After thanking Grolnuk, Aelius, now "Kaelus," left the city with his new gear. He looked at the map he had acquired, his destination the town of Valeridge, a four-day journey southeast from the city gates. He was a dragon, capable of flying to his destination in a matter of hours, but he didn't want to reveal his true form. Instead, he decided to use his time on the road to practice his skills.
The journey demanded speed, and Aelius knew he couldn't afford the four days a normal adventurer would require to reach Valeridge. He began to channel his mana to the soles of his feet, focusing on creating a new skill for rapid mobility. The inspiration was drawn from a memory of his past life: a high-speed, ground-based technique he had observed in a shonen manga.
He spent a full day experimenting. The process was grueling, requiring the channeling and releasing of wind mana in a constant, controlled flow. He ran until his legs burned, struggling to stabilize the complex release patterns. He needed the force to be sustained and perfectly directed parallel to the ground; failure resulted in jarring jolts or destabilizing hops.
By the end of the day, a new skill had finally taken shape in his mind. He dubbed it Gale Dash.
The skill allowed him to release a concentrated burst of wind mana from his feet, propelling him forward in a quick, explosive burst of speed. He could string multiple bursts together, maintaining inhuman velocity over long distances. It was instantly versatile, usable to dodge attacks, close the distance to an enemy, or simply travel faster. It was a simple, effective skill, a testament to his control over mana.
Aelius, with the relentless help of his new Gale Dash, reached Valeridge in just two days. The journey, which would have taken a normal adventurer four days, was cut in half, proving the immediate value of the technique.
However, the sheer speed of the Gale Dash revealed a new limitation. His newly acquired steel armor, while providing defense, was hindering his mobility. The inertia and weight of the plates dulled the instantaneous burst of the skill. To be truly fast, sacrifices had to be made.
Without hesitation, he removed the pieces covering his arms and shoulders, setting aside the large pauldrons and vambraces. He retained the central chest plate for vital organ protection and the reinforced knuckles on his hands, maintaining a core defensive shell. His need for blinding speed now outweighed the need for comprehensive defense. The two-day journey had completely transformed Aelius's fighting style, prioritizing the quick, explosive power of the Gale Dash above all else.
The town of Valeridge was a bustling settlement built on the eastern edge of the Veridian Forest, known for its rich medicinal herbs and rare lumber. It was governed by the House of Aurumglow, a prominent noble family known for their mastery of alchemy. The family's prestige came from their unique alchemy skills and monopoly on the region's rare alchemical resources, which also led them to post the adventurer's guild quest to deal with the aggressive Red Orcs.
As Kaelus entered the town, he overheard whispers among the locals about a party of adventurers who had been gravely wounded. A local guard, an older man with a hardened gaze, immediately noticed Kaelus's formidable gear. He approached him, a look of cautious relief on his face.
"Looking at your gear, you must be the reinforcement sent by the guild," the guard said, his voice low. "But where are your party members?"
Kaelus calmly explained, "I am here to scout the situation first. Would you mind telling me what happened?"
The guard nodded, his expression grim. "Four days ago, a party of B-rank adventurers ventured into the Red Orc settlement. They were all 5-star mages, with their leader a 5-star high-rank mage. Only a few of them remain, recuperating in town. The rest went all out, holding off the orcs just to give them time to escape and inform us of the situation."
"So even a team of 5-star mages couldn't handle the orcs," Kaelus stated, feigning surprise.
"If it were just normal Red Orcs, that party would have been sufficient," the guard replied, his voice laced with dread. "But they encountered a Crimson Orc commanding them. A single Crimson Orc is a B+ rank quest on its own—it's an elite boss."
"How many remained on the team?" Kaelus asked.
"There are two here in town," the guard said. "The other three are unknown. They must be dead."
"N-no, they are not dead. They are captured!" a voice cried out from behind. A man in his early thirties, his head and body wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, hobbled towards them. He was one of the survivors of the adventuring party.
Kaelus's expression changed, a hint of relief flickering across his face.
"The Red Orcs always keep their prey alive," the survivor said, his voice weak. "They capture them to keep them as food for the coming winter. They also know that someone might come to rescue them, so they keep them as bait to catch more. They must still be alive!"
"I understand. Then they must be alive," Kaelus said, his tone decisive. "I will go there and save them."
"Hey!" the guard shouted. "You must wait for your party members to come here! We also need to notify the guild that the quest rank has changed and it may go even higher to an A-rank quest because of the detained adventur—"
The guard's words were cut short as Kaelus, without another word, used his Gale Dash, blurring into a wisp of mana and vanishing in the direction of the Red Orc settlement.
The guard and the wounded mage were left stunned, staring at the trail of wind mana Kaelus left in his wake.
Kaelus, meanwhile, was already on his way. He reached the Red Orcs' settlement in minutes, the smell of burnt wood and unwashed bodies reaching him long before he saw the camp. He slowed his pace, his senses on high alert. He used his Mana Scan to get a full view of the camp. His mind formed a holographic green image of the area, with the captured mages' mana signatures appearing as a faint white light and the monsters' as a throbbing red. There were at least a dozen Red Orcs and one large Crimson Orc. The captured adventurers were held in a crude cage at the center of the camp, their mana signatures faint but still present. They were alive, just as the survivor had said.