Rivers of the Night

—

[Rankings]

[1. Orin Zimone - 328]

[2. Theron Galethunder - 322]

[3. Rose Milone - 221]

[4. Ailon Trum - 207]

[5. Lilac - 199]

[6. Violet - 198]

—

'He's entered the core ring', Theron thought as he watched the ticking numbers attached to Orin.

Even though Theron had notched up his pace of killing, it was impossible to keep up if the number of Cloud Realm Ice Spirit Beasts Orin was facing was so much greater than his own.

But that proved something else to Theron as well.

'He likely has a method of cutting through the forest much quicker than everyone else. It's unlikely to be a map, or else I would be struggling to keep up with the other disciples as well. It's doubtful that if it was something as simple as a map, only one Hall disciple would benefit from it. This Forest of Ice also changes far too much. Everything here is made of Ice Mana, spontaneously forming and just as spontaneously being destroyed by rampaging Ice Spirit Beasts fighting for territory or power.

'Any map they make during a closed cycle would be rendered useless by the time it was the moment to enter again.

'In that case, he more than likely has a method of navigating that's beyond mine… a method of using his Third Eye without it being frozen to death?'

This answer seemed to be the most plausible.

Theron felt he was heading in the right general location, but there had been more than once where he had to change his path, facing obstacles or large swarms of Ice Spirit Beasts he had to fight his way out of.

Because of that, he had been slowed by many battles and changes of direction. In fact, right now, there was a raging river of Ice Mana right before him.

It wasn't actually a river. Instead, it was a violent tide of hail and icy blue fog. It was probably more accurate to call it a deep valley that volatile Ice Mana had settled into.

Walking across it was impossible because it wasn't water. It was effectively air at the end of the day. Not to mention the fact that this Ice would threaten to freeze even him to death unless he was willing to unleash his Mandates to resist it.

The problem was that even if he did release his Mandates, there was a high likelihood he would fall into the depths of the valley.

'Hm… Maybe I should…'

Theron could imagine that the number of Ice Spirit Beasts down there was quite something. They might even be about as powerful as the ones found in the core ring.

As Theron was wondering if he should try to weather the storm, find a way around it, or maybe try to find a narrow enough choke point he could leap across, he sensed the movement of others once again.

His gaze flickered, and he turned back to see a familiar group.

He shook his head in annoyance.

They must have been following him. His trail wasn't exactly difficult to see. He left carnage in his wake everywhere he went. You didn't need to have elite tracking skills to find him at all. But if you had half the bit of intelligence a five-year-old did, you'd be able to see the carnage and realize that Theron wasn't the sort you should provoke with this little bit of strength.

It could be said that the only reason Brenson was even able to reach this deep into the Forest of Ice given his pitiful strength was precisely because he was following after Theron. The fool probably didn't even realize that the way back had long been swallowed up by more Ice Spirit Beasts.

Being proud of himself for coming this far, he had no idea that there was already no way back for him now.

Brenson sneered when he saw Theron up against the deep valley-turned river of ice shards ahead.

"Where are you going to run to now—?!"

The words had barely formed when Theron waved a hand.

Brenson gagged on his words, his body being lifted up by his throat and choking his airways.

His fellow disciples were no different. There were five others who had been growing more and more confident as well, having already forgotten how humiliated they felt at the hands of Mercenary Guild disciples.

In an instant, that fantasy was gone.

Their feet dangled above the ground, their faces turning red, and then slowly violet, then toward blue as they struggled to breathe.

They grabbed at the tendrils of water around their necks, but to their horror, their fingers slipped through it as though they were truly grasping at water. And yet, the grip around their necks remained as firm as ever.

Their horror only grew. They had no idea what level of Mana Control it took to do this. How could you make water so firm, and yet so free-flowing at the same time?

An expert.

An expert beyond their understanding.

The tendrils released, and they all collapsed to the ground on their knees before Theron, gasping for breath as though taking their first sips of water in weeks.

"This valley," Theron said calmly. "Do you have any understanding of it?"

While the forest might change with time, Theron knew that this was mostly a measure of trees appearing and disappearing, or smaller structures shifting and changing. But a valley of this size had likely been here over several cycles.

"What do you want to know? I'll tell you everything!" Brenson spoke so quickly he practically stumbled over his words.

"Answer my question," Theron said coldly.

"Yes, yes, yes, I remember vaguely hearing about this valley, but this is the first time I've seen it personally. None of us were strong enough to make it this far before."

"What do you know about it?"

"It curves around the entire core ring and core region, and some of its cracks peek inside the core ring, but our elders all told us to avoid it because the conditions at the bottom are equivalent to the core region."

Just as Theron was about to reply, his eyes narrowed as he heard more rustling.

A pair of young women stepped out, their hair colored in violet, flows pinned into a delicate bob as though the crowns of princesses on their heads.

Lilac and Violet.

Both young women frowned.

"Release the disciples of our Hall. Who do you think you are?"