“Breath concentration is strangely scarce.”
Maxi was lost in her thoughts as she raised her head with a hoarse voice.
Wrapped in a fur coat, Armin Dolph looked around at the misty terrain, holding what appeared to be a gray pearl dangling from a chain.
Maxi observed the object curiously.
“What is that in your hand?”
“It’s a mana meter made from a fairy egg.”
Armin moved the small, fingernail-sized sphere closer to Maxi.
"Fairy eggs have mana-absorbing properties, so they are often used for this purpose.
This one is made with an unfertilized one, but it still retains those attributes.
Do you see how pale it is?
Normally, it is a pinkish pearl, but it turns vivid red when the mana concentration is high.
This color means there is little here."
“We’d better conserve our reserves, then,” commented Anette with a sigh.
“Although I suppose we haven’t needed to use magic until now.”
“This will change,” intoned a hoarse voice.
Maxi looked back and found Albern doodling on yellow parchment with a piece of charcoal.
Shoving the parchment into the leather pouch at his side, he said flatly, "Our magic will be indispensable during the investigation.
As powerful as divine magic is, its use is limited to purification, healing, and combat.
We, on the other hand, are capable of more diverse and specialized magic."
Albern then pulled out a map from his bag.
Maxi deduced that he must have been recording their route as they advanced.
"We'll be forced to use more magic from now on, and I'm sure we'll be relying heavily on your tracking spells.
No one can scout terrain better than the mages of the Gnome Hall“"
A violent gust stirred the dense fog in the path, blocking their view.
Maxi lowered his hood and looked around nervously.
Soon, bright flames appeared around them, as the Temple Knights lit torches to light the way.
Kuahel raised a burning torch into the air and calmly encouraged the group to continue their march.
"We're almost at the Plateau.
We'll keep riding."
As she rode faster, Maxi looked in Riftan's direction.
Only his jet-black hair and blue cape were visible as a shadowy figure in the distance.
She spurred Rem not to fall behind.
The wind was getting stronger and stronger.
To make matters worse, it had started to snow.
The firestone nestled in his chest did nothing to ward off the bone-deep cold.
She longed for a place where they could take shelter, even if only for a little while, but the vast emptiness stretched as far as the eye could see.
She blew on her gloved hands and tried to warm her frozen ears and cheeks.
At this moment, there was a deep growl, and a huge creature burst out of the mist.
The knights drew their swords.
A bestial growl and the sharp sound of steel mingled with the howling wind.
"What is this this time?
What is attacking us?" Royald shouted shakily as he threw a barrier.
Maxi hurriedly conjured a shield as well, his eyes darting around in panic.
Although she could make out indistinct shapes around her, the hazy conditions made it impossible to discern what they were.
The knights seemed impassive, dispatching the beasts with cold efficiency.
They swung their swords as the beasts came towards them like cannonballs.
One of the monsters fell to the ground in an explosion of dark red blood.
It was only then that Maxi was able to see his attackers.
The monster sprawled on the ground was a gigantic wolf the size of a bull.
Its front paw was twisted, and she watched in horror as it writhed in pain.
It didn't look like a man-eating wolf.
Long, pointed horns protruded from its enormous head, which was covered in brittle gray fur.
His eyes were red like two pools of blood.
As it gave a ferocious growl at Kuahel, the Temple Knight cruelly threw his chained hook and finished off the monster.
“They are fenrirs!” Riftan's voice echoed through the mist.
“Watch their breathing!”At the same time, the wind picked up, and the white filaments around them coalesced into a denser mist.
Maxi realized that this strange climate was a product of the monsters' magic.
A shiver ran down his spine.
Suddenly, the monsters around them rushed forward.
The gathering storm reduced them to blurred outlines.
Maxi strengthened her shield, growing increasingly anxious as she heard the horses' frantic cries, the whirring blades, and the knights' shouts.
The monsters growled and barked like cracking thunder in a deliberate attempt to frighten the horses.
She struggled to calm a terrified Rem when he tried to run away.
Suddenly, golden flames erupted around them, lighting up the mist.
Maxi turned his head to the source of the spell.
With one hand raised above her head, Ruth drew a golden rune in the air.
The flames glowed as he infused more mana into the rune.
Suddenly fearful, the monsters retreated and disappeared into the snowstorm.
Maxi finally released the breath he had been holding.
When the dense fog magically dissipated, she saw seven huge wolves scattered across the ground, spurting blood.
Riftan detached a spear from one of them.
Maxi looked him up and down as he assessed the situation.
Despite her earlier hope, intense relief flooded her when she saw he was unharmed.
Just as the tension finally dissipated from his shoulders, a distressed voice called from behind.
"Damn!
The carts!"
Maxi's head spun.
Four of the eight baggage carts had fallen.
The mages closest to them quickly dismounted and tried to save the partially destroyed bags of food and barrels of water that were rolling across the floor.
However, spilled food was the least of their problems.
Maxi frantically looked around with a pale face.
“W-Where are the horses?”
“Probably taken by the fenrirs,” Kuahel replied calmly, next to them.
While the Temple Knight inspected the carts, Calto lowered the firewood onto the mages.
“How did you allow this to happen?!”
“I threw a shield!” said Nevin, who was bringing up the rear.
His frantic tone died down to a whisper the more he spoke.
“But… it must have been very weak… due to the scarce mana around here.”
A heavy silence fell over them.
They had lost eight horses at once.
A feeling of devastation began to set in when Maxi heard someone click their tongue.
"They approached the wagons in the storm while our attention was focused on the conflict ahead.
How cunning," Hebaron observed, scratching his chin.
Elliot, who was right behind him, sighed.
"Now is not the time for wonders, Sir Hebaron.
What are we to do with all these provisions?"
Riftan approached them at Talon and said firmly: “Load as many as you can on the remaining carts, and have some men double up so your horses can pull them.”
"Will this work when the horses are tired?
We don't know how much longer we will have to ride."
“There is a place not far from here where we can rest,” Kuahel interjected.
“The men will just have to share their horses until then.”
The Temple Knight pointed to a rock face that rose above the white ridge like a castle wall.
Maxi could only vaguely see her from this distance.
As she studied it, her eyes widened.
The dense fog from the monsters had completely obscured the entire structure.
“Then let’s get moving before the monsters come back for the rest of our horses.”
Hebaron nimbly dismounted his warhorse and easily lifted one of the overturned carts with one hand.
Maxi was briefly stunned by the knight's incredible strength before dismounting to help move the provisions.
Two of the four fallen carts were unusable, their wheels had been torn to pieces.
They had no choice but to abandon them and divide the provisions among the remaining wagons.
It was also decided that the mages, who were lighter than most in the group, would ride with the riders to free the horses.
Maxi looked expectantly at Riftan, hoping he would invite her to ride with him, but he just stared at the stone face with tight lips.After casting confused looks at his commander, Ulyseon raised his hand and charged forward with his horse.
To Maxi's relief, Hebaron held the young knight by the back of his neck and covered his mouth with his hand.
Pretending not to notice the small confusion, Maxi continued looking at Riftan pleadingly.
“Ruth, you will ride with me.”
Maxi was stunned.
Ruth, in the middle of a huge yawn, turned her head to look at Riftan with an expression that said he was imagining things.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
"We need horses to pull the carts.
I want you to offer yours and ride with me."
There was a warning in his voice that clearly told the wizard not to make him repeat himself.
After blinking several times, Ruth's face contorted into a frown.
"We would make a truly eye-catching pair!
Couldn't Mistress Calypse ride with you?"
“Her horse is not strong enough to pull a cart,” Riftan said calmly.
Ruth's head turned to Maxi's slender mare.
Although the elegantly proportioned horse had powerful legs and exceptional speed, it was true that she did not have the build to pull a heavy cart.
Recognizing Riftan's point, the anger drained from Ruth's voice as he said, "Then I will ride Her Ladyship's horse, and she can ride with you.
That would certainly be easier for Talon as well."
“You’re not much heavier than her, so stop fooling around and get on it!”
Maxi's mouth fell open in shock.
She just couldn't let the comment go.
"H-How can you say something like that?
I'm m-much lighter than Ruth!"
Riftan ignored her and continued to stare at the sorcerer.
Finally giving in to the pressure, Ruth dismounted and strode toward Talon with a look of disgust on her face.
Paying no attention to Maxi's fervor, Riftan helped the sorcerer into the saddle behind him, and then trotted to the front of the group.
Maxi watched them leave in disbelief.
Hebaron clicked his tongue.
“This illness of his is worse than I thought.”
When she gave the knight a confused look, Hebaron shrugged like it was nothing.
"Well, the pairings have all been decided.
We should hurry before the day is over."
Sensing his evasion, Maxi narrowed her eyes.
Still, she had to admit that he was right.
She spurred Rem forward.
The group set off towards the rock face after finishing loading their luggage onto the carts.
Although their destination seemed to be quite close, the sky was dyed indigo when they finally arrived there.
Exhausted, Maxi looked up.
The rock face rose so high that she couldn't see the top, even with her head tilted back.
“It’s this way,” said Kuahel.
He led them to an opening in the stone wall.
The wizards lit the way with small balls of light in their hands while the knights kept a watchful eye for signs of danger, their weapons drawn.
They carefully passed through the ravine before the path eventually widened.
Soon after, they found themselves in a spacious area within the abyss.
Kuahel gave the orders to stop.