☀️ Arselia and Akonia

Just before Kline, as far as the eye could see, the cloudy peaks of the Kridean mountains rose into the sky. A warm, nostalgic feeling, like a funny anecdote in Margel's forge, completely overwhelmed him. Every mountaineer dreams of conquering the highest peak, reaching the greatest summit, where the boot of imperial civilization has not yet set foot. He accepted the new challenge with a sense of duty and the confidence of an experienced climber.

However, with each wrong step, with each hastily conquered ledge, he became increasingly aware that he was not in his native Kridea. Instead of the pure freshness of the mountain air, his face was scorched by the hot desert wind with the scent of extravagant women's perfumes. His fingers, usually agile, slipped on the fleshy stone surface, as if trying to throw him into an abyss. Completely exhausted, he hopefully raised his head, but to his horror, he saw only new rocky peaks, completely obscuring the sunlight.

In the approaching darkness, he clung to the edge of a ledge, forming a natural exit from a huge cave, completely hidden in the darkness. Something terrible and frightening lured him into this abyss, but he had already taken the first hesitant step towards the Dungeon. A strong stench of acid-melted iron hit his nose. The mountaineer's steps echoed with a dull, disgustingly sloshing sound throughout the night-covered vaults. He lost all track of time; past, present, and future merged into one in his tormented mind.

Suddenly, a huge predatory python burst out of the darkness, wrapping its deadly grip around the lower half of the Knight's body. Kline lost his balance and collapsed on the stone floor, desperately trying to break free from the monster's suffocating embrace. But the monster had no intention of giving up, pulling its prey deeper into the cave with quick and methodical jerks. Kline's back and arms were all scraped against the jagged mountain protrusions in his naive attempts to shake off the giant snake, but all in vain.

He finally lost all hope of salvation when a familiar male voice reached his ears. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember who it belonged to. The snake stopped for a moment, hissed menacingly, and loosened its grip. A moment later, the creature rushed towards another naive traveler who dared to spend the night in the cursed cave. With heavy, wheezing breaths, Kline somehow regained his ability to breathe, and later, to think. Without weapons, they cannot defeat this creature, but perhaps they can escape from the Dungeon. Yes, just as the unknown comrade hastened to help the mountaineer, he himself must not abandon his comrade in trouble. Sooner or later, the snake will be satiated, and then they will have a chance.

Somehow getting to his feet, the warrior cracked his back and bravely rushed deeper into the cave.

***

Kline opened his eyes and saw a colorful image from the Vishni encyclopedia in front of him. Unintentionally, he began to read the textbook, hoping to find their recent employer on the next page. Putting the borrowed reference book aside, he somehow sat up in bed and reluctantly stretched. Apart from the giant scorpions lurking outside the city gates, southern life could quite possibly have a beneficial effect on his health: even in his current deplorable state, he managed to increase his stamina simply by being in the royal palace.

He should definitely thank Alaria again: unlike her unfortunate comrades, she managed to not only explore all of Barsina in the past week, but also get them two pairs of excellent hiking boots. Thinking about this, Kline came to the conclusion that in her native world, time undoubtedly passed much faster than in ours. This is the only way to explain how she managed to combine studying a complex southern dialect with reconnaissance, reading, bathing, and buying equipment. As with Kenshiro, the Knight was sincerely glad for the allies bestowed upon him by the goddess herself; only the painful fact that he could not match them as a leader was unpleasant.

[5 chapters of the textbook + one newspaper with Kenshiro, should be enough for Fury?]

On Sunday, an unnoticed raven flew over the "Haven of the Sun."
It soon turned out that, like Septet, it was the familiar of the princess. His name was Triad, and he was now interested in the progress of the mission.

—Greetings to you, swift messenger of Her Highness. Is everything alright in the glorious city of Margel, is Her Light healthy? I would give anything for a fresh newspaper from home...
Being in the imperial nest, Kline sometimes missed home. He could no longer remember what he had set out to do, and how he ended up in the service of the princess. However, now, being back in a foreign land, his thoughts more and more often turned to Margel, to the estate that had become his home during his service. It seemed to him that this place was his true home, and Naria was the air that gave him life and existence.

—Please inform Her Highness that the voyage took much more time than expected. It seemed that we had captured all the possible storms, not to mention the subsequent incident. Nevertheless, we managed to gain the favor of the Great Tsar, only after Her Light's message was committed to the flames. However, we did not obtain any useful information during the meeting.

—In Barsina, we have not yet found any traces of the apostles, although we have explored the entire city. In the absence of any incriminating techniques, it is not yet possible to distinguish them from ordinary people; to strike randomly means to turn the entire Calcite against us. We can only hope that sooner or later they will suffer the fate of Victor and reveal themselves.

—The surroundings are teeming with terrible monsters and shrouded in quicksand. The southerners have developed several ingenious tricks to ignore the effects of the desert. In addition, even their slaves seem to be three times taller than the average imperial citizen. We have accumulated enough money to buy equipment and are preparing to go on an expedition to the surrounding areas. However, traveling through the desert will take us many days, for which I offer my deepest apologies. Nevertheless, I assure you that the thoughts of everyone in the squad are focused exclusively on our mission, and nothing is more important to us than the instructions of Her Light.