Bab 341: Njar, part 1

Niko met Astnar's eyes.

Normally, it took him some effort to focus on the voices of people nearby. But here, near the North pole, Niko found the incessant howling of wind to drown out all but the loudest of the noises in his head.

Astnar's words easily cut through both the wind and Niko's thoughts.

"Give me a moment," Niko said, turning to the side.

To his irritation, Astnar's glare didn't waver.

'That man… I only wish I could've avoided him forever. Maybe I still can? No, that's stupid. But I still have to scout.'

A simple enough task. He only needed to scout ahead. A basic spell allowed him to push his mind's eye for kilometers ahead with almost no effort or time required.

Most of what he saw was snow and ice. To find more, Niko had to change his vision, allowing himself to more easily discern mana, and with it, both life and landscape.