Chapter 106: Infiltrate
Finding release from the two mages’ control, the beasts find out that there was nothing more for them to do other than to run away from the being seemingly just waiting for them to attack, the tragic end one of their own met at the hand of this very same being, reminding them that there will be nothing good that will come out of offending him.
Hence the reason why the next moment, they turned their tails around and proceeded to get as far away from this location as they could, not wanting to get involved with the young man in the slightest, treating him as if he were a walking calamity all on his own.
Seeing the response from the beasts, Novus turned around as well, venturing deeper into the cavern system, pushing all while pushing his senses to the brink, making sure that none got past his detection so that he could utilize his stealth better.
Contrary to what he had initially expected, the dark cavern system gradually began to light up several dozens of meters away from the entrance, light stones placed on carved compartments on either side of the cavern’s passage, allowing ease of movement for anyone passing through.
The young man can hear his own steps mixed with the occasional droplets of water hitting the ground as he continues forward, the unexpectedly well-lit, well-maintained environment taking him aback, as he never thought that the traitors of the academy could make something like this in the short amount of time from the beginning of the exam all the way to now.
’They should’ve been preparing this for quite some time now...’ he deduced as he continued walking down the path, scrutinizing each and every single part of the passage with Sensory Expansion in fear of missing out on some sort of secret passage that might lead him quicker to where he is searching for.
For better or for worse, however, there appears to be none of such as he continues without picking any signs of possible hidden entry, forcing him to just keep on walking straight.
A short amount of time passes as he finally sees brighter light at the end of the considerably long passage, causing a faint smile to appear on his face as he thinks that he has finally found whatever it is that he has been searching for.
But, instead of rushing towards the light, he maintains his calm, walking without a rush while taking yet another vial of Liquid Shadow.
[Consumed Liquid Shadow.]
[Shadow Element Affinity has slightly increased.]
[You are now in a stealth state for five minutes.]
As the familiar notification flashed on the screen floating in front of him, Novus took a deep breath to prepare himself for entry, his steps soundless and his figure a blur as he entered in a swift, unalarming manner.
It was quite unexpected even for himself, as after that long tunnel, he was met with a hemispherical dome structure enough to house the numerous missing students, who are situated in the middle of what appears to be a similar kind of array as the one that had brought them to this island.
’Teleportation array...’ he thought to himself as he hid along the shadows where the light couldn’t quite reach, perking his ears up as he listened to the conversations going on among the mages wearing the academy’s staff uniform.
"How long?"
"Just twenty more minutes and we can send the first batch"
"We have to do it in batches?"
"It’s not like we have any choice; we might have five given to us, but each energy core is just enough to sustain a single travel for around a hundred people worth; after that, we need to replace the energy core before we start the transfer again..."
’Twenty minutes...’ overhearing a conversation from mages who appear to be quite familiar with the operation, Novus mutters to himself while looking at the students, most, if not all of them, lying unconscious with their hands bound and their mouths gagged, a crude but effective way of preventing a mage from casting any sort of magic at all.
The rogue mage’s operation continues, each of them doing their designated task in order to finish the job faster, some seemingly infusing more power into the teleportation array, some reinforcing its engravings, while some stand guard, either staring at the only entrance to this place or watching out for students wanting to try something that will cause them trouble.
Unbeknownst to these guarding mages, someone had already slipped past their watchful gazes, and someone was already moving among their midst in an attempt to foil whatever this operation of theirs plans to achieve.
An Ironhide Bear following the commands of another Beast Control Magic user began growling at the air in front of itself, said growl eventually turning into a vicious roar that sounds more like it is encouraging itself rather than scaring whatever it is that it is seeing.
Such sight sends confusion amongst the mages as this is the first time that they had observed an Ironhide Bear acting like such when under the command of someone capable of using Beast Control Magic, such intrigue not lasting long as the beast gradually returns to how it normally acts, removing the attention on itself.
As for the reason as to why the beast is acting like so, he had also removed attention from himself as he moved farther away from the Ironhide Bear, his focus now on the mages that don’t appear to have senses keen enough to pick his presence compared to the beasts who appear to feel him even in stealth time and time again.
That was the last moment of calm as the young man, Novus, finally began making his move, this time, without utilizing mana at all, as he knew full well the experience of the mages inside this dome is higher than most, and using mana will only alarm them and tilt the favor of the battle to their side, rather than his.
There is no sound to his step despite his speed, allowing him to reach a guarding mage slightly farther away from the others, crossing the gap between the two of them in no time at all before the unaware mage only realizes it way too late as a quick, precise blow hits him on the nape.
As much as this mage wants to alarm his allies, though, it is already too late, as his eyes began to roll upwards, his body falling with a gentle thud as consciousness left his body.
"Grrr..."
’Tsk, how sharp...’ through Sensory Perception, Novus noticed a Silver Direwolf seemingly alarmed by the near-silent thud, said direwolf’s eyes were directed towards his location as it took steps forward one at a time, as if intending to check whatever it was that its senses were warning it about.
"Hah..." Novus heaved a defeated sigh as he concluded that even with the help of Liquid Shadow, there might be no completely hiding away from these sharp beasts for the current him, this realization forcing him to act using what he thinks is the most effective way to deal with all the beasts in his surroundings.
Boundless murderous intent surged, covering the entirety of the dome.
The mages felt it as well, the shivers making their skin crawl for a moment, something that is all too common in such a cold cavern like this one; however, the reaction of the beasts tells them that the chill they felt is far removed from anything common.
Terrified howls, alarmed roars, and panicked stomping resounded all across the entire dome as beasts under Beast Control Magic began raging into a stampede running away from a certain direction, telling everyone witnessing it something.
The beasts felt it all too clear: a looming threat capable of taking their lives at a moment’s notice.