VOL 3 Chapter 70: A concealment formation.
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lordanl
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Advancing through the mountain ranges altered by the brutal quake, Zoe couldn't help but bite her lips with a hint of frustration. If it was already difficult to get her bearings in such a vast place before, now, with huge cracks in the ground, entire forests destroyed, and floods, it was practically impossible to identify any landmarks.
"A large group of creatures between Ascended and Revealed level is coming. Let's change course."
Suddenly, Erik opened his eyes and announced in a serious tone, prompting Zoe to turn and look at him, nodding with a grave expression.
"Lead the way to avoid them, Erik."
"Alright." Erik replied and gave a gentle pat on Ebonique's head, who quickly took the lead and then altered the route.
Trusting Ebonique, Erik closed his eyes again to focus on the Myst. But feeling his instincts urging him to take another direction, he communicated with Ebonique and changed course once more. After a few minutes, Erik opened his eyes again and looked west with a somewhat intrigued expression. After staring in the same direction for a few seconds, Erik turned to Zoe and commented in a serious voice.
"The Myst is moving strangely to the west; it seems like a formation, but I'm not sure."
"How far is it?" Zoe asked while scanning the surroundings, having not the slightest idea where they were.
"About 30 kilometers, give or take." Erik made a rough estimate and replied. Zoe brought her hand to her chin but quickly snapped out of it and looked at Erik.
"Should we go?"
"Let's take a look from a distance. We don't know where we are anyway, and it could very well be a group of hunters or other participants. So, we either uncover enemy information or find an ally. We don't lose much." Erik replied in a calm tone, which led Zoe to nod in agreement.
"You're right, let's go."
Quickly, Ebonique changed direction, and Hiyori followed, while Zoe informed Elara and Frank of the situation.
Not long after, the group arrived within 5 kilometers of the anomaly Erik had detected, at which point Ebonique stopped. At that moment, Erik approached the barrier containing the 'Myst vehicle' and commented in a serious tone.
"There's something ahead, but I can't detect anything alive. Though it's likely a concealment formation interfering with my Mystic Awareness."
"Let's use the concealment potions and get a bit closer. There's a chance it's a 'gateway' protected or hidden by a formation." Elara suggested in a serious tone. Zoe nodded and added.
"That's a good point. I'll go."
"Let's go together. Elara and Frank, wait further back with Hiyori and Kaiser. We'll go with Tiberius and Ebonique." Erik commented in a calm voice while taking a potion, leading to a unanimous nod from the group.
After dismantling the barrier and the Myst vehicle, Erik and Zoe took a concealment potion and sped toward the anomaly Erik could sense. Upon reaching just a few meters away, where they could see the place with their own eyes, the group found a seemingly normal area, with a few destroyed trees, small cracks, and disturbed earth, but nothing out of the ordinary.
"It really could be a concealment formation. I don't sense anything." Zoe commented in a serious tone, not doubting Erik's words. The young man with starlit hair looked at the place with a thoughtful expression before speaking calmly.
"I'll try to interfere with the Myst. I might be able to make the formation fail for a moment."
"Can you do that?" Zoe turned to look at Erik and asked in a calm tone, already feeling that nothing the star-haired young man said would surprise her. Erik closed his eyes and replied calmly.
"I don't know, but it doesn't hurt to try."
After responding, Erik fell silent and focused entirely on the strange movement of the Myst, then commanded all the surrounding Myst to gather. Erik's idea was simple: since a formation relied on the surrounding Myst to function, there was a chance that he, with his deep connection to the Myst, could interfere with it and cause it to fail, even if just for a moment.
Not long after the surrounding Myst gathered, greatly increasing the concentration around the anomaly's location, Erik tried to command it to move erratically. Instantly, the Myst he had gathered obeyed his wishes, and somehow, he could feel it begin to 'scold' the Myst of the anomaly.
As if it had been "infected," the anomaly's Myst started trying to move to the same rhythm, though failing at every attempt and being forced back into place. Just as Erik wondered if this movement would be enough to disrupt the anomaly, Zoe's somewhat surprised voice rang out beside him.
"It's your friend Chen Ming!"
Equally surprised, Erik opened his eyes and looked ahead, where he could see an almost ghostly image of Chen with tattered clothes, a scar on his face, and various wounds alongside two other young men. Being cautious, Erik decided not to reveal himself and instead attempted to send a sound transmission as the image faded, with the formation returning to normal operation.
"Chen, it's Erik."
Just before the image disappeared, Erik could see an expression of absolute surprise on Chen's face, which soon turned into a smile as he rapidly made various hand signs. With Chen's hand signals, the formation collapsed, and the other young men in the area expanded their Ethereal projections, searching for enemies.
"Erik! I've been looking for you, man! I knew you wouldn't die here, hahaha!!"
Instead of preparing to fight, Chen announced loudly, greatly surprising the two young men accompanying him. Cautiously, the two started looking around without the slightest intention of retracting their Ethereal projections.
"Don't worry, he's a friend, the most talented guy I've ever met in my life!" Chen announced in a cheerful voice, then looked around with hope. After studying Chen for a few moments, Erik sent a sound transmission to Zoe in a serious tone.
"I'll go out alone. If anything happens, don't hesitate to kill."
"Understood." Zoe replied without the slightest hint of doubt, while controlling her breathing and gripping the hilt of her katana.
At the same time, Ebonique hid completely in Erik's hair, and Tiberius concealed himself in his shadow. Once everyone was hidden, Erik began walking with a calm and steady pace toward Chen, holding his machetes in his hands.
After a few seconds of looking around, Chen spotted a nearly ghostly figure approaching in the distance, prompting him to focus his gaze and mobilize his mana preemptively. But upon realizing it was Erik, Chen couldn't help but laugh as if witnessing the funniest thing in the world while commenting.
"A concealment potion? Hahaha, I knew you'd manage to get potions and artifacts in this hell!"
Genuinely happy, Chen approached Erik and extended his hand toward him. Erik, after glancing at the cautious young men behind Chen, lowered the machete in his right hand and shook Chen's hand. The young man from the Lotus Union quickly pulled Erik in and gave him a hug while commenting in an almost melancholic voice.
"It's good to see you're okay. This has been a damn hell. I've looked death in the eyes a couple of times already."
"I can imagine. You look pretty rough." Erik commented in a calm tone while stepping back from Chen, who brought a hand to his face and spoke with a somewhat bitter expression.
"Yeah, things have been complicated. Luckily, I met the others, or I might be dead…"
"And who are they?" Erik glanced at the others and asked calmly. Chen returned to normal and turned around, then spoke in a more relaxed and cheerful tone.
"They're my companions. Haoran Leng is on the right, a reliable disciple of my Ming family. We met in the stone ruins along with Wei Lin, an inner disciple of the Black Sky Sect, an old ally of my family." Chen pointed first at the blue-haired young man and then at the one with black hair streaked with white, both bearing the typical facial features of the Lotus Union.
As Chen named each one, Erik analyzed them subtly, finding that all were at the Ascended level, with strength comparable to Chen Ming's, perhaps slightly weaker. Once he finished introducing the others, Chen turned to Erik and asked with a smile.
"And how have you been? You look in pretty good shape."
"Well, a bit better than you. I managed to find a lightly guarded temple and entered the garden." Erik replied in a calm tone, then looked Chen in the eyes and asked seriously.
"What do you plan to do from now on?"
"Our idea is to look for an 'exit,' but basically, we're just wandering around while searching for food and anything useful." Chen returned Erik's gaze and commented in a serious tone. "Though the earthquake just now complicates things. Something must be happening in this place."
"I think the same. Things got messy. We need to find a way out as soon as possible." Erik nodded and spoke seriously. Chen looked at Erik and commented while extending his hand.
"Why don't we travel together? Even if we move a bit slower in a group, it's much safer."
"How much do you trust these people?" Erik sent a sound transmission to Chen, who looked at him with a hint of surprise, then replied seriously, also using a sound transmission.
"They've been with me since we got here, and I owe them my life. They're reliable."
Erik glanced at the pair of young men for a moment longer, but realizing that even with Chen, his group outnumbered and outpowered them, and that Chen was a valuable asset, he nodded and commented in a calm tone.
"Then let's start moving together. We're also looking for a way out, and we need to hurry. Things can get ugly at any moment."
"What do you know?" Chen asked seriously. Erik shook his head and explained while turning to look at the others.
"I'll explain later. For now, let's meet up with my teammates."
Chen looked at Erik with a serious expression, noticing his genuine caution, but quickly nodded and turned to his companions.
"We're moving with Erik, a direct disciple of the Arcane Order. He's an Artificer and Alchemist with unmatched talent."
Upon hearing Chen, the pair of young men quickly bowed respectfully, cupping a fist in their hand, to which Erik nodded and replied in a calm tone.
"Let's skip the formalities. For now, let's move."
After speaking, Erik started running while sending a discreet sound transmission to Zoe to follow from behind. It wasn't that he didn't trust Chen, but safety was better than trust at any time or place.
After some time following Erik, Chen saw the star-haired young man raise his machete. Shortly after, from among the trees emerged a young man with long black hair tipped with green, alongside a beautiful young woman with short blonde hair and an imposing silver wolf nearly 2 meters tall.
"They're Frank and Elara, my teammates." Erik said, stroking Kaiser with one hand while pointing to his teammates. Chen Ming quickly bowed slightly and greeted with seriousness.
"A pleasure to see you again, direct disciple Belmonte."
"The pleasure is mutual, 'Taoist comrade' Ming." Elara replied with a calm and elegant smile. Chen smiled politely and turned to Frank, then greeted him calmly.
"A pleasure, 'Taoist comrade.' My name is Chen Ming."
"Likewise, it's a pleasure. My name is Frank Svensson."
After a round of greetings, Erik looked at Chen Ming and spoke seriously.
"I'm currently the leader of the group, so I hope you don't have a problem with that."
"Of course not." Chen shook his head and replied seriously. Erik nodded with satisfaction and added.
"Perfect. Then let's exchange information while our last companion arrives."
After speaking, Erik quickly sent a discreet sound transmission to Zoe to circle around and return. After all, if they hadn't taken advantage of when he was alone to attack, it was unlikely they would do so now with a numerical disadvantage, and it would be inconvenient for Zoe and Hiyori to remain hidden the whole time.
"Direct disciple Laverne?" Chen asked curiously, to which Erik nodded casually.
"The very same."
"I see. Lucky you've managed to stick together." Chen nodded with a hint of surprise, but his expression soon turned serious, and he began speaking in a grave tone while looking at Erik.
"But let's get to the important matter. Though we don't have much information, while traveling, we discovered a couple of important things, especially one about the Hunters."
***
You can support me on patreon.com/lordanl and get up to 14 advanced chapters.
"A large group of creatures between Ascended and Revealed level is coming. Let's change course."
Suddenly, Erik opened his eyes and announced in a serious tone, prompting Zoe to turn and look at him, nodding with a grave expression.
"Lead the way to avoid them, Erik."
"Alright." Erik replied and gave a gentle pat on Ebonique's head, who quickly took the lead and then altered the route.
Trusting Ebonique, Erik closed his eyes again to focus on the Myst. But feeling his instincts urging him to take another direction, he communicated with Ebonique and changed course once more. After a few minutes, Erik opened his eyes again and looked west with a somewhat intrigued expression. After staring in the same direction for a few seconds, Erik turned to Zoe and commented in a serious voice.
"The Myst is moving strangely to the west; it seems like a formation, but I'm not sure."
"How far is it?" Zoe asked while scanning the surroundings, having not the slightest idea where they were.
"About 30 kilometers, give or take." Erik made a rough estimate and replied. Zoe brought her hand to her chin but quickly snapped out of it and looked at Erik.
"Should we go?"
"Let's take a look from a distance. We don't know where we are anyway, and it could very well be a group of hunters or other participants. So, we either uncover enemy information or find an ally. We don't lose much." Erik replied in a calm tone, which led Zoe to nod in agreement.
"You're right, let's go."
Quickly, Ebonique changed direction, and Hiyori followed, while Zoe informed Elara and Frank of the situation.
Not long after, the group arrived within 5 kilometers of the anomaly Erik had detected, at which point Ebonique stopped. At that moment, Erik approached the barrier containing the 'Myst vehicle' and commented in a serious tone.
"There's something ahead, but I can't detect anything alive. Though it's likely a concealment formation interfering with my Mystic Awareness."
"Let's use the concealment potions and get a bit closer. There's a chance it's a 'gateway' protected or hidden by a formation." Elara suggested in a serious tone. Zoe nodded and added.
"That's a good point. I'll go."
"Let's go together. Elara and Frank, wait further back with Hiyori and Kaiser. We'll go with Tiberius and Ebonique." Erik commented in a calm voice while taking a potion, leading to a unanimous nod from the group.
After dismantling the barrier and the Myst vehicle, Erik and Zoe took a concealment potion and sped toward the anomaly Erik could sense. Upon reaching just a few meters away, where they could see the place with their own eyes, the group found a seemingly normal area, with a few destroyed trees, small cracks, and disturbed earth, but nothing out of the ordinary.
"It really could be a concealment formation. I don't sense anything." Zoe commented in a serious tone, not doubting Erik's words. The young man with starlit hair looked at the place with a thoughtful expression before speaking calmly.
"I'll try to interfere with the Myst. I might be able to make the formation fail for a moment."
"Can you do that?" Zoe turned to look at Erik and asked in a calm tone, already feeling that nothing the star-haired young man said would surprise her. Erik closed his eyes and replied calmly.
"I don't know, but it doesn't hurt to try."
After responding, Erik fell silent and focused entirely on the strange movement of the Myst, then commanded all the surrounding Myst to gather. Erik's idea was simple: since a formation relied on the surrounding Myst to function, there was a chance that he, with his deep connection to the Myst, could interfere with it and cause it to fail, even if just for a moment.
Not long after the surrounding Myst gathered, greatly increasing the concentration around the anomaly's location, Erik tried to command it to move erratically. Instantly, the Myst he had gathered obeyed his wishes, and somehow, he could feel it begin to 'scold' the Myst of the anomaly.
As if it had been "infected," the anomaly's Myst started trying to move to the same rhythm, though failing at every attempt and being forced back into place. Just as Erik wondered if this movement would be enough to disrupt the anomaly, Zoe's somewhat surprised voice rang out beside him.
"It's your friend Chen Ming!"
Equally surprised, Erik opened his eyes and looked ahead, where he could see an almost ghostly image of Chen with tattered clothes, a scar on his face, and various wounds alongside two other young men. Being cautious, Erik decided not to reveal himself and instead attempted to send a sound transmission as the image faded, with the formation returning to normal operation.
"Chen, it's Erik."
Just before the image disappeared, Erik could see an expression of absolute surprise on Chen's face, which soon turned into a smile as he rapidly made various hand signs. With Chen's hand signals, the formation collapsed, and the other young men in the area expanded their Ethereal projections, searching for enemies.
"Erik! I've been looking for you, man! I knew you wouldn't die here, hahaha!!"
Instead of preparing to fight, Chen announced loudly, greatly surprising the two young men accompanying him. Cautiously, the two started looking around without the slightest intention of retracting their Ethereal projections.
"Don't worry, he's a friend, the most talented guy I've ever met in my life!" Chen announced in a cheerful voice, then looked around with hope. After studying Chen for a few moments, Erik sent a sound transmission to Zoe in a serious tone.
"I'll go out alone. If anything happens, don't hesitate to kill."
"Understood." Zoe replied without the slightest hint of doubt, while controlling her breathing and gripping the hilt of her katana.
At the same time, Ebonique hid completely in Erik's hair, and Tiberius concealed himself in his shadow. Once everyone was hidden, Erik began walking with a calm and steady pace toward Chen, holding his machetes in his hands.
After a few seconds of looking around, Chen spotted a nearly ghostly figure approaching in the distance, prompting him to focus his gaze and mobilize his mana preemptively. But upon realizing it was Erik, Chen couldn't help but laugh as if witnessing the funniest thing in the world while commenting.
"A concealment potion? Hahaha, I knew you'd manage to get potions and artifacts in this hell!"
Genuinely happy, Chen approached Erik and extended his hand toward him. Erik, after glancing at the cautious young men behind Chen, lowered the machete in his right hand and shook Chen's hand. The young man from the Lotus Union quickly pulled Erik in and gave him a hug while commenting in an almost melancholic voice.
"It's good to see you're okay. This has been a damn hell. I've looked death in the eyes a couple of times already."
"I can imagine. You look pretty rough." Erik commented in a calm tone while stepping back from Chen, who brought a hand to his face and spoke with a somewhat bitter expression.
"Yeah, things have been complicated. Luckily, I met the others, or I might be dead…"
"And who are they?" Erik glanced at the others and asked calmly. Chen returned to normal and turned around, then spoke in a more relaxed and cheerful tone.
"They're my companions. Haoran Leng is on the right, a reliable disciple of my Ming family. We met in the stone ruins along with Wei Lin, an inner disciple of the Black Sky Sect, an old ally of my family." Chen pointed first at the blue-haired young man and then at the one with black hair streaked with white, both bearing the typical facial features of the Lotus Union.
As Chen named each one, Erik analyzed them subtly, finding that all were at the Ascended level, with strength comparable to Chen Ming's, perhaps slightly weaker. Once he finished introducing the others, Chen turned to Erik and asked with a smile.
"And how have you been? You look in pretty good shape."
"Well, a bit better than you. I managed to find a lightly guarded temple and entered the garden." Erik replied in a calm tone, then looked Chen in the eyes and asked seriously.
"What do you plan to do from now on?"
"Our idea is to look for an 'exit,' but basically, we're just wandering around while searching for food and anything useful." Chen returned Erik's gaze and commented in a serious tone. "Though the earthquake just now complicates things. Something must be happening in this place."
"I think the same. Things got messy. We need to find a way out as soon as possible." Erik nodded and spoke seriously. Chen looked at Erik and commented while extending his hand.
"Why don't we travel together? Even if we move a bit slower in a group, it's much safer."
"How much do you trust these people?" Erik sent a sound transmission to Chen, who looked at him with a hint of surprise, then replied seriously, also using a sound transmission.
"They've been with me since we got here, and I owe them my life. They're reliable."
Erik glanced at the pair of young men for a moment longer, but realizing that even with Chen, his group outnumbered and outpowered them, and that Chen was a valuable asset, he nodded and commented in a calm tone.
"Then let's start moving together. We're also looking for a way out, and we need to hurry. Things can get ugly at any moment."
"What do you know?" Chen asked seriously. Erik shook his head and explained while turning to look at the others.
"I'll explain later. For now, let's meet up with my teammates."
Chen looked at Erik with a serious expression, noticing his genuine caution, but quickly nodded and turned to his companions.
"We're moving with Erik, a direct disciple of the Arcane Order. He's an Artificer and Alchemist with unmatched talent."
Upon hearing Chen, the pair of young men quickly bowed respectfully, cupping a fist in their hand, to which Erik nodded and replied in a calm tone.
"Let's skip the formalities. For now, let's move."
After speaking, Erik started running while sending a discreet sound transmission to Zoe to follow from behind. It wasn't that he didn't trust Chen, but safety was better than trust at any time or place.
After some time following Erik, Chen saw the star-haired young man raise his machete. Shortly after, from among the trees emerged a young man with long black hair tipped with green, alongside a beautiful young woman with short blonde hair and an imposing silver wolf nearly 2 meters tall.
"They're Frank and Elara, my teammates." Erik said, stroking Kaiser with one hand while pointing to his teammates. Chen Ming quickly bowed slightly and greeted with seriousness.
"A pleasure to see you again, direct disciple Belmonte."
"The pleasure is mutual, 'Taoist comrade' Ming." Elara replied with a calm and elegant smile. Chen smiled politely and turned to Frank, then greeted him calmly.
"A pleasure, 'Taoist comrade.' My name is Chen Ming."
"Likewise, it's a pleasure. My name is Frank Svensson."
After a round of greetings, Erik looked at Chen Ming and spoke seriously.
"I'm currently the leader of the group, so I hope you don't have a problem with that."
"Of course not." Chen shook his head and replied seriously. Erik nodded with satisfaction and added.
"Perfect. Then let's exchange information while our last companion arrives."
After speaking, Erik quickly sent a discreet sound transmission to Zoe to circle around and return. After all, if they hadn't taken advantage of when he was alone to attack, it was unlikely they would do so now with a numerical disadvantage, and it would be inconvenient for Zoe and Hiyori to remain hidden the whole time.
"Direct disciple Laverne?" Chen asked curiously, to which Erik nodded casually.
"The very same."
"I see. Lucky you've managed to stick together." Chen nodded with a hint of surprise, but his expression soon turned serious, and he began speaking in a grave tone while looking at Erik.
"But let's get to the important matter. Though we don't have much information, while traveling, we discovered a couple of important things, especially one about the Hunters."
***
You can support me on patreon.com/lordanl and get up to 14 advanced chapters.