262 - 271
Chapter 262: Taking the Chance (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The man in a black robe returned to the deck as well after having some rest. Reyline and the two female wizards were beside the railings checking the situation.
Angele gathered the four survivors around the main mast.
"Did you find any other survivors?" Reyline questioned.
"No. We only have five people left." Angele shook his head, looking depressed. "The airships are about to reach the Cloud Bee's nest soon. We need to figure out a plan right now lest they kill us all. I wish we had more time. I want to study their bodies and find out how they detect their targets." Angele rubbed his temples.
"Yeah, we need more information on those Cloud Bees." Reyline nodded. "I know it will be hard, but their strength exceeded my expectation."
The rest of the crew remained silent. So many wizards had just died. They were trying to figure out a viable plan as they were now approaching the bee nest.
"Why don't we…return to Nola?" Hikari lowered her head and suggested.
"Return to Nola? That's impossible. There are so many Cloud Bees in this area. They have just raided our ship and are thinking we were all killed. If the direction of the airships changed too much, they will realize that there are still people alive and will come back for us." Reyline shook his head.
"What should we do then?" Hikari was getting nervous.
"We have to keep moving forward. There are only five of us. We can try to hide in the airships," the man in a black robe suddenly said.
"I'm sorry but you are?" Reyline turned to the man.
"My name is Stigmaricovertta, just call me Stigma." The man's face was still pale. It was clear that he still needed some time to recover from his injury.
Stigma looked at the wizards. He knew that the strongest wizard was the leader named Green and he was certain that the leader was hiding something from the others.
Stigma could sense something dangerous from Green. He survived the fight against the Cloud Bees and even helped the survivors in a calm manner after the battle finished.
'Why didn't he use his strongest spells to kill more Cloud Bees? He could have saved many wizards…' Stigma narrowed his eyes.
"Master Green, what do you think?" He turned to Angele, then asked.
Angele pursed his lips.
"You're right. We can only proceed forward and hope for the best. If we change our route, we will be attacked by the Cloud Bees. We should leave the dead bodies of the Cloud Bees on the deck too so that they would think that there is nothing valuable left on the airship."
He stopped for a second and continued, "The only problem is I'm not sure if the Cloud Bees are the only flying monsters in the area."
"It's a bit out of topic but for some reason, my mentality increased slightly after the fight," Hikari interrupted.
"Well, it's common. The intense battles will strengthen your mind." Angele nodded. "Alright, everyone, do you have any more questions or suggestions? If not, I'll go increase the airships' speed, so we can pass the nest faster."
"We can only hope for the best." Hikari sighed. "I'll go have some rest." She turned around and walked to the stairs.
"Wait. Stigma, there's something I need to discuss with you." Angele looked at Stigma.
Reyline and Morrisa nodded and walked away. They decided to stay in the cabins of the first airship.
Only Angele and Stigma were left on the deck.
The chilling wind blew over their faces and the noise made by the envelopes echoed in the sky.
Angele walked to the railings, looking down at the endless sea of white trees. There was no other creature flying around the airship. The place felt empty.
Stigma followed after Angele and stood by the railings.
Angele looked at Stigma. "I know how you survived the attack. You pulled the Cloud Bee's corpse onto yourself, right? I think you knew how to protect yourself from the beginning." He sent the words using energy particles.
"Master Green…" Stigma had a surprised look on his face.
"Don't try to fool me. I know that the Cloud Bee did not fall on you, but its body fluid left a trail on the deck. Your chest, hands, and feet were all covered by that liquid. I don't think there's anything more to say." Angele stared at Stigma. "Now tell me who you are and what you know about the bees."
Stigma's expression turned serious. He stared at Angele for a while and finally opened his mouth.
"Well, I should've done it in a better way, but I didn't expect you to investigate the details. It seems like you're not so concerned about the bees."
"I know I can survive the fight that's for sure." Angele nodded. "But I want to know about you and why you did not share the information with the crew. You were also trying to hide from the beginning. Just tell me, who are you?"
"I can tell you that but," Stigma walked to Angele and continued, "Master Green, you must keep this secret for me."
"I can't promise you anything but I'm good at keeping secrets." Angele smiled. "Just don't lie to me. I hate it when people lie." He started emanating his undisguised mentality wave.
Stigma's brow furrowed. He noticed the changes happened to Angele's mentality wave. It was much stronger than before. He found it hard to believe.
'This guy is hiding his true power too…' he thought.
Reducing the number of the crew would increase the chance of the airships arriving at Omandis.
Stigma knew that Angele was forcing him to speak out the truth. If he told a lie, Angele would kill him without hesitation.
Angele had killed several Cloud Bees just by himself during the fight, while the rest of the crew had only killed two bees.
Stigma bit his lips.
"So you want the data on the monsters we'll encounter, right?"
"You know how to deal with the Cloud Bees, so you should know how to deal with the other monsters." Angele shrugged.
The cursed scimitar consumed the souls of two Cloud Bees. His attributes were now stronger than before. He was certain that he would be able to survive the next area.
However, he still wanted to avoid an encounter with the Cloud Bees.
Stigma remained silent.
Angele patiently waited on the side.
About ten minutes later, Stigma finally opened his mouth but he was sending the words using energy particles.
Angele put his hands on the railings and looked around. His expression changed several times upon learning what Stigma knew. He also asked several questions during the conversation.
Several hours later, they finished their conversation. Stigma sighed, looking tired.
"That's all I know. Everything is true. If you have more questions, just come ask me in the cabins." He turned around and walked to the stairs.
Stigma turned his head around as he vanished into the darkness. He saw that Angele was still standing beside the railings, thinking about something.
For some reason, Stigma sensed something familiar from the leader named Green. It was a horrifying feeling to him. Something which made him feel uncomfortable, but he could not remember if they had met before.
Stigma spent days observing the wizards on the airships, but he never found out what Green was capable of.
He knew that Angele was a strong wizard and that was the reason why he had asked Angele to ambush Baron with him. However, he realized that Angele was much stronger than him after the man successfully won the fight against Hikari and Reyline.
Angele had not revealed his true power in the battle against the Cloud Bees.
The man reminded Stigma of his master, a mysterious wizard respected by many elders.
Stigma shook his head and walked down the stairs, then he entered one of the empty rooms.
Angele stood by the railings alone, thinking about the information Stigma just told him.
Stigma's words were surprising. He thought the man was just a wizard who once survived the trip to Omandis but the actual situation was different.
Stigma was a member of a family from the Omandis.
However, his position in the family was on the edge. He was caught in the middle of a fight between the family inheritor with an enemy from a different family. Stigma had to jump onto the airship to the west coast to escape. He fainted in the cabin and when he woke up, he realized that the airship was heading to the west coast.
Although Stigma's father was the family leader, he was not strong enough to be picked as the inheritor. There were still people missing him in Omandis like his sister, his friends, and his mother, a lady who truly loved him from the heart. Stigma also wanted to meet his lover again…
He spent years working in the organization and finally got the chance to be sent to Omandis.
The information about Stigma's family was not that important to Angele. He wanted to know how to avoid contact with the dangerous monsters.
Stigma successfully arrived at the west coast from Omandis and Angele asked him why there was an airship sent to the west coast. He also wanted to know what happened to the other wizards on that airship.
Stigma said that he did not know about the details. He said that although no one questioned him why he boarded the ship, he wanted to stay out of trouble.
Angele also asked Stigma about Reyline, the Perfect Wizard of Six Ring High Tower. He wondered why such a talented wizard joined the dangerous trip to Omandis. It seemed like he was hiding something from the crew.
Stigma told Angele about the basic information of Omandis and some stories of his family.
Angele had a basic idea on how to avoid fighting with the other monsters they might encounter during the trip. He now felt more confident on making it to the other side.
Chapter 263: Taking the Chance (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Angele thought for a while and took a deep breath.
'Zero, check my body condition.' he ordered.
'Checking…'
'Angele Rio. Strength, 8.1. Agility, 7. Stamina, 11.2. Mentality, 45. Mana, 43. Condition: wounded. Scimitar buff activated. Genetic limit reached.'
'My Stamina has increased from 8 to 11 and my Strength has increased from 4 to 8. The buff is incredible.' Angele patted on his cursed scimitar, looking satisfied. 'I should kill more magical creatures to make the buff even better.'
He wondered if the buff of the cursed scimitar had a limit.
However, if he somehow lost the scimitar, the buff would no longer be able to aid him. It was not something he could always rely on.
Angele still needed to improve himself.
He learned many things from the battle against the Cloud Bees. Although Angele was a dark wizard and was a good fighter, he would not be able to handle a large group of strong monsters just by himself.
Most of the dark wizards fought in similar ways. However, they all knew some special spells that would only be cast when necessary. Some had powerful modified damage spells, while some had already completed the ritual that could turn their bodies into the energy form. There were also wizards with strong secret techniques that only the inheritors of great wizard families knew of.
Average light wizards were weaker than dark wizards because they barely engaged in any real battle. Some dark wizards would ambush their targets in many ways. Light wizards could not even come up with such ideas.
Light wizards relied on their forcefield and they knew some basic damage spells. They would rather spend the time doing researches than learning strong damage spells.
That was the reason why they did nothing against the Cloud Bees. Angele thought there would be more survivors after the fight, but their spells were just too weak.
��I need to find a way to stabilize my mentality so that I can start going for the Crystal stage.' Angele shook his head. He had not yet found a better way to increase his mentality.
'Is my mentality stabilized?' he asked.
'The mentality stabilization is 65% completed,' The chip replied quickly, 'Engaging in intense battles will increase the speed of the process.'
'That's a good news.' Angele felt relieved. 'How should I increase my mentality? Check the database for me.'
'Creating the task…'
Angele walked to a dead Cloud Bee as Zero was still searching the database. He pointed at the dead body and released a ray of silver metal liquid from the tip of his finger. The liquid covered the surface of the bee and with the help of the Metal Mastery, Angele carried it back to a room down the stairs.
He wanted to check the body structure of the bee and find out its weakness.
About three hours later, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in, please." Angele turned around and recognized the visitor right away.
*Creak*
The door was pushed open. Stigma was still wearing a black robe. He entered the door with a black diamond-shaped stone in hand.
"Master Green…"
"Just call me Green." Angele put down the surgery equipment beside the bee's dead body after seeing the stone in Stigma's hand.
With a flick of his finger, the water energy particles formed some clean water and washed the dirt off his hands.
"Take a seat." Angele pointed at a chair.
"Thanks."
The two sat opposite to each other.
"You're correct about the advanced meditation techniques. Many can be found in Omandis. However, they are the secrets of the families or organizations. You need to join the organizations, prove yourself to them, and send an application. After that, you will be able to acquire the advanced meditation technique, but they will make sure that you can't leak the secret to the others." Stigma sent the information using energy particles. 'And you need different resources to support different advanced meditation techniques. A large number of magic stones will be required."
"Wait, does that mean there are true inheritors of ancient wizards in Omandis?" Angele wondered.
"It's…not like what you think." Stigma shook his head. "Our system is similar, but us present wizards are still much weaker than the ancient ones. We're progressing using a different route developed by our ancestors, but to progress will require a large number of resources."
"So the problem is still the resources…?" Angele rubbed his chin and started thinking.
Stigma looked at the black stone for several seconds and handed it over to Angele carefully. "This is a part of my family's meditation technique. You can take a look."
"That's generous of you." Angele smiled.
"This is not the advanced meditation technique we talked about. I think even Reyline has something similar, but it's better than the one you're using." Stigma shook his head. "I'm not an important member of the family so I can't apply for the advanced meditation technique."
Angele nodded and as he grabbed the black stone, he noticed rows of twisted runes engraved on its surface that looked like a bunch of meaningless strings.
The runes were connected to each other. It almost looked like they were moving around. Angele rubbed his eyes and looked at the stone again, but the runes had already stopped moving.
"Thank you for the help." Angele opened the drawer and took out a glass tube with clean blue liquid inside.
He handed the tube to Stigma.
"You know I'm a potion master, right? This is a special healing gel I made. Give it a try."
Stigma narrowed his eyes and carefully accepted the glass tube. "Thanks, I'll be leaving now."
"Sure."
Angele watched Stigma leave and he locked the door.
He held the black stone in his hand and observed the runes carefully.
Angele memorized all the patterns quickly, then closed his eyes and started trying out the new meditation method.
*********************
Several days later, the three airships traveled passed the Cloud Bee's nest without a problem after Angele increased the speed. The bees did not go for them again as the five wizards all used their own stealth techniques.
The meditation technique Stigma had given helped him a lot.
On the second day after they went past the nest, Angele's mentality was finally stabilized.
Angele created another task using the biochip right away. He wanted to find out the best method to increase his mentality.
Zero helped him find the right solution when he wanted to advance to the Liquid stage. Angele believed that this time it would work too.
The analysis function and the database were the reason why the biochip was extremely helpful. The wizards had no way of collecting such large amounts of data and memorize all of them. The analysis function could provide Angele with the best solutions to his problems, too. Although there were limitations, it could still help him progress as a wizard.
Many wizards stopped progressing after advancing to the Gas stage due to various problems.
It took Zero about three days to find the best plan for Angele.
There were two possible solutions.
The first was to find the advanced meditation techniques, but it was too hard to accomplish at the moment.
The second was to kill strong monsters with the cursed scimitar. According to the simulation, it was possible for Angele to absorb some of the pure life energy when the scimitar was consuming the souls of the dead creatures. With the help of proper potions, his attributes could be permanently increased during the process. However, the method could only be used occasionally as the side effects were still unknown.
The potions used in the method were relatively easy to concoct. The only thing he needed was to prepare some special neutralizers.
************************
Inside the room.
Rays of morning light went through the window and illuminated the place.
Angele stood beside a wooden table with a glass bottle in hand. Inside the bottle, there were several grain-sized stones. He was pouring the stones into a beaker on the table.
The beaker contained bubbling green sticky liquid.
The black stones melted and disappeared after contacting the liquid.
Several seconds later, all the stones dissolved in the beaker.
Angele stirred the green liquid with a glass stick several times and poured the solution into 12 empty glass tubes.
Quickly, the glass tubes were inserted into a shelf on the table and all of them were filled up with the sticky solution.
These were the neutralizer Angele needed to concoct the required potions. The potions were used to make sure the pure life energy from the scimitar could be successfully absorbed by his body.
"It's finally done." Angele wiped the sweat off his forehead.
He raised his right hand and a bat-shaped rune flashed on the back of his nail.
"How long until we arrive at the next dangerous area?" Angele questioned.
"Five hours later." Reyline's voice echoed in his ear. "Let's see if Stigma's method works."
"Yeah. He said that those creatures were weaker than the Cloud Bees, but we should still proceed with caution."
Chapter 264: Snake Lizard (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
"Did Hikari give you the information on the Snake Lizards?" Angele questioned in a light tone.
"She did. Snake Lizards live in the caves around the cliffs. There will be around 20 of them in an average-sized patrol team. A Snake Lizard is about two meters tall and its intelligence is very high. Although they haven't developed written language yet, most of them can speak. Well, anyway, they will attack the airships. That's for sure," Reyline explained.
"We're just food to them." Angele shook his head.
The two remained silent for a minute.
"Green, I'm sorry. I think it's my fault." Reyline opened his mouth again.
Angele did not reply right away. He sighed and slowly spoke.
"I checked the storages of all three airships. I have the amulet, but it has taken me some time to unlock those rooms with magic stones inside. Do you know what I found? Take a guess."
Reyline did not respond, as he probably already knew the truth.
Angele sneered. "Three airships! Not one single magic stone can be found in the storage rooms. You are also hiding something from us. All the wizards on the airships are weak. Just spit it out already."
"You're right. They want me to die on the trip. It's a death trap, to be honest. The wizards on the airships were all recommended by the elders of the Six Ring High Tower…except…you. I don't know anything about you."
"So even if we can return to Nola, there'll be assassins waiting for us, right?" Angele went straight to the point.
"That's possible."
"What about Omandis then? What if we somehow survived the trip? Will there be people waiting for us too?"
"I don't know." Reyline lowered his voice.
Angele recalled the day Ander told him about the information.
Ander should have already known that it was a death trap, but Angele did not understand why the Dark Wizard Tower did not inform him about the situation.
Stigma was an outsider to Nola and he would never be selected under normal circumstances. Reyline was probably the only wizard important to the organization on the airship but he was the target.
"Whatever. We have already survived the Cloud Bee area. We will see how it goes." Angele calmed down. "Get ready and do what Stigma said. Soak yourself in water and breathe using a straw. The Snake Lizards might just let us go."
Angele cut off the communication. He walked to the window, then he crouched and hid under the windowsill. He held the amulet tight in his hand and slowly closed his eyes.
Countless blue light dots gathered around Angele's body, turning into drops of water.
The water drops merged and formed a large water ball.
Silver metal liquid leaked out of Angele's body, creating a large bathtub. It fitted the dropping water ball perfectly.
Angele moved into the bathtub and lied down. He then created a metal straw and stuck it out of the surface of the water.
The room was silent.
Time was flying.
*Ka-ta Ka-ta*
Angele suddenly heard some strange noise from outside the window.
It sounded like wings that were made of metal.
A purple human-shaped creature flew past the airship.
The creature had the body of a human, head of a snake, and wings of an eagle. There was a metallic glint on its skin.
Angele had hidden himself under the windowsill, so he did not get detected by the creature.
*Ka-ta Ka-ta Ka-ta*
About six or seven Snake Lizards flew past the airship.
Those birdmen with brown skin were checking the airships with their long, slim green eyes. They were holding different types of metal weapons in hand. It seemed like they knew how to craft basic tools.
The three airships were deadly silent. The only noise was made by the envelopes.
Angele hid in the room carefully. He could see the Snake Lizards flying past the window.
They flew around above the airships for about ten minutes then finally left.
Angele followed the plan and stayed in the water for another half an hour with his eyes open.
He stood up quickly and jumped out of the bathtub.
*CHI*
Fire energy particles dried his clothes as white steam rose into the air.
With a flick of his finger, the metal bathtub turned into liquid and returned into his skin.
The water inside the container fell to the floor.
Angele was not concerned about the water. He turned to the window and looked down.
The only thing he saw was a mountain covered with thick snow. There was no plant or living creature down there.
The area around the mountains was deadly silent.
The temperature inside the room was controlled by a special rune, so it was quite comfortable.
Angele moved away from the window and opened the door. He saw the door on the opposite side was opened as well and Morrisa walked out of her room.
"We're good, right? Master Green?" Morrisa was asking in a shaky tone. Angele could see the fear in her eyes.
Her long black hair trailed over her shoulders and her left hand was still covered with bandages. Morrisa's skin was pale. Angele was not sure if she was just too scared or she still needed some more time to recover from the injury.
She was wearing a long wool dress that looked identical to a white robe. There was a diamond-shaped sapphire on the tip of the white short wand in her right hand.
"Let's go take a look." Angele turned around and walked to the staircase.
Reyline, Stigma, and Hikari were already standing on the deck.
Hikari crouched beside a pool of green sticky liquid. Stigma was talking to her with his brows furrowed.
Reyline was looking at the mountains beside the railings.
The three looked at Angele and Morrisa as they stepped onto the deck.
"They took away the corpses of the Cloud Bees." Hikari stood up. "Except the one in the room, Green, the rest of them are all gone."
Angele walked to Hikari and looked at the pool of green sticky liquid. There was a trail of the liquid leading to the place Reyline was standing at. It seemed that the Snake Lizards jumped off from the airship from there.
"That's not a problem. We're still alive. That's all that matters. It seems like we don't need to fight this time," Angele responded.
"Where are we at right now? Anyone?" He turned to Stigma.
Stigma took out a fist-sized crystal orb and tapped it with his right index finger with his eyes closed.
"We'll travel past the mountains soon. The next area is the Forlorn Plains. Another challenge lies ahead," he answered.
"The Forlorn Plains?" Reyline walked to Stigma. "How long until we arrive at Omandis?"
"After the Forlorn Plains, there is the Mamba Highland then we need to fly across the Abyss Canyon. If we can survive all that, it will take us about another 10 days to get to the border of Omandis." Stigma explained, "The three areas are not populated, so we need to stay undetected the whole time. Otherwise, we'll die for sure."
"Let's clean the airship first." Hikari pointed at the pools of green sticky liquid on the deck. "I think the liquid will lure the flying beasts here."
"You're right." Angele nodded.
The five wizards conjured water and washed every corner of the deck clean.
Angele summoned several water elementals using Hikari's potions. The water elementals were created by pure water energy and they were very helpful when cleaning floors.
They started at morning and finished by the afternoon.
It was getting dark outside. The sun hid itself behind the thick clouds and the atmosphere was heavy.
The wing was soaring in the sky.
Under the dark clouds, the three airships lined up in the air. The airships were surrounded by white energy barriers and their direction was controlled by the green energy flows around them.
Quickly, the airship left the snow mountains and entered a forest with sparse trees.
Angele stood beside the railings and looked down.
Between the gaps of the trees, he could see several white monkeys running around.
The last rays of light brightened up the area below.
"Huh?" Morrisa found something. She sounded surprised.
She turned around and yelled, "Hey, come here, what's that?" She pointed down.
The others that had been checking the landscape by the railings ran to Morrisa after hearing her words.
Angele walked to Morrisa quickly and looked at the place she was pointing at.
A pink light dot was flashing between the green trees.
"What's that?" he questioned.
"Let me see what I can do. Give me a second." Morrisa drew a circle in the with her short wand.
Several red dots mixed in yellow light dots were released from the sapphire.
The light dots stopped in the air for a second, then it flew toward Angele and moved into his eyes slowly.
Chapter 265: Snake Lizard (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Angele's sight blurred for a second. He could feel the heat from his eyes. When he looked toward the direction again, he could now see what was happening clearly.
"It's an…altar. A stone altar." He recognized the object right away.
A gray altar sat quietly in a remote area. There was no one around it.
Green veins and black roots twisted around the altar. It looked old and the gray stone base had already started cracking. Some dried yellow leaves were blown into the air by the wind.
A pink crystal rune was floating over the stone altar, which looked like a crystal accessory.
It was a triangular crystal rune made from the pink crystal. A crescent moon, a math symbol, and a money symbol were marked on its three corners.
There was an eye-shaped rune in the center.
The eye-shaped rune was supported by a tiny scale.
The crystal rune was the source of the pink light dots.
"What's that?" Angele wondered.
"I don't know," Stigma saw Angele staring at him and answered. "Those altars are common in the remote areas. Legends state that they were built by human beings. No one knew how to use those floating crystal runes. The runes will regenerate automatically if they're removed from the altars. It's a mystery."
"You're from Omandis yet you don't know about those crystal runes?" Hikari wondered.
Stigma shrugged. "Yeah, I'm from Omandis but it doesn't mean I know everything."
Morrisa applied her eyesight buff to all the wizards and they started checking the altar altogether.
"Stigma, did you see the altar on your way to Nola?" Reyline asked.
"Yeah, but it was a different one. There is more than one altar in the area. Mutated creatures stay away from the altars for some reason, which as I have said, is a mystery," Stigma explained.
"Sadly, I can't go down there and check the altar myself. I'm curious." Angele said what everyone was thinking.
"If we can survive the trip, we can go check those altars together later. What do you say?" Hikari asked.
"No problem," Stigma responded right away.
"Sure." Morrisa nodded. She was the weakest one of the five wizards, so she would love to join the team created by the stronger wizards.
Angele narrowed his eyes and looked at Reyline.
"I don't have a problem with it."
"I'll join you too then." Reyline nodded slightly. He only cared about Angele's opinion since he had been defeated by the man before.
If the five wizards could successfully survive all the dangerous areas, they would gain a lot of practical experiences that would help them succeed in Omandis.
Angele was not certain that the methods provided by Stigma would work every time when they encountered dangerous magical creatures.
"Alright, it's dinner time. I have some pork on the boat. We can barbeque those. What do you think?" Hikari smiled.
"Sure, I have many spices. I can make a great dry rub." Angele chuckled, "I love barbequed pork. It's nice that you brought some meat to the boat. I didn't even think too much about food when I boarded the boat."
"A wizard like me can't live without some decent food," Hikari responded. "It'll be even better if we have some fruit wine."
"I have several bottles of Horito Beer with me," Reyline said in a light tone.
"But before that, we have some problem to take care of." Angele suddenly drew his cursed scimitar. The blade was coated with a green glow.
The other four wizards hesitated for a second and glanced around.
Under the dark clouds, there were more than ten Snake Lizards coming after the boat. There were iron spears and swords in their hands, and Angele could see the greed in their green eyes.
"We should've stayed in the rooms a bit longer." Stigma's expression changed. "These monsters can detect living beings more than a thousand meters away. I didn't expect a second patrol team." He pulled the black dagger out of the sheath.
"Morrisa, go hide in the cabin." Hikari threw two potions to the floor. The potion bottles rolled several times on the ground, leaving a trail of black liquid behind.
*CHI*
Two liquid tall white men spawned from the potions. Their bodies solidified quickly, and sharp ice shards emerged out of their shoulders.
The two elementals looked like two tall human beings that were equipped with ice armors. They did not have eyes, ears, and noses. The only thing they had on their faces was a mouth. They were saying something, but Angele could not understand the language. It sounded like some random runes.
"Go!" Hikari pointed at the approaching patrol team of the Snake Lizards.
The two ice elementals floated in the air and started charging toward the Snake Lizards. Their hands turned into ice blades.
Once Morrisa heard her, she rushed to the stairs. The Snake Lizards did not notice her at all.
Reyline raised his longbow to the air and pulled two strains of hair off his head, turning them into arrows.
As Angele held his cursed scimitar tight, he lowered his body and charged toward the Snake Lizards.
*Ka-ta Ka-ta Ka-ta*
He was running at full speed on deck.
Angele rushed to the railings and jumped into the air while releasing the distorted illusion energy wave.
*BAM*
He did a backflip in the air and slashed forward. A Snake Lizard that was flying to him was forcefully struck by the cursed scimitar.
The Snake Lizard was wielding a black iron spear. It grunted after taking the hit, but it started charging toward Angele right away. The monster blinked its eyes and released two green laser beams.
*CLANK*
Angele blocked the iron spear with the cursed scimitar. He quickly leaned to the left and dodged two green laser beams. He supported himself with some wind energy particles and slashed forward again.
*KA*
The blade hit the Snake Lizard's chest, ripping through a thin energy barrier.
A green glint flashed upon the scimitar as the Snake Lizard grunted again. The blade cut through its chest and left a deep wound on its body. Angele could see the monster's strange green organs through the opening.
The two laser beams hit the deck and left two burnt holes on the floor. They somehow managed to damage the extremely hard wooden surface of the deck.
The wind energy particles suddenly disappeared. Angele was falling down with the severely wounded Snake Lizard.
*BANG*
He smashed onto the deck and rolled several times on the floor. Angele created a metal shield behind him to reduce the impact and quickly stabbed the scimitar into the center of the Snake Lizard's chest.
He stood up quickly. Angele could feel the chilling energy being transferred into his body from the cursed scimitar. His attributes were increased slightly again.
He took out a glass tube from the pouch right away and swallowed all the green sticky liquid inside.
It was spicy and salty. The liquid had the texture of a spicy slime.
Angele felt uncomfortable drinking it and even almost vomited, but he still forced himself to swallow it.
Green light flashed in his eyes and something happened to the chilling energy flow right away. Angele turned around and stared at the dead Snake Lizard. He asked Zero to analyze the creature.
Blue light dots flashed in front of his eyes before it disappeared within seconds. Angele looked at the monsters' corpses and turned around to check the situation.
Reyline had killed three Snake Lizards just by himself and he was fighting with another one using his own twin scimitars. Those monsters were much weaker than the Cloud Bees.
Stigma killed two Snake Lizards and he was still fighting with his black dagger.
Hikari and the two ice elementals attracted the attention of the other Snake Lizards. She created several energy barriers, but it looked she was having some trouble.
There was no time for him to think any longer. Angele held the scimitar in his left hand and gouged the dead Snake Lizard's eyes out with his right hand quickly.
The two green eyeballs looked like two dirty emeralds. They were soaked in the creature's blood.
Angele closed his eyes and threw the two eyeballs into his mouth, chewing them several times.
His mouth was filled with the sweet juice leaking out of the eyeballs. He drank them all.
"Rua! Rua!"
The rest of the Snake Lizards noticed what Angele just did and started shouting. Angele was not sure if Rua was the dead monster's name or if they were just angry. It seemed that the eyes of the Snake Lizards held a special meaning to them.
Green glows appeared around their eyes. All of the Snake Lizards were now enraged. They stopped fighting with their current opponents and rushed toward Angele together.
Angele's expression changed. He raised his right hand and conjured countless silver needles. The silver needles gathered together and flew to the approaching Snake Lizards at full speed.
*BAM*
The silver needles fiercely struck the Snake Lizards. Rays of green light and silver light flashed in the sky.
Angele was blown away by the impact, causing him to smash onto the railings on the other side of the deck as he grunted in pain.
Chapter 266: Result and Barbeque (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The silver needles hit the Snake Lizards directly but none of them did any actual damage.
*CHI CHI CHI*
Several green laser beams were released from the monsters' eyes.
Angele was one second late. A large piece of skin was ripped off his left hand, revealing the bloody flesh beneath it.
He grunted as he could feel the intense pain coming from the wound.
"Ah!" Angele heard someone yelling from the entrance of the cabin.
He struggled for a while and raised his head. The female wizard named Morrisa was being attacked by a sword-wielding Snake Lizard. The white energy shield around her was starting to crack.
"Help me! Please! Help me!" Morrisa was almost crying. She fainted in the fight against the Cloud Bees and had survived mainly due to her luck. She realized that those Snake Lizards were extremely strong.
At the same time, some of the Snake Lizards realized that there were weaker targets than Angele and started to attack the other wizards again. Stigma's strength was weaker than the monster attacking him, and his dagger had been taken away.
Stigma tried his best to avoid being stabbed by his own weapon. Angele could see the cold sweat dripping down his chin.
Angele's brows furrowed. He hesitated for second and quickly took something out of the pouch.
"Light of Thorns!"
*BAM*
A golden light ball exploded in the air. Countless golden lasers were released to every angle and the bright light illuminated on the surface of the deck.
The golden lasers disappeared within seconds.
*PA PA PA*
About four Snake Lizards that were still attacking Angele fell to the ground. The one in front of Morrisa fell to the deck as well. Morrisa was breathing heavily. It was a terrifying experience for her.
The Snake Lizards had high Stamina. Although their bodies were burnt black, they were still alive. However, all of them were paralyzed.
Angele lowered the scimitar and applied some healing gel to his wound. He walked to one of the dying Snake Lizards and gouged its eyes out with the right hand.
He threw the two eyeballs into his mouth with no hesitation.
"Ah!" The Snake Lizard was screaming in the intense pain.
*CHI*
Angele stabbed its forehead with a silver longsword and the screams stopped right away.
He chewed the eyeballs several times and swallowed them as though he was eating normal food.
Angele drank another neutralizer and walked to the second Snake Lizard.
The only thing making a noise on the deck was his footsteps.
The Snake Lizard that was fighting with Stigma was hit by the golden laser in its chest. It fell to the floor and died.
Stigma took a deep breath after the threat was eliminated.
There were two Snake Lizards that dodged the attack by luck. They turned around and tried to escape.
*BAM BAM*
Two arrows made of strains of blonde hair hit the back of the two monsters' heads and they fell down right away. Reyline slowly lowered his longbow.
Angele had already finished gouging all the eyes out of the Snake Lizards on the deck.
"I guessed that you were a dark wizard. It seems like you really are one." Reyline walked to Angele with his brows furrowed.
"What? Many light wizards were once dark wizards, right?" Angele was not concerned. "Does anyone have drinkable water?"
The rest of the crew walked to Angele as well. They had watched Angele swallow all the Snake Lizards' eyeballs and found the scene a bit disturbing.
"What's the matter? Sure, he's a dark wizard but he saved us." Stigma took out a water pouch and handed it over to Angele.
"Thanks." Angele opened the pouch and used the water to rinse his mouth.
"That's true. Many strong light wizards were once black wizards." Reyline nodded. "But watching you eat all those eyeballs is still making me sick."
"Yeah." Hikari shrugged. Her face had turned pale. "Sorry but it's just a bit disturbing to watch. Ah, actually, my master did something similar once. I thought he was just joking when he told me about it." She looked at Angele.
"It's fine. I understand." Angele smiled.
Morrisa leaned against the railings but did not say anything. It looked like she was trying to keep a distance from Angele.
"I have a question. Those golden lasers…are from a magic device, right?" Reyline asked in a low voice.
"You're right. It is a magic device." Angele knew he could no longer hide it.
"Light of Thorns, huh? It's a famous magic device in the Labyrinth College but I won't question how you acquired it."
"Magic device…"
Reyline was the only one who recognized the spell, while the rest of the crew looked surprised.
Angele shrugged but did not say anything. He had to use it considering the situation. There were only five wizards left on the boat. He knew that he could not survive the trip just by himself. Morrisa would die if he had hesitated at that moment.
He also wanted to use the cursed scimitar to absorb all the souls of those magical creatures. Activating the magic device was the best choice. Otherwise, the battle would take much longer to finish.
Angele got what he wanted. He saved the crew and acquired all the souls he needed.
They started cleaning the deck together after this conversation.
The wizards did not seem to care too much about the magic device as they returned their rooms after the corpses of the Snake Lizards were taken care of.
Angele closed the door once he returned to his room.
He walked to the window and looked down. There were not many trees on the plain and some mutated deer were running around.
Blue light dots flashed in front of Angele's eyes and his attributes were displayed in his sight.
'Strength, 12.5. Agility, 11.2. Stamina, 13.4. Mentality, 51. Mana, 50.'
He drew the cursed scimitar slowly. There was a silver glint on the surface of the wavy blade and the weapon was surrounded by a green glow.
The green glow quickly climbed up Angele's wrist. It looked like parasites that were trying to get into his body.
*PA*
Angele put down the scimitar on the table.
*CHI*
The green glow left Angele's body right away and returned to the blade.
Angele's attributes were plunging as the buff was no longer affecting him.
After about five seconds, Angele's body shrank slightly in size. He stared at the numbers with a blank expression on the face.
'Strength, 3.9. Agility, 5.5. Stamina, 8.2. Mentality, 45.1. Mana, 45.'
'Yeah…This is my true attributes without the buff…'
Angele suddenly noticed that there was still some energy from the scimitar left around his chest.
The energy was being consumed slowly. He saw his Mentality increasing slowly.
From 45 to 46, then from 47 to 48. It stopped at 48.4.
'It actually worked!' Angele was satisfied with the result. 'Extracting the life energy is effective. My mentality has increased by 3. That's the essence of 7 Snake Lizards. Incredible…'
Angele could feel the energy around his chest disappear when his attributes increased.
'Zero, create a task. How much mentality do I need to reach the Crystal stage?' he ordered.
'Task created, simulating…'
Angele awaited the results patiently.
After about 20 minutes, the chip gave him the answer.
'Crystal stage requires you to have a Mentality over 71,' Zero's mechanical voice echoed in his ears.
'What are all the requirements then?'
'Requirement 1: Mentality over 71.'
'Requirement 2: A refined magic circle. Use it to remove the impurities from the mentality.'
'Requirement 3: You need more than 52 years to get used to the dense mentality. You can speed up the progress using advanced meditation techniques.'
Angele finally understood why the advanced meditation technique was so important.
The basic meditation technique was used to help wizard apprentices and formal wizards to increase their mentality. The advanced meditation technique was mainly used to help wizards speed up the process of getting used to higher mentality level.
The advanced meditation technique and the basic meditation technique were two completely different systems. That was the reason why the wizards at the west coast failed to develop it.
Angele stayed in the room and kept checking his body condition.
It was getting dark outside and night arrived quickly.
The crescent moon hung over the sky quietly.
Angele stood beside the window, listening to the noise made by the wind and the envelope.
He was alone in the bedroom and he felt relieved for some reason. The moonlight illuminated on the shell of the dead Cloud Bee and the shell looked like pieces of dirty crystals.
Angele was on an airship traveling through an unfamiliar area. He knew that the only person he could rely on was himself.
He walked to the bed and lied down. The soft blanket was cold, and he enjoyed the peaceful moment in his private space. The room was small, but the locked door made him feel safe.
Angele could still smell the stench coming from the Cloud Bee's corpse.
*Thud thud*
"Green, are you already asleep?" Stigma's voice came from outside.
"Not yet." Angele got off the bed and unlocked the door.
Stigma stood by the door with an emerald plate in his hands. There were some barbequed meat and salad on the plate. The fat on the meat was caramelized well.
The fragrance of the meat rushed into Angele's nose.
Chapter 267: Result and Barbeque (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Stigma pursed his lips into a smile. "Hurry up. We need your spices. And thanks for saving me today."
"We're in the same boat. I can't survive the trip just by myself." Angele chuckled. "You don't need to thank me."
"I don't care about your intention. You still saved me." Stigma showed Angele the plate. "Come join us. You're our leader now. We should have some rest."
"Sure." Angele stopped for a second and realized that it was the barbeque party they talked about earlier.
"Reyline is preparing the wine. We can start the party right away with your spices." Stigma looked at him.
Angele was a bit depressed, but he was being cheered up at the thought of the party.
Although Angele was alone most of the time, he still wanted to engage in some social activities from time to time.
He turned around and grabbed the spices and he also released the night sparrow from the cage. There was no problem as it could find food by itself.
The party was held on the deck.
The five wizards built a small campfire around on the floor and sat around it.
The dark deck was brightened up by the flame and the clear moonlight. The flames in the campfire were crackling and the chilling wind was blowing over their faces.
Over the fire, there was a black metal rack with about ten meat skewers lined up on it. The meat was cut into even sizes. Its smell was making people drool.
Reyline had a brown bamboo basket in hand. There were five long translucent bottles with clean green liquid inside.
"It's an aged sparkling wine that tastes somewhat like beer." He gave the bottles to the wizards.
The meat started sizzling as Angele sprinkled the seasoning over it. A rich pepper fragrance permeated the air.
Angele grabbed the wine bottle and put it down on the side.
Hikari found some wooden planks and built a small shelter to block the wind. It was cold during the night.
"Half a month till we reach the next hurdle. We have plenty of time to prepare. My method should be perfect this time. Just wait a bit longer before you leave the cabin." Stigma bit on a meat skewer and drank some wine from the bottle. "That's some tasty meat."
"Horito Beer, huh? Love the green color." Hikari removed the cork and took a sip. "Great, how long was it aged?"
"42 years." Reyline drank directly from the bottle as well.
"I'm about to advance to the next stage soon, I think."
"Next stage?" Hikari put down the bottle, looking surprised.
Stigma stopped chewing the meat and looked at Reyline.
Morrisa lowered her head upon listening. It seemed like she was just jealous of Reyline's achievement.
"Yeah, the Crystal stage," Reyline added. "I'm preparing the magic circle for the ritual. The materials I need are already on the boat. I can start the process five days later if everything goes as planned. It would great if I can succeed but if I fail I don't mind being killed by the monsters we'll encounter."
"The intense battles have increased my mentality. I'm feeling more confident now." Hikari nodded. "Light wizards like us are used to the peaceful environment. Like Green said, the battles will strengthen our mind."
"Well, nothing has happened to me." Stigma shook his head. "I agree that the battles are intense, but my mentality barely increased."
Angele sat beside the campfire, staring at the burning flames and started thinking.
His mentality did not increase after the fight against the Cloud Bees and the Snake Lizards. He already gotten used to intense battles a long time ago.
Although Angele's mentality was not increased, the buff from the cursed scimitar could still increase his attributes. With the life energy extraction, his mentality would increase at a much faster rate than the others.
He already knew how to stabilize his mentality. If he could find the advanced mentality technique, the only thing he needed to do was to hunt magical creatures using the cursed scimitar. Reaching the mentality required for the Crystal stage would, by then, become easy.
The others were still chatting about their progression, but Angele did not say a thing.
He took a bite of the roasted meat and ate some salad. The caramelized fat of the meat was rich and satisfying. The salad was well-seasoned, and the crispy green vegetables helped reduce the greasiness of the meat.
"Like I said, if we can survive the trip and reach Omandis, we'll be treated well by the organization." Hikari nodded slightly. "I reached the Liquid stage about 30 years ago. Now that my mentality level is finally increasing again, I'm certain that I can advance to the Crystal stage in several years."
"The ritual won't be a big problem to you if you have enough resources. Wizards of west coast rely too much on resources as that's the only way to increase our mentality. Potions, special magic circles, and materials. They're very expensive," Reyline added.
"That's right. The situation for wizards in Omandis is different," Stigma interrupted. "The mentality level is not a big problem but they all have a bottleneck to deal with. I left the family a long time ago, but I still have some intel on that. Advanced meditation techniques can help wizards increase their mentality level, but those techniques are separated into several levels. Your mentality will increase each time you finish a level. Some wizards' mentality might even be bound to a certain element."
"Bound to an element?" Angele heard this, and he turned to Stigma. "What's that?"
"Green, do you know master Ivana or master Flan Jones?" Reyline questioned.
"I've met master Flan several times." Angele nodded. "Wait…Is that the reason why I can't even look at her mentality wave?"
"You're correct. It's Ice mentality. The property of master Flan's mentality changed when she was still a rank 1 wizard. The advanced meditation technique is probably related to the Ice energy particles." Stigma nodded.
"Why didn't she teach the technique to her inheritors then?" Morrisa suddenly asked.
"The Oath. The best way to make a wizard to keep his promise. It's a mysterious power that can be planted into a wizard's mentality. If a wizard violated the Oath, their own soul will be devoured. It's a painful way to die," Stigma explained. "Master Flan and master Ivana are probably affected by the Oath, they can't just teach others their advanced meditation techniques."
"Tell us more about Omandis, Stigma," Angele said in a light tone.
"Omandis…?" Stigma had a bitter smile on his face. "My family is at the border of the area. I'm not even an important member. I barely know anything about Omandis."
"Well, you definitely know more information about the place than us. What should we do after reaching Omandis?" Angele kept asking.
Stigma remained silent for several minutes. He was trying to organize his thoughts.
The others waited around the campfire patiently.
"There's no country in Omandis. Wizard organizations and families all possess their own territories. I once found a map in my father's study and there were more than one hundred wizard organizations marked on it. There were also many wars going on before I left." Stigma finally opened his mouth.
"Wars? Why would they waste resources on something like that?" Hikari was confused.
"The population in Omandis is much larger than you thought. There can be more than one million people living in a city. Wizards and mortals share the same living space together. Mortals know that they're ruled by the wizards. It's like peasants and nobles. Ah, and there are many talented wizards in Omandis," Stigma explained. "Some strong wizard apprentices broke the limit when they were under 20 years old. Can you imagine seeing a ten-year-old wizard?"
"
I became a formal wizard at 47, by the way." He shook his head slightly.
"I became a formal wizard at 23," Reyline said. "And that's about 40 years ago…"
"50," Hikari said in a light tone.
"41 for me." Morrisa joined the conversation as well.
Angele nodded slightly. "I became a wizard at about 20 years old, too."
He was one of the most talented wizard apprentices in history yet there was someone better in Omandis.
"Many wizard apprentices will stop at rank 3 for a long time. That's normal. They need to be prepared before trying to break the limit." Stigma pursed his lips.
"You can choose to become a solo adventurer after arriving at Omandis. Go to the wizard towers and accept missions. You can also join my family and apply for advanced meditation techniques in the future," he continued.
"I thought you said it was hard to get those applications approved." Angele wondered.
"Well, I'm not sure about other wizard organizations, but my family separated the techniques into several parts. It's much more complicated than basic meditation techniques that you will encounter many problems during the process. The better the technique is, the faster your mentality will increase. Some of the advanced meditation techniques may even grant you special abilities. The wizards in Omandis are at a totally different level. I never told anyone about it in Nola. Besides the Talent Spells, we also have the special ability of the meditation technique and the help from the enchanted items or magic devices." He stopped for a second and looked at Angele. "The ring you have is considered as a decent magic device even in Omandis but you can find people willing you trade you their magic devices for rare resources. It's a different world."
"Interesting." Angele narrowed his eyes. It seemed that Omandis was the sanctuary for wizards. A better place than Nola most likely.
"The wizards of Omandis also fight in a completely different style. They use many instant-cast spells. The power of their Talent Spells and the special abilities of their advanced meditation techniques will decide the outcome of a battle most of the time. Wizards of west coast rely too much on high-level enchanted items and magic devices. That's how they cast their spells instantly."
Stigma stopped for a second, then he continued, "Never mess with a wizard for no reason. Simple ambushes won't be effective when the wizard has strong Talent Spell or magic devices that provide multiple energy barriers. The higher a wizard's mentality is, the more high-level enchanted items he'll be able to activate at the same time. A wizard from my family is famous for his defensive abilities. The old man can put up four energy barriers at the same time. It's almost impossible to stab him from the back."
The wizards listening to Stigma's explanations all looked surprised.
Chapter 268: The Eye of the Storm (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
"You mean activating four enchanted items at the same time…? At the west coast, wizards considered powerful can only activate two. And our enchanted items usually can't change the outcome of a battle," Reyline said in a light tone.
"Yeah, the situation is different." Stigma shook his head. "The wizards in Omandis have higher average mentality level. They have also developed methods in order to control the enchanted items better. The effects of the items can be buffed with less mentality required to activate them."
"Interesting…Do you mean rank 1 wizards like us are considered as weak in Omandis?" Hikari's brows furrowed.
"Correct, except Green. He's a strong wizard and he has a magic device. Green is still a strong wizard in Omandis." The other four wizards looked at Green right when Stigma finished speaking.
Angele had finished one meat skewer and he put several more onto the metal rack. "You already know that I'm a dark wizard. That's why I can fight better. It shouldn't be surprising. Stigma, I'm still curious about your family. Can you tell us about it if you don't mind?"
Stigma hesitated for a second before he nodded. "Sure. It's not a big deal."
He drank some wine from the bottle and started explaining.
"My father is the head. It may sound exciting, but he has more than ten sons. Only one of us is a 'pureblood' human being while the rest are all mixed blood, including me. He loves the 'real' human being much more than he loves us. That guy is also considered as the true inheritor in the family. The situation is quite complicated.
"The only people who cared about me were my mother, my young sister, and a friend named Liana. I really miss them." Angele could see the tinge of loneliness from Stigma's eyes.
"I wasn't a talented wizard apprentice. I spent years before I reached rank 3. I successfully broke the limit after I arrived at the West Coast. I was always the target of the bullies in the family. Only my sister and Liana helped me, but they are talented and important to the family. I think they have already become formal wizards. I miss my mother. Her body condition was bad when I was still Omandis…I wasted too much time in Nola. I wish they still remember me…" Stigma sighed with mixed feelings as he recalled the days he had spent in Omandis and Nola.
"We're getting close. Just pay them a visit. You're already a formal wizard, so your family members should respect you." Hikari smiled.
"You don't understand. Although I'm at the Liquid stage, there are many wizards in my family that have already reached higher stages or ranks. My sister has the family backing her up and she's talented. It's highly possible that she has already advanced to the next rank." Stigma lowered his head. The light from the flames brightened up his cheeks.
"It'll take her some time to advance to rank 2 from rank 1 no matter how talented she is." Hikari shook her head.
"Well, let's talk about something else, the atmosphere is getting heavy here. What do you guys plan to do after we arrive at Omandis?" Hikari changed the topic.
The five wizards stayed around the campfire and finished the food and had a long conversation.
Angele returned to his room, but he was still thinking about what Stigma said about the wizards in Omandis.
If Stigma was telling the truth, it meant that they had instant-cast spells other than Talent Spells.
With the magic devices and advanced meditation techniques, the wizards in Omandis must be extremely powerful. Angele was a strong wizard in Nola, but he would be considered weak in the central continent.
Angele lay on the bed quietly with blue light dots flashing in front of his eyes.
He asked Zero to simulate a battle between him and the wizards from Omandis. If the opponent had just three instant-cast spells, Angele could still win the fight. He could cast about three powerful spells instantly as he had the chip. It was his advantage during the battles.
Angele could understand why Stigma wanted to return to Omandis so bad. He wanted to prove himself to the family. Stigma reached the Liquid stage, so he was no longer a burden to his friend and his sister.
In the next ten days, the five stayed in their own room and prepared for the incoming challenges.
They created ice cubes and put them on the deck, so the third challenge did not even detect them.
For the fourth challenge, Angele increased the speed of the airships and asked the wizards to stop breathing for three minutes. They survived that with no problem as well.
It all came to the last problem.
********************
In the endless blue sky, three airships were slowly advancing in the air.
Five light wizards were standing on the deck of the first airship. They were glancing around and exchanging information using the energy particles.
The airships slowed down quickly and floated in the air.
The golden sunlight brought warmth to the deck and illuminated on the white robes the wizards were wearing.
"The biggest problem of the trip is ahead," Stigma spoke in a serious tone. "The Eye of Al'akir. there's no dangerous creature around it but it can be considered as a natural disaster."
The other four wizards looked at the scene ahead with serious expressions on their faces.
The sky was beautiful and clear over the airships.
However, dark clouds covered the area ahead. There was an enormous tornado connecting the land and the sky and it was spinning slowly.
Yet, the tornado was quiet. Angele could not hear it making any noise.
The gigantic column of twisting air blocked the view of the plain down the airship. The only thing in the wizards' sights was the seemingly endless sea of drifting clouds.
There was only a tiny gap between heaven and hell.
"This is the last challenge we have and it's something complicated. First, we need to wait for the wind to weaken so we can travel around its edge," Stigma explained. "Moreover, there are large groups of storm spirits inside the tornado. They're created by mother nature and they're way powerful than the ones created by potions. Stay alert everyone, they can use electric pulses and they come in large numbers."
"Sounds like a lot of trouble," Hikari shook her head.
"Yeah, the Cloud Bees and the tornado are the most difficult challenges in the trip. We can dodge the creatures, but we can't dodge the tornado." Stigma nodded.
"Can't we just change the route a bit?" Angele asked.
"No. The area around the tornado is the safest place here as the strong flying creatures can't get close to it. We have to win the fight against the storm spirits." Stigma shrugged.
"Alright then. It's about time, increase the airships' speed." Reyline opened his mouth. He had successfully advanced to the Crystal stage after surviving the fourth challenge, but he still needed to stabilize his mentality.
"Sure." Angele nodded and activated the amulet in his hand.
The three airships were surrounded by green energy particles and their speed started increasing.
The gray tornado was getting larger and larger in Angele's eyes as the airship approached it.
After several minutes, the wizards could hear the violent storm roaring.
Angele felt like that his ears were covered by a thick blanket. The strong pressure from the wind was making him uncomfortable. He was having trouble inhaling air.
The furious wind scratched his face like blades of swords.
The envelopes of the airships were leaning backward and the green energy particles were trying its best to keep the airships stable.
The airships looked like three tiny ants moving around a large gray hourglass.
The five wizards lowered their head and hid behind the railings. Angele was still checking the situation ahead from time to time.
"Get ready! They're coming!" Stigma shouted.
*WOO*
Many vortices jumped onto the deck and formed many tall storm spirits within seconds.
The storm spirits looked identical to human beings, some of them were male and the rest was female. They were naked, and their skin was covered with blue electric pulses.
"Invaders! Die! In the name of Al'akir, I shall destroy you!" The leader of the storm spirits shouted in an ancient language. It was a female storm spirit. Her eyes were white, and they were glowing. Countless electric pulses gathered in her hands and formed a lengthy lightning spear.
The blue spear looked like a long lightning bolt and it was sparking.
"Die!" She threw the spear to the wizards.
"Let me handle this!" Reyline stepped forward. "Protect Green! Make sure he can control those wind energy particles from the matrix!"
The spear drew a straight line in the air and flew toward Reyline. He had already prepared the energy barrier. However, the direction of the spear changed as it approached the airship. The spear turned to the right and flew toward Angele.
Angele's expression changed. Blue light dots flashed in front of his eyes, and he was holding the amulet tight in his hand. The amulet was the key to this challenge. He needed to make sure that the direction and speed of the airships were perfect as the terrifying tornado was right beside them. If the wind energy particles lost control, the airships would be dragged into the eye of the storm. No one would be able to survive that. Even the storm spirits had no idea what was in the eye of the tornado. The pressure of the wind would tear all invaders apart.
Angele already did the simulation before the storm spirits jumped on the deck. Their chances of survival were lower than 0.1% if the airship was hit directly by the tornado.
He was focusing on controlling the airship like in the plan they had discussed. It was hard for him to keep the airships stable while traveling around the edge of the storm and it was nearly impossible for him to defend against the attacks from the storm spirits.
Chapter 269: The Eye of the Storm (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The lightning spear flew toward Angele, who then realized that it was the metal barrier around his body attracting the lightning, and he took a step back right away.
Hikari was the first one to act. She drew a silver arc in the air and the arc expanded to a large light screen. The screen dropped right in front of Angele.
Stigma moved Angele quickly and stood right beside him.
"Wizard's Brew!" He shouted as he raised the left hand. Some black substance spurted out of the center of Stigma's palm and formed a black wall.
They created the barrier just in time. The lightning spear hit the silver light screen right away.
*Crack*
The lightning spear penetrated the wall, but its size shrank in half. The remaining of the spear then hit the black wall and disappeared.
"Go! Take them out! The weak one behind the barriers first!" the female storm spirit leader shouted.
About ten storm spirits started gathering lightning pulses in their hands, conjuring various types of weapons. The ones in the back were using lightning longbows, while the ones in the front were charging forward.
Reyline raised his longbow, releasing three arrows created by strains of hair. However, they were blocked by the lightning bolt shot by the female storm spirit leader.
Hikari and Stigma were standing beside Angele. Morrisa was casting some weak defensive spells for the three wizards in front of her.
Suddenly, five lightning arrows left the bows in the storm spirits' hands, flying toward Angele.
*BOOM*
Blue lightning pulse danced around the deck and the light illuminated on the whole airship.
Angele was still focusing on controlling the airship. He had to hide behind Stigma and Hikari.
*CHI*
One of the arrows penetrated the barriers created by the two wizards in the front and was about to hit him.
"Damn!" Angele leaped backward quickly, hitting against the railings. He barely dodged the attack.
*BAM*
A blue lightning pulse left the arrow and struck Angele's body fiercely.
His face paled as he ran to the right side. It took several seconds for the lightning pulse to leave his body.
It seemed that only the leader was intelligent. The other storm spirits looked confused, unsure if the arrows hit the target or not.
They stopped moving and looked at their bows.
*KA*
Stigma jumped to one of the storm spirits, stabbing him in the neck.
The storm spirit fell to the floor as he pulled the dagger out. Stigma rushed toward Angele and started putting up a barrier again.
Hikari followed right after Stigma. There were still storm spirits charging toward them. Reyline wanted to help but he was busy fighting with the female leader.
Angele was running around, trying to dodge all the ranged attacks. The three airships were still moving in the right direction. The strikes from the storm spirits could deal about 30 degrees of damage. The lightning pulse only hit Angele because of his metal barrier.
The storm spirits were weak, but their power was buffed by the tornado. They were moving much faster due to that reason.
Stigma and Hikari were not fast enough to keep up with them.
*BAM*
A lightning arrow pierced the floor.
*BOOM*
The arrow exploded and turned into countless lightning pulses.
Angele quickly rolled to the left to dodge the strike.
However, he saw two lightning swords coming from the front as he raised his head up.
"Green!"
"Watch out! Green!"
Hikari and Stigma shouted nervously.
The two blue swords hit the deck furiously.
*BOOM*
Angele rolled several times again to dodge the attack, but he was hit by the lightning pulse again. Zero was warning him about his body condition constantly.
The two storm spirits roared and rushed to him.
"You're dead! Invader!" The one on the left his sword again.
Angele bit his lips. He could not fight back since he was focusing on controlling the Wind energy particles. If the airships moved to the wrong direction, all the wizards on it would be killed by the terrifying tornado.
The airships finally went around the edge of the tornado and were about to enter the safe zone while the storm spirits charged toward Angele.
Angele sighed in relief. He was enraged by the storm spirits and really wanted to fight back. He only needed to wait a bit longer. The safe zone was just right ahead.
*BAM BAM*
The two lightning swords hit the floor again. Angele managed to dodge the swords but was again hit by the lightning pulses.
'Warning! Warning! Your organs are being damaged…Please find a cover and heal yourself…' Zero's mechanical voice echoed in his ears.
There was no way for Angele to dodge all the lightning pulses. He could not just deactivate the metal forcefield. Although he put most of his metal weapons in a non-conductive box before they approached the storm, his metal barrier was still bringing him trouble.
"Almost…We're almost there! After the airships left the storm, I'll f*ck those elemental bastards up!" Angele gritted his teeth and started running around the deck. The two storm spirits were chasing after him.
"Hey, Ruby brothers! Hurry up! He's the weakest one here and yet you can't even finish him off?!" The female leader shouted at the two storm spirits. She was still fighting with Reyline.
"Weakest one?! I'll show you what I'm capable of in a second! I'll cut your heads off and make them into wine bottles!" Angele dodged another strike from the Ruby brothers and exchanged words with the female leader.
"Ha? You? Come at me! I'm waiting for you!" The female leader sneered and licked her lips.
*BAM*
Angele suddenly felt an intense pain coming from the back of his waist. He was almost paralyzed.
He turned around and realized that he was hit by one of the storm spirit archers. The arrow turned into lightning pulses after landing on Angele's body.
"Hey, come cut our heads off and make them into wine bottles! Ha!" The Ruby brothers laughed and slashed forward. "The only thing you can do is to run around like a monkey!"
"F*cking hell!" The lightning pulses paralyzed Angele's body for a second and he failed to dodge the slashes coming from the Ruby brothers.
"Crap." Angele tried to move but his legs were still recovering from the injury. He could only watch the swords falling onto him.
*BAM*
Suddenly, a man in a black robe rushed toward Angele and blocked the attack for him. He was blown away by the impact and hit the railings on the side.
"Stigma! I'll make you pay!" Angele was furious, as he had begun screaming maniacally.
Finally, Zero notified him that the airships were about to leave the tornado.
"You're dead!" Angele narrowed his eyes. He could stop focusing on the Wind energy particles in half a minute. He wanted to slay all the storm spirits that attacked them.
"Retreat! Everyone! We're leaving the tornados!" The female leader suddenly gave the order.
"You're lucky!" The Ruby brothers stopped chasing after Angele and the swords in their hands disappeared into the air.
"Let's move!" The storm spirits moved away from the wizards quickly. They jumped out of the railings and turned into gray vortices, heading back to the tornado.
At that moment, the airships successfully moved away from the tornado and entered the safe zone.
He quickly returned the amulet into his pouch.
"Who's running now?!"
He rushed to the railings.
The gray vortices had just left the railings and were about to fly away.
Angele raised his right hand.
"Reyline, longbow, please."
Reyline threw his longbow toward Angele without hesitation.
*PA*
Angele caught the longbow steadily.
He pulled the bowstring to full.
*CHI CHI CHI*
Three lightning arrows left the bow right away. Angele then raised his left palm and released some distorted energy waves.
"Light of Thorns."
Golden laser beams appeared in the air as soon as Angele finished his words.
The gray vortices were stopped by the lightning arrows for a second and the golden lasers pierced through them.
The vortices stopped and returned to the deck. A group of storm spirits appeared on the floor again. Most of them were damaged by the lasers from the Light of Thorns.
The female leader watched Angele drop the longbow to the ground. She stared at the man with hatred in her eyes.
"How's that even possible…" she muttered.
She thought Angele was the weakest member as he was being protected by the others and did not think that the man could injure them in their elemental forms.
Black rune flashed in Angele's eyes. He walked to the storm spirits and sneered. "Where are you going? I haven't changed my mind yet. I'll cut your heads off."
*CHI*
Angele rushed toward the storm spirits and slashed forward with the cursed scimitar.
*CLANK*
The storm spirit in the front tried to block with his sword but failed. His head dropped to the floor.
The other storm spirits realized what just happened and they started attacking Angele.
Angele leaped to the left, dodging two lightning arrows, and blocked one lightning bolt with his scimitar. He rolled on the ground and jumped onto the Ruby brothers.
The Ruby brothers raised their swords at the same time and charged toward Angele.
Suddenly, Angele's body blurred in their sights and disappeared. He then appeared from the right, swinging the scimitar forward.
*KA*
Angele did not look back. He jumped to the female leader right away.
The Ruby brothers grunted, and their bodies were separated in half.
"No!" the female leader shouted furiously. The silver blade of the incoming cursed scimitar reflected in her eyes. Countless lightning pulses surrounded her body. Their color was turning from blue to purple.
Chapter 270: Arrival (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
*BAM*
The scimitar hit the purple lightning pulses around the female leader.
The lightning pulses were trying to stop the silver blade from going through.
The black rune flashed in Angele's eyes again and the cursed scimitar successfully crushed the lightning pulses.
*CHI*
The blade hit the female leader's neck, leaving a long deep wound on her skin. The blood of the storm spirit was blue, and the strange liquid was sparking.
A black dot appeared in the center of the female leader's chest and it started expanding within seconds. She was being petrified.
"Electrify!" The female leader shouted. The lightning pulses around her hair exploded, turning into two large, blue shells.
The shells were trying to clap Angele. The female leader raised her lightning spear and swept forward.
Angele leaned to the right and dodged both attacks.
With the buff from the cursed scimitar, Angele's Stamina and Strength were increased to an incredible level.
Some more illusion energy wave was released from the signet. Angele lowered his body and charged forward. In the female leader's sight, it looked like there were two Angeles moving around her.
She hesitated and decided to use the shells to block the one behind him and attack the one in the front with the lightning spear.
*CHIN*
The two Angele she saw all vanished into the air, both of them were just illusions.
The female leader suddenly felt the intense pain coming from her stomach. It was Angele, who then pulled the scimitar out of her body.
"You…" She opened her mouth but failed to finish speaking.
Countless cracks appeared on the leader's pale body. The blue blood was leaking out of the wounds and her skin was coated in a blue glow.
*BOOM*
The female leader's body exploded like a large water ball that was filled with blue liquid.
The blue lightning pulses mixed in the blue liquid and they splashed everywhere on the deck.
Angele struggled several seconds as his robe was soaked in the blue liquid. A thin layer of silver metal shield covered his skin and hair.
Countless lightning pulses were running through his body.
Reyline and Hikari had already finished off the rest of the injured storm spirits. Morrisa dragged Stigma to a corner of the deck. She put up a white light screen to block the splashing blue blood.
The blue blood on the deck evaporated and disappeared into the air after several minutes.
The silver metal shield on Angele's body melted and the liquid was absorbed by his skin. His skin was still smoking. Although he had dodged the lightning pulses, he was still suffering from the previous injuries.
Angele took out the amulet from the pouch and checked the boats' condition. He made sure that the boats were still accelerating and he walked to Stigma quickly.
The white light screen created by Morrisa slowly disappeared.
Stigma leaned against the railings. His face was pale, and blood was running out of his mouth. Morrisa was treating the deep wound on his waist carefully.
The man took the hit from the female leader for Angele. His waist had been crushed, and Angele could see the bloody flesh. Morrisa had removed most of Stigma's broken bones around the wound. Fortunately, the high-temperature lightning pulse burnt his wound after so Stigma did not lose too much blood.
"Are you alright?" Angele crouched and asked in a light tone.
"It's painful but it won't kill me." Stigma forced a smile on his face.
"The lightning damage is the main problem but at least there's no internal bleeding," Morrisa explained. "I did some basic treatment and removed the lightning damage. I need someone to help me with removing the burnt muscle and skin before applying the healing gel to his wound."
"What's the requirement? I want to help." Angele wondered.
"You must know how to control the botanic energy particles perfectly." Morrisa looked at him.
"I can do that." Hikari walked to Morrisa. "I'm good at controlling botanic energy particles and I know how to cast healing spells."
Reyline followed after her and they crouched by Stigma.
"Sure." Morrisa nodded. "I'll start the surgery now."
"Alright."
White glows surrounded their hands and Hikari started drawing green runes in the air.
Morrisa created a white light scalpel and started removing the dead muscles around Stigma's waist.
There was nothing Reyline and Angele could do, so they waited on the side quietly.
After about half an hour, the surgery was completed with no problem. A part of Stigma's waist was removed and Hikari was using her healing spells to help the muscles grow back.
Several minutes later, the muscles and skin returned to their original shape. Hikari took out a purple potion from her pouch and handed it over to Stigma.
"Drink it, you'll recover faster."
Stigma was still weak. "Thanks," he said.
"We should be the one to say thanks. You protected Green at the right time. Without you, our boat will crash and all of us will die." Hikari pursed her lips. After all, the tornado was too terrifying.
"Yeah, you did a great job," Reyline said in a serious tone. Although there was a blank expression on his face, the wizards knew that he was grateful for what Stigma did in the battle.
Angele took out a glass tube from his pouch. Inside it was some purple dust.
"It's my special healing dust. You used the potion version before. Consume 3 grams of the dust every day. It will help you recover."
Stigma grabbed the glass tube and he knew how valuable the medicine was. The potion cured him within several days the last time and it was the best healing gel he had ever used. The purple dust looked like an improved version of that potion.
"I appreciate your help a lot. I didn't expect you to do that for me." Angele looked relieved. He would have to give up the amulet to fight back if Stigma did not block the attack for him. The only way to regain strength at that moment was to stop focusing on the control of the boats.
"Go back to your room and have some good rest. You will have to stay in bed for half a month, I think."
Reyline helped Stigma return to his own room. Angele, Morrisa, and Hikari started cleaning the deck.
The dead storm spirits only left small piles of blue dust on the floor.
Angele walked to the area where the female leader died.
He found something different in the pile of blue dust from the leader.
It was a blue bead.
The bead had the smooth surface of a pearl and had the similar size as an eyeball.
Angele crouched, brushing away the blue dust, and grabbed the blue bead.
He observed the bead closely. Its surface was reflective, and it was still warm.
"The Ash Bead of Storm." Hikari walked to Angele and recognized the item in Angele's hand. "Green, be careful with it. It's a rare item but it's fragile. The Electric wizards love it. Large amounts of Electric energy particles can be stored inside the bead and help its owner to cast more spells. You're lucky. It seems like the female leader was very close to her next rank."
"Ash Bead of Storm? So it's only good for Electric wizards, right? Will it be useful to Reyline? Can I find a way to use it?" Angele stood up and asked.
"Reyline is different and he has something similar to that. Keep that to yourself. I'm not sure if you can find a way to use it. Maybe you can make it as the core of certain magic circles or matrices." Hikari shook her head. "You can also trade it with the wizards in Omandis for something else. I'm sure this thing is valuable to any Electric wizards."
Angele nodded and put the blue bead in his pouch carefully. He coated the surface of the bead with some silver metal to harden it.
"Well, I wanted to keep my promise and cut their heads off, but they turned into dust after they died." Angele shook his head slightly.
"Come on. I've never seen any people cutting elementals' heads off…" Hikari chuckled. "We're leaving the storm area, right?"
"Yeah, it should be safe now." Angele nodded.
The three wizards walked to the railings and looked at the stormy area.
The grey tornado connected the land and the sky. It was surrounded by thick clouds and the wind was soaring.
The noise from the storm was barely noticeable and Angele's ears were no longer hurting. The tornado looked slow and peaceful from the deck.
"Finally, we're getting close to our destination." Angele sighed.
"Yeah, this place is crazy, but the fight was relatively easy." Hikari nodded.
Morrisa stood on the side quietly, not saying anything.
The three enjoyed the great view of the enormous tornado in front of them.
"How many wizards have the chance to look at the Eye of the Storm so close?" Hikari laughed.
Suddenly, her expression changed.
"Wait, what's that? Holy sh*t!" Morrisa shouted in surprise.
Thousands of white vortices left the tornado and they were moving to the boat at full speed.
The vortices looked like the bees leaving their nest at the same time.
Countless storm spirits were coming out of the tornado.
They were flying to the boats furiously.
"Run! I'll increase the speed!" Angele realized what was happening. He shouted and ran to the main mast.
Ten thousand, twenty thousand, one hundred thousand, or two hundred thousand? They had no idea just how many storm spirits were pursuing them. Their sights were filled with storm spirits. The tornado almost looked like a base of the storm spirits. Angele never expected something like that and Stigma did not mention anything about it.
Angele took out the amulet. The red and green energy particles appeared in the air and gathered around it.
Chapter 271: Arrival (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The energy particles sank into the amulet and created a translucent light cylinder, connecting the main mast and the railings.
"Reenslanvarea!" Hikari invoked the incantation. She made a strange hand gesture and countless green energy particles gather in front of her chest, creating a large green light ball.
She pushed the green light ball to the main mast.
*CHI*
A green light cylinder emerged out of the ball and connected to the amulet in Angele's hand.
*CHI CHI*
Two more light cylinders connected to the amulet, one was black and the other was blue.
Reyline and Stigma were standing by the entrance of the cabin. They noticed the situation as well.
Reyline was gathering the blue lightning pulses around his hands and Stigma was releasing a ray of light that was formed by some black energy particles.
The green, blue, and black light cylinders connected to the amulet in Angele's hand. They looked like three glowing chains.
The red and green energy particles around the amulet started spinning, then it moved to the center of the amulet and created a tiny vortex.
The amulet turned all the energy particles into a white light cylinder and transferred the power to the matrices in the airships.
Between the thick gray clouds.
The three airships were advancing slowly. A thin layer of white barrier appeared around them as the Wind energy particles started accelerating their speed.
The storm spirits had revealed their true forms and they were riding on storm clouds. They were chasing after the airships with various types of weapons in hands.
A Four-wing Night Sparrow was flying through the thick clouds, heading toward the storm spirits behind the airships.
*WOO*
A muscular male storm spirit had a long blue spear in hand. The man had a black earring on his left ear and he flew by the night sparrow at full speed.
"Ha!" The storm spirit roared, and the distorted sound wave was visible around his mouth.
The night sparrow was hit by the sound wave and it almost lost its balance.
Countless storm spirits flew passed the night sparrow, drawing countless blue arcs in the sky. They were still going after the accelerating airships.
"WOO~WOO!" A storm spirit with a scar on his forehead shouted in a high-pitched voice.
The night sparrow flew around the clouds and glanced at the three airships.
The clouds under the storm spirits' feet left trails of lightning pulses in the air and those lightning pulses were moving to the airships as well.
The night sparrow swung its wings, then it turned around and started returning to the airship.
"HA!"
A storm spirit beside the bird lowered his body and hit it with a trident.
The bald man sneered and raised his trident into the air. The dead night sparrow was skewered on top of the three-pronged spear and its blood was dripping down the handle of the weapon.
"WOO!" The storm spirit shouted. "For Azus!" His voice sounded like a lion roaring.
"For Azus! For Azus! For Azus!" All the storm spirits around him started to yell madly.
The dead night sparrow was burnt into ashes by the lightning pulses and it disappeared into the air.
Angele suddenly opened his eyes. The terrifying look of the bald storm spirit left a deep impression on his mind.
The airships finally passed through the thick clouds and left the storm area, entering a blue sky over a green plain.
Countless storm spirits stopped by the edge of the thick clouds, watching the airships leave.
The bald man with a trident in hand was standing in the front all the storm spirits. The man had a pair of sharp eyes above his aquiline nose. Angele could see the craziness in his eyes.
He glared at the leaving airships and raised his right hand.
Suddenly, the airships visualized in front of the man's eyes and he slowly moved his hand toward the illusion of the airships.
An enormous blue hand appeared from the thick clouds and it was moving toward the three airships in the front.
The airships looked like three black tiny ants compared to the translucent hand.
The hand suddenly slapped down.
*BAM*
The two airships behind were crushed into pieces by the hand. The airship in the front had barely dodged the attack but part of the railings was still damaged. Black wooden pieces scattered in the air as the airship escaped.
*******************
On the last airship.
Angele slowly lowered the amulet. The surface of the item was covered with tiny cracks.
He turned his around and checked the situation.
Angele could still feel that the bald man's cold sight falling upon him. He visualized the scene that the man was backed up by countless storm spirits.
"Ah…" Angele closed his eyes quickly and tears were dripping down his chin.
"Finally, we made it out!" Stigma walked to Angele with the help from Reyline. Morrisa and Hikari followed after them. Angele glanced around, and he knew that the crew was still trying to figure out what had just happened.
The bald storm spirit was at a different level. The rank 1 wizards on the airship just could not understand how the storm spirit reached out to the airships. Angele was certain that if the slap hit the airship they were on, they would all be dead.
"Stigma, why didn't you tell us about this? That was a huge number of storm spirits. How did you survive the trip to the west coast?" Hikari took a deep breath and looked at Stigma.
"I don't know…" Stigma shook his head. "I didn't encounter that many storm spirits on that trip…This area is controlled by the elemental lord Al'akir. He's a kind storm giant and he will never ask his army to attack the airships. The ones we fought on deck were rogues." Stigma bit his lips as he recalled the terrifying scene.
"Angele, how are your eyes? Your bird enraged him, I think." Hikari turned to Angele.
"I'm fine." Angele opened his eyes and nodded. He opened his hand and showed the crew the broken amulet. "The amulet is finished."
The amulet perished in the air and turned into white smoke. The white smoke rose from Angele's palm and disappeared into the air.
"Well, we need to find a place to land then." Stigma shook his head. "Good thing is that we survived the Eye of the Storm, but we need to travel across one more dangerous area without the airship until we reach the residential areas for the wizards…"
"Which area?" Angele wondered and looked at Stigma.
"The Abyss Canyon, but don't worry, my family has a guard post here. Just a heads-up, the place is filled with scumbags from other races. Robbers, murderers, assassins, and thieves are everywhere. Prepare to fight and don't let your guard down. My sister once told me, 'Trust no one in the canyon.'"
"I thought you said the place isn't populated?" Reyline asked in a light tone.
"Well, it's not populated by human beings. The place is a mess and it's extremely dangerous. I've never entered the canyon myself either." Stigma nodded.
"We just survived all the challenges, so I have nothing to fear." Hikari chuckled.
"Actually, the Abyss Canyon is great for us. Remember the thing Reyline said? There might be assassins waiting for us at the original destination." Angele lowered his voice.
"You're right. Let's enter the canyon and disguise ourselves. It's probably our best choice right now." Stigma pursed his lips.
"Prepare to land then, let's cool down the envelopes," Angele ordered.
********************************
In the endless blue sky, there was a gray airship slowly landing on the green plain.
There were many dead trees on the plains and several gray creatures that looked like groundhogs were jumping around them. They were looking at the dropping black airship curiously.
The green grasses covered the yellow mud on the plain.
There was a humongous green tree that looked like an umbrella standing in the center of the plain quietly.
The black airship landed on an empty ground in front of the tree slowly.
*BAM*
Yellow dust and mud were blown into the air as the airship hit the ground
It was noon. The sunlight was flaming hot. The dust dropped onto the land after several minutes and the sky became clear again.
Many tiny yellow dots appeared on the horizon. Those strange-looking creatures heard the noise and wanted to check the situation.
Under the large tree, a group of tiny white things climbed up the branches.
They flew through the gaps between the leaves, exposing themselves to the eye-blinding sunlight.
It was a group of human-shaped origami with wings on their back. They also had long paper pigtails over their heads.
There was nothing on the origami girl's face. The long white robes on their bodies were made from paper as well. They looked simple but elegant.
Most of the origami girls were hiding under the tree leaves and looking at the enormous airship in the front.
The origami girls were flying but they did not make any noise. They just stared at the black airship in the shadows under the tree. The scene was quite strange.