It was an hour before dusk. The sun was gradually taking its leave on the horizon. With the impressive mountain range that formed the valley, the city met the dark of the night faster than most other lands. It had become dark enough for Erin to sneak out of the city and make her way to the Rune Drake’s cave without being discovered by the patrol guards.

“I distinctly remember hearing about the city having Arch Mages that constantly survey the city folks for the Viceroy. Isn’t it sort of pointless to be sneaking?” Nivia asked as they pursued through the shallow woods under the cover of the imminent dusk.

“There are but they aren’t omniscience,” answered Amyra, one of the only two who accompanied Erin on the excursion. “They have the clairvoyant spell but it only covers one area at a time and the valley is huge. It would be a huge stroke of misfortune if they found us out without any prior knowledge of us being here.”

The others had expressed their wish to follow but as only Amyra and Nivia had experience in being furtive, they were left behind at the manor.

“So you’re saying there’s a very small chance that we will inadvertently and helplessly get exposed?”

“It’s less than one percent of a chance, Niv.”

“My name is Nivia.”

“Niv for short. Why? You don’t like it?”

Nivia heaved out a small sigh. “Do what you want.”

“We’re here,” Erin whispered and plopped down behind a fallen log that offered them a clear view of the supposed Rune Drake’s cave. It didn’t take long for Erin to find the cave as Rigetta had said the truth, the Rune Drake certainly had a unique scent. It smelled like rotten oranges and Erin kept that thought to herself.

Amyra and Nivia crouched down right beside Erin with her in the middle. Nivia was wearing leather armour while Amyra was the same as ever. She was barely wearing any clothes, let alone armour. She was wearing a pair of leather trousers and a sleeveless black shirt that stuck tightly to her body and since the shirt was one size smaller than her torso, her midriff was bare.

Erin was wearing a lightly armoured tunic with a short skirt and with a pair of trousers to match. “The Drake is inside the cave,” she said as she stared into the darkness of the cave.

“Asleep?” Amyra asked, hopefully.

“Unfortunately, it’s not,” Nivia answered. “But I can make it unconscious.”

“Don’t.” Erin shook her head. “Spells are used to keep the Drake awake.”

“Well, that’s going to complicate things,” Amyra mused. “If we put it to sleep, it will only alert the enemies. I don’t see any way we could be furtive in our approach. We’ll have to be blatant and loud.”

“The Rune Drake is level fifty-six.”

“Oh…” Nivia muttered. “That might be hard for me.”

“I’ll handle the Rune Drake and keep its focus on. You two will press forward.”

“No,” Erin refuted. “We don’t know what’s inside. We could be walking into a trap. I sense people inside.”

“A trap would imply they knew we were coming. Furtive or not, it will make no difference then.”

“Whichever the case, the Rune Drake has to be subjugated first and foremost. Its presence will greatly hinder our retreat if it’s not dealt with prior.”

“And the cave is too narrow… I can take the Rune Drake down but I’m afraid you two will become collateral.”

“I’ll lure it out,” Nivia said. “That is if we are going with this approach.”

Amyra cracked her neck and knuckles and brandished her massive cleaver-sword. “Loud or quiet, I don’t mind either way.”

“Lure it out, Nivia. We’ll subjugate the Rune Drake together as quickly as possible and rush in before the enemies know what is happening.”

“Alright, Erin.” Nivia summoned a small drop of light into her cupped palms. The light drop sprouted a pair of wings and flew towards the cave.

Not a moment later, a growl could be heard and the ground began to tremble slightly to the pace of the curious Rune Drake that ended up chasing the light drop out of the cave.

“Nivia, seal its movements,” Erin commanded in a small but firm whisper as she conjured a spear with Bespoke and infused it with Arcane Edge.

Nivia spoke the chant swiftly and unleashed a heavy mass of air from above the Rune Drake. Not only did the mass of air seal its movement, but it also could not roar in distress properly due to the erratic airflow.

Amyra dashed towards the Rune Drake and brought her cleaver-sword around. The Rune Drake managed to dodge the blade for its neck with all of the strength it could muster in its dire state. However, Erin bided his time for this moment and threw the spell spear at the Rune Drake. The spear pierced right into the throat of the Rune Drake. The Wind Magic spell dispersed but it could not even shriek in agony due to its ruptured throat.

Before the spell spear faded out of existence, Amyra lunged in and slammed the spear completely through the Rune Drake’s neck by using the flat part of her sword. In its dying rage, the Rune Drake was about to throw its whole body at Amyra but Nivia kept it temporarily to the ground by shooting two arrows at its hind legs. It screeched soundlessly and Amyra ended its misery with a clean decapitation using the blazing edge of her sword.

A sound was barely made throughout the short battle and the Rune Drake died without a throe of its death.

[Experience gained +20% - Level Progression: 70%]

“Bloody hell,” Amyra exclaimed. “Never once did I ever expect to kill a monster of this level and size without making so much noise. Seems like being bored around you will be a challenge, m’lady.”

Erin rolled her eyes and trotted towards the cave.

“Wait a minute, m’lady,” Amyra called out.

“What?” Erin asked as she stopped and turned around.

“Do you not harvest a monster’s Mana Core?”

“Really, Amyra?” Nivia scoffed. “You’re thinking about gold during such a time?”

“The Grove may be self-sufficient but gold is still essential for the livelihood of the Grove.”

“It will be too inconvenient for us to be carrying around something so large and heavy,” Erin said.

“That won’t be a problem.” Amyra tapped the pouch dangling by her waist. “This is what Infinite Pouches are for, m’lady.”

“Hmm. Still, won’t the harvest take some time?”

“You two go on ahead first. I’ll be right behind. I can also act as a lookout for the rear formation while I’m at it.”

“Just be quick,” Erin said and disappeared into the cave along with Nivia, leaving Amyra alone to extract the hardened magic essence of the Rune Drake.

“It’s dark,” Nivia remarked dryly as they trod into the inner recess of the cave where only shadows lurked.

“You’re walking just fine though.”

“Elves have good hearing but it’s not a perfect compensation for our sight. I’m slower and duller. Should there be a trap ahead, I might be one second too slow to dodge it.”

“I’m here, Nivia. I won’t let that happen to you.”

Nivia sighed. “To think that my days as your teacher have come to an end.”

“How so? A master is an eternal student. I’m sure there are many things that you can still teach me, Nivia.”

“Irrelevant subjects that I can teach are aplenty.”

“You’re undervaluing yourself, Nivia.”

“I appreciate your compliment, Erin, but I’m only deliberating the truth. I used to think that I’m talented and a prodigy but after meeting you, I realised I was only a frog in a well.”

“Niva, you’re—” Erin’s words of consolation quickly turned into a violent act of shoving.

Nivia stumbled backwards from the shove as something akin to an arrow streaked across them, barely missing Nivia’s head. Nivia recovered her bearings instantly from the shove and together with Erin, cast Light Drop to illuminate their surroundings. They scoured the brightened tunnel but they saw nothing.

“Where did the attack come from?” Nivia grumbled. “Erin, do you smell anything?”

“I’m not smelling anything but the pungent scent of the Rune Drake,” Erin said.

“I don’t hear anything out of place either. That attack was silent. Look.” Nivia pointed at the projectile that was shot at her and now lodged firmly on the wall. “It’s some kind of stake. It’s not metal or steel. It’s… Mana? Crystalised Mana. Our assailant is a monster.”

“Or a Demoid.”

“There goes the element of surprise. What now? Do we proceed forward or deal with our assailant first?”

“Both. We keep moving and be wary of our assailant.”

As soon as those words left Erin’s lips, the space rippled behind Nivia and a Demoid with the appearance of a pallid hairless Wulver emerged out of thin air.

“Nivia, behind—”

Nivia was already turning around before Erin could finish warning her. She had been using her Wind Magic spell to read the disturbance in the air and she immediately caught her assailant’s presence the moment it broke out of its queer stealth. She closed her eyes, overloaded Light Drop, and let it explode into a blinding radiance.

The Demoid shrieked and stumbled backwards from the dazzling burst of light before its claws could reach the Elf. Nivia pushed at the air and sent the Demoid bouncing across the ground. The Demoid flipped to its feet on the third bounce and disappeared into thin air.

“Spirits be damned, I lost him!” Nivia cursed. “It doesn’t leave any smell or sound. Did you manage to appraise the Demoid?”

Erin nodded. “It’s level fifty-two. It possesses Spatial Magic but… the Magic Art doesn’t have levels.”

“Artificially embedded affinities. I heard about them. It ruins a person’s future potential growth in exchange for an instantaneous tremendous growth.”

“These idiots… Nevermind that. We keep moving. It’s good at hiding but that’s all it’s good at. It won’t stop us. It can never harm us with how sloppy its attacks are.”

Nivia chuckled with a look of understanding and they resumed their haste further into the cave.

Not even ten seconds had passed when the next assault came. Erin was the target this time but she covered herself in Storm Shell and let the spell do its trick. The Demoid was launched into a wall by Storm Shell’s effect. Nivia kept the Demoid trapped with her Wind Magic spell and Erin swiftly severed its head from its body with a sword of Bespoke.

[Experience gained +10% - Level Progression: 80%]

“That’s not a lot of experience,” Erin grumbled.

“Probably because they didn’t achieve their current levels through their own efforts. Everything about their strength is just a loan.”

“Loan or not, their strength is deadly nonetheless. Be ready, Nivia. More are coming.”

“I know. I can hear them.”

Like thunder in a storm, the cave began to rumble as a small horde of Demoids came charging at Erin and Nivia. Since they were inside a cave, Erin wasn’t able to use her Lightning Magic unless she wished to bring the whole cave down on all of them. But small bolts of lightning were still feasible, as long as she didn’t aim them at the ceiling.

A Goblin-like Demoid was the first to reach them but Nivia made it trip with the wind and Erin bisected the Demoid in half. Three Wulver-like Demoids rushed at them by running on the walls but Nivia blew sand into their eyes using the wind and they made quick work of the Wulver Demoids while they were flailing around in a panic.

The next wave of Demoids began attacking them from afar, throwing magic projectiles at them in a barrage. Erin conjured up an Arcane Aegis and the two took cover behind it as they advanced.

“Damn those fools!” Nivia shouted. “They’ll bring the whole cave down if they keep this up!”

“I think that’s their intention,” Erin said, throwing a spear that impaled a Demoid from behind cover.

“Allow me to clear the way,” Amyra said, appearing from behind them while dragging her fiery blade of a cleaver-sword.