NOVEL NEXT Chapter 178: Followed
"Exactly…" Harrison said as he confirmed Van's words...
"The Rukh Tower's seers marked signs of it blooming in the deepest sector. We've been tasked to secure as many as possible. At the very least, only half of what we gather goes to the Tower for research and stockpiling. The rest we keep—or sell."
Clyde picked up the conversation from there.
"But here's the issue. The deepest sector isn't just dangerous because of the terrain… It's packed. There were too many One-Horned Magic Beasts. Packs of them."
"And a few territories haven't been fully charted. We need at least 10 First-Circle Mages to do that… But they're not going here… It's technically outside the recommended range for Apprentice Mages like us." Clyde added.
"Well, the other Relay Stations had First-Circle Mages… However, there are only three or four at most. It's also less likely for them to act." Harrison added with a sigh.
Every time they collect these flowers, there will be casualties. Of course, the casualties would always be the slaves or the servants. The Apprentice Mages could be injured but aside from that, they would swiftly escape and abandon the mission if necessary.
They'd rather accept punishment than get themselves killed. After all, they could just purchase Sword Slaves if necessary.
Julia then went silent for a moment.
She looked at Van for a moment…
They had handled more than one of those beasts already… but many at once? That would be too dangerous for them.
"I guess… I'll pray for you all." She said.
She had no intention of assisting them. She doesn't even qualify to join them since she was just a young student with barely any battle experience.
She might even be the one to cause trouble because of that.
At this time, Harrison and Clyde could only accept that Julia was not going with them.
After all, she was only training here as part of her class since she was a new student of the Academy. They had also done her task during their academy days before...
They also collected their mission items and earned points accordingly, like what she was doing now…
"Thank you… We will probably move in just a couple of hours. The bloom's window is brief. It opens later this morning and we have to prepare…" Harrison said helplessly.
"Ohhh…" Julia nodded as it certainly made sense to move early. Still, she was already too tired and wanted to get some rest.
In her mind, whether those mages succeeded or not, it wasn't their business.
Julia and Van were merely guests of the relay station now, using its safety and resources to rest.
After some time, Van patrolled the surroundings to ensure that there weren't issues in their rest house.
"Hmm… I guess I'm just overthinking." He muttered to himself.
Julia, wrapped in a thick cloak, had already curled up on her bed and slept…
For a time, there was only an occasional rustling of wind outside the rest house.
But peace didn't last.
Julia suddenly stirred and woke up…
It had only been three hours and was definitely not enough time for a rest…
Still, Julia could no longer fall asleep.
At this time, using her Mana Sense, she confirmed that all the other Apprentice Mages and their servants had already left.
There were only a few workers who were left behind…
Eventually, she sat up… Then, she glanced toward Van's resting form. He was awake.
"You can't sleep either?" she asked softly.
"I was guarding you…" Van replied. "The advance party left more than an hour ago."
Julia sighed, then stood. She ran her fingers through her hair as she considered what to do…
"This is stupid… but I feel like we should follow them."
Van was definitely confused. "You said it yourself—we're not obligated. This isn't our mission."
"I know." She looked away, then turned back to him.
"But I have a feeling that all those servants will sacrifice their lives for this mission. And it just feels wrong…"
For her, slaves weren't just her property. They were servants. They were people who had an opportunity to serve Mages and obtain a brighter future by gaining access to various Potions, Magic, Artifacts, and knowledge they could never dream of having if they stayed in their normal lives.
It would be a pity for them to die from something they could've easily survived.
Van sat up slowly. His expression was unreadable for a moment. Still, he didn't dislike her attitude.
"I guess you'll drag us into trouble… It's your call, Lady Julia."
"Hehe… That's great!" She said with a grin.
He shook his head but stood anyway. "Alright… Let's gear up. And since it's dark, please listen to everything I say when danger strikes. No unnecessary risks."
"Haha… I knew I could count on you." Julia said without hesitation.
***
The two geared up quickly. Julia had a new mana crystal slotted into her staff.
Van rechecked the condition of his gloves, belt, and spare dagger. Julia also packed two potions—one healing, one clarity—and a ward crystal just in case.
This ward crystal was supposedly an item that could scare off weak magic beasts. It wasn't effective against One-Horned ones, but they were useful if they didn't want to get swarmed by small and weak Magic Beasts.
Following the barely visible trail left by the mages and their servants, they soon entered the deeper part of the Whistler Forest.
Trees grew thicker here, and the Mana was also quite dense…
Thankfully, because Clyde and Harrison were moving in a large group, Van and Julia managed to arrive in time.
They saw the large group ahead—twenty individuals in total: ten Apprentice Mages, including Harrison and Clyde, along with their ten attendants.
Van then gestured to Julia that they should stop.
The two weren't surprised that they managed to catch up to them.
After all, they saw several corpses of Magic Beasts on the path they followed. It must not be that easy for them since it was also very dark...
"Let's watch for now..." Van suggested.