"Do those people really have less than 300 years...?"
Frank ended up voicing the question that had formed in everyone's mind upon hearing about the oddity. While it wasn't inconceivable for there to be a Revealed-Peak under 300 years old—in fact, they knew of two who had entered the ruin, one being the winner of the selection tournament and the other, Tianji Xiao, the young man who had argued with Erik—those were proud super-geniuses.
For there to be three hidden in the area was just too strange. After all, a Revealed-Peak under 300 years old was a true genius among geniuses—someone worthy of being a disciple of a Master-level, so it didn't make sense for someone like that to be hiding, almost as if lying in ambush. In a situation as critical as the one they were in, the first thing someone like that would do is look for food, shelter, or an exit—basically what they themselves were doing.
"Frank, have Lirio smell the Golem's core."
As everyone's hearts filled with apprehension, Erik suddenly turned to Frank and spoke in a serious tone, at the same time making the barrier covering the arm and the core move closer and open up. The young student nodded and ordered his spirit to sniff it, which Lirio quickly did before sniffing the air a couple of times and letting out an adorable squeal.
"He says there's something similar in three different spots ahead…"
Frank quickly reported in an incredibly heavy and dark tone, which immediately spread to the others. After all, that meant there could be three more Golems, and even worse, they might be controlled by those hidden Revealed-Peak individuals. If their luck was even worse, there was a chance those people had working magical artifacts.
"Don't panic, stay calm. If they're still hiding, it's for a reason. It could be because they don't have anyone who can master Mystical Awareness and haven't detected us, or because they're being cautious—either of us or of each other—or maybe they just don't see us as a threat. In any case, for the moment we're safe, so let's fall back."
With Erik's words, the group quickly and cautiously retreated, keeping alert to their surroundings and ready to run with all their strength if anything happened. But after retreating far enough that Erik could no longer sense them, nothing happened, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief. It was at that moment that Elara spoke in a solemn voice.
"There's something very strange going on here, and I don't like it at all."
"How likely is it that it wasn't a trap?" Zoe asked in a dark tone, to which Erik replied calmly, his hand on his chin as he considered something.
"Very unlikely. The fact that there just happen to be twenty Revealed-levels hiding around one of the buildings with a pocket-dimension 'garden' is way too strange. Besides, the whole way here has been unusually quiet, except for that Golem—almost as if they're giving us a false sense of security…"
"This whole 'ancient ruin' was a trap…?" Frank couldn't help but ask, visibly apprehensive, to which Elara replied in a solemn tone.
"It's still too early to draw conclusions. It would be best to check out other locations first to be sure about the situation." After speaking, Elara turned to look at the pensive Erik and asked seriously.
"What do you think, Erik?"
"I agree, it's better to make sure—but be mentally prepared for what we might find."
Erik snapped back to reality and spoke in a serious tone as he looked over his three companions, who couldn't help but swallow nervously. Deep down, they all knew that similar things were probably happening at the other locations. At that moment, Erik gave a firm order.
"Zoe, you lead the way to the next building. We'll move forward as quickly and cautiously as possible, with no stops in between."
"Understood." Zoe, Elara, and Frank replied in unison.
After their response, the group cautiously advanced toward the next building that Zoe remembered, but this time, even before they could see it, Erik ordered them to stop. This made everyone look at him with dark expressions and tense hearts. At that moment, Erik announced in a serious tone.
"Twenty-five people—all Revealed-levels—and three of them are Revealed-Peak."
Hearing this, Zoe, Elara, and Frank's hearts sank. Erik then turned to Zoe and spoke seriously,
"Let's go to the next one."
…
After checking two more buildings, which were quite far apart from each other, and even managing to spot a group of three people hiding in the distance while they concealed themselves using Tiberius's abilities. The group withdrew as far as they could and gathered at the back of a tall building shaped like a mansion. At that moment, Elara spoke in an incredibly dark tone.
"This place is a trap. Most likely, they already knew about this place, they knew about the golden chains, and they're deliberately camping around the entrances to the 'garden' to capture anyone who comes looking for supplies."
"Erik… are those mushrooms edible…?"
Zoe asked in a grim tone, since basically every entrance to the gardens was blocked, so their only options were either to fight to the death against about twenty Revealed-levels or starve outside.
"Eating one won't kill you, but I wouldn't recommend it. Not only do they taste terrible, but their caloric content is way too low to sustain our bodies. We'd still starve eating them. It's better to use them for making potions."
Erik quickly responded in a calm tone, which made Zoe, Elara, and Frank smile bitterly. They basically had no way out; their chances of survival were practically zero. But at that moment, Erik turned to look at Ebonique and asked in a serious tone,
"Ebonique, if I take Lirio with me without touching him, how likely is it that he'll be affected by the 'addiction' you mentioned?"
"Don't worry, I'll follow you wherever you go, and I'll make sure the little one can't come into contact with your mana." Ebonique quickly replied in a calm tone, while shrinking herself down to hide in Erik's starry hair. Satisfied, Erik nodded and turned to Frank.
"Frank, I need to borrow Lirio for a bit. I'm going to sneak into one of those buildings and let him sniff the mana at the entrance. If we're lucky, we might be able to find an entrance that even they don't know about through him."
Hearing Erik's words, Frank immediately picked up his adorable contracted spirit in his hands, then looked at the young man with starry hair and reached out to him as he spoke. After all, spirits were quasi-immortal beings, so he wasn't too worried about Lirio's safety—if Lirio was harmed, he would simply turn into air and reappear later.
"I understand, direct disciple Erik. Just let him get close to the mana you want him to sniff; Lirio will remember it, and when he comes back, he can tell me if he finds anything similar. But make sure no other mana comes into contact with him while he's doing it, or he could get confused."
"Are you sure, Erik? The risk is incredibly high." While Erik nodded to Frank, Zoe quickly asked in a serious tone, staring at the young man with starry hair. He turned to look at her, nodded calmly, and answered.
"Yes, I have ways to sneak in. Although it'll be a bit risky, I should be able to do it. I'll just take Ebonique and the wolves with me, so you'll be on your own until I get back."
"Don't worry about us—you're the one who'll be in the most danger. But since we don't have any way to communicate, we should set a meeting point and an estimated time. That way, we'll know if something went wrong." Elara quickly said seriously, to which Erik replied in a calm tone.
"It actually won't take long. I'll use Tiberius's abilities, so the meeting point will be right here. If I don't come back in 30 minutes, return to the place where we found the first mushrooms. I'll do my best to get back there afterwards."
At Erik's words, everyone nodded without even bothering to ask what would happen if he didn't return to the second meeting point. That would simply mean Erik had either died or abandoned them, and from then on, they'd be on their own. Besides, Frank could recover Lirio later, so they could still try to find another entrance.
"Well, then, see you in a bit—if everything goes well."
After handing Elara his belt with all the barriers linked to it once again, Erik stepped away, accompanied by the wolves at his sides and Ebonique flying overhead, carrying Lirio in her front claws. The group of three young people watched this with clenched fists, although the beautiful nine-tailed fox let out a discreet sigh of relief as she laid down on the ground in a relaxed manner. It was as if she had just let go of a heavy burden.
"Tiberius."
Once he was far enough from the group, Erik looked at his jet-black wolf, who quickly transformed into a shadow and spread out across the ground, creating a circle of darkness.
Erik, along with Kaiser and Ebonique, jumped into it, vanishing from the sight of Zoe, Elara, and Frank, who quickly formed a defensive triangle, fully alert to their surroundings. Still, Frank couldn't help but squeeze his hands tightly, as not having his staff—even if it didn't work as a magical artifact—was a huge loss.
…
After passing through the circle of darkness, Erik emerged from the shadow of a building near his target—one of the places they had visited earlier, which had the fewest Revealed-Peak, only one, although in exchange, there were more people—around thirty-five, all skillfully hidden around the building, leaving no gaps near the entrance.
"Tiberius, we're going to move through the shadows until we're inside that building." Erik said quickly, looking at his jet-black wolf, who barked softly in agreement. The starry-haired boy then turned to his silver-white wolf and gave an order.
"Kaiser, you'll stay hidden in Tiberius's shadow and only come out if I call you. If I do, it means I need to escape as quickly as possible, so you have to enter your elemental form. Understood?"
The imposing silver wolf barked in understanding, small arcs of electricity flashing across his body. At that moment, Erik turned to look at Ebonique and spoke in a serious tone.
"Ebonique, you'll stay by my side and make sure Lirio sniffs the mana at the entrance."
"Understood, Boss." Ebonique replied, imitating the siblings a little, which made Erik shake his head in slight amusement before immediately giving another serious command.
"Let's go."
With Erik's order, Tiberius let out a soft howl, causing his shadow to extend and merge with the shadow of the building covering them. The shadow darkened, and everyone began to sink into it as if standing on quicksand, until they disappeared completely. Then the shadow lightened to its original shade—but interestingly, right at the base of the building, there was a small spot that was just a little darker than the rest.
Inadvertently, the small, slightly darker spot—so subtle that it would be easy to overlook unless you looked closely—began to move, slipping from shadow to shadow as it headed northeast. As it moved farther away, it became slower and more cautious, as if waiting for just the right moment to move to the next shadow without arousing suspicion.
…
Inside the shadow—a dark, gravityless place—Erik clung to Tiberius's black fur and focused completely on his contract with him and on his mystical awareness, giving precise instructions on how to move.
He wanted to minimize the chances of being discovered, since, although with Kaiser, he could escape fast enough that no Revealed-level could catch him, that was only true for himself—he wouldn't be able to take anyone else with him.
Furthermore, the speed card couldn't be played indefinitely; once they were prepared, they could set up countermeasures to prevent him from running, and at that point, he would be in serious trouble.
So the best approach was to get in and out quietly, avoiding any suspicion that might lead to an exhaustive search, which would undoubtedly negatively affect his chances of finding a new entrance.
After a few minutes, Erik finally reached his target, able to see through his contract with Tiberius a building that looked as if it had been carved from stone in a curious style.
It seemed to blend Gothic and Renaissance elements—with pointed arches, columns framing the windows, even niches. It also had a central dome topped by a drum and a pinnacle.
The building was lit by several crystal stalactites that glowed faintly around it, as well as a light source with no apparent origin that shone from the main door. This created enough shadows for Tiberius to approach, following Erik's strict and detailed orders. Erik was completely focused on his mystical awareness, determining the position and line of sight of everyone around.
Soon, the shadow managed to slip in through a window without drawing attention. At that moment, Erik could see through Tiberius the inside of the building, which extended almost a floor downward, so that from the main door there were stairs leading down.
The space was quite simple, with what seemed to be stone blocks and a section that looked like a stone shelf. But the most striking feature was what looked like a closed stone wardrobe built into the wall, flanked by two statues of what appeared to be wizards holding books.
But instead of going down, Erik directed Tiberius to climb up toward the inner dome. After all, he could sense a Revealed-Novice hiding there, and no matter what he did, this person would see him, so he had no choice but to deal with him first, as quickly and silently as possible.
Soon, Erik could see through Tiberius who was hiding there—it turned out to be a man dressed in black leather armor that allowed for easy movement. He had what looked like several daggers strapped to the back of his waist and was clinging to the wall with his fingers and toes, like some kind of climbing insect.
(The question is, How do I deal with this guy? Whatever I do, it has to be in a single blow, or he might draw attention—or worse, have the chance to alert the others. The problem is that he's stronger than me, and although I have the advantage of stealth, if I kill him, that might also alert the others. I know there are several spells and magical artifacts that can detect if someone is still alive…
(But even so, my objective is to have Lirio sniff the mana at the entrance without anyone noticing—not to kill him or specifically get rid of him. Right now, finding resources and food is more important than figuring out what these people want, so the best thing is to just keep him from seeing us for a few seconds without him finding it strange. But Lirio can't be under any spell when he's sniffing…)
[Ebonique, do you have any idea how to keep this guy from seeing Lirio while he sniffs around the room—without killing him?] Since he couldn't think of anything, Erik quickly asked his reliable spirit through their contract, to which she replied cheerfully.
[Actually, I know a trick. If you use my ability right on his Niwan point, he'll be stunned for a few moments, and if you do it subtly enough, he won't even realize anything happened.
[And although he won't notice anything wrong immediately, it will cause permanent damage, and it will be very hard for him to ever activate his Niwan point in the future.]
Hearing this, Erik couldn't help but smile—he couldn't care less about the consequences. He was in a life-or-death situation, and there was no way that guy was hiding on the ceiling just to give a friendly surprise and greeting to whoever managed to enter the building. But since it was something he'd never done before, he decided to leave it in the hands of his trusty spirit.
[Then I'll leave it to you, Ebonique.]
[Trust me.]
Ebonique replied back in a cheerful tone, then extended one of her claws out of the shadow without needing Tiberius's help. After all, she had taught the wolf what he knew and helped him develop his affinity for darkness.
So, even though her incarnation was limited in many ways, she could still subtly manipulate the wolf's spells as she wished without needing to materialize parts of her true body.
As she extended her claw from the shadow, Ebonique brought it close to make the slightest contact with the back of the man's head on the ceiling. At that moment, she released a subtle dark electric spark, which instantly attacked the man's Niwan point—also known as Hugljos in the Aegis System, Luminarium in sacred geometry, or simply the mana gathering point in the head—causing his brain to suffer a kind of controlled short circuit, leaving him completely stunned.
At the same time, Ebonique brought little Lirio out of the shadow, while also ordering him to sniff around the whole place for mana, which the newborn spirit immediately began to do in a hurry. At that moment, Erik spoke to her through their contract.
[Ebonique, avoid causing any damage that could be noticed in the next few hours—or, if possible, in the next few days. We need time to look for another entrance.]
[I know. If I just leave him stunned for ten seconds, he won't notice anything strange for several months.] Ebonique replied, full of confidence, which made Erik nod in satisfaction.
[Perfect, you're the best. As soon as we get back, I'll give you an extra-large ration of mana.]
[Fufu, I'll be looking forward to it.]
Ebonique quickly replied in a voice full of delight, while Erik focused completely on his mystical awareness, tracking the positions of those nearby with millimeter precision, hoping none of them would come closer. But unfortunately, at that moment, one of the nearby presences—a Revealed-Competent—began to approach one of the windows.
***
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Building with entrance to the garden pocket dimension: