Next step!

While everyone was fighting cannon fodder like the shark, Seth alone took care of the Stage 4 creature, the boss of the Blessed Land.

A surprise nobody was aware of.

Ragna held Seth's head in his lap while a healer attended him.

"Should we retreat?" Ragna said.

"Y-ess," Seth answered with his wrenching voice hidden beneath the false expression of "everything is good," Seth attempted to put on a brave front His words, strained and forced, aimed to provide reassurance and comfort to the party members.

"But not all; someone needs to go after the boss."The pain in his voice subtly revealed the severity of his condition.

There was no need for Seth to explain any further the sight everyone had witnessed was enough.

The battle between the boss of the Blessed Land and Seth was intense; the sheer injuries on both bodies conveyed it properly.

"Right now, his condition is critical. Even a punch or bullet will be sufficient to kill him."

Cough. Ragna coughed, placing his hand on his mouth...

"Infection."

His hand covered his mouth, not only to stop the cough but also to hide the worry that infection might make things worse.

"Cough"

The growing tension squeezed his stomach, a gut reaction to the unsure situation they were in.

There were too many injured people, both sailors had lost one arm, Seth was severely injured, and two more people were bitten by a shark.

Infection was surging in their bodies.

Four people were healthy: Steve, Healer, Rin, and Alex.

"-Sigh."

"I have to tell you all. I discovered the reason for the surge," Seth said, still being healed by the healer.

"It's an ancient artefact like a sphere. There is a tremendous amount of Spirituality trapped in that artefact; this is the only reason the octopus didn't consume it right away, afraid he will be unable to assimilate the core properly."

"It's the core that the boss is guarding. The place is not far away from here; it will only take just some dozens of steps to reach."

"What do you want to say?"

Rin, taking an eye around searching for any potential danger said.

She surely knows any creature who follows a devoured pathway, they consumes artefacts and creatures rich in Spirituality to power up and enter the next stage of evolution.

"You know, just think about it. The sheer aura of artefacts has caused octopuses to evolve in Stages 4 in mere weeks. If he consumes it, that would be a disaster," Ragna said and continued, "Right now, we alerted him; he is injured. What do you think he would do in a situation like that?"

"It's all because of Seth. If he didn't pursue us to continue, we would be safe," a sailor said.

"Don't forget the decision is made by voting, with one of your precious votes included."

Then ignoring him, Rin turned to Seth and asked, "Don't play around, just tell me what you want."

"As you can see, my team and I are not in a situation to carry on; we will withdraw."

"And?"

"And I want you to continue with your junior."

Seth turned toward Alex, who stood away from everyone holding a gun.

Steve was with Alex, trying to calm him down.

Silence gripped the air, and the distant thud echoed, enhancing the tension.

A salty taste accompanied by a bitter smell shrouded the Seth's senses.

After 10 seconds of hush, seeing Alex, Rin sighed.

"—Fine!"

"Here, I have something for Alex."

****

Away from the discussion, Alex and Steve were both busy in their interaction.

"Look, Steve, it's not like someone will always swoop in to save us or dispel sudden danger," Alex emphasised, his face hidden with a blindfold reflecting a mix of urgency and anxiety.

Steve, placing his hands on Alex's shoulder, tried to calm him. "Yeah, I get it, but you don't need to act so... Where are you even aiming? There's no one there."

Alex shook his head, a sense of paranoia driving his actions. "No, no, you don't understand. What if a shark suddenly jumps from the fog behind you? What if the land we're standing on is a trap? What if the octopus we saw was watching our every move? With mineral manipulation in play, what if that's not the only ability he has? What if he can use sonar, and radar from?any construct he produces?"

Steve tried to reassure him, "No, no, calm down, Alex. No way that's going to happen."

However, as if to deny Steve's claim, a fish suddenly leapt onto him from the side. —Bang! Alex swiftly fired at it.

"See that..."

"That's just a coincidence, Alex," a third voice echoed, and Rin approached both of them, holding a circular metallic disc with a dark texture and a rusty frame.

"Use your ability on it," Rin instructed, urging Alex to employ his unique skills.

Taking cautious steps back, Alex hesitated, "No way, what if that's a cursed object? I'm not going to touch it."

"Ah!" Rin exhaled a breath in annoyance. She didn't know about Alex's ability; it was just Seth who requested her to do so. Seth mentioned that it would help gather more information. The disc in her hand came from the boss; according to Seth, Alex can learn about any object he touches.

She informed Alex addressing her real intention, "Let me ask. You saw the boss, right? What do you think we should do about it?"

She threw the disk toward Alex for him to catch, but he didn't; instead, Steve took it.

While her words sank into Alex's mind, momentarily stealing his breath. He never imagined, among all the people in the team, Rin would ask him.

Furthermore, why is she changing the topic so suddenly? Just a breath before, it was about using ability, but now.

Nevertheless, the crux of the matter is that he has to make a decision, a choice that would determine his future and his life.

His heart screamed at him to immediately retreat, returning to the boat and departing outside the blessed land, while his paranoid nature pushed him to confront the danger. He is aware of the boss's situation; right now, he is injured.

If left as it is, it's possible to recover and become an obstacle on retreat. If that creature recovers, it will be more powerful. The sight of Seth, who is the strongest in the group, in such a situation is terrifying, and just imagining himself in Seth's place generates terror in his psyche.

Alex can't confront him. He doesn't have the ability to harm that ferocious creature; its mere presence had rendered Alex breathless.

Not entertaining his thoughts anymore, he suddenly announced his choice.

"Kill it."