Hot pursuit

Hugo and his party were deposited in the middle of the jungle by the tunnel that led out of Dandarah. The tunnel's exit was well concealed by an overgrowth of wild bushes and shrubs.

"We're about five kilometers west of Dandarah. Although we can't see the walls from here, we'll need to move quickly if we are to have any chance of escaping the mystic-kings' pursuit." Ali-Baba said after they emerged from the dark tunnel.

A glowing orb of light floating just above Ali-Baba's head illuminated their surroundings.

"…ROOOOAAAR… HOOOWL…"

Hugo could make out several distinctive howls and roars of the beasts inhabiting the surrounding jungle. Despite these sounds being distant, Hugo was filled with dread and trepidation from the knowledge of what could befall their party if they ran into any Calamity-beasts.

Tracy jostled Hugo as she took out a black spray-can, similar in appearance to a fragrance container, from her waist pocket. She began liberally spraying its contents on Hugo and herself.

"This is a body odor concealing spray. Here… Spray some on yourselves to avoid drawing the attention of Calamity-beasts." Tracy offered the container to the two men after she was done with it.

"Don't worry Miss Tracy… we're old hands at this. In our line of work, everyone carries their concealing spray. Save yours for later. We have a long journey ahead." Ali-Baba replied while retrieving a similar bottle from his backpack.

"Aladdin! It's time to earn your keep. How should we proceed?" Ali-Baba asked his young protégé who had remained quiet since they departed Dandarah.

"Give me a moment," Aladdin answered while taking out a silver-chained pendulum from a red pouch on his waist.

Aladdin closed his eyes before holding out the pendulum towards the western direction and chanting in a melodic voice. "There is danger in this direction… There is danger in this direction…"

"Is Aladdin a mystic-seer? Where did Jonas unearth such a rare talent?" Tracy whispered to Ali-Baba while curiously observing Aladdin, who was still chanting the same statement repetitively like a mantra.

"Jonas told me the wonder kid's directly descended from members of the long lost Phoenician civilization indigenous to the islands of the Eastern Ocean."

"…Jonas was lucky enough to encounter Aladdin when his abilities first manifested. That's how he managed to recruit him. Let us not disturb him for now." Ali-Baba whispered back while making a hush sign to Tracy.

After a few seconds, Aladdin opened his eyes. The pendulum, held out towards the west, was swinging very fast, making rotations in the clockwise direction. Its motion had a very high frequency and amplitude.

Hugo could only see a blur without making out the actual pendulum.

Aladdin repeated this act for all compass directions leaving out only the East which was the direction leading back to the certainly perilous Melekar city.

Hugo could easily tell that the amplitude and frequency of the pendulum were very high except for the northwestern direction. When Aladdin carried out his ritual with the pendulum pointed towards the northwest, Hugo could at least trace its movements without getting dizzy as was the case in the other directions.

"There is great danger in every single direction except the northwest. But if we travel in that direction, we'll end up on Lake Migotir's southeastern shore."

"The hunter's guild patrols those shores very heavily." Aladdin's brows were deeply furrowed as he informed them about the grim prospects revealed by his divination. His voice betrayed his anxiety and fear.

[So, he was attempting to predict the level of danger we will face in different directions.] Hugo could now understand Aladdin's strange actions.

[It seems the higher the frequency and amplitude of the pendulum, the more peril our party will face in a particular direction. The clockwise direction represents a positive response regarding the statement chanted by Aladdin while pointing out the pendulum.]

[Following similar logic, the counterclockwise direction of rotation should be a rejection of the statement chanted by the diviner. This is a bit like testing a hypothesis.]

Hugo's scientific mind couldn't help but make comparisons between dowsing based divination and hypothesis testing back in his previous life.

"Let us take the northwest which is safest. There are probably very powerful hordes of enraged calamity-beasts lurking in the other directions given that it's not yet even dawn after the height of the full moon." Ali-Baba said while turning to look at Tracy who was deep in thought.

"Let's go right now! My instincts are screaming. It seems danger is approaching very fast." Tracy replied while taking a pendant talisman shaped like a common butterfly from around her neck.

The surface of the pendant had a variety of mysterious symbols foreign to Hugo engraved onto it.

"Matriarch… I've gotten into very serious trouble. Please help me." Tracy mumbled while infusing the pendant with mana. Instantly, the symbols on the pendant started glowing with an orange hue.

She cast out the pendant and it exploded into glowing light for an instant before disappearing, leaving behind no trace.

"You just used up a high-tiered communication-talisman! Didn't you? Isn't that wasteful? Aladdin has already divined that the danger towards the northwest is at an acceptable level." Ali-Baba inquired in shock.

Communication talismans were disposable artifacts used for passing on information to colleagues promptly in case of an emergency. They were so rare and treasured that most organizations on Gaia couldn't find anyone willing to sell them one even for large sums of Gold.

Ali-Baba was surprised when Tracy expended the talisman without a second thought, yet they still had a way to escape the Manroes' clutches. This was akin to using a mystic-sword to slaughter a common grasshopper.

"Ali-Baba! I have a feeling that the danger we'll face is much greater than we think." Tracy replied curtly. "Let's go."

Ali-Baba set aside his doubts and started leading the party towards the northwest. On his shoulder lay a huge battle-ax whose blade and handle were both entirely as dark as night.

"Ali-Baba, please deactivate your illumination spell. It's too conspicuous in such a dark forest." Tracy implored.

"I brought along a set of dark-vision goggles from the Dark Church. We can use those." Tracy added while handing out three pairs of dark-vision goggles to the others.

"Nice!" Ali-Baba replied while deactivating his illumination spell.

"Aladdin, are we on the right track?" Ali-Baba inquired without turning back.

Ali-Baba was at the front, Tracy with Hugo in the middle, and Aladdin at the back.

"Yes! Keep heading northwest, we'll soon leave the forest. We'll make better time when we get out into the clear countryside." Aladdin replied confidently.

They continued trekking northwest for about half an hour before the surrounding jungle started thinning out.

When the just-risen sun was beginning to shine softly on the twigs and leaves bringing the forest to life, Hugo's party made it out of the thick vegetation to the relatively clear land at the periphery of Lake Migotir's southern shore.

"We are finally out of the forest. This area is where we're likely to encounter the moderate danger I divined earlier." Aladdin's announced from behind Tracy.

"Let's be careful. Tracy! You should hide the kid. He'll easily stand out in this area patrolled by hunters. Standing out means trouble." Ali-Baba said while pulling his hood over his head.

"You're still thinking of not standing out! What a joke." A female voice heavily tinged with mockery interrupted them.

The party looked forward and saw a terrifying fox-like creature before them. It was pure white, appearing to illuminate its surroundings. Its menacing head was attached to a neck longer than a horse's.

The creature was as massive as an elephant and possessed two tails that swayed with the breeze.

The fox-like beast was standing in front of Hugo's party, gazing at them menacingly.

Hugo's party was scared stiff. Ali-Baba's hand, which held the ax slung over his shoulder, was trembling. Tracy tried to cover Hugo's face to shield him from seeing the horrific beast.

"Cat got your tongue?" The taunting voice sounded again.

The party craned their necks to look up at the source of the voice.

Atop the beast sat a very gorgeous woman dressed in a midnight black cloak. She was a first-rate beauty with a captivating face, cherry red lips, rosy skin, and a pair of almond-shaped eyes that looked perfect alongside the strands of red hair that had escaped from beneath her hood.

She appeared to be in her teens but seemed to possess a mature charm.

"Miss Fox Manroe! You're the one who messed with our divination to lead us here." Ali-Baba replied while signaling Tracy and Aladdin to escape.

"Hohoho… Ali-Baba! You seem to think that you can create a distraction for your friends to escape from here. How naïve!" Miss Fox Manroe replied.

"Even though your wind-fox is already a rank-2 calamity beast, It hardly serves as a warm-up in a fight for me," Ali-Baba replied while lunging towards the lady and fox duo.

"Aladdin! Leave together with Tracy. I will handle this." Ali-Baba shouted swinging his massive black ax without giving Miss Fox a chance to reply.

"BOOOOOOOM… GROOOOWL…" A Shockwave akin to the blast of a bomb and a bestial howl was heard by the escaping Hugo and his party. Sparks and a purple glow had illuminated the whole area the exact moment the shockwave was felt.

[This world is insane… Even a mere ax can cause a blast as destructive as a shell. If I survive this, I need to get stronger as fast as possible.] Young Hugo vowed.

****

In the clearing where Hugo's party previously stood…

The shockwave had flattened all the trees within the perimeter of the area.

Very soon, the purple light covering the area receded, and an outline of a huge pit had formed between the two opponents.

Small sparks of purple lightning were still flickering in the huge pit.

"Your lightning spells seem to have improved since we last met. It looks like I'll have to get serious." The voice of Miss Fox was no longer filled with mockery. She was enclosed in a translucent barrier that had spared her from the effects of the blast.

She took a longing look in the direction where Hugo's party had escaped before conjuring a black wand out of thin air.

"Ali-Baba! Don't think that you are the only one who has improved. I just have to prevent your party from leaving the savage forest and the hordes of calamity beasts will do the rest." Miss Fox continued after hearing no reply from Ali-Baba.

"Less nonsense. Let's fight." Ali-Baba couldn't care less about Miss Fox's rumblings. He could tell she was only stalling for time.

Ali-Baba once again raised his ax which was now blinding with sparks of lightning before lunging at the lady-beast duo. They moved backward swiftly trying to escape his reach.

"You think I will let you kite me. Miss Fox! You are talented but you lack experience in battle." Ali-Baba taunted after seeing the lady-beast duo's attempts to create some distance between them

Amid sparks of lightning, Ali-Baba flowed like the wind reaching the duo before they could evade. He jumped over two meters high, with his ax lifted over his head, and then…

"BAAAAAANG"

Ali-Baba hacked down, his ax seemingly lent extra momentum by the flickering lighting, striking Miss Fox's barrier heavily enough to push the duo several paces back.

The barrier protecting them, grew significantly dimmer highlighting Miss Fox's massive disadvantage in this battle.

Ali-Baba was a rank-9 close-combat mystic, the worst possible opponent to face in a close combat duel. His artifact could amplify his close combat spells, making him the undisputed nemesis of long-range-spell casting mystics like Miss Fox.

"Miss Fox! Welcome to the world of combat-mystics. Remember there are no games in real-life battles… Goodbye." Ali-Baba bellowed as he prepared to attack the duo once more.

Ali-Baba's ax charged until it sizzled with so much purple lightning that it illuminated the entire clearing formed by his first attack. This was a finishing move commonly employed by lightning combat mystics…

"Lightning-burial…" Ali-Baba roared while bringing his battle-axe down on the duo that had not yet recovered from the sheer overwhelming shock of the preceding exchange. The wind-fox was whimpering like a scared cat and an expression of despair could be seen on the face of Miss Fox who was still mysteriously perched on the back of her mount.

"Sigh…" Ali-Baba was flung backward like a broken string. He landed unceremoniously several paces away and started coughing up blood indicating serious injury. He lay on the moist ground of the Savage Forest gasping for breath like a fish taken out of the water.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" A deep mellifluous voice could be heard emerging from the Savage Forest.

Ali-Baba strained his head to look at the stranger who had interrupted his fight. After catching a single glance he was overcome with hopelessness.