Chapter 125: Cha.124 Aray City (1)

Yasmin shook her head.

“In other words, your ability at its basic level does nothing.”

Qasim’s smile froze on his face, but before he could speak, Yasmin continued.

“But I felt the strong force pushing me. I felt it hurting my bones and flesh.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“So my theory is that your ability manifests some sort of vibration waves, and because you are a Hilal-Awal, they can cause damage around you.”

Yasmin stepped closer.

“Your life energy is unique, and maybe that’s why your ability is unique too.”

Yasmin said those words but almost immediately regretted them when she saw the excitement on Qasim’s face rise to a new level. He showed his teeth in a huge smile while shaking his entire body.

“Please teach me how to control it!” Qasim shouted.

She gave him a cold glare but couldn’t help feeling a little satisfaction.

“Mmm, sure. But you better not complain,” she said with a small smile.

Qasim froze in fear.

…

“It’s been six days since Yasmin and Qasim joined us. How are they doing?” Kabil asked.

Adlan let out an impressed whistle.

“You already memorized their names? I usually just call them Crazy One and Crazy Two.”

Kabil blinked a couple of times.

“Who’s one and who’s two?”

Adlan raised his head while shaking it.

“Depends on my mood.”

Adlan then turned his head when he heard movement behind him.

“Ah, speaking of the devils…”

Qasim greeted the old man and the young boy before pointing between himself and Yasmin.

“I heard you wanted to speak with us. Is there something wrong?”

Adlan gestured for them to follow before answering.

“Actually, yes. The expedition has been brought forward, so we’re leaving in a couple of hours.”

He then pointed at some bags.

“Our expeditions take time, so we usually camp outside. And because you two need to eat, we managed to find some food for you.”

Qasim peeked at the food and saw some meat, vegetables, and even bread, which brought him a sense of relief.

Adlan then handed them a piece of paper.

“These are your roles and positions during the expedition. There are three rules.”

Adlan raised three fingers.

“Stay in your position and maintain the formation.”

“Only if you or a teammate are in danger can you break the formation.”

“Always keep your lantern near you. Don’t hide it, don’t lose it, and protect it so it doesn’t break. Remember, lanterns are important for helping teammates who might become corrupted, and they’re also important for escaping the effects of the darkness when we go deeper.”

Qasim raised an eyebrow and asked about the effects of the darkness.

Adlan was about to answer, but he noticed someone looking at them and instantly rolled his eyes with a sigh.

“What they don’t know is that there’s a secret fourth rule: always follow what the jester says, since she’s the whole point of this show in the first place.”

“Fuck off already.”

Adlan looked at the jester with a look of contempt and an annoyed expression.

The jester was sitting comfortably on top of a pile of boxes, wearing a mocking smile as she looked down at them.

“Actually, there is a secret fourth rule.”

Adlan pointed at the jester before turning to Qasim.

“Ignore this useless brat. Even if you think she might be in danger, she isn’t. Trust me, she can escape anything. But you can’t, so just ignore her.”

Qasim nodded, giving the smiling girl one final glance before leaving.

…

After some time, the commander ordered everyone to gather for the final preparations.

Adlan stood with the commander inside the tent.

Qasim and Yasmin waited with Kabil and the other warriors when a voice called out to Kabil.

Kabil looked at the approaching boy with a happy smile.

The boy looked very similar to Kabil, with brown spiky hair and honey-colored eyes. However, his facial expression was much sharper, and his muscles were more defined, giving him a more trained appearance than the other warriors.

“Habil!” Kabil waved happily.

Looks like they’re siblings…

Qasim looked between the two brothers.

Well, their parents definitely didn’t think very hard about their names.

Qasim laughed at his own thought.

“What are you laughing at?” Habil asked with a sharp expression.

Qasim almost choked when he realized that he hadn’t been as quiet as he thought.

He scratched his head nervously and apologized, saying that it was nothing.

Kabil then introduced Qasim and Yasmin to his brother, who didn’t seem particularly bothered to introduce himself.

Kabil noticed his brother’s reaction and laughed awkwardly before changing the subject.

“Where have you been? I was worried! Do you know that the moment you disappeared, there were monsters roaming the city? And then you stayed missing for the whole week!”

Habil brushed it off and said that he had just been fighting some monsters around the city.

Before Kabil could ask anything else, a loud voice caught everyone’s attention.

At the head of the warriors stood the commander, wearing his helmet and coat. On his right stood Adlan, while on his left stood a blond woman with a scar covering her right eye.

The commander stepped forward after Adlan called for everyone’s attention.

“Today, we are going on yet another expedition to reclaim what the curse took from us.”

“Our goal in this expedition is to clear the darkness from Aray City!”

Upon hearing the name, all the warriors began shouting.

Qasim looked around in confusion, but Kabil whispered to him.

“Aray City is known to be connected to many other cities through underground tunnels. If we can clear this city of monsters and darkness, we’ll have a much safer way to travel!”

Qasim nodded as he understood the scale of the opportunity this expedition presented.

The commander then turned to face forward and raised his spear.

Slowly, the warriors began moving forward, holding their spears in one hand while raising their lanterns in the other.

The heavy atmosphere raised the tension. The smell of rotten flesh surrounding them kept everyone focused as they slowly ventured into the darkness.