Noticing he had completely captured the attention of the pair of direct disciples in front of him, Chen began to explain in a serious tone.
"The hunters are composed mainly of Sacred Geometry users and demonic cultivators, and I'd dare to speculate that the Sacred Geometry users hold a slightly lower status than the demonic cultivators."
"Demonic cultivators?" Elara asked, a hint of surprise in her voice. Chen nodded with a solemn expression and explained.
"Yes, I confirmed it with my own eyes here in the garden. I saw a group of four demonic cultivators meet with a group of eight hunters. Also, from the little I managed to overhear of their conversations, it seems they had slightly contradictory orders, so it's likely their chain of command is divided or they have two leaders."
"Two leaders…?" Erik muttered to himself, hand on his chin. At that moment, Zoe arrived with Hiyori.
After greetings and introductions, Chen continued reporting his findings in a grave tone.
"But besides that, as you must know, the hunters have functional magic artifacts, yet for some reason they're all Sacred Geometry—even those of the demonic cultivators. Their weapons and armor had magic circles engraved on them."
"That's really intriguing. It's possible the ones who truly know this ruin are the Sacred Geometry users." Zoe commented thoughtfully, recalling the leader they had captured and interrogated. Chen nodded and added.
"That's what I think, since the cultivators started using the others as a kind of guide to move through the garden."
"That's really intriguing information…" Erik said pensively, but he quickly shook his head, looked at Chen, and then spoke in a firm tone.
"But let's keep talking while we move."
As he spoke, Erik extended his hand and began creating two four-seater Myst vehicles. Although curious about the Myst construction, Chen focused on Erik and asked seriously.
"What's the reason for the rush?"
"We discovered a devouring basilisk about to awaken." Erik looked at Chen and announced in a grave voice. Chen and his two companions went noticeably pale.
"Are you sure…?" Chen asked, his voice trembling. Zoe was the one who answered, her voice heavy.
"We saw it with our own eyes. It could wake up at any moment."
Hearing the confirmation, Chen staggered back a few steps, while his two companions' faces showed only despair. Against a basilisk, there was practically no chance of survival—this ruin would become their tomb.
After finishing the two Myst vehicles, Erik looked at Chen and spoke calmly but firmly.
"Don't lose heart completely. The entry temples are incredibly sturdy. That basilisk should have awakened earlier; if they're still there, there's a reason."
"… You're looking for an exit, because if the temples are still standing after the basilisk's awakening, it's likely they can withstand it too!" Chen replied, eyes brightening as he regained a bit of hope. Erik nodded with a serious expression and, pointing to the newly created Myst vehicles, said.
"Exactly. If we lock ourselves in the entry temples, we'll be trapped. Our best chance is to reach an exit and hunker down there until it activates. So get in—we need to move fast."
"Understood, let's move." Chen nodded quickly, then turned to his companions and ordered seriously.
"Let's get on."
Once everyone was in the vehicles, Ebonique slipped out of Erik's hair and grew in size, which surprised the youths beside Chen a little. Soon the group set off together, and Erik drew the vehicles closer to him, glanced at Chen, and said in a serious tone.
"Chen, the truth is I wanted to find you too. If the basilisk awakens and we don't manage to find an exit, the only option will be to use concealment potions and formations to create bases and advance little by little."
"I see—that's a great idea, and I have a few concealment formations. The problem is I don't think they'll do much against a devouring basilisk." Chen said with a touch of concern. Erik nodded and replied evenly.
"I know. The idea is either to wait for the basilisk to fall asleep again before moving or to use distance to try to pass unnoticed. In those cases, the potions and formations should help."
"In that case they'd be viable, although to make them truly effective, we need different materials. Improvised formations are very deficient compared to proper ones. The problem is I haven't found anything useful here…"
Chen spoke in a conflicted tone when a Myst barrier suddenly sped toward them. Noticing the barrier, Chen realized there were several large wooden crates inside, which left him a bit confused. But then Erik's calm voice sounded.
"We managed to find some useful things, so the idea is to try modifying the formations to use what we have."
"As expected of you…"
Chen's eyes lit up as he looked at the crates, and he spoke a little helplessly. At his side, Haoran, the disciple from the Ming clan, couldn't help but look at Erik with a strange expression. The star-haired youth, supposedly an incredible genius, seemed far too arrogant and ignorant in his eyes.
Changing the materials for a formation wasn't something you could do casually. Not even a consummate formations master would dare make the claim the young man had just made. But to Haoran's surprise, the legitimate heir of the Ming family spoke with a serious, utterly confident voice.
"Then we need to focus on which formations we can modify, though it'll be a bit troublesome with one that's more or less a legacy of my family. Afterward you'll have to help me present something that'll let the elders turn a blind eye, or I could have serious problems."
"Don't worry. When we get back to the university, I'll help you with three formations." Erik said calmly. Chen nodded, satisfied, and smiled.
"That will be more than enough."
While Haoran stared at Chen in disbelief, Zoe kept looking into the distance and announced excitedly.
"Erik! Let's move northwest—what we can see far off might be the Blood Lake. An important landmark on the initial exploration maps!"
"Let's go!" Erik declared enthusiastically, and the group quickly changed direction.
Before long, they drew close enough to confirm they were indeed near a huge lake with water so red it almost looked like blood. Curiously, the surrounding water—probably spilled from the lake during the quake—looked like normal water. Seeing the lake, Zoe spoke with visible excitement.
"It's the Blood Lake! Not far from this lake there was an exit—if I can find the right reference point, I should be able to reach it!"
"Then lead the way, Zoe. We can't delay!" Erik said firmly. Zoe nodded seriously and ordered her contracted spirit to advance.
Flying around the lake, Erik brought the barrier with the crates closer, from which he took some sheets of paper and a charcoal pencil, then sent them to Chen using a Myst barrier. As the pages floated before Chen, Erik spoke in a serious tone.
"Let's use the time well. Start writing the general schematics of the formations you think have the best chance—offense, defense, and concealment."
"Leave it to me." Chen took the paper and pencil, but his gaze subtly settled on Erik's machetes, prompting him to ask calmly.
"Erik, is there any chance of making a formation disc, or at least a formation flag? Everything was in my storage ring, and I lost it."
"I've never done it, and one thing we discovered is that golden chains appear automatically when an artifact exceeds a certain complexity threshold, so it won't be easy." Erik replied seriously as he took the pseudo-armor from the crate along with several metal threads.
"So you've already managed to create magic artifacts…"
Chen couldn't help but speak with a hint of surprise. Although he had asked for the formation disc, he hadn't really expected that Erik—besides managing to obtain potions—had also been working on magic artifacts, and all while he himself had barely been struggling to survive.
"Yes, but as you can imagine, in a very limited way." Erik replied as he began carefully embroidering the pseudo-armor, sheltered by a Myst barrier. Chen nodded while watching what Erik was doing, a bit curious.
"I see. Even so, if things go to hell, it's worth trying. The formation disc will be crucial for quickly creating temporary formations, and the flag will be very useful to empower and control an established formation."
"Yeah, but the materials are also a major problem… In any case, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Erik said evenly. Chen nodded and began sketching the formation designs.
At the front of the group, Zoe started carefully scanning the surroundings as they moved at high speed, searching for the reference point that would let her know exactly where they were. For his part, Erik kept focusing on embroidering the pseudo-armor when he suddenly felt a strange disturbance in the Myst far away, which made him turn to look.
"Looks like a fight." Ebonique said calmly, gazing in the same direction as Erik, which drew everyone's attention. Erik quickly explained in a serious tone.
"The Myst is moving erratically to the east. It might be a fight."
"We should take a look from a distance." Zoe suggested seriously. Erik nodded and said calmly,
"I agree. Let's go."
Soon, Ebonique accelerated toward the disturbance while Erik stowed the nearly finished pseudo-armor. As they traveled, Frank suddenly noticed that Lirio, who had been resting on his legs, suddenly sat up and started sniffing the air.
"Did you find something, Lirio?"
Frank asked the little spirit, who turned to look at him and chirped adorably while gesturing with his chubby hands. Curious, Elara turned to look at the newborn spirit, then looked at Frank.
"What is it?"
"Lirio detected a familiar 'scent,' but he doesn't remember exactly what it is."
Frank replied in a serious tone, eyes on his contracted spirit. The adorable little cloud with legs stretched out his chubby hands to hold his "head" as he swayed, clearly trying to remember.
"He can remember thirty to forty scents, right? It must be something from outside the island…"
Elara said thoughtfully. Frank nodded, but just then Lirio turned to him with shining eyes and chirped adorably, somehow looking proud. Hearing Lirio, Frank's eyes widened in visible surprise, and he immediately turned to Erik and sent a sound transmission with a grave expression.
"Boss! Lirio detected the direct disciple Willians!"
"Ethan Williams?" Erik murmured to himself in surprise, then looked at Frank and asked seriously, drawing the others' attention.
"Where is he?"
"Right in the direction we're headed, and there appears to be another slightly familiar 'scent' there." Frank said in a firm tone. Elara asked with a serious expression.
"What did Lirio find?"
"Ethan Williams. It's likely he's the one fighting—let's speed up." Erik announced decisively. Zoe and Elara quickly nodded, while Chen asked curiously.
"A direct disciple?"
"Yes. Someone who also specializes in formations and the younger brother of a personal friend of mine." Erik answered gravely, then looked at Chen and continued in a deeper tone.
"I won't force you to join in, but if he's in danger and it's within my power, I'll help him. If you don't want to take part, wait for us here—we'll regroup afterward."
"A friend of yours is a friend of mine, and a formations specialist will also be a great help for deploying and modifying formations—he's a valuable asset, so I'm in." Chen replied seriously, meeting Erik's eyes. Once the star-haired youth nodded in satisfaction, Chen looked at his companions and announced solemnly.
"Prepare for battle."
""Understood.""
The two youths said in unison, then roused their mana, readying themselves for the fight. For his part, Erik reached into the storage pouch at his waist, then tossed a few potions to Chen and explained.
"The ones with the heart are healing potions, the ones with a circle are for mana recovery, and the ones marked with an X are concealment potions. We don't have many of those, so this is all I can give you. Use them sparingly."
Chen took the potions, his gaze shifting between the pouch at Erik's waist and the clay flasks in his hands. Just from those two things, Chen could imagine what Erik had been through. The potions had obviously been crafted by him, and the pouch must have been taken from a hunter leader and modified to make it functional.
"You're truly a monster…"
***
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