Chapter 39: Illclave |
“Do you really have to go?” Rosanna asked, cradling Snow in her arms.
Ember looked up from his second inspection of his supplies. Among them were six mana recovery potions, a dozen fasting potions, two minor healing potions, and one intermediate healing potion. There were also some dry rations, adding to the weight.
As for his weaponry, Ember sported only one wand, capable of firing Tier 4 Windblade. He had bought it only a week ago, costing him a whole 150 iron chips on top of pawning off his Tier 3 wands. Much went into making a Tier 4 wand compared to its Tier 3 counterpart. And its spell was much more powerful too, though that came with a cost in mana as well.
He could adjust its casting power by supplying less mana, but Ember didn't have to worry much about mana, boasting over a hundred breaths, which were far more potent than they had been in Tier 1 or 2.
He also bore Rain's old sword. After a little sharpening, its edge was as good as new. Now, with his swordsmanship improving, it would be far more effective. Same with archery, Ember could now augment his arrows by imbuing a little mana.
“Mom,” he said, “I think we had this conversation last night.”
Yes, Ember essentially didn't have to join the expedition. With his young age, he could have gotten some exemptions for another year or two. However, he had specifically asked to be added to the roster of the other Tier 5s of the clan. His reasoning was that actual battle experience was more valuable for skill gains than practising in isolation.
He had seen it during his first hunting assignment, though the situation there had been much more stressful than he liked.
“And I have already gone on this expedition a number of times already.”
“It's an area with low mana density,” Ember argued with the same logic he had repeated like a broken record player last night. “They have already scouted the area. There won't be any strong iron beasts out there.”
Although he showed her a strong front, he really hoped there wouldn't be any iron creatures over level 50 out there. From what he had gathered, the strongest creatures there would likely be goblins, which weren’t the easiest to hunt, considering they moved in packs and knew how to hunt.
“Desir’s supposed to be a low mana zone as well,” Rosanna said, biting her lower lip.
Ember stood up to face her. He saw the fear in her eyes and made sure none of it reflected in his own. “Mom,” he said, “I need to do this.”
Even after a year and a half, there was still no news of his father. The clan might treat them fairly these days, but Ember had already experienced the worst it could offer someone powerless. He needed to be more self-dependent, for himself and his family.
“I will be careful.” Giving her a hug, he pinched little Snow's cheeks before turning to Gale in the crib. As he went on to pinch his little brother, the boy stretched his arms towards him.
“Not now,” he said with an affable smile. In the past year, the twins had grown overwhelmingly cute. Ember couldn’t stop himself from pinching their cheeks at every opportunity.
Regrettably, Rain was out on her healing duty, so he couldn’t bid her goodbye. She had picked up the job of an apprentice healer in a lavish clinic. Although her fees weren't terribly high, she would get to learn from an expert silver-class healer there.
It was a sunny day, the sky starkly blue, with stray clouds drifting about. A perfectly good day for an outing. Though the atmosphere in Illclave was likely much more tropical.
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After joining his four Tier 5 companions and a couple of high-iron instructors, they strode straight towards the warp station. After ten years in this world, Ember would finally get to use the warp gate and experience what instant teleportation felt like. He had been anticipating it for days.
As they reached the warp station, Ember found a group from House Oberon already waiting there, as well as some other retainer clans of the Oberons. Among them were Lady Evelyn's two apprentices, Elin and Benny. Since they could be called acquaintances, he gave them a nod.
In return, all he got was a furrowed brow from the girl, while the boy waved lightly. Now in their teenage years, they seemed to have grown more mature. Well, like him, they too had lost their Aunt Evelyn.
Under the guidance of a scarred woman from House Oberon, they entered the grand hall where the warp gate was located. Ember had seen pictures of the warp gate before, though the real thing deserved all of his anticipation.
It wasn't exactly like a magical doughnut. Well, more like half of one. Standing over twenty feet tall, with its metal exterior concealing the mystery of how it worked, it seemed more like an ancient structure. There were over a dozen purple orbs protruding from its metal frame, flickering faintly. But as they turned on the gate, they came to life with a piercing purple light.
Ember would have liked to inspect the warp gate a little more, perhaps use his mana sense to examine it thoroughly. But the one operating the station clearly wouldn't like him tinkering with something nobody in Sanehold understood.
The warp gate connected with another on the other side, as the empty doorway flickered with an array of purple and dark lights.
Off he went with the others.
“Don't dilly-dally. Jump right in,” said the scarred woman. “And close your eyes if—”
Her instruction came a little too late, as Ember had already jumped in with his eyes wide open. Immediately, an electrifying feeling pulsed through his skin. It wasn't painful, merely a little itchy. Then came a blackout, followed by arrays of light bending in his vision unlike how light usually behaved. There were too many streaks of light, spinning and vibrating, making his head sway.
A moment later, darkness shrouded his vision once again. Disoriented, Ember fell onto all fours. As his eyes adjusted, he found himself in an identical hall, albeit with more people.
To his left, someone vomited. Ember tore his eyes away, fearing it might encourage his stomach in its rebellion. But soon his gaze returned there, as a white flash of light fell upon the mess, erasing the vomit out of existence.
To the side, an elderly woman stood with her outstretched hand holding a wand, indicating that vomiting during teleportation was quite commonplace.
Well, Ember had not, and neither had many others in the group.
Illclave was east of Seynhold. Although its territory was not even a tenth of Sanehold's, Illclave boasted the same Tier 5 rating, albeit it was much more impoverished. The whole city was founded upon a large plateau in the shape of a reverse J. Just like Seynhold, a large-scale magic formation kept the mana density within the high city elevated.
Whereas, if they went down into the dark woods, the mana density would plummet tremendously. Their hunting expedition would also continue somewhere down there. Ember had to be a little more careful about spending his mana, since his natural recovery would suffer in the low-mana zone.
At least they didn’t have to tire themselves climbing down the plateau. Although a stairway was carved into the highland, there were flying hoverboards available for boarding.
They hired one that carried them down without a hitch. The entire thing was like a large flying frisbee, with little to no thought given to safety. If the driver were an inexperienced moron, he could have killed them all. Perhaps the iron rankers could survive if they fell onto a tree. Thankfully, it was a sensible man who rode them down at a speed of ten kilometres per hour.
They were taken to an outpost, where they didn't even waste more than a couple of minutes before going about the hunt. The scarred woman from House Oberon briefed them. She was slender, pretty in the way most noble ascendants were, but the nasty scar on her right cheek marred her beauty. Her hair was cropped short in a pixie cut, and she seemed to have a no-nonsense attitude that Ember liked.
“We will be here for 30 days,” Rhea Oberon said. “And in the first week of those 30 days, you will figure out ways to build up your teams, fighting monsters on the outskirts of the wilderness. After that, you will dive deeper into the wilderness.
“Throughout this expedition, you won’t receive any help from us. Even the meals you need to eat will have to be prepared by you.”
If anyone was whining in dissent, a glare from her shut them up.
“We have already scouted this area. Other than some lost packs of goblins, you won't find anything too challenging. Unless, of course, you dive deeper or choose to give up your life like a moron. The other significant thing you need to be careful about is the other groups venturing into the wilderness. Now, before I send you out of my sight, we need to form you into groups.”
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