Venzo Fekhyr noticed Zeke’s wariness, so he didn’t approach him or do any sudden movements. Instead, he thought it best to explain himself,

“I’ve come here to search for a check on a monolith sighted somewhere in this swamp. It’s really fortunate to meet fellow travelers in this godforsaken place, hahahaha…”

“...”

The stone-faced Zeke kept looking at the two of them, his lips tightly shut. A few seconds later, Sulong returned with Arbert at his side.

“Oh, this must be your friend, right? I’m scholar Venzo Fek-”

“Yeah yeah, I heard you.” Sulong cut him off and waved his hand unceremoniously.

The atmosphere was getting tense and awkward, so Venzo cleared his throat and proposed,

“Would you like to join hands? We can help you cross the lake in return for a bit of assistance.”

“No, thanks.” Perfunctorily responded Zeke, his narrowed eyes focusing on the stoic Bran.

Zeke wasn’t proficient at gauging people’s prowess, then again, the Knights of the Serey Zhan empire used different methods of strengthening. They had techniques that transformed Aether into energy labeled as ‘Aura’, which significantly increased their physical faculties.

Since a Venzo had only brought one person to protect him, then it wasn’t unreasonable to consider Bran as a veteran, someone that could fend off the attacks of the monsters infesting the Living Forest.

‘It’s unlikely that he anticipated meeting people here, so they must have a method to cross the swamp. There’s no reason they would need our help. All Scholars have a reputation to uphold so tricking us wouldn’t benefit him, but that’s only if we get out of here alive.’

As he wracked his brains, weighing the pros and cons of the available choices, Venzo opened his mouth again,

“The monolith is supposedly guarded by Blight Toads and Dark-scale Crocodiles. Bran should be able to handle them, but I must also think of any unexpected complications. If you come with us and protect me during such crises, I will help you reach the other end of the swamp. What do you say?”

“Give us a moment.”

Zeke edged away and conversed with Sulong for a couple of minutes. In the end, the two agreed to join hands with Venzo and Bran to shorten the travel time and cross the swamp without having to waste time finding an alternative.

As for the Regional Mission, Zeke planned to complete it afterward, preferably when they were alone.

“We will help you. However, we want to pass the swamp with the van.”

“Of course!” Venzo heartily laughed and shook hands with the youth, whom he already guessed was the leader of this little and strange group.

Just like that, the meeting between these strangers led to cooperation.

While Bran walked to the edge of the swamp with his sword unsheathed, Venzo stood next to Zeke, curiously asking,

“Your accent tells me you’re from the Republic, yes? It’s admirable for someone of your age to venture into such dangerous zones.”

“I could say the same to you, Scholar Venzo. From what I know, Scholars tend to commission people for the reclamation of old books or lost artifacts.”

“Hahahah you’re not wrong! Unfortunately, the monolith is too big to be moved, so I had to come personally.”

‘Or you could’ve brought a camera.’

Those living in the Serey Zhan Empire, at least the patriotic ones, followed the strict rules of the ruling entity and absolutely abhorred technology. Whether it was the useful cellphones or something as simple as cameras, it didn’t matter. Laws dictated that technological products were prohibited within the Serey Zhan Empire, but there were still black markets and clandestine auctions in which you could procure some.

Even honorable Scholars wouldn’t risk their life just to get a look at a monolith. They would treasure their lives and risk tainting their reputation if it meant getting the result swiftly.

Therefore, Zeke was certain that Venzo wasn’t telling the truth. Either it wasn’t a simple monolith, or his real objective was something else accessible only by finding this monolith.

Sulong took to the side and saw the man clad in armor hold his blade with two hands and then perform a slow yet strong swing, causing a wave of chilling aura to spread unidirectionally; Ice formed on the murky waters of the swamp, forming a walkable path that could fit three to four people.

“It won’t last long. Let’s go.”

With his signal, the group began walking on the ice bridge. Jack, who vehemently refused to leave the van, was dragged outside by his friend.

“Shit! This is a nightmare!”

He stayed close to Sulong while fearfully looking at the dirty waters, afraid that they might be attacked.

Bran was at the vanguard, with Zeke and Venzo right behind, and at the back were Arbert, Sulong, and Jack.

As expected, within a few minutes, ripples appeared on the swamp’s waters, followed thereafter by a huge slimy creature that leapt in the air.

However, before it managed to attack or do anything, it was killed. Bran was reactive and agile, slashing with his sword and literally cutting the Blight Toad in two.

“Bran will take care of these. I will need your help later.” Reassured Venzo, not particularly afraid of the gigantic toad.

Zeke nodded, amazed by the Knight’s power. The Blight Toad was truly massive and its size notwithstanding, it was nimble. He would have needed multiple ‘Voltage Zap’ to eliminate him yet Bran needed only a single move.

The disparity in strength made him worried as he checked the Status Window, hesitating whether to unlock the Hydromancer path or not.

Through the use of Water-aspected Magic, which would likely originate from the Hydromancer Main Path, Zeke was hoping to take necessary precautions in case of an emergency.

If the ice bridge were to crumble, maybe the System would offer him a water-breathing skill or something similar. Still, those were only random guesses and such an investment could also be a waste of PE.

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Eventually, after deliberating for a while, Zeke didn’t do anything and continued walking on the ice bridge.

After ten minutes or so, they reached a solitary ‘island’ in the middle of the swamp. What caught everyone’s eyes was, as Venzo had said, a towering monolith about 5 meters in height.

It was golden black with archaic and unfamiliar symbols written from top to bottom.

The eager scholar hastened his steps and stopped before the monolith, studying it with enthusiasm and excitement.

“T-this is fascinating! Amazing!”

The man was salivating as he caressed the monolith as if it was his lover. He seemed so engrossed in it that he didn’t notice the Blight Toads that popped out of the swamp.

They were violent and raging as if unwilling to let anyone close to the monolith.

“The ones at the back!” Shouted Bran as he swung his sword, freezing the waters and slicing the abominations.

While Arbert and Jack remained near Venzo, Sulong and Zeke sprung into action. Crimson flames and blue lightning burst forth, the former burning the slimy and bloated creatures and the latter electrocuting the water.

Now that the opportunity finally presented itself, Zeke experienced firsthand how resilient the Blight Toads were.

They seemed to be highly resistant to magic, so much so that Sulong’s flames were incapable of incapacitating them.

Still, when the toad was about to crash into them, Zeke changed his stance and used ‘Sreyzhanian Arts’ along with ‘One-star Side-kick’; His voltage-imbued leg swept diagonally, striking the Blight Toad and blasting it dozens of meters away.

‘Physical attacks words better.’

Zeke’s magical prowess far surpassed his brute strength, but when he attacked the beast, he felt no resistance whatsoever. It felt like hitting soft and defenseless bones, which momentarily surprised him.

Now that they discovered a useful vulnerability, Sulong imitated his companion and the two eliminated any threat that came their way with relative ease.

As for Scholar Venzo Fekhyr, he started working on the monolith. He stood out a device and circled around, seemingly trying to find a hidden mechanism.

“Hurry up, damnit! They are multiplying!”

Sulong gritted his teeth as he ignited his arm with flames, forcing the disgusting tongue of the Toad to let go. However, before it retracted, he grabbed into it and spun twice, using his brute strength to throw it far away.

Zeke stood at the edge of the small island and patiently waited for the enemies to get close. With ‘Sreyzhanian Arts’ and ‘Voltage Conduit’ empowering him, he relied on ‘Fists of Fury’ and ‘One-star Side-kick’ to basically kill them with a single hit.

Ten minutes crept by, in which all three fighters were getting tired. Bran, especially, was breathing unevenly as he had to deal with more Blight Toads than the other two. Nevertheless, he was composed, performing fatal and precise sword attacks without moving his feet.

“Aha! It’s done!”

With Zeno’s declaration came a low beastly growl that startled everyone. The island was assaulted by a tremor as the monolith trembled ever-so-slightly before the runes on its started moving.

After a couple of seconds, a door-like entrance formed on the monolith, further increasing the scholar’s jubilation. He glanced at Bran and hurriedly said,

“Forget about them! It’s time to go!”

He motioned to his protector and then proceeded into the monolith. However, Bran didn’t follow immediately, his cold eyes fixated on a frighteningly large crocodile that surged from the swamp.

It was over 3 meters in width and 10 meters in length, giving it a dreadful appearance. The black scales covering it wriggled before shooting at the island, indiscriminately hitting everything.

Surprisingly, the first to react was Arbert. The young boy nonchalantly raised his hand, performing a weird gesture that manifested a semi-translucent red barrier that protected him, Jack, and the nearby Sulong.

Only Zeke and Bran weren’t spared from the incoming projectiles, which were numerous and equipped with a shocking velocity.

The knight clasped the sword near his chest, muttering an incantation as a small wall of ice formed around him.

Zeke, however, wasn’t as lucky, nor did he have effective defensive skills. The scales were half of his size, and though he tried using ‘Voltage Arrow’ to protect himself, he failed and was sent flying to the back.

“Zeke!”

Sulong was about to jump in and help but Arbert held his hand and said,

“Papa… we must go in.”

The boy pointed at the open entrance in the monolith.

“I’m fine! Just go on ahead.”

Zeke’s submerged head reappeared, his arms and legs moving fast as he swamp back to the island. Unfortunately, he quickly felt a dangerous presence coming from below, so he raised his head and channeled his Aether.

He failed the first attempt at using ‘Life Motus’ to teleport to the air, though that was mainly due to the unfavorable environment and the fact he was swimming. For the second attempt, he tried teleporting literally in the air, a couple of meters above him, but even that was unsuccessful.

By then, the danger was about to attack him so he drew Aether from ‘Voltage Rune’ then unhesitantly used ‘Over-drive’.

A burst of lightning spread from Zeke’s body, forcing the second Dark-scaled Crocodile to back away and retaliate by unleashing a veritable shock wave which launched a huge mass of water, along with the relatively tiny Zeke, into the air.

Using this opportunity, and the power-up from ‘Over-drive’ to speed toward the island. The youth’s body crashed into the mud and dirt, rolling several times then bumping into the monolith.

While groaning, Zeke got to his feet and was about to enter the monolith but it trembled against and the door-like entrance returned to normal.

The two angry crocodiles revealed themselves, their disproportionally huge maws wide-open as they crawlingly edged closer to the island.

Just then, someone grabbed Zeke and lifted his body.

“You alright?”

“...”

Surprised to see Bran still here, Zeke nodded.

“I know how to open it again, but we have to get rid of these two first.”

“Okay.”

No unnecessary words were needed as the two stuck close to each other, the older one raised his sword and cast another spell, which froze the whole island and the waters surrounding it.

One of the beasts had its limbs frozen, which allowed Zeke to attack; He drew all the Aether remaining in Voltage Rune and used it on ‘Aether Arrow’.

The empowered spear made of electricity shone blindly as it whistled in the air, piercing through the crocodile’s open mouth and resulting in a fountain of blood to erupt.

As for the second crocodile, it evaded Bran’s Ice-aspected spell and shattered the frozen water, sending more of its vibrating scales.

A wall of ice was raised again, but it crumbled when the first scale hit it, so Bran jumped in front of Zeke and continuously moved his sword, deflecting all but one scale.

His body staggered to the back as a dent appeared on his armor.

“I’ll distract it!”

Zeke used ‘Life Motus’ twice, teleporting away from the knight and shooting multiple lightning bolts as the crocodile. Although they didn’t inflict any substantial damage, they were, fortunately, enough to draw its attention and incur its wrath.

When its towering frame was meters away, an orb appeared in front of it.

‘Spark’ was instantly activated, showering the dreadful beast with a rain of lightning. However, Zeke didn’t stop at that as he used a second ‘Voltage Arrow’, piercing the tough scales of the crocodile and stiffening it momentarily.

Bran, who had a bit of time to prepare, performed an impressive leapt as he thrust his sword from above, shooting multiple icy beams that riddled the target with bloody holes.

Although it wasn’t enough to kill it on the spot, it did stop its rampage as it writhed on the shore, its blood splattering on the sand and water.

Bran charged at it again and sliced several times, finally killing it. Once he was done, he wiped his sweaty forehead, a rare and faint smile on his face.

“You’re pretty good, kid.”

He was genuinely impressed by Zeke’s contribution. Initially, he doubted that these new allies would be of any help, but his impression changed drastically.

Zeke too, looked favorably on the knight, who, instead of abandoning him and entering the monolith, decided to stay and help.

“Thank you.”

Barely a minute later, more ripples appeared around the swamp, indicating that more Dark-scaled Crocodiles were about to appear.

Bran took out a device similar to the one Venzo had used and imitated his action, first circling around the monolith then chanting a strange verse.

Just like that, the entrance revealed itself and the two stepped inside, unwilling to face more enemies.