Chapter 49.

Several days went by, the scenery changing little by little. First the grey stones turned lighter and lighter, then the blue light that shone from the ceiling got warmer, and the ground appeared sand-like. A fine soil. The vegetation became more prominent too, few trees exhibiting their orange brilliance every now and then in the caves.

Talking about the caves, they were inhabited. Not by the usual Grey Devils though, but by some bulkier beings, almost as tall as a man and well-equipped. They had an almost white skin, with bulging muscles covered in hard leather armours. Their weapons were made of wood and iron, and they fought like lions in tight formations. For simplicity, the trio called those White Devils, as they resembled a buffed version of the gray ones. Thankfully, the three mages did not fight them, only observing from the sidelines. Why would they have entered the fray when Arsenio's people worked so hard as a vanguard ?

So the only thing they would do was to follow the tracks, loot the monsters purses, and enjoy the trip. They also often criticized the fighting of the other group, noting how inefficient they were in their work. Like, sometimes they would take several minutes to beat a weak enemy because they had attacked at the worst time. Those thoughts sparked interesting debates among the mages through the Nexus of Minds, helping to pass time.

However, one day the trio slowly approached a cave filled with the smell of blood and wet suction noises. Stealthily, they got closer and took a look. It was not a large cave, only two dozen square meters, with the usual light gray walls, fine brown soil and sparse vegetation. Right in the middle of this space sat an Ash Troll, busy peeling and devouring a couple of human corpses. It meticulously removed the clothes and armours so as to not hurt its mouth, then ate limb by limb in a precise order until nothing was left but blood on the ground, turning it into a pasty scarlet mud.

As sickening as this event looked, it was definitely a boon. Of sorts. With one thought the three mages crouched, taking one step a time in a slow manner towards the monster's back. There was a very low risk of it smelling the newcomers, as its nostrils were filled with the scent of food. As a result, inching forward was ridiculously easy and, soon enough, they were only a few meters away, in a half circle. Mentally counting down from five, they then pounced on this unsuspecting 'victim'.

It was not a fight really, more like an execution. While Enora used wild energy on her sword to open a large fifty centimeters wound in its back, Rose jammed her long knife through its side, trying to reach the heart, and Nick managed to almost slice its left arm at the bicep. Howling ensued that did nothing to stop the onslaught. Enora continued with placing her hand a centimeter in the wound she inflicted, and used up a large amount of her fire energy to fry its insides. Stabbing and slicing and cutting kept happening to a confused and pained Troll until it fell on its stomach, clutching the most wounded parts. The trio took several steps back, waiting to see its next move, but it just decided to die.

(Nick) That's for my waist, asshole.

(Rose) This one did not do anything … to us.

(Nick) It's the same race, doesn't matter.

(Enora) Anyway, let's hurry up to follow Arsenio, I don't want them to outrun us too much.

(Nick) Okay okay …

A minute passed as Nick approached, spat on the corpse before looting the two humans sprawled around. Well, their clothes at least, as there was not much left of them. After taking for themselves the little they could, the mages kept going. In truth they shared a real pride after this 'fight'. Not that it was proper by any stretch, but they managed to kill an Ash Troll without getting a single injury. Impressive ! Although, Rose pointed out something important : none of them felt a tiny bit of remorse or sadness for the way those two humans ended. That was a slightly disturbing thought.

(Nick) If they died here, it means their group left them. Why should we feel bad for what others did ?

(Rose) It's not about feeling bad or anything, but compassion and stuff … I mean is it not normal to empathise with our fellow humans when awful things happen ?

(Enora) I'd say it usually is, in normal circumstances. But look around sweetie : we're in hellish maze surrounded by starving monsters for months and struggling to find food. How could we have time to waste on this shit ?

(Rose) Well, it's going pretty well for us right now. We're not 'struggling' for food, and we're kicking asses regularly.

(Nick) I don't think Enora meant that WE struggled. The other people do, but they're just mortals.

(Rose) I wonder if it's a good idea to start considering ourselves as part of the mage society. We never even met a true mage.

(Enora) Fair enough, but I have the feeling we're gonna meet some at one point. Anyway, getting back to the empathy thing : I don't care. They're not us.

(Nick) Only we matter as long as danger lurks.

Weirdly, Rose ended up agreeing. Clearly she had just been looking for confirmation of what she already believed : outsiders were not important. The Nexus of Minds made it so, as the sharing of everything turned the three of them into a close and reassuring community. A single mind where everything was orderly and clear, and as long as they were honest and open-minded with each other, peace and comfort could be felt. Nobody else was needed, since nobody else could understand.

Yet, they were also realising that this change in their personalities could have bad sides, and rejoining any type of civilization would most likely create weird situations. They would eventually need to adapt to new environments, but felt like, with the Nexus, it would definitely be a piece of cake. The very point of this mind link was to increase adaptability and cooperation after all. With those thoughts in minds, the trio went on their way after harvesting some meat. Onward after the scouts !