Chương 60: Chapter 59: The White Wolf’s Pack

The little gray mouse lay quietly on the sill of a half-open window, its body pressed close against the wooden frame. Not even its long, slender whiskers twitched. From a distance, it looked like a tiny gray wooden carving. Through the window, it had a clear view of the cabin's interior. Rayne and the others had only just woken up. Their collars were still slightly disheveled, their hair was tousled, and lingering traces of sleep remained on their faces.

The moment Owen saw them looking as though they had just gotten out of bed, his core sank.

"No way. Did they already finish the story?" Owen pressed his entire core close to the light screen as he muttered repeatedly under his breath.

"They haven't told it yet, they haven't told it yet, they haven't told it yet... Please tell me they haven't told it yet..." Just then, the handle of the door was suddenly pushed down from outside. The wooden door swung inward. Asar held it open with his elbow and carefully edged sideways into the room, carrying a heavy pot of steaming vegetable soup in both hands. Steam drifted gently with each of his steps, and the warm aroma quickly spread throughout the room.

Everyone who had been bleary-eyed only moments earlier stopped what they were doing. The next second, every gaze in the room fell upon the soup pot in Asar's hands.

"Wow! Asar, you glutton. You went out to get food first thing in the morning?"

"Mm. It smells great."

"I'm hungry..."

"Tyren, stop talking nonsense!" Several voices rang out one after another, and the room, which had still felt half-asleep moments earlier, quickly became lively. Asar carefully set the soup pot on the table. The heavy bottom struck the wood with a dull thud. Only after that did he leisurely straighten his collar, lift his chin slightly, and glance sideways at Rayne and the others with an exaggeratedly haughty expression.

"Oh, what a terribly lazy bunch you are." Asar put on a strange, affected voice as he delivered the line. Before anyone else could react, however, he broke character first, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"All right. It's freezing outside, so a bowl of hot soup in the morning should warm everyone up nicely." Tyren was still fastening his collar, and he had not even buckled his belt before eagerly rushing over to sit at the table. He grabbed the ladle and filled an entire bowl with vegetable soup for himself, all while waggling his eyebrows at Asar.

"Asar, the way you acted just now was exactly like one of those obnoxious nobles from a story." One of Asar's eyebrows twitched. He narrowed his eyes, but the smile on his face only grew wider and more amiable.

"Keep your mouth shut while you're ladling soup." Asar glanced down at the bowl in Tyren's hands before slowly adding,"You're practically spitting into the pot." Rayne, meanwhile, had finished straightening his clothes. With one hand pressed to his still-aching waist, he walked over to the table and casually ruffled Tyren's messy hair twice before looking up at Asar.

"Thanks for doing this. But why were you up so early today?" Asar raised a hand and jerked his thumb toward the door.

"My brother returned to the camp at dawn and even snuck into my room to wake me." He sighed, sat down at the table, and propped his chin on one hand as he looked mournfully at Rayne.

"He said he wanted to see whether I'd made any progress lately. Please. He just wanted to mess with me. If he really wanted to test my strength, couldn't he have waited until I woke up on my own?" The more Asar spoke, the more aggrieved he became. Finally, he muttered under his breath,"He must've been upset because I looked too comfortable sleeping..." Tyren was drinking noisily from his bowl. Hearing this, he suddenly raised his head and casually remarked,"You and your brother don't act much like nobles."

Asar's furrowed brow immediately relaxed, and even the look he gave Tyren softened slightly.

"Darian only acts that way when the two of us are alone. As for me, I became an adventurer precisely because I couldn't stand all those noble rules back home." Before long, Serin and Barton also joined them for the simple breakfast. Serin served herself only half a bowl of soup. Before beginning, she held the Pure White Star emblem at her chest and quietly offered her thanks. Only then did she pick up her spoon and slowly savor the soup, one small spoonful at a time.

Barton, on the other hand, was nowhere near as refined. He did not even bother with a spoon. After filling his bowl to the brim, he lifted it with both hands, tilted his head back, and began gulping down the soup. Scalding steam billowed against his face, but he seemed not to feel it at all. In only a few swallows, more than half the bowl was gone. Tyren sat nearby, staring so intently that he did not immediately notice his spoon slipping from his hand and landing on the table.

"... Doesn't that burn your mouth?" Barton lowered the bowl and let out a satisfied breath, steam curling from his mouth.

"It's fine." After breakfast, everyone remained seated around the table. No one was in any hurry to get up. They had endured an entire day of intense fighting in Graywood Town yesterday. Even after a full night's rest, exhaustion still weighed heavily on their bodies. For the time being, none of them wanted to set foot inside the dungeon again. Rayne did not try to force them.

"Let's rest for the next three days." He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his still-aching waist before continuing, "Once everyone has mostly recovered, we'll resume exploring the dungeon." Just then, Asar, seated beside the table, was the first to break the brief silence.

"Rayne, do you remember? Yesterday, you said that once everyone was together, you would tell us something." Rayne stared back at him blankly, clearly having forgotten the matter entirely. The faint anticipation on Asar's face gradually fell away. Only when his lips had flattened into a perfectly straight line did Rayne finally seem to remember. He raised a hand and lightly slapped his forehead.

"Ah... You mean that story." He gave the others around the table a rueful smile.

"Do you really want to hear it? There's honestly nothing special about it." Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Everyone exchanged glances. Then, as though they had agreed in advance, they nodded in perfect unison. Rayne raised a finger and scratched his cheek, but his gaze avoided everyone seated around the table. One moment he looked toward the door, and the next his eyes drifted toward an empty corner of the room, trying to decide where to begin.

After a moment of silence, he drew a deep breath."' White Wolf'... was actually a title I gave myself back then." A faint blush appeared on Rayne's face as he said it. He picked up his bowl of cold soup and took a sip, seemingly trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I was still young back then. I was about as immature as Tyren, and probably even more impulsive. Fear never even crossed my mind. At the time, I genuinely didn't believe there was anything in the world that could make me shrink back." Rayne set down the bowl and continued.

"So I gathered a few friends from town who had grown up with me, and just like that, we set out to become adventurers."

"Wait." Tyren leaned forward and pointed at himself in disbelief.

"Why are you attacking me in the middle of telling your own story, Greyhound?" Owen, who had nearly pressed his entire core against the light screen, gradually stopped fidgeting and quietly began listening to Rayne's story. Rayne ignored Tyren's protest and continued speaking at his own pace.

"In the beginning, we only dared to stay near a few neighboring towns. Most of the dungeons in that region had been deliberately preserved as training grounds for novice adventurers, so the monsters inside weren't particularly strong." Rayne slowly turned the soup bowl with one finger. His gaze gradually drifted beyond the people before him, as though he could once again see scenes from many years ago.

"The five of us had been running around together since we were children. We knew one another better than anyone, so, our coordination was much better than that of most rookies. It didn't take long for us to make a small name for ourselves among the novice adventurers in the area." At that point, he lowered his head and took another sip of the cold vegetable soup. Then, as though recalling something too embarrassing to bear, he let out a self-mocking snort.

"Then I got carried away and gave myself the title 'White Wolf.' I even insisted that everyone else call me 'Pack Leader'..."

"Wow, that's narcissism on an entirely different level... Ow!" The moment Tyren finished speaking, Serin's fist struck the back of his head without the slightest mercy. He immediately clutched his head in pain. When he turned and saw that Serin still had not lowered her fist, he obediently covered his mouth and shook his head rapidly, indicating that he would absolutely not say anything else. Rayne glared at him irritably before turning toward Asar and continuing the embarrassing story.

"In any case, I had a fair amount of talent. I reached Black Iron rank less than half a year after becoming an adventurer. The others progressed more slowly and were still at Mid White Porcelain at the time." At that point, Rayne's lips tightened slightly.

"And because of that, I became more and more full of myself." He lowered his gaze to the soup bowl in his hands, his thumb unconsciously rubbing along its rough rim.

"I started demanding that everyone follow my orders. Of course, whenever I encountered something I didn't understand, I would still ask for their opinions. And they would always answer me..." Rayne suddenly fell silent. He kept both hands around the soup bowl, but his gaze remained fixed on the small amount of broth left at the bottom. His knuckles slowly tightened, and the veins on the backs of his hands began to stand out. Only after a long while did he speak again.

"But the answers they gave me were never what they truly thought." Rayne's voice became very soft.

"They only told me what I wanted to hear, so I could continue believing that I was always right." He stared at the bottom of the bowl without raising his head.

"Whenever I asked them a question, they would always answer me."

"It wasn't until the very end that I finally understood. The one everyone had truly been taking care of was me." The hands holding Rayne's bowl began to tremble faintly.

"I was like a spoiled child. I thought it was only natural for them to stay beside me while I did whatever I wanted without ever thinking about the consequences." By then, his shoulders had begun to shake uncontrollably. When he spoke again, his voice had become low and hoarse.

"And the result of my recklessness and willfulness was that the four of them... could never answer another question of mine." Tyren slowly lowered the hand covering his mouth. He pressed his lips tightly together and placed both hands awkwardly on his knees. The playful grin he had worn moments earlier had vanished completely. After a brief silence, he quietly looked away, no longer daring to face Rayne. The lingering exasperation on Serin's face also disappeared.

She lowered her head, grasped the Pure White Star emblem at her chest, and silently moved her lips, offering a prayer to the Pure White Star for the four adventurers who had died long ago. Barton remained seated with his arms crossed, but his expression had grown far more solemn than before. He said nothing, merely lowered his head and quietly released a breath. Asar carefully pushed back his chair, walked around behind Rayne, and placed a hand on his trembling shoulder.

"Rayne, are you all right?" All the anticipation had vanished from his voice, leaving only unconcealed concern.

"Don't force yourself. If you don't want to continue, you can stop here." Asar paused, keeping his hand on Rayne's shoulder.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have pushed you to remember all this." Rayne released a long breath, and his shoulders gradually relaxed. He raised a hand, rested it over Asar's, and gently patted it twice to show that there was no need to worry.

"I'm fine. Go sit down." Only after Asar returned to his seat did Rayne lower his gaze to the soup bowl in his hands, a faint, strained smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"Honestly, now that I've said it aloud, I feel much lighter than I expected." Rayne tilted his head back and drank the last of the cold soup. He pushed the empty bowl toward the center of the table, its base scraping softly across the wood. Then Rayne raised his head and looked at each of them in turn. This time, he did not avoid anyone's gaze.

"Besides, I still need to thank all of you." His voice was calm, without the slightest hint of humor.

"Even after I got every one of you killed once, you were still willing to keep trusting me."

"Gr... Greyhound, what are you talking about...?" Tyren suddenly raised his head. The tears he had been holding back now filled his eyes, and his nose kept twitching as he fought back his sobs. When he tried to speak, his words came out blurred by the sob caught in his throat.

"I'm the one... who should be thanking you." He sniffed hard, both hands gripping his knees.

"You've always been the one putting up with how immature I am... Saying something like that all of a sudden is just unfair..." Barton did not speak. He simply rose in silence, walked over to Rayne, and extended his right hand. Rayne assumed Barton only wanted to shake hands, so he placed his hand in Barton's without hesitation. The next instant, tremendous force surged through his arm. Before Rayne could even react, Barton hauled him straight out of his chair and pulled him into a broad, solid embrace.

Barton gave him two heavy pats on the back. Before Rayne could make sense of what had happened, Barton released him and pressed him back into his chair. Rayne looked up blankly. Barton stood before him, his expression still almost entirely unchanged, and silently gave him a thumbs-up. After that, Barton turned around and returned to his seat as though nothing had happened. Rayne stared at him for several seconds.

For some reason, after Barton's clumsy attempt at comfort, some of the weight pressing against Rayne's chest seemed to fade. Even his smile became much more natural. Serin finished her prayer at that moment. She released the emblem at her chest and first gave Rayne a small, solemn bow, as though responding to the thanks he had just offered. Only then did she turn toward Tyren, whose nose had become red from crying, and reach out to rub his head.

However, despite the comfort in her expression, it also clearly said, "Let's see if you still dare to run your mouth all day after this." Tyren shrank his neck but did not avoid her hand. Watching the scene before him, Rayne suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. At that moment, Serin looked exactly like a mother comforting a child who had just done something wrong and then cried his heart out. ◆ ◆ ◆ Inside the Core Chamber, Owen had stopped making any sound at some point.

He remained pressed close to the light screen, but unlike usual, he did not drift around or offer any commentary on the story he had just heard. Only now did he finally understand why Rayne always placed such importance on his companions' safety. Because of his youthful ignorance, Rayne had permanently lost four companions who had grown up beside him. Even though the people around him now could return safely through Trial Return, the wound left in his heart would probably not heal so easily.

"No wonder he suddenly said so much the last time they challenged Bonecrusher..." Only now did Owen truly understand why Rayne had become so emotional back then. Hearing the story left Owen's heart aching for Rayne. Yet beneath that sadness, a small, indescribable sense of happiness also surfaced. At least Owen finally understood Rayne a little better.

"I wish I could be there with them and comfort him too." Owen's quiet murmur echoed throughout the Core Chamber. Unfortunately, he was still only a core that could not leave the dungeon. The silence continued for quite some time before Owen gently rocked his core and slowly floated away from the light screen. He switched the display back to the dungeon and began examining the adventurers' progress even more carefully than before.

"Rayne went through something so painful, but he still managed to stand back up one step at a time." Owen looked down at his own core.

"I might have turned into a broken rock, but there are still things only I can do!" A seemingly endless rush of motivation surged through his core, making him want to get to work immediately.

"Since I can't stay by your side, I'll make this dungeon as good as I possibly can. I'll help you learn how to face danger here and become stronger."

"That way, the next time you encounter real danger, you'll at least have a little more strength to protect yourselves and your companions." Just as Owen made his decision, the entrance portal lit up once more. There were already eighteen adventurers inside Sinner's Canyon, but this time, the portal did not block the newcomers outside. The members of an adventuring party stepped into the dungeon one after another, simply to see whether it would work.

When the light of teleportation faded, they did not appear inside the crowded starting chamber. Instead, they appeared directly outside the circular plaza where Cassandre stood guard. Owen looked more closely and immediately recognized them. They were the Bronze-rank party that had successfully defeated the Whisperer yesterday! Like Rayne and the others, they had completed Sinner's Canyon's challenge and were therefore no longer restricted by the first area's eighteen-person entry limit.

"Oh! We really did get in!" Seeing the group look around the circular plaza in delight and surprise, Owen also perked up and eagerly pulled the light screen closer.

"A new group of challengers for Graywood Town is here! Let's see how far you can make it!"