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Chapter 919
{Blue Mage has increased to level 10.}
{You have unlocked the skill, Phase Shift.}
Aren’t these skills from Blue Mage a bit excessive? They all seemed strong, but I guess this was a third-tier job for a reason. As we took care of these mana-based monsters, Blue Mage had quickly leveled. As to why I focused on Blue Mage, the answer should be pretty obvious. If I wanted to get home, the better my spatial magic, the better off I’d be. In that respect, it skyrocketed in level like a support skill should. I felt my blessing which gave me an affinity for spatial magic probably contributed to the rapid growth as well.
Inventory had been the first thing to unlock with Blue Mage. I already had it from being a True Hero, but this wasn’t any slouch. Other than the standard Mana Plus boosts and such, the only other noteworthy spell was called Teleport. It used a lot of mana, so unless you were me, who had a ridiculous amount of extra mana, it wasn’t something someone could use very often. However, unlike Portal, which I hadn’t unlocked yet, it could be used instantaneously.
The distance wasn’t great. I could only move at most a mile. However, with my ridiculous mana stores, I could cast ten of them back-to-back before it even became a problem.
Although we were bunkering down in this cave and holding off the monsters, allowing me to level Blue Mage and for Bernice to level up in Gunslinger, ultimately, the question at hand was where were we and how could we get home.
I scrolled my Map out to its max distance, and there it was. A small plot of discovered land existed on the other side of the planet. Previously, I hadn’t zoomed out this far, so I hadn’t noticed, but we truly were in the same world. Aberis was on the other continent, the one the Feys called Faerith. That would mean that the stories and hints I had heard of were true. Humans had once been invaders to this world, pushing the Feys from their continent to this one.
Now, the two cultures lived independently of each other, divided by a great ocean that looked twice the size of the Pacific, and that was the closer side, presuming that this world was spherical. Then again, was there any reason to believe the world was spherical? Perhaps, I would end up riding right off the edge of the world if I tried to go against the map.
Of course, since I had been to Aberis, and I could point to it on the Map, I could Portal there any time. I wouldn’t need to wait a week for the transdimensional Portal to become available again. That’s what I had hoped, but I had tried to make the Portal and failed. It was similar to when I tried to make a Portal from another dungeon. Either there were regional constraints on Portals similar to dungeons, or I simply didn’t have the power to make such a far distance leap.
That left me with three options. First, I could try to forcefully cross the ocean, using portaling to make our way at a rapid speed. Even if I converted every dungeon point to Portal, and kept portaling to the horizon, it might take months to reach Aberis, and there was no telling what existed out in that sea. The ocean was large and deep. There was no telling what grew in that abyss.
Option two was to wait for the transdimensional Portal and try to use it to just cross continents. It had to have a lot more juice than standard portaling, so I should be able to make the jump. Then, there was option three, which was the one we were on. I felt that if Blue Mage gained enough levels, I should be able to Portal, especially with my spatial affinity. In that case, it was simply a matter of getting strong enough.
Thus, it was safest to stay in the forest and level out of sight of the Feys. I’d either be able to make a Portal home, or we’d wait a week. Whichever came first.
Just as I was thinking this, a scream came from nearby.
Chapter 920
“Where are you going?” I asked as Bernice had turned to the sound and started moving toward it.
She turned back, frowning. “It sounds like someone is in trouble.”
“That’s possible.” I shrugged. “However, it’s only trouble. We already learned what we needed to. Now, we’re just waiting to return home.”
“What are you saying? We should just leave them to get hurt?”
“They’ve lived in this place far longer than we have. If they do reckless things, it’s none of our concern.”
“What kind of Hero are you?” Bernice snapped.
She looked to the other two girls for support. However, Garnet continued to read her electronic pad, and Carmine was sharpening her sword. It was clear neither had planned to get up either. Her expression soured.
“You’re all going to sit back and do nothing? Someone could be dying right now! It might even be humans!” Bernice protested.
I sighed, standing up. Bernice’s eyes widened and she looked at me hesitantly.
“Y-you’re going?’”
“They’re coming this direction.”
I had pulled out the Map, and I could see the people running this way. They were also not considered a threat according to the Map, but they were being followed by those considered a threat. It looked like we weren’t being given a choice. I might have even relocated us, but I couldn’t decide if that was the right decision. It was barely thirty seconds later when we could hear footsteps in the forest outside the cave.
Bernice turned and pulled out her guns. I put the illusions upon each of us so that we appeared as Feys. Carmine also stood up, and even Garnet grabbed her war hammer. A group of people busted out of the forest. Although they couldn’t see us in the dark, we could see them in the light. One of them pointed to the cave.
“In the cave!”
I made an irritated noise. Perhaps I should use Teleport after all. No, it was better to stand and fight. This was a good defensible position, and even if push came to shove, we could escape later.
The group consisted of eight people. Four of them appeared to be human, and the other four were familiar. It was the woman I had encountered in the city, as well as three of her guards. They looked haggard like they had all been in a fight. The force following them consisted of nearly twenty.
“Subdue.” I breathed the order.
As the first four entered, they were brought down quickly and easily. They were humans, so I hoped I could get information from them. I didn’t want to kill them, but I also didn’t want them to let out a warning. The Fey guards and the noblewoman were protecting the rear. As they reached the entrance they stopped and didn’t call the humans or notice us. The blond-haired woman seemed to be casting some kind of spell. A moment later, what appeared like a forcefield surrounded the entrance like a bubble. She let out a breath, turning to enter the cave with her companions.
They stopped as they came face to face with my group. “Give me a reason not to kill you all.”
Chapter 921
“I-it’s you…” the woman’s eyes widened as she finally noticed all four of us.
“Yeah, and you just led a group of hostile people straight to my cave!” I snapped angrily. “So, once again, give me a reason.”
Her eyes flashed down to the incapacitated humans and then back to me. “I-it’s even. Four on four.”
“Carmine.”
She pulled her blade and held it to one of the unconscious human’s necks.
“Don’t!” She cried out. “O-okay… we’ll… we’ll surrender.”
That had been a test. I had no intention of killing the humans. Rather, I wanted to see how they reacted. This woman seemed to care about these four humans, and whether they lived or died. If they were just packhorses that meant nothing to them, then I might not have let them live even a bit longer. Although it was four on four, I didn’t feel like they’d be able to defeat us. They were already injured and tired, while we were rested and also had a route of escape.
I waited with my arms crossed until she gave a nod to the guards and they all dropped their weapons. Garnet fetched them all, and only then did I give Carmine a nod. As she pulled her sword away, the noble gave out a breath of relief. She wasn’t the only one. Bernice did the same. Did she think I was going to kill this woman? How little faith did she have in me? Then again, I didn’t have my blessings, so I wasn’t subtly influencing her to like and trust me as I did with the other women.
“You… just who are you people?” the blonde woman demanded.
“Why are you traveling with humans?” I asked.
She jumped, refusing to look at me. “That… it’s… not important.”
“Kaia, come out! I know you’re in there!” A woman’s voice called from the cave’s entrance.
I looked to see a woman just outside the barrier created by Kaia. She was riding something that looked more like a bear than a horse, except that it had scales. She was a pretty, tall, blonde-haired woman. Behind her were a group of well-armed guards that made the girl in here’s group look like riffraff.
“Nerissa…” She hissed.
“Who are they?” I demanded.
She bit her lip, her eyes looking to Carmine. “I don’t know if you really are a noble. The reason I followed you to the inn was that I feared you were one of my sisters tracking my movements. That’s why I didn’t follow through after leaving.”
“I take it Nerissa is one of your sisters?” I frowned.
“She is.” She nodded. “She hadn’t entered the town, but she had been tracking us from outside the city.”
“What does any of this have to do with us?” I asked flatly.
She bit her lip. “Those four… they’re escaped slaves. That man is one of the leaders of the slave revolt.”
“Okay.”
When she didn’t see me react one way or the other, she nodded to herself.
“It’s too late to be cautious, so I’ll just say it. I was helping them escape, but my sister grew suspicious. If she finds us here, I will be labeled a traitor and locked in a dungeon. She may experience a similar fate if she’s important to the noble family.” She nodded toward Carmine. “However, my guards, the humans, and all of you, my Sister will kill you all to keep this secret!”