Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

"Tap tap tap, tap tap tap..."

Sande and the black bear had just left the cave when hurried footsteps sounded at the entrance, followed by about ten wizards walking in, maintaining their magic shields. Leading them was a short-haired woman, Captain Doran.

Upon entering, when she saw the empty cave, short-haired woman Doran's face slightly changed. She turned her head to a blonde woman next to her and said, "Mei Si!"

The blonde woman understood intuitively. She waved her hand, and suddenly the air in the entire cave began to rage like furious waves crashing violently against the walls of the cave.

"Whoosh!"

Numerous fragments and dust cascaded down from the cave walls. If anyone wanted to use some kind of invisibility spell to hide in a corner, they would definitely be revealed.

But in reality, there was no one.

Short-haired woman Doran looked around, her face darkening as she glanced over the cave. She strode to the pentagram, took a serious look, then turned to the people following her, "The target was here not long ago and must have sensed something, leaving early.

"If I'm not mistaken, that skull we saw on the road must have been a warning from them. If we come across similar skulls ahead, destroy them immediately."

"Then, Captain Doran, what do we do now?" someone asked.

"Of course, we continue the search. Our opponent is already surrounded in the forest. Our people keep moving in. We will find him sooner or later," declared short-haired woman Doran confidently.

"Ah."

"Alright, let's go. Head outside to investigate the tracks and see which direction the target went, then continue the pursuit."

"Yes."

...

Outside the forest.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

A team of about ten wizards swooped to the edge of the forest. Without much hesitation, they plunged into the forest, beginning their search.

In the distance, within an inconspicuous little thatched hut, Bobbobovic watched all this through a pair of eyes, then bowed his head and made a mark on a scroll.

"The third batch, there will probably be a fourth," murmured Bobbobovic to himself, somewhat emotionally, "To attract so many people into this forest, the guy in the black robe must really be hated.

In that case, I better not get involved and avoid getting caught up in this. Only, I wonder what the situation was like for Mike back then. Also, I am quite curious. With so many people, they must have come from somewhere. There must be some kind of temporary assembly point, right? Could there be some important clues there that I want?"

With narrowed eyes, Bobbobovic bent his head over the scroll, writing and drawing as if calculating something.

...

Nightfall.

The moon was obscured, and the stars were sparse.

In a clearing in the forest, Sande was in a sorry state.

Half of the black robe he was wrapped in was gone, his body covered with charred wounds. Some parts were still corroded by acid liquid, pierced by ice spears, and sliced by wind blades, almost making one wonder how he had managed to survive.

These injuries were all inflicted during the Truth Society's pursuit. Although he had killed many of their personnel, he had never managed to escape their encirclement, and his injuries had only gotten worse.

Now his wounds had reached a limit, severely affecting his ability to fight. In his view, death had become certain. When the Truth Society found him next time, it would most likely be when he would die.

"Huff huff huff..."

Sande gasped for breath, greedily inhaling the air before suddenly coughing violently, his mouth splattering black blood.

After a long while, the coughing fit had subsided, and Sande's complexion had changed from deathly pale to a lifeless grey. He slowly turned his head and with Ice Ball's eyes, he looked toward the tree a few meters away, where a black bear was sitting, gnawing on a honeycomb and chuckling foolishly, completely unaware of how dire the situation was.

Really, he couldn't quite understand why the black bear insisted on following him, even when chased by the Truth Society. The bear held firm in its company. This left him both resentful and conflicted.

What he resented was how much of a burden the black bear was. On multiple occasions, its presence had given away their position, allowing the Truth Society to detect him earlier. Had it not been for the black bear, his fate might have been similar to now but wouldn't have come this soon, which made him suspect that perhaps the black bear was a spy sent by the Truth Society.

The conflict stemmed from the black bear's seemingly benign nature. Despite being a burden, it often brought him food and stood guard more than once. Without the black bear, he might not have been able to get the rest he needed and would have likely collapsed and exhausted during the escape.

In some sense, the black bear's presence was a mix of good and ill.

But… it had to end here, no matter what.

His injuries were too severe, escape couldn't continue indefinitely, and the black bear could not follow him forever.

So…

Sande looked toward the black bear and the next moment yelled out, "Hey, you dumb bear!"

The black bear, hearing the sound, slowly lifted its head and looked over.

Sande's expression turned cold, as if giving an order, "Get lost, stay far away from me, and don't come back!"

The black bear seemed confused, scratching its head, not understanding Sande's words, panting with a "puh" and approaching while presenting the honeycomb as an offering.

Sande's eyes slightly widened as he flung an Ice Cone that landed in front of the black bear, preventing it from coming closer, and he repeated the words with a cold face, "I told you to get lost, stay far away from me, and don't come back, you understand, you dumb bear!"

The black bear continued to scratch its head, still not understanding. It could grasp the simpler things Sande said, but as soon as the sentences grew longer, it became completely lost, so it kept approaching.

The next moment, Sande gave a forceful response.

Grasping the Bone Wand, he raised it, and a purple Lightning bolt flew out, striking the black bear accurately.

"Aw-woo!"

The black bear let out a pained yelp, as a large patch of its fur on its rib cage was singed black. This was Sande restraining himself; otherwise, most of the black bear's body would have been burnt to a crisp.

Finally, the black bear stopped and realized Sande did not wish for its approach. It stood in place, looking at Sande with a forlorn gaze.

Seeing the black bear's expression, Sande inexplicably grew angered, raised his hand, and rapidly shot out strands of purple Lightning with the Bone Wand, continuously striking the black bear while shouting, "I said to get lost, don't you understand, you dumb bear? The farther the better, I'm about to die, I don't need your pity here, and I certainly don't need your sympathy!"

"Aw-woo, aw-woo!"

The black bear wailed miserably, still not grasping Sande's words but guessing at a possibility. Finally, unable to bear the pain, it picked up the honeycomb and quickly fled. Glancing back three steps at a time, showing reluctance, it at last vanished into the forest.

Sighing, Sande watched the black bear leave, put down the Bone Wand, exhaled deeply, and blinked, as if contemplating something.

"Crash!"

Suddenly, from the direction where the black bear had fled, the branches rustled, and the black bear had returned.

Sande, at first stunned, then erupted in anger, "Do you really want me to kill you before you'll be satisfied?!"

As he spoke, he raised the Bone Wand again, the tip flickering with thick electric arcs like water snakes, menacingly crackling, ready to release a fatal strike.

Watching Sande's stance, the black bear didn't speak; it couldn't speak. It just carefully stepped forward, reaching the spot where Sande had shot the Ice Cone into the ground earlier. It stopped, "crack," and broke off half of the honeycomb held within its paws, gently placing it on the ground.

After staring at Sande for several seconds, the black bear picked up the other half of the honeycomb. With a grunting puff, it rushed away, this time without looking back, vanishing straight into the forest.

Sande watched the direction where the black bear disappeared and glanced at the honeycomb on the ground. For some reason, his lips opened and closed several times, then he put down the Bone Wand and fell into silence.

…