Chapter 208: Back to the Catacombs (4)
"Hah... Hah..." Letting out a tired breath as they successfully rushed out of the situation without any troubles, the group quickly began looking around the area to see where they were.
"Okay, so we ran quite a distance!" Frey stated. "Now... Where are we?"
"Do you think I know anymore?" Ethaniel frowned.
"Just continue going forward with the directions I gave!" Rustly stated. "We're bound to reach back to the Den soon!"
"Taking left constantly won't do us any good!" Reru clicked his tongue. "We're going to end up more lost than ever! It's better to take the next turn right!"
"Ugh... I don't see you having any better ideas! Yours is basically the opposite of mine!" Rustly frowned. "If we take left, it'll give us much more higher chances for us to head back unlike taking right!"
"What bullshit? The den should be on the right! Do you not know the map structure?" Reru scoffed.
"I can sense Madam Ru's mana from the other end!"
"Rustly, listen! I'm telling you, it's right!"
"Reru! I can sense that it's left!"
"So, like," Raina muttered out as she noted the deterring atmosphere in the area. "...what do we do? Our two main guides around the catacombs is in a heated debate over... Routes?"
"Man... These guys are going at it hard, huh?" Frey sighed. "What's up with that? Why do they have to argue?"
With the way things were from earlier to now, the tension between Rustly and Reru only grew. Thus, with the outbreak of the argument between the two slimes, the group could only helplessly standby as witnesses without being able to do anything.
"Ugh... This is annoying," Ethaniel frowned. "Can anyone NOW tell me what the hell's been going on here? What's up with these guys bickering at each other with more underlying tones?"
"We're as clueless as you," Shinto shook his head helplessly. "Thing's suddenly turned out to be like this throughout our entire journey. I can't really say much on the situation."
"Seriously?" he sighed. "Then, can't we simply kick those two out as our guides and drag the OTHER two slimes who are with us?"
"...us?" Yer blinked in a dumbfounded manner.
"I mean, you are the only other slimes in the room!" Frey stated. "So can you?"
"...well," Erith muttered out. "I'm just a castle guard whose rarely gone too far from the castle. Meanwhile... Minister Yer is the prime minister, so... He wouldn't be navigating through the catacombs as well," he reasoned. "Reru and Rustly who are both often out and about are the best guides. I'm afraid, my knowledge besides the few rumours of the unexplored areas isn't really that helpful."
"So, it's up to the arguing Reru and Rustly to continue guiding us?" Frey frowned. "How are we supposed to follow them back to the den where in the end, we might end up more lost than ever?!"
"This is quite the problem..." Kon muttered out. "What do we do?"
"Sigh..." Shinto sighed helplessly. "We're surely back into the catacombs, but where exactly are we is extremely vague. For all we know, we may as well have stepped foot into the unexplored areas as prove of the monsters that had appeared earlier."
"Do we convince Rustly and Reru to turn back then?" Raina asked. "Perhaps force might be necessary?"
"Even if we turn back now, it would rather be useless," he shook his head. "Not only do we have to go through the effort of mowing through the immortal mobs again, we'll have to retrace our steps which may take a lot of time seeing as how we found quite a lot of intersections to get to this point."
"Wow... This feels almost like an actual catacombs!" Frey cried out.
"...because it is," Ethaniel glared at Frey. "Ahem. With all this being an issue, what are you trying to suggest here? Continue getting lost?"
"...perhaps?" Shinto coughed. "If either of the two slimes are right and we follow one of them, we could possibly go back to the den without any more complications. But if either of the two slimes are as wrong as wrong can be, then..." he sighed. "We might have to welcome the fact that we'll suffer for a bit more longer."
"Are you kidding me?!" Frey cried out. "No, no! There has to be another way, right? Right?! I don't want to fight more monsters than I have to! Give me and my nearly broken equipment a break!"
"Another problem..." Ethaniel furrowed his brow. To make matters worse with getting lost in the catacombs, the group's equipment were starting wear off. If they continue fighting any longer, they'll end up breaking everything, leaving only their default outfits on them. "...but this won't solve anything! What the hell are we supposed to do now? With a useless guide, no clues on where to go, mysterious immortal enemies—At this point, I would have preferred staying in the Bareth's plain and making way towards the nearest kingdom."
"And then risk getting arrested?" Shinto sighed. It seems that with every decision the group made, the situation would turn out for the worse. "...yeah, our options are surely lacking."
"..." As Hikari and Crowelin listened in on the conversation between the original group, she quickly took a step forward towards the arguing slimes. In the next moment, the two picked up the slimes up respectively.
"Left! Stop arguin—" As Rustly and Reru were suddenly lifted off the ground, they words cut short as they now hurriedly began moving in a frantic manner. "Ack- What? Hey! What are you doing!?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," Hikari pouted. "Just what are you doing?"
"Well, I was discussing with this damn slime in front of me before you interrupted??" Reru clicked his tongue. "Now, put me down!"
"No," Crowelin frowned. "Not until you admit that you have no idea what you're talking about. Left and Right? That seems rather random and a 'I don't care, I just want out already' sort of mindset."
"What?" Reru frowned. "Who are you to say that?! I clearly know where we're going! Unlike Rustly here!"
"Huh?! I literally told you, it's left! You're constantly saying, right, right, right, right," he repeated. "But taking that turn will just take us no where! Madam Ru's magic is over at the left area!"
"And I'm saying that it wouldn't make sense! If we take a right turn, we will all—"
"Oh will you guys just shut up?!" Frey cried out. "Whether taking left or right is the correct option, you two arguing won't help us at all in this situation! We've literally been stuck in a loop for about an hour now, just compromise or something so we can get out of it!"
"..." The two slime's kept quiet.
"If it's really right, then why is it hard for the other to agree?" Frey pouted. "The same goes for if it's really left!"
"W-Well that's because—"
"—Because you're trying to hide the fact that you have no idea how to get back?" Shinto uttered out. "If we continuously take a single path, we'll inevitable end up to where we started."
"No, I literally said, I can sense Madam Ru's aura! And—"
"—And what?" Shinto continued to interrupt the slimes. "Just because you're able to sense her aura... I doubt you can properly grasp the direct flow given the way you are right now."
"..." Rustly kept quiet. "Then... If you all aren't going believe me or Reru, then what? Go back and find the other passageway?"
"No," Shinto shook his head. "As we discussed, that's not a good option. Then only thing we can do is..." he turned towards Frey to continue.
"—is to instead, go left and then right! We're gonna go zigzags instead of circles!" Frey proudly stated.
"...how's that going to help us in this situation?" Reru glared the Frey.
"Better than your previous idea," Ethaniel shrugged. "Unless you can think up on a way to head back to the den without all this complications of uncertainty, this is our best bet if we don't want to go in loops."
"Ugh..." Reru frowned.
"Sigh... Whatever! Just go with this!" Rustly conceded. "I'm sure we're near the den anyways. We just have to find the proper route..."
"A lot of trial and errors if we want to do that," Shinto sighed. "But, it is what it is. I just want to go back at this point."
"Perhaps if we get closer to the village, then Reru can sense the aura much more accurately," Hikari stated. "So it wouldn't hurt to walk aimlessly for a bit."
"Yeah," Shinto nodded his head. "If we do end up coming back to the starting point, let's use our inventory items as a marker. For example; leaving the monster drops every intersection we pass."
"Sounds like a plan!" Frey excitedly nodded her head. "Now then... Can we continue get on with the road? I have a good feeling this time!"
"Bah..." Without another word from the slimes, the two followed after the group.