"What if we pretend to be hunters?"
"How would we do that?" Erik asked curiously as he looked at Frank, who quickly replied, a bit nervously."W-well, I was thinking we could hide with the help of concealment potions and capture a couple of hunters, get information out of them, and then use the ingredients to create a shapeshifting potion and mask our mana so we can pass as them.
"Although it might not work, with Tiberius we can always escape, and if by chance it does work, we could get a lot of information, like patrol routes, guard schedules, and so on. That way, we could come and go carrying small crates during guard changes and similar moments..."
"Even though it's a rough idea, it has potential." Elara commented in a thoughtful tone. Then she turned to Erik and asked.
"Erik, will you be able to create a shapeshifting potion?"
"Yes, we'll need a DNA sample from the target, but it might not work very well. The cauldron we have is pretty basic." Erik nodded and explained. Elara nodded in return, then looked at everyone and added.
"Even if we still don't know if we can pass as hunters, capturing a couple should still be within our reach. We know far too little about these 'hunters,' and that could lead us to make bad decisions."
"Then leave the capture to me." Zoe said as she placed her left hand on the hilt of her katana. "Even though I'm not a stealth specialist, as a knight I have certain advantages on a mission like this."
"And if it doesn't work?" At that moment, Ebonique's voice echoed through the place, causing everyone to turn to look at her. Erik reached out to place his hand on Ebonique's head, who was flying beside him, and said.
"Then we'll have to force our way through. Even though we have food and water, it won't last forever. If the basilisk has awakened, we need to find a way to replenish our supplies outside the island. So beyond melting down metal to make weapons, we also need to find a way to get into the garden. Not to mention, we still need to find the exit."
"One way or another, we'll have to sneak into the garden and establish a base there…" Elara said with a small sigh. Zoe let out a similar sigh and added,
"The thing is, even if we manage to get into the garden, getting out afterwards will be really complicated, and since we won't be able to carry much, we'll lose access to all these resources…"
"For now, the best thing is to gather information. Making decisions based on speculation is a bad idea." Erik said in a calm tone. "Right now, we need to confirm if the basilisk has awakened and understand what the hunters are doing."
"I suggest we first check the situation outside the 'temples'. We've only been down here for a couple of hours. It's better to wait a bit longer before trying to return to the island." Elara said thoughtfully. Erik nodded and calmly gave the order.
"Let's do that. Take some potions, and let's check outside."
"Understood."
After responding in unison, Elara, Frank, and Zoe ran over to one of the crates, from which they pulled out smaller boxes containing different clay flasks sealed with wooden corks. After taking some mana recovery, concealment, and healing potions, the group gathered around Erik again, who looked at Frank and spoke.
"Frank, have Lirio sniff the 'temple.' He must have forgotten the scent by now."
"You're right, boss. I'm on it!" Frank quickly replied and picked up Lirio in his hands, then ran toward the temple. A few moments later, Frank came running back and reported seriously.
"It's ready, boss!"
"Perfect." Erik replied, turning to look at the fox spirit, and spoke in a serious voice.
"Hiyori, remember that if you return to the spirit dimension, you might not be able to come back. So don't let your guard down."
"I will, Erik-sama." The fox spirit quickly replied, her tone serious. Erik nodded in satisfaction and looked at Frank before adding.
"The same goes for you, Frank. Be very careful with Lirio—we can't afford to lose him, no matter what."
"I'll protect him with my life, boss!" Frank replied firmly, which made Erik nod again. Soon after, he added as he conjured a magic circle beneath them.
"We're leaving."
Soon, the magic circle quickly created a barrier of yellowish light, then rose into the air, passing through the stone ceiling as if it were liquid. After ascending for a while, the group finally reached the surface, which put somewhat complicated expressions on their faces.
"This scene feels a little strange now…" Elara commented in a heavy voice, to which the others could only nod. Zoe looked around for a moment and then said.
"There should be a 'temple' to the west."
"Let's get moving."
Erik quickly ordered, so the group organized themselves into formation: Zoe in front with the wolves, Elara, Frank, and Erik in the middle, and Ebonique and Hiyori bringing up the rear. Since they were traveling in a straight line, the group moved quickly toward the nearest temple while Erik focused on his Mystic Awareness.
"I can sense them, but something feels off." Erik suddenly reported seriously, making the group come to an abrupt stop. At that moment, Elara asked curiously.
"What's going on?"
"I can only sense one person, and last time, at this distance, I could sense three or four. It's strange." Erik replied in a contemplative voice. While the others began to reflect, Erik quickly spoke again.
"There's no harm in avoiding hasty conclusions—let's move forward a bit. But to save Tiberius some mana, it's better if we get a little closer and change formation. Kaiser, Tiberius, and Ebonique will close in and come forward with me; Zoe and Hiyori will cover the rear."
"That's a little risky…" Zoe looked at Erik and commented, visibly uneasy. Erik smiled and replied calmly.
"Don't worry. With four of us in front now, it'll be safer."
"… Alright, let's do it that way." Zoe said after hesitating for a second, then moved to the back. At that moment, Erik looked at the black-furred wolf beside him, placed a hand on its head, and ordered.
"Tiberius, conceal us."
Quickly, Tiberius's shadow stretched out, covering them completely. Immediately after, Tiberius shrank along with Kaiser and Ebonique, then leapt onto Erik's shoulder. Kaiser jumped onto Erik's free shoulder, while Ebonique hid among his hair. At that moment, Erik looked back and calmly ordered.
"We're moving forward. Keep your concealment potions ready just in case."
"Understood."
With stealthy steps, the group cautiously advanced toward the temple, while Elara and Frank pulled out two potion flasks from woven bamboo pouches at their waists, which Elara had made herself. After handing a potion to Zoe and Erik, Elara and Frank held their flasks in their left hands, each marked with an X drawn in charcoal.
"Let's climb this building."
Soon after, Erik stopped in front of a two-story building and sent a sound transmission to the others. After seeing everyone nod in agreement, Erik channeled mana into his feet, then began to walk vertically up the wall of the house, closely followed by the others.
When they reached the roof, Erik quickly crouched down and pointed to the northeast, prompting the others to crouch and look in that direction as well. There, the group could just barely make out a person hiding on the roof of a house about 20 meters away. The person was concealed behind a small stone wall and was wearing an all-black suit that covered almost their entire body.
Seeing this, the others couldn't help but let out a slight sigh. That hunter was really good at hiding their presence—until Erik pointed them out, none of them had noticed the person was there, even though they were so close. But fortunately for them—and unfortunately for the hunter—they had someone on their side capable of using Mystic Awareness.
"There's something strange. I sense very few people; I can only detect seven besides this one."
At that moment, everyone heard Erik's voice as if he were whispering right next to their ears, causing them to look at him in surprise. Then, Ebonique's voice reached them in the same way.
"And they're pretty weak. The strongest one is barely a Revealed-Competent, and this one is a Revealed-Practitioner, two sub-ranks lower."
"They can even hide from your Mystic Awareness?" Zoe sent a sound transmission, a hint of surprise in her tone. Erik replied in a thoughtful voice,
"It's possible, but the first time, there was no one like that, so I doubt it."
"They might have sent people to reinforce the other temples." Elara quickly sent through a sound transmission. "The most talented youths of this generation are here, and there are even some Revealed-peaks. These 'hunters' won't have it easy if they want to kill them."
"Let's confirm which of the two it is—let's move forward." Erik quickly sent through a sound transmission, then descended from the building, walking down vertically.
Cautiously, the group advanced very close together, still holding their potions in their hands, and managed to spot two more hidden hunters. To everyone's surprise, the group got as close as 50 meters from the temple without being discovered, causing them all to exchange bright-eyed glances.
"If we got this close, they really must be short on personnel." Zoe sent through a sound transmission, a slightly excited smile on her face. Erik nodded and replied.
"I'm inclined to believe that too. I only detect five people—one inside the temple and four others around it, and we're right in their blind spot."
"I imagine only a few people appeared in this area, so this temple—and possibly the nearby ones—didn't suffer attacks from the participants. That probably led them to move people from here to other 'fronts.'" Elara quickly sent through a sound transmission, a beautiful smile on her face. Zoe quickly adds, glancing at Frank.
"This is a great opportunity. If we do things right, Frank's idea of pretending to be hunters becomes feasible—we could even completely fool them and take total control of this entrance for a while.
"They must be fighting battles on different fronts against the participants, and with so few people here, it can't be easy. The leaders must be under a lot of pressure and will no doubt neglect the more 'peaceful' areas."
"That's true." Erik nodded and added.
"The problem is these guys might have 'Soul Trackers,' so we can't kill them, or the leaders will find out something's wrong. Also, if they really did send people from here as reinforcements to other places, they must have a way to communicate and send reports at certain intervals, so it won't be easy."
"The only way is to watch them for a while, find out who the leader of this team is, and try to figure out how those reports work before capturing him." Elara said seriously. "If we capture him without knowing and the leader doesn't talk, we'd be exposing ourselves."
"That could take too long; this situation might not last, and we could lose the opportunity…" Zoe commented in a conflicted voice. Erik sent another sound transmission in a calm tone.
"For now, let's check out other places. That'll give us a clearer idea of these hunters' situation."
"You're right, that's the smartest move." Zoe nodded, then pointed north and added. "The next temple is to the north."
"First, let's take a quick look at those hiding around before we go to the second temple. We might be able to find the leader."
After unanimous agreement, the group moved cautiously and began to circle the temple, soon spotting the first hidden hunter. Once they confirmed the positions of the other three hunters, the group carefully moved away from the temple.
Once they were far enough that Erik could no longer sense the hunters, Tiberius deactivated the concealment to avoid exhausting himself, and everyone returned to their original formation before continuing onward. After a couple of hours, Erik sensed the hunters at the next temple, so they quickly hid again and advanced.
"There are only eight people here too." Erik sent through a sound transmission in a serious tone as they stood in front of the second temple.
After exchanging bright-eyed glances, the group circled the temple to locate the hunters in the area, but this time they found something unusual. One hunter was inside a stone building that appeared to be in good condition, and unlike the others, he was casually sitting in front of a stone table, on which there was a portable teapot.
"That one has 'leader' written all over him…" Frank couldn't help but send a sound transmission to his companions. They were all about 50 meters from the building, watching the hunter through the window.
"He certainly looks the part." Erik nodded and said. "Let's wait a bit and see what he does."
With Erik's order, the group fell silent, occasionally glancing at the hunter—since if the man had sharp instincts, he might sense their gaze. Minutes passed, and soon the teapot began to let out a thin wisp of steam, at which point the man stood up from his chair, poured himself some tea, and then took the teapot and attached it to his waist.
To everyone's surprise, the man put the teapot into a small pouch at his waist—a pouch that, by all accounts, shouldn't have been able to hold it. Yet not only did it fit, it didn't even change shape. Seeing this, Elara couldn't help but comment in surprise.
"A storage pouch…"
"If we can get our hands on it, moving things around will be so much easier..." Zoe quickly added, her eyes shining. Erik replied in a thoughtful voice.
"Definitely, though if it has some sort of lock, it'll be difficult to use with the few tools we have. But even so, seeing that pouch is a good thing. At least now we know it's possible to make one."
"You can make one?!" Elara turned to look at Erik, surprise written all over her face. Ebonique, who had remained silent, chuckled softly and sent a sound transmission.
"Hehe, don't underestimate my Erik."
"I thought you were just a one-star artificer…" Zoe commented quietly, looking at Erik out of the corner of her eye. The star-haired boy replied casually.
"I am a one-star artificer, but I have free access to my master's library and the university library, so I've gradually mastered the creation of more complex artifacts."
"Just when I think you can't surprise me anymore, you go and do it…" Zoe commented with a small sigh, making Elara laugh. Erik quickly gave an order in a more serious tone.
"Let's leave that for later. For now, let's keep moving—we need information."
…
The group continued on, managing to visit two more temples after several hours of travel. They found 12 and 15 people at those temples, respectively, with only one Revealed-Peak in the last one. About 500 meters from the temple, Erik stopped behind a rock and looked at everyone else before commenting seriously.
"Tiberius has already used up a lot of mana, and most likely, from here on, the number of hunters will start increasing. So let's stop here—our best option is to investigate the previous two temples."
"I agree." Elara nodded with a smile and said. "With how far apart these temples are, even if we're discovered, reinforcements will take a while to arrive. And since we saw that 'leader' at the second one, we might be able to learn quite a lot from him."
"Erik, I have a question." Zoe looked at Erik and asked. "How many 'storage pouches' could you actually make?"
"Considering the simplest version and with the resources we have, I could probably make about three storage pouches, each with about three or four cubic meters of internal space."
Erik replied calmly, which made Frank, Zoe, and Elara's eyes all light up at once, full of surprise and admiration. At that moment, Elara commented with a huge smile.
"That would give us space for about four crates of supplies."
"We need those storage pouches. They'll give us so much freedom to move around!" Zoe said excitedly. "Even though we'll have to leave quite a bit behind, we can find water and food in the garden, maybe even basic minerals like copper and falamite, so what we really need to bring with us are the potion ingredients and the cauldron."
"How many days would it take you to make the pouches, Erik?" Elara quickly asked, her excitement still high. Erik shook his head and explained.
"It's not that simple. Even though I can make storage pouches, the reason I hadn't considered it until now isn't just lack of time. Actually, even the simplest version of a storage pouch is quite complex, so it's highly likely that the chains would detect them.
"So, it's very likely that the hunter's storage pouch has some sort of trick, similar to the golem's. For that reason, I might end up using all our resources and still not manage to make a single one. If we want to play it safe, it's best to check out that pouch first."
"…"
Hearing Erik's explanation, the group fell silent as their excitement cooled. After a few seconds, Zoe commented in a somewhat disappointed voice.
"Well, looks like things won't be that easy. It's best to focus on the second temple—there's an apparently careless leader and a storage pouch. That's our best option."
"I agree, but for now, Tiberius needs to rest." Erik said as he stroked Tiberius's head, who was breathing a little heavily. Then he looked at the others and added.
"In the meantime, I'll focus on making a sort of 'pseudo armor' out of leather that I have in mind. If it works, we might not have to bear the weight of our current armor anymore."
***
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