Soon, an image popped into Erik's mind very similar to the "mental radar" of the Mystical Awareness, but several times larger and somehow three-dimensional. What's more, nothing was blocking it, so he could "see" everything happening around them and inside the strange mountain. After confirming there wasn't anything too strong nearby, Erik focused on the mountain's interior.
The inside of the mountain was full of perfectly square corridors; it looked almost like an ant nest built by humans. The corridors connected to different square rooms, and through them, Erik could see different groups of hunters running around the place and even some fighting golems like the ones he'd seen. But no matter how much he looked around, Erik couldn't see anything interesting there, so he couldn't understand why the hunters were combing the area.
Curious, Erik quickly concentrated on going as deep as he could, and, to his delight, in a fairly deep chamber he could see a place very similar to the one he'd seen in the basilisk's cave. A sort of pit was visible in the floor, ringed with different runes, but unlike the liquid, there was a strange fire there.
(An exit!)
[Erik, we have to stop. Any more than this and it might detect me.] At that moment, Ebonique announced in a serious tone. Erik quickly replied with equal seriousness.
[That's enough—cut it.]
In an instant, Erik felt himself being forcibly "yanked," and the mental image vanished. After breathing for a couple of seconds with his eyes closed, Erik opened them and looked at the others—who were watching him with different expressions—and announced with a small smile.
"There are no Illuminated-levels inside, and there's an exit."
"Are you sure?!" Zoe asked, visibly excited. Erik nodded, created a Myst construct of a square anthill, and explained what he had "seen."
"Yes, this is the general layout of the place. There are a total of nine groups of hunters, all led by a Revealed-level, roaming around as if they're looking for something, and at the bottom there's a pit with runes, fire, and several enormous mana crystals."
"What are they looking for…?" Elara murmured thoughtfully. Erik shook his head, just as confused, and at that moment Tomás spoke in a serious tone.
"We won't know unless they tell us, so the best course of action now is to go in and try to stay hidden until the basilisk wakes up. Once that happens, the Illuminated-level—or levels—will have to stay at the temples and won't dare come here. From there, we just need to wait for the exit to activate and say goodbye to this hell."
"I agree with that." Erik nodded. "The place is big enough, and we can easily hide with formations. The only thing we need is supplies to hold out until the exit activates."
"Among the hunters' things, there's food that will last a few weeks, so first we can find a suitable spot for a temporary camp inside. If things go well, we can then focus on stockpiling food." Christine added seriously as she checked the storage pouches. Ethan added with a thoughtful expression.
"As for concealment formations, we have some materials and mana crystals, but not everything we need, so the formation will be average. The place has to be in a rarely visited area, or they could discover us."
"That might have a solution." Chen looked at Ethan and said with a small smile. "Erik is incredibly good at finding substitutes for formation nodes."
"You're a formations specialist too?!" Ethan asked, visibly incredulous as he looked at Erik. The star-haired young man shook his head and explained in a calm tone.
"No, I can barely deploy a basic formation. I'm just good at finding substitutes for things."
"…"
Ethan stared at Erik, not quite sure how to feel. That monster said he wasn't a formations specialist, and yet he'd mastered the hardest skill for a specialist to master… The world really was unfair.
"You really are something else, Disciple Erik." Tomás said, somewhat amused by Ethan's expression, but his face quickly turned serious, and he went on.
"But we can't waste time. From what you told us about the basilisk, it could be weeks—or even a couple of days—before it wakes up. We have to move fast. Therefore, I propose we split into three teams: one will handle organizing our new 'base,' the second will hunt as much as possible in the surroundings, and the third will go back to gather the stockpiled resources we have at our base. Once the basilisk wakes up, it won't leave anything behind—we have to take advantage now."
"Let's go with that plan." Erik agreed, then turned to his team and spoke in a serious tone.
"Elara, Hiyori, and Zoe can take care of the hunting with the others. Chen and I will handle collecting our resources and then meet up with the team in charge of finding a place for the base."
Tomás nodded calmly, stood up, and started talking as he emptied one of the storage bags into another.
"Perfect. Then Christine will look for the spot for the base with Ethan, and the rest will handle the hunting. I'll go back to the base alone and pick up everything important before coming back to help with the hunt."
"Then we'll meet in three hours at this spot." Erik said evenly. At that moment, Zoe noticed her shadow flicker slightly, which put a smile on her lips, and she said in a calm tone.
"Perfect, let's go."
Tomás spoke, then kicked off the ground and shot into the forest at such an impressive speed that even Erik looked on in surprise. At that moment, Zoe spoke with a smile full of challenge.
"He really is the strongest youth at the University. That speed isn't something a Revealed-Peak should have."
"He's truly impressive." Erik agreed, but he quickly shook his head and looked at Ethan and Christine, then asked seriously.
"Do you have the communication scrolls?"
"Yes, they're ready."
Christine replied in a serious tone as she pulled what looked like two rolled scrolls from the storage bag at her waist—their surfaces inscribed with special magic circles. Erik nodded and said calmly.
"Then we'll see each other in three hours."
After speaking, Erik ran off with Chen. At that moment, Zoe and Elara shot Christine teasing looks, then headed off with the others to hunt in the surrounding area. Christine snorted in annoyance, then looked at Ethan and spoke in a sultry voice.
"Let's get moving, Disciple Ethan~"
"Let's go." Ethan replied with a roguish smile, then took the lead and headed back into the strange mountain.
…
"Do you distrust them, Erik?"
Sitting on a Myst platform, Chen looked at Erik beside him and asked with a touch of curiosity. Erik shook his head and explained evenly.
"It's not so much that I distrust them, but I don't know them, and Tomás Arismendi is too strong. Even if I had all my artifacts, I'd hesitate to face him. So it's better to keep one or two secrets to catch them by surprise if something happens."
"At first I was worried you'd trust them completely because they were from the Order, but you're really cautious… It's good to have you as a leader." Chen said in a calm, satisfied voice. Erik answered casually as he landed at the spot where they'd buried the boxes.
"It's nothing special. I'm just aware you can never truly finish getting to know a person."
"So what cards do you have against me?" Chen asked with a sly smile while Erik unearthed the boxes with a spell. Without looking at Chen, Erik replied in a calm, casual tone.
"Zoe was hiding nearby when we met."
"I figured as much the moment you said she was somewhere else when we met up with the others." Chen nodded in understanding. Erik sealed the newly unearthed boxes inside a Myst barrier, then reached into the storage bag at his waist and pulled out a sword.
"I figured, but let's focus on what's important. Use this sword—the knight who wielded it had a fire affinity, so it should be of some use to you."
"Actually, this could serve as a core for a formation." Chen ran a finger along the blade and spoke thoughtfully.
"Perfect—use it as you need. But now I want you to help me examine a formation. I deployed it in the temple we infiltrated through, but I don't know how effective it is."
"Show me, although coming from you, I doubt it's anything mediocre." Chen replied seriously. Erik nodded and took several things out of the boxes, then bit his finger and began to write runes with his blood.
...…
"We're going to split into two groups to cover more ground. But remember, we need quantity. If the creature doesn't die after a couple of blows, don't go near it."
While running beside Hiyori, Zoe announced in a serious tone, and the other youths following her nodded solemnly. Soon, the three youths who had been following Tomás started running to the left along with Haoran, one of Chen's companions, who followed them.
Not long after, Dalai Lin, Chen's second companion, moved ahead and began running next to Zoe with a pair of daggers in his hands, speaking seriously.
"Direct Disciple Laverne, I specialize in dagger combat and detection. I can be useful for finding prey."
"Perfect, lead us." Zoe said calmly, and the young man nodded, then closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he announced gravely.
"There's a pack of six wolves about 300 meters to the north."
"Lead the way." Zoe, ordered in a firm tone. Dalai nodded and quickly took the lead, while Zoe slowed a bit to match Elara's pace and sent a sound transmission.
"What do you think of Tomás Arismendi? Can we trust him?"
"He actually has a very good reputation. Just like his father, he often conducts campaigns to help disaster victims and the like. In those campaigns, he takes the Bikereas to different planets to make repairs or donate different resources. But beyond that I don't know anything about him, so it's hard to say. Although Erik is cautious, he didn't reveal the wolves or his contracted spirit, so it's best we don't let our guard down."
"Do you think we could defeat him?" Zoe asked seriously. Elara shook her head and replied with equal seriousness.
"It's difficult—that man is known as the strongest for a reason. He's spent time on the frontiers, and it's said that there he fought an Illuminated-level and managed to escape without much injury. He's not an easy opponent, especially in our current circumstances."
"Let's hope the rumors about him are true…" Zoe murmured with a small sigh, just as a small wolf pack appeared in the distance, so she quickly said.
"I'll leave the leader to you."
"Go." Elara said as she pointed her staff forward, conjuring a magic circle.
With a calm expression, Zoe made four hand signs and was wrapped in a mantle of wind, then shot forward at high speed. As a solid fire arrow struck the biggest wolf, Zoe drew her katana at impossible speed and sheathed it again, then calmly crouched.
While a wolf several meters behind was sliced in half, Zoe looked up to see an earthen spike above her, aimed right where her head had been. Without panicking, Zoe spun smoothly, then shot toward the next wolf. A few meters from it, Zoe dodged two more rock spikes, then drew and cut down the second wolf.
Having defeated the two strongest after the leader, Zoe moved so fast she was hard to see, weaving past rock spikes, then drawing her sword and killing the other three weaker wolves with a single slash. At that moment, Zoe made four hand signs and burst toward the weakened alpha.
In the blink of an eye, Zoe appeared behind the alpha, sheathing her katana, and the moment the sound of the guard rang against the scabbard, the alpha's head fell to the ground. With a casual expression, Zoe looked at Elara—ignoring the stunned youth from the Lotus Union—and said evenly.
"Keep them safe, Elara. We're going to hunt a bit more before gathering everyone."
"Leave it to me." Elara nodded calmly and quickly conjured a couple of magic circles that created a barrier around the wolves.
***
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