27: Hunting Party

[Year 21 Month 3: Continued]

[Blessed: 5574]

Athena detected them first and sent a warning to me within moments of them stepping into my influence.

It was a party of two people, a man and a woman. While a small duo like this isn’t enough to raise concerns normally, as Runehold is having a large influx of people now that there were several safe routes (partially because of my own golems clearing several Vexus hordes and the new Chosen farming experience), these individuals were unique.

Their mana signatures were absolutely massive when compared to other humanoids, and while it didn’t amount to my own mana pool, it was clear these were some very high leveled adventures. Possibly level 70.

The woman was also special, and while I didn’t notice it at first due to the mana surrounding her causing some issues in my vision, I caught a glimpse of pointy ears and ebony skin. It’s another elf… she looks different from Salfi, though?

Salfi had blonde hair much like the newcomer, but her skin was a tanned bronze rather than the other elf’s. Maybe there are variations of elves here as well? Back on Earth, our fiction had Dark Elves and High Elves. Wouldn’t be a stretch considering how much it crosses over.

Eh. For now, the nuances of species and different races were no concern. I was more focused on what they were saying.

“ Ha! ”Seriously, Arnold, do you doubt my magic that much?” Apparently, I fucking should’ve.” Said the man, he was absolutely huge with a shaggy beared covering the lower half of his face and a bright bald head. It was obvious he was directing his sarcasm at the elf, but she didn’t respond to it.

Instead, the woman was peering closely at the ground, searching for something that no one could see other than her. She took a few minutes before looking up suddenly, facing in the direction of the city, which was still about fifteen kilometers away.

“Let’s go this way. I am picking up a trace. We can’t be more than a few weeks behind.” Her voice was melodic and soft, but I felt like there was something beneath it, something cruel.

I watched curiously as they continued to wander in a somewhat straight path toward Runehold. Fortunately, they were approaching from an angle that wouldn’t lead them to Gorn. Everyonce and a while, she would briefly pause and use a weird skill.

From the way her mana pulsed and spread out for about a kilometer, it was obvious it was some form of detection spell, but it didn’t seem like any of the ones that the other adventurers or citizens I had seen so far used.

Taking a closer look at her as they paused once more, I carefully watched the mana flow that took place before the detection wave was sent outwards.

Unlike a skill, the mana pathways didn’t immediately snap into existence, and looked like they were slowly being built instead.

What an enigma. Skills don’t work like that. It looks like she is building a skill instead, without the system’s help? She does appear to be a mage, which is super rare.

There were hundreds of adventurers who frequented the dungeon who had skills that had magical effects. I mean, yesterday, there was a man who accidentally burnt down a tavern when trying to show off his [Fireball] spell to an inn waitress. However, none of them were manually created.

Maybe the elf has a skill that lets her mimic skills or create similar effects? I mean, it would make sense if someone figured it out.

While it would be incredibly handy and versatile to have such an ability, I suspected it came with the appropriate risks. If my experiment with condensed mana and runes showed me anything, its that unregulated magic tended to end quite… explosively.

The concentration required would be tremendous… I wonder if I could do something like that? I do have an innate power over mana. It would be better yet if one of my runic assistants could do that. Having the equivalent of an omnipresent mage with my mana pool to back them up would be absurd.

The second time I observed the woman’s work, I felt some of the magic brush over my consciousness. I apparently got too close, and the elf could feel it.

Immediately, she ceased her ability, and even as I drew back, I could see her wince as the mana flooded back into her body, the abruptness causing some damage.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Noticing her figurative glances, her partner grabbed her shoulder while also activating a detection skill and a physical enhancement skill.

Ah, so that’s what he is. Some sort of barbarian type… good thing to note.

“Vealen? Are you okay?” He spoke, drawing slightly closer to her and asked quietly, “Are we being watched?” The man was doing his best not to give away that they found something amiss, which would work if their observer wasn’t a magical soul stone.

Taking a moment to calm the rampant mana inside of her, the elf nodded slightly, “Yes, I was casting and felt something very close… like it was watching over my shoulder?” She ended her sentence with a questioning tone. It was clear that I had unsettled her, and after casting another one of her spells (that I had backed away from), it only left her more confused when nothing reappeared.

“Well… whatever it is, it’s gone now, let’s get a move on, Arnold, maybe we can get out of this forest before night.” Glancing around, it was still clear that she was uneasy, and her partner mirrored her.

The man named Arnold let go of her shoulder and released the enhancement skill. He was still clearly on guard, but it seemed he trusted her magic, despite his previous sarcasm.