XLV

  Kaz couldn’t help the panic that was rising in his mind. He had run into what he assumed was a group to track him down, which made sense. He should have kept moving after the incident in which he was discovered by one of the Kobolds. Of course they wouldn’t let an intruder escape, especially when he discovered their secret settlement.

  Walking through the foliage, he tried to move as silently as he could, avoiding any areas where there were leaves or sticks on the ground, but still tried to keep up his pace. Kaz knew that as soon as the two bodies of the Kobolds were discovered, they would increase their search, knowing that he was nearby, maybe even call for more reinforcements. He was covered in chills as that thought crossed his mind, the recent battle with the Bandits coming to mind.

  Summoning his [ Archive ], he quickly triggered his Quest again, and had to redirect himself, having to turn more to the right, getting too caught up in his pursuit of avoiding noise with relatively quick pace. Thankfully, he had not encountered any more Kobolds, which was a huge plus for him.

  After traveling through the forest for the rest of the day, with constant corrections to the direction he was heading in, he decided to call it a day once the forest was covered in darkness. He assumed that the hunting party that was after him wouldn’t be able to track him down after this long, and if they did, hopefully the number of times he unknowingly strayed off path towards his next Quest threw them off enough to delay them for the night.

  Barely climbing up a tree, he quickly checked his [ Status ] as he had a few encounters with monsters along the way, well Timberfang Wolves, and nothing else. They were very easy for him to deal with, but due to his tiredness of essentially jogging all day, he resorted to using his [ Mana Burst ] most of the time, as his glaive was feeling heavier and heavier with each swing. His Mana Points were at 53, which wasn’t low, but enough for him to get into [ Mana Regeneration ].

  Getting into his relaxed pose, he took a deep breath and exhaled, beginning the process. He smiled and sighed contently when the mana started circulating throughout his body, filling him with a sense of warmth and comfort. There was no other feeling that could come close to this feeling of the newly regenerated mana flowing from his mana core to the tip of his toes all the way to the top of his head, then returning to his mana core, filling it with another useable Mana Point.

  He dove deeper into the actual mana itself, the creation of it. It amazed him that from seemingly nothing, his mana core was able to form useable mana in the form of Mana Points, a source for his attacks. In a way, it was a bit embarrassing that he used this ethereal process for something so violent, but it brought him some comfort that it was also used by Clerics, Mages, and other Callings who used it for the benefit of others.

  Kaz followed the small wisps of mana that came from the air, and in amazement, felt it get absorbed by his mana core. It then went through the process of going throughout his whole body, which made him wonder why that was the case, especially since it would return anyways to his mana core at the end of its journey.

  Sadly for Kaz, he was reaching the full capacity of his mana core, which meant he was going to be blocked from continuing this, albeit not in much pain anymore, just a slight feeling of discomfort. It was his curiosity that made him try something this time.

  As he felt his mana core reach full capacity, he kept his [ Mana Regeneration ] going, and followed the wisps of mana that were entering his body, beginning their journey. The mana made its full course throughout his body, and to his amazement, once it reached his mana core, it simply fused into it like it usually did, but it did not contribute to his Mana Points. He felt a slight tinge of discomfort when the mana settled in his mana core, but he pushed on, forcing more mana throughout his system.

  It shocked him when he felt his mana core expand slightly, and he gritted his teeth, as a wave of pain went throughout his body, the mana traveling through his channels with a burning sensation. Despite this, he kept on going, feeling like something was there, something just felt right about expanding his mana core. It was a feeling that he was close to releasing this pent-up wave of pure mana.

  As he felt like he was the cusp of breaking through that barrier holding him back, he was forcibly brought out of his [ Mana Regeneration ] by his [ Archive ]. He felt a soothing sensation go throughout his body, and it opened to his [ Passive Abilities ], but for some reason it was only showing:

  [ Mana Regeneration ]

  Rank 14 > Rank 19

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  While he was happy about receiving a massive boost to his Rank in that aspect, he couldn’t help the building annoyance of him being forcefully cut from his experimentation. With some mental force, he closed his [ Archive ], and to his amazement it closed without opening anything else. No message appeared explaining why it cut off his session and prevented him from unlocking something with his mana core.

  It was then, after his constant mental whining, that his [ Archive ] opened again without his permission, which only caused him to throw up his hands in disbelief, and there was a simple message:

  [ Mana Regeneration ] halted due to potential injury to mana core.

  Of course, it gave him a message that it for his own safety that it was stopped. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the [ Archive ], but it remained silent, as if ignoring him. With a final annoyed huff, he began getting ready for sleep, quickly scanning the area to see if any Kobolds were nearby. Once he was certain that it was clear around him, he fell asleep, hoping that the Manashroom Forest was nearby so he could return to Sarus, as he had many questions for Elder Aelon.

  Commander Vigs POV

  Commander Vigs was annoyed beyond belief when one of the low ranking Spearmen approached him in distraught when he was trying to get ready for his day. They mentioned that an intruder had been spotted lurking around the previous evening, and that a search party was sent out to look for the intruder. Upon asking for details, the only descriptors that he received were that he wore a brown robe, was short, surprisingly quick and agile.

  He then departed to question the Laborer who saw the intruder, and the Laborer pitifully recollected that he saw the little intruder running away from the general area of the wall of illusion, but to add fuel to his already growing annoyance, the Laborer couldn’t confirm whether the intruder saw the gateway portal back to their home Realm. Once he realized he extracted as much of the little information he could, he swiftly swung his sword, decapitating the Laborer in one swing.

  Commander Vigs exited his small hut and approached the small group of his personnel before him, and thankfully, his second in command, Captain Hisk, confirmed that he had already sent out one of their elite tracking squads to locate the intruder. It was most important that they found the intruder and executed him quickly, as this conquest of this Realm, Eredurn, was vital for their own Realm, to elevate them into the next Stratum.

  Vigs wasn’t all that important in the main scheme of things, but being the third cousin to the successor of the throne, and only recently achieving his own Revelation, put a lot of eyes on him for this assignment. If information leaked from his only assigned settlement, it will spread throughout the Realm, causing panic and higher tension, essentially making it more difficult for them to put preparations for a clean takeover. And if the General somehow found out that it was his settlement that was the first to be discovered, he would be shamed for his incompetence and he himself wouldn’t see his Realm advance to the next Stratum.

  Keeping that in mind, he ordered his personal squad to gear up, and to get ready to follow the trackers, to make sure the job is completed correctly. Travelling for nearly two hours, they reached the edge of the tree line into the forest, and he was hopeful, because he saw many footprints along the path, which could mean that the squad had some easy tracking to do.

  To his dismay he saw two of the squad members dead on the ground, and the two other members stood in place. Not a single little brown robed body was to be seen. He spoke up evenly, trying to keep the anger out of his voice, “What is the status of tracking the intruder?”

  The Archer spoke up, Commander Vigs not knowing her name, “Commander, sir, we fanned the whole area, with each of us going in separate directions once the intruder’s tracks led us to this tree. After searching for over an hour, I returned to this spot, to find these two already dead, so I called out to Kix, and he came running over minutes later.”

  Commander Vigs nodded, and approached the two bodies, and was confused as the two members died in different ways. The Swordsman was brutally slashed and stabbed multiple times, and by the looks of it, with a sharp weapon that was able to pierce their leather armor effortlessly.

  The second body didn’t have one single cut on it, just weird markings, almost like burn marks, but in thin sporadic lines. What was this intruder’s Calling? At first, he was almost certain it was a Rogue of some sorts, being able to sneak around and escape quickly, but after examining how this Archer was defeated, made his questions only add up. He dreaded the lingering thought that was growing in the back of his mind.

  “No one made contact with this intruder, correct?” He asked.

  Both members nodded in confirmation, but the Spearman, apparently named Kix, informed him, “Sir, there have been reports of some patrols going missing, so I think it is safe to say we are dealing with a group of them, not just one intruder, especially considering the totally different wounds on these two fallen members.”

  Commander Vigs almost cut this Spearman’s head off in frustration, because it revealed the lingering thought he wanted to deny, and it put him in an even bigger predicament. If they were dealing with a group that were reconning their operations, it made sense they would send a stealth orientated Calling to investigate and then ambushing the squad that then came after said intruder.

  Rubbing his eyes, he came to a decision, and he ordered the group around him, “Speak of this to no one, the home Realm must not find out. If anyone asks, say that we discovered the intruder, executed them, and then burnt the body to prevent any loose ends from appearing. If someone exposes this, I will personally make sure they go down with me when the General comes.”

  Everyone meekly nodded, understanding that keeping this secret meant survival for everyone in their settlement. The General, who was rumored to be approaching 250 Resonance, would make very short work in tearing down their little settlement over something major like this, especially if it meant to cover up their operation.

  With stoic expressions, they returned back to base, and they confirmed what the rest of the settlement was hoping to hear, that the intruder was executed and disposed of, keeping their operation still secret. They all sported fake smiles and confidence, which the settlement erupted into happiness, knowing that their settlement was safe.