Then, to everyone's surprise, the snake tattoo around his body started to glow brighter. The energy in his body and surrounding started to gets absorbed into it.
A concentrated light enough to momentary leave people blind developed, it created a wave of unique energy that pulsed out of him. This followed a period of silence. The problem had passed, but it did not seem to end there, Aile noticed the tattoo started to reabsorb energy. Based on the absorption rate, possibly after a day, there would be another energy pulse.
The tattoo had now dimmed, and as it operated, it got its shimmer back. The snake tattoo absorbed the surrounding energy, and it was getting ready to release another wave that would transmit his location.
With a calm mind, Aile started to analyze the tattoo. His attempts to stop it or remove it all ended in failure, and he realized that it was trying to give away Aile's location.
"Are you ok?" The three of them asked each other.
"What happened, Aile?"
Aile was just grateful that he had initiated the defence of the artefact in time. He would have died, and the artefact would have been stolen, if his location was broadcasted, and if he had not activated its defensive measures in time.
Many thousands of kilometres away in a room, Duke White got up and smiled, "I will find you now, no matter what." He lifted his hand dripping in blood and flicked a few times to get it out. There was an ecstatic smile on his face. He closed his eyes as he breathed out audibly.
His muscular body entered a state of rest, and his muscles settled down. His mouth arced up a little, and crows feet formed around his eyes when he left the room and entered a hall with a high roof and little light. He walked to the mezzanine where a large group of men numbering 100 stood with masks, robes and veils hiding their features. "I want all of you to divide into groups of 10. Your goal is to find a kid who is about 17 years of age. He should weak and easy to apprehend. However, if he is with a lady with black hair and purple eyes, be at your guard, she is very dangerous to all of you. But she should be with a girl similar to a boy's age that you can take advantage of, she cares a lot about her. However, that is the last option. If she is present, ask for aid and notify me while following them.
But if an opportunity presents itself, your goal is to get the kid and the girl. Stay away from the woman, we do not need her, and it is better to avoid her. She is a powerhouse and can win against all of you combined. If the boy named 'Aile' is alone, bring him here as soon as possible."
He looked at the confused group of people and said, "Don't worry, I am not sending you to scour the whole kingdom, here are 10 devices. They will direct you to him once every day. The group that brings him here will be rewarded, and each can get a chance to become an elder of the White Clan."
Smiles and hushed giggles loomed among the people. However, none was loud enough to be heard a few meters away.
As the 100 individuals slowly divided into 10 groups. Duke White's happy smile widened slightly, and he tossed the devices that looked like compasses to them.
"Dismissed!"
On this day, 10 groups concealing their identity left Ferli in search of Aile. Their first goal was to read the information about their new target and use their contacts to find more information.
Aile, on the other hand, was currently sure that no one knew where he was. This is because of the protection of the defence of the place he activated.
But it would soon change as he knew that this place was not fully veiled from the outside, and there are minor holes connecting the artefact to the outside world, as the artefact is partially damaged.
Energy crystals could be used to keep him hidden, but the amount required is much larger than they have and could get even if both towns were under their control. Unfortunately, he does not have enough time to fully understand the scope of this artefact, as he was sure there would be alternatives. He could not prevent his location from leaking. If he stays here for long, they will find him and the artefact.
Aile immediately connected the dots, Duke White had started to seek him. It has always bothered him why Duke White had not seriously searched for him. After all, he had put in a lot of effort to take everything from him, yet he seemed carefree about him all this while. Aile now realized that he had another way to find him.
Aile told Emily what happened, she had already figured out something like this as the origin of his tattoo was no secret.
He explained everything to Emily, and Iris silently listened. After the explanation, the worry-filled girls asked him if he was alright, and then they followed it by studying the tattoo and trying to figure out how to remove it without hurting him.
"I will be fine. I will have to leave soon to find a cure for Hazel and Sara. If anything, this is something positive, I will now have peace of mind knowing you all will be safe. Not to mention there are a lot of other benefits that the treasure can bring all of you."
The fact that Aile cared about them brought them joy but made them more worried about him, simply leaving and leaving while your enemy knows your location are two different things. They also did not want to make him worried, so the three of them on the surface agreed that all of this was a good thing. Aile continued, "You two can also gain partial control of it. Leave a drop of blood on that crystal, and you will understand what kind of place we are at." He wanted them to get secondary control of this treasure after him. The artefact is immobile at the moment, so they should make the most out of it when he is gone.
Not to mention the rooms such as alchemy, smithing and more had a lot of knowledge they can benefit from. They can train here and make use of the benefits that come with it and avoid the more dangerous outside. They can also improve their cultivation here and could even grow their own plants to sell if they want.
This way, they would not have to rely on other unreliable sources for selling herbs in the merchant halls, and their cultivation will also improve. The treasure also gathered energy from outside and modified it. Therefore, it will allow everyone to improve and provide them with a secret base to hide.
Aile also realized that they now had two secret bases, and this would mean that Hazel's secret base that they spent so much on no longer had the same value.
After connecting with the artefact, they had their eyes widened in surprise. This is because they realized how big the whole space of the artefact was. The current available space was only a fraction of the space the artefact had a lot of the information seemed indecipherable to them and would require prior knowledge to understand them, Emily and Iris were surprised at the concept of such a thing and wondered where it came to form and why it was here in the first place.
The treasure had many capabilities, but because it lacked an energy source and outside does not have enough energy to support it, it has become somewhat crippled. At the moment, the only thing that it could be used for was growing plants, the specialized rooms at the shack could be accessed, and the shield that Aile used. The last function was a two-way teleporting ability for the people to Fort Bot and back here if they are close to the mountain.
Aile explained to them that it was the artefact, and because it was of a high calibre, it could have many operators. Now with their blood on the control panel, they could access its function.
Aile observed the snake around his body and noticed that it was far more complex. He would not be able to remove it, it was just that he would need to be much stronger before he could remove it. He found out that it absorbed the natural energy around him. Once it gathers enough, it would release a wave of energy to show its location. Now it was mostly blocked by the artefact, but this was not a permanent solution. On the one side, the shield would consume the energy reserves of the artefact. On the other side, each time a small portion of energy would be leaked out. This would mean that he had to leave. Therefore, he did not postpone the decision of leaving.
He decided to leave tomorrow. It would not be safe for all of them if Duke White comes here, and he would benefit if he does not remain stationary to broadcast his location.
He asked Emily to get some provisions ready for him; food, a fast mount and other equipment to survive, as he tried to chart a course and try to find a solution to his fresh new problem.
Emily understood the situation and left Iris with him. She used the new ability that she gained after dropping some blood on the artefact to get out of this place.
With a thought, she was teleported outside, and because she had created a blood connection, she no longer needed to use energy crystals to enter or exit.
