Chương 34: Chapter 33
The sun had already set and only a light orange haze remained to guide their way through the forest. The vegetation was not especially thick here, the salty ocean water being detrimental to most species of trees but there was enough foliage from smaller types of plants that made progress hard. Damian stopped ahead of them and motioned to stop.
He took out a small round object from his backpack and flipped the lid, looking at it, before telling them to resume walking. Lucius called out after Damian before he took more than a few steps.
"Hey, I don't think we'll find it. We should head back and try to find the village before nightfall."
"I just checked my compass, we're heading in the right direction, which is east. Before you ask, it's a device which tells me what direction we're heading towards, it's quite useful. I'm not sure if there's actually magnetic poles in this world or if it's simply magic being magic though. But it works, I've tested it a few times over the last three years."
"But it's getting dark, even if we find the location, it'd be best to go inside during the day."
Before Damian could reply, Lucy started shushing them.
"Shhh, do you hear that?" She said in a low voice.
Everyone stopped talking and moving, listening with rapt attention. The wind blew with moderate force, flowers and bushes bowing to it's will. A small snap broke the silence in the quiet meadow, making all turn towards the source of the sound. To the south of their location by two dozen meters, a mane of grey fur began peeking out from the dense shrubs.
Woah, that's a big wolf thought Lucius, the sentiment was also being shared by his two friends unbeknownst to him.
To everyone's surprise, even the wolf who slightly backed off at the sound of it, Damian clapped his hands together and announced loudly.
"Excellent! This will do nicely. Before we get to the cave, I'd like to see what progress you have made since I've been gone. It'll help me gauge your powers so I know what I can count on you with. Usually wolves aren't solitary so there should be more...ah, speak of the devil."
As the lead wolf approached them cautiously, two more emerged from behind it. The wolves' fur was a mix of white and grey, giving them a majestic look that however didn't diminish the fear of them. Standing over 5 feet tall while on four legs, these were no ordinary wolves. Damian gave his friends a bit of advice.
"Those are Cavalier-Wolfs, they're rated as novice level in terms of danger by the adventurer's guild. They're fast but not very tough, use that to your advantage."
Lucy took the lead and started giving out orders.
"I'll take the ones in the back and you deal with the leader Lucius. Let's try to split them up, I'll go left, you go right."
They both casted defensive magic while keeping a distance from the wolves.
"[Barrier Lv.2]!" "[Barrier Lv.1]!"
(Ah, interesting. They both leveled their barrier spells but Lucy's is stronger. To be expected though.)
The wolves did not follow Lucy's plan and all converged on Lucius. To draw the wolves in the rear' attention, Lucy put her hand outward and cast a spell at them.
"[Interruption of Shadows]!"
Tendrils of darkness rose up from the wolves shadows and struck them, making them flinch and reassess their priorities. Both of the rear wolves turned and lunged towards Lucy who immediately started strafing backwards to keep the distance between them.
(Well that's new. It's just an apprentice level darkness spell but it's good to know that Lucy's got a few more elements than just fire and Lightning.)
The lead Cavalier-Wolf was now closing on Lucius and he hastily casted a spell.
"[Earth Spike]!"
The earth rose in front of the wolf and it looked like it would be a solid hit but it darted left at the last second, using it's speed and agility to avoid the attack. It then quickly came upon Lucius, striking him with a swipe of it's claws but the barrier held and absorbed the blow.
Using the time bought by his barrier, Lucius retaliated with another spell.
"[Burden]!"
Touching the wolf with his hand, in the moment between it trying to strike him and recoiling back before being able to lunge again, Lucius connected. The wolf seemed to be visibly slower in it's actions, so much so that Lucius was able to outrun it.
On the other end of this fight, Lucy threw multiple ignites to the oncoming wolves, only managing to slightly graze them but making them wary and careful which helped buy her distance and time. That time was running out however and the wolves sensed hesitation from Lucy which made them act without delay.
Keeping close to each other they lept simultaneously at her, jaws open and snarling. Lucy's riposte was swift and she struck them before they reached her.
"[Electrocute]!"
The lighting shot out from her outstretched hands in a cone like shape in front of her, catching both wolves squarely. They fell to the ground lifeless but Lucy was also quite tired from that spell, falling down to one knee panting. Looking over to Lucius, she was unable to help him from this distance.
Having gained some ground on the Cavalier-Wolf, Lucius pivoted in one swift motion while casting [Stone Fist] and looked at his enemy heading straight for him. Although slowed by the burden spell, the wolf was giving it everything it had to catch up to its prey which made it unable to dodge the incoming attack. Lucius punched with all his might and connected the hit firmly on the wolf's head, a loud snap echoing as it fell motionless to the ground.
With their enemies out for the count, the two took large breaths and sat down on a fallen tree to relax. Damian approached and congratulated them.
"Nicely done, I knew you could do it. That was a journeyman spell Lucy, didn't think you were there yet but you surprised me. You've made some progress too Lucius but you've still got a bit to go yet."
Lucius simply gave a thumbs up as a response but Lucy was having none of it.
"You asshole! You could have helped us. What if something had happened?"
"Then I would have. This is the first time you've actually fought and killed something isn't it? We're going to end up serving in the army after this, we'll get in danger eventually one day. You need to hone your skills while you can. I wouldn't ask you to do something I don't believe you can."
"But you're right for one thing, it is getting late and we need to hurry up. Here, use these."
Damian took out 2 cylindrical looking objects from his bag and handed them to his friends.
"You just press the end here, 'click', and light comes out. They use your Mana to work, think of it like casting a [Luminescence] spell but you don't even need to know it."
Tired, the pair got up and followed Damian albeit reluctantly, hoping to get this exam done as soon as possible.
"You know, I can only use that spell once. Now I'm going to need some time to recover all that Mana, same for Lucius."
Damian nodded.
"It's okay. You've shown me what you can do, now it's my turn. When we reach that cave, I'll take over everything."
They continued for some time in the dark, conversation kept them awake and helped keep their minds off the fight they just had. It had been brief but one wrong step and it could have been a bloody mess.
"So, you haven't told us a lot Wil--Damian, dang it's hard to remember, about what transpired to you during all this time? How did you end up as another kingdom's mage for example? You must have tons of stories to tell."
Behind them, Lucy spoke up.
"Yeah, it's the least you can do! Making us walk around the darkness to save some time, I really think we should have made a camp for the night instead."
Damian sighed and relented.
"Okay okay, you win. So I kept mostly to the woods at first, surviving outdoors. I had plenty of time to work with my special ability and find out exactly how it works, along with practicing some magic too. I'm trying to refrain from using guns overtly though, not to draw attention to me again, so becoming a better mage was vital. I've gotten much stronger but I'd rather play it safe for some time still, I'll keep my ability as my hidden ace. I've also gotten plenty more tricks up my sleeves now too."
When his friends seemed to be wanting to inquire about specific details, he quickly took the idea out of their minds.
"You'll see when it's time. So, some time after that I managed to find a travelling merchant that was selling spells. The [Disguise] one immediately caught my attention and I purchased it. It took some practice but I was soon confident no one would recognize me and headed to town. I'll spare you the details but I worked with the adventurer's guild for nearly a year, in order to pay the bills. Nansen has no such regulations for mages like Leganon and it didn't take long for my reputation to rise. Shortly after, Nansen's military made me an offer I couldn't refuse and I joined up with them."
"Doesn't that make you a traitor?" There was no accusation in Lucius' voice, it was merely a question.
"Well..no, not really.I was never actually pledged to Leganon. Anyways, I did it in order to use the old academy rule regarding mages from another kingdom, it was my ticket to get back in."
Damian sighed and stopped walking, turning around to face his friends.
"Look, I know it seems i'm pushing you hard, searching at night and not setting up a camp instead. I made some promises before I left though and I intend to see them through. In order to be able to keep those promises though, we need to be exceptional during this exam. We really need to stand out of the crowd.
It was Lucy's turn to soften up a bit.
"Okay, you've made your point. I'll trust you, like we used to before. It's just..I'm still not over how you left. You owe us big time for that."
"I know, I plan on trying to make it up to you. I never planned to leave for so lon.. Hey, I think that's the cave to the right behind you!"
Turning around and pointing their flashlights, they could see a rocky formation between the trees and the mouth of the cave leading downwards into darkness. As they approached cautiously, someone called out to them, making them jump in surprise.
"Hey! Are you the students?"
Sitting above the cave opening with her feet dangling off the ledge, a woman dressed in black leather was addressing them. While both guys hesitated to respond, Lucy took over.
"Yes, is this the cave for the exam?"
The woman nodded and jumped down to greet them. The jump must have been at least 20 feet high and it was quite a sight to see her make a perfect landing from that height. At first glance, Damian thought she looked rather small but she exuded an air of confidence and walked like a veteran. She was easy on the eyes but in a more mature way and Damian couldn't help but shake the feeling of seeing a dominatrix while looking at her all dressed up in black leather.
While this was transpiring, Damian took the opportunity to try and gather some information by whispering an [Analyze] to see who they were dealing with.
Mara Tenfeul [Lv. 31]
Titles: Captain in the Leganon army
Health: 195/195
Str: 41
Con: 37
Agi: 29
Dex: 27
Int: 18
Wil: 15
Wis: 13
Lck: 16
Skills & Spells: [Bow Mastery Lv.4], [Leadership Lv.2], [Piercing Shot], [Mark Lv.1], [Stealth Lv.2]
"Wow, you got here so fast! I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. How'd you do it?"
This time Damian answered.
"That's going to have to stay our little secret. Who are you and why are you here?"
She looked at Damian and pouted.
"That's not very polite you know but it's your secret."
(Hehehe, interesting. This one will be fun.}
"I'm the observer sent to watch how this exam proceeds. I'm also here in case of anything dangerous occurring to any of you, if I interfere however, you fail. Don't worry, you won't even notice me, I'll be hiding in the shadows. You may call me Mara."
Damian was still somewhat suspicious of her but decided to play along.
"Very well Mara, let's not waste any time and get this going."
The four walked inside of the cave mouth with Mara following some ways behind.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Alteru
Alteru Hate to disappoint but will be a bit longer for more. It's starting to get more complicated and I want to make sure everything sort of makes sense/ties in good.
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