2025-04-17 13:17:21The creature doesn't appear to be moving from its spot. Although the amethyst crystals that covered the creature's body were constantly eroding, the creature genuinely paid attention to Anthonius's Rain Arrow. Alyosha, who had successfully moved Anthonius's body away from their former battlefield, saw this but said nothing, staying hidden.
Anthonius asked Alyosha, "Can you hide your magical power for as long as possible? The creature will target someone with the greatest magical power in this area."
"I can." Alyosha instantly concealed his magic, though it might not last long.
"Even if you walk in front of it, as long as you don't have any magic, the creature won't be able to find you. We return to Fort Solfini right now. That is the nearest safe place we can reach." Anthonius advised Alyosha to go back to Fort Solfini.
"Are you sure?" Alyosha questioned doubtfully as he observed the creature that had only moments before attacked them. "I might not be able to face it. You and Dima have already fallen. What happened to the victims we were attempting to help also makes me question. Are they alive or dead? You're not attempting to deceive me, are you?" Alyosha believes Anthonius is attempting to deceive him.
Anthonius tried to persuade Alyosha by saying, "Trust me!"
Alyosha became quiet for a while. To calm himself and stop his heartbeat from beating, he inhaled deeply and then gently exhaled. Then Alyosha gently lifted Anthonius onto his back. Unfortunately, this resulted in Anthonius's feet dragging on the ground because of the considerable height difference between the two. Every time Alyosha stepped, the scraping sound of Anthonius's shoes could be heard, yet the creature appeared to be unaffected. He crawled to the left or right sometimes, but otherwise appeared to be silent. Like they were looking for something.
"The creature is trying to find out if our magic exists. Continue to conceal your magic. You can talk to me if you'd like to, but the most crucial thing is to keep your magic power," Anthonius stated.
Alyosha, who had been perplexed by every order Anthonius had given him, questioned, "Is the creature deaf and blind? How can he not hear us?" Curious, Alyosha asked.
Alyosha panicked at the sound of Anthonius's laughter. Furthermore, the beast is now just a few meters ahead of them. "I... can't say whether the creature is deaf or blind, but I would say that this creature does not yet have the organs to perform those functions," said Anthonius.
Abruptly, Alyosha came to a halt. Alyosha had the audacity to turn and get a close enough look at the creature. A body covered in ragged linen with holes in it, a long tongue protruding, and a pair of pale white eyes. Fingers with long, curled brownish-green nails and arms that were starting to decay and showed some bones.
"As long as you can hide all the magical energy you possess, you are safe!" replied Anthonius.
"I hope Javier and the others are still far enough from the city border. With their limited knowledge and lack of preparedness," Alyosha prayed his teammates wouldn't have to face the thing before them.
"They will only arrive in 7 to 8 hours. A detour is necessary. Dima is undoubtedly well aware of what has transpired. The site of the Mithril mine is inaccessible to us. You need Dima's assistance to cross the river. In contrast to me, you must recuperate Dima first," Anthonius clarified.
"All right!" Alyosha said.Alyosha started to comprehend Anthonius' scheme. Alyosha raced to the location where he had concealed Dima's body, still trying to conceal his magical energy. After the snowfall, Alyosha was shocked to see that some of Dima's limbs were beginning to recover thanks to ice crystals that were strewn all over the ground. After moving as though alive, the crystal grains stuck together to recreate Dima's previously severed limb. Furthermore, the ice crystals caused the wounds on Dima's body and armor to gradually heal.
"Have you all returned?" Dima inquired.
"Order Javier and the others to return to the fortress immediately!" replied Anthonius.
Dima chuckled before he obeyed Antonius's command.
"Can you put me down for a moment!" Alyosha was asked to lower him by Anthonius. Since elves are the best at recovering manna out of all creatures, Anthonius's manna started to slowly recover. They would need to conceal themselves there for another hour or two, though, until Anthonius is able to walk by himself.
Alyosha, who was greatly concerned about Anthonius's situation, inquired, "Are you okay?" The young general could barely move his body a moment ago.
Anthonius inquired, "How long can you hide your magical energy?" Rather than responding to Alyosha's query, Anthonius redirected the inquiry to Alyosha's capacity to conceal his magical force.
"At most... maybe 5 to 6 hours. There may be some leaks even then. I can still hold it decently for one to three hours," Alyosha said.
Antonius was able to move his hands once more. Then he attempted to get to his feet, and the manna appeared to be nearly recovered. "We will search for the victim's whereabouts. For a moment, I employed magic detection to locate her. The young girl was hiding on the second level of the building that was the furthest away. She was also concealing her magical ability; it appears that she was aware that the thing she was up against used the sorcerer's body's magical strength to discover her opponent's presence."
They immediately left their hiding place once Anthonius was able to walk independently. Anthonius walked ahead of Alyosha to indicate the way to the victim they needed to rescue, and Alyosha followed him. Anthonius glanced around every now and again. He was watching for the thing that might show up out of nowhere.
They came shortly after. While he went into an abandoned building where the victim they had to save was hiding by himself, Anthonius urged Alyosha to wait below. Alyosha concurred. After a few minutes, Anthonius emerged with a girl who appeared to be between ten and twelve years old in her hand.
Anthonius inquired, "Who taught you to hide your magic energy?"
The girl is just silent. With a terrified expression, she looked at Anthonius and Alyosha alternately.
Then she said, with her hands still shaking, "There is a creature that is chasing me and my friend. The creature killed my friend, then took his heart!" the girl exclaimed.
Alyosha's expression was bewildered as he gazed at Anthonius. Anthonius was asked by Alyosha, "What is she talking about?"
Anthonius did not answer. He asked the girl to climb onto his back, then asked Alyosha to walk eastward to return to Fort Solfini. Alyosha refused. Because if they take the eastern route back to Fort Solfini, they will have to cross the Mother River, which is clearly very dangerous. Especially since they are currently carrying a child, and the situation is worsened by Anthonius's condition, who is still in the process of recovering his mana. The eastern route, according to Alyosha, is indeed faster, but the risks are also greater compared to the detour through the mithril mine.
"The route is closed!" said Anthonius while pointing towards the monster that seemed to still be searching for their whereabouts. "If we don't leave this place immediately, this child's magical power will leak. She seems to be on the verge of losing control of his magic energy!" Anthonius warned Alyosha to leave the place immediately, before their presence could be detected by the monster attacking them.
"Alright!" said Alyosha.
…
They walked as fast as they could, leaving the place while carrying the little girl who was a victim of the creature that had attacked them but managed to survive. Anthonius and Alyosha were truly happy, as the girl was the only survivor among the hundreds of victims they had dealt with. Anthonius had high hopes for the only survivor they had brought. Anthonius even planned to interrogate the only survivor to obtain information about what kind of creature had attacked them and what the creature's abilities were.
Alyosha pointed to an ice bridge that seemed to be starting to melt. The temperature has indeed dropped due to the snowfall, but it is not cold enough to keep the ice bridge at a temperature to freeze it.
"Is it safe enough?" asked Alyosha.
"There are no other options, right? You can't even utilize teleportation magic." Anthonius said, "The manna I have has only recovered about 35%! and hurried to cross the Mother River at the ice bridge. Make sure to destroy the bridge immediately after you cross it." Anthonius commanded, "I don't want that creature to use it!"
"Alright," Alyosha said uncomfortably.
The three of them had to make their way down a small path on a slope with Lake Fareh at the bottom after crossing the Mother River during their escape attempt. They found the steep, sandy-soil path to be somewhat challenging. Because of its sandy soil composition, the cliffside adjacent to them would also crumble if used as a handhold. Alyosha nearly slipped and cursed repeatedly. To make matters worse, Anthonius asked him to keep his magical abilities a secret, which naturally prevented Alyosha from using them. Even for basic general magic.
Alyohsa may have used profanity and curses numerous times. Alyosha appeared to disregard Anthonius's warning to refrain from using profanity in front of the child. Whenever Alyosha's foot came close to slipping, he would instantly curse. Eventually, Anthonius yielded and let the sharp-tongued old man talk as he saw fit.
"Why did you suddenly fall silent?" After first requesting that Alyosha refrain from using profanity in front of the young girl, Anthonius became perplexed when he could no longer hear Alyosha's curses. "Alyosha…?" Antonius checked to make sure Alyosha was still following him.
Alyosha was motionless and gazing at Lake Fareh below when Anthonius turned around. Reluctant to tell Alyosha what had occurred to their single mithril mine in Terra, Anthonius stayed silent. Anthonius was concerned; he would be even more anxious if Alyosha now learned the truth.
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Examination
The creature doesn't appear to be moving from its spot. Although the amethyst crystals that covered the creature's body were constantly eroding, the creature genuinely paid attention to Anthonius's Rain Arrow. Alyosha, who had successfully moved Anthonius's body away from their former battlefield, saw this but said nothing, staying hidden.Anthonius asked Alyosha, "Can you hide your magical power for as long as possible? The creature will target someone with the greatest magical power in this area.""I can." Alyosha instantly concealed his magic, though it might not last long."Even if you walk in front of it, as long as you don't have any magic, the creature won't be able to find you. We return to Fort Solfini right now. That is the nearest safe place we can reach." Anthonius advised Alyosha to go back to Fort Solfini."Are you sure?" Alyosha questioned doubtfully as he observed the creature that had only moments before attacked them. "I might not be able to face it. You and Dima hav
