s clothes were torn.

“The pendant?” she asked, holding out her hand toward Caius, who stared down at the floor.

“I haven’t found it yet,” he said, scratching his head in shame.

“It’s okay. It’s almost dusk. Let’s look for it together,” she said, and they both bent down to search.

In no time, Mina found it. She looked at the pendant — then her eyes caught the steel sword lying close to Caius, smeared with blood.

“You have such a beautiful sword,” she muttered, picking it up and examining it closely. This is the sword Caius used to defeat this guy? So ordinary, she thought, before handing it back to him.

“Let’s go.”

With that, they walked out of the treasure room toward the rest of the crew.

“Ivy, you won’t believe what I saw. Caius was able to kill that orange-haired guy with an ordinary sword!” Mina shouted excitedly as she approached Ivy, the pendant in her hand.

“We got the pendant,” she said happily, waving it in front of Ivy and the two twin girls.

Seeing them, Caius smiled. They were identical. He still remembered how they had been thrown aside by the orange-haired boy and his brother, even though they had been camouflaged.

“Finally, back to camp to rest,” Ivy said, breathing out in relief as she stretched her long arms. They all looked worn and torn.

It had been just two boys against the four of them, and they still hadn’t won easily. What kind of boys are they? Caius wondered as he followed behind.

Finally going back. I would never challenge Mina and her crew ever again, he swore inwardly, sneaking a peek at Ivy.

Ivy was evidently the strongest, yet she deferred to Mina — and Mina wasn’t weak either. He had always felt Mina was lesser than Ivy, but Ivy always listened to her.

“Stop staring before I gouge your eyes out,” Ivy said rudely, frowning without sparing Caius a glance. She hated the way people stared at her.

“It’s okay, Ivy,” Mina said, then turned to look at Caius with a serious expression.

“Don’t take Ivy to heart. Trust me, she’s one of the sweetest souls,” Mina said — and Caius turned just in time to see Ivy roll her eyes at Mina’s statement.

But those were far from his worries the moment his eyes met the sword covered in blood.

He tried to hold it, and the sharp pain he had ignored earlier made him drop it at once.

Only then did he notice the wound on his palm. Where did I get this wound? he wondered, staring at it before bending down to pick up the sword again.

Back at Northern Camp, Mina waved him goodbye as they went their separate ways.

Today was his last day there, and it was all thanks to Henry Ford. “That bastard,” he cursed.

Speak of the devil — when Caius walked into his tent, there was Henry Ford with a smug look on his face.

“Don’t take your victory to heart. Who knows? Before this time tomorrow, monsters might be feasting on your bones.” Henry laughed as he shoved Caius aside. He didn’t care where Caius had been.

They were to leave before six the next morning for South Camp, said to be the safest camp in the world.

“Safest, my foot,” Caius scoffed, stamping the floor. “With monsters everywhere, we’ll be devoured before we even reach the South.” He lay on his bed and closed his eyes.

Around three in the morning, Henry Ford, Kim, Sonia, and Kain woke him — his team. As much as he had dreaded this day, there was nothing he could do about it.

Heavy-eyed, he dragged his feet toward the assembly ground where Supervisor Lin was waiting for them.

“Good thing you’re here, Caius. Your mission on this journey is to stay alive, and to reach South Camp,” she said, looking at him.

He was the weakest among all his teammates.

Supervisor Lin was still studying him strangely — as if she had watched him do something impossible and couldn’t explain it, even if she wanted to, How he had managed to beat Henry Ford was something she failed to understand, but she had seen it with her own eyes; she couldn't deny it even if she wanted to.

Caius nodded. Stay alive? Oh, spare me that. I can’t even touch the hair on your daughter Ivy’s head, let alone kill a monster, he cursed inwardly.

She turned to Henry Ford. “Take good care of Caius. I don’t care about the tricks or methods you used to make him leave the camp — protect him at all costs.”

Henry looked at Caius — and Caius watched his face go carefully, deliberately blank. Now he understands why Ivy hated Caius.

Supervisor Lin protects him—but he's just a powerless boy. Why does he gain Supervisor Lin's favor? Henry thought, hiding his feelings with a smile.