Leaving the Jagged Peaks behind, Sol and the Raijin flew toward Initium on a floating stone platform he had created. But before heading to town, he wanted to find Amber first.
His first instinct was to use the PAL to ask for her location, but then another idea struck him.
‘This is a good chance to try out that skill I combined.’
With a thought, a small, semi-transparent blue circle appeared before him, visible only to him. The flat surface shifted and molded, forming high peaks, low plains, and small hills, all gradually shaping into a detailed map.
[[Seeker’s Map] Lv 5: Create and visualize a topographical map of the surrounding area. The map displays elevation, physical features, and the location of every being within range. A psychic eye can be placed at a selected location. Using psychic energy can further expand the range or make the map visible to others. Base Range: 10 miles.]
The skill had resulted from combining [Wild Hunt], [Cartography], [Remote Viewing], [Dowsing], and [Map Creation]. He had originally intended to make a skill that tracked specific targets and allowed remote viewing. Instead, he ended up with a powerful scanning ability that mapped everything within a ten mile radius.
As the transparent map spread before him, he saw the three surrounding regions dotted with thousands of points of varying sizes.
‘Hmm… the range is too small.’
Sol wanted to locate the remaining Thunder Wolf Kings, but they were too far away to appear within the base radius. He needed to see more.
He channeled psychic energy outward in a thin, continuous pulse. As the energy swept across the land, the map expanded, now covering a 50 mile radius. It revealed many more regions, including Initium on the eastern edge.
Curious, he selected a random street in town and sent a psychic eye there. A circular window appeared before him, showing an overhead view of a bustling market street lined with shops.
‘Wonder if I can move it…?’
Experimenting, he directed the psychic eye manually.
Instantly, the view shifted, gliding down onto the street and through the shops before stopping in a public square. There weren’t many people around, and those present remained oblivious to the invisible eye. One person even walked through it, causing the image to distort momentarily before stabilizing.
‘That’s useful. But not for spying.’
While it was an interesting function, Sol didn’t have any desire to peep on people. Now that he sated his curiosity, he dismissed the psychic eye and returned to the task at hand.
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‘Now, where is she…?’
Scanning the larger map, he filtered out smaller beings, leaving only people and larger beasts. Unsurprisingly, few humans remained in the forest after recent events—but to his surprise, he couldn’t find any Thunder Wolf Kings either.
‘Are they all dead already? I can’t find her either…’
He combed the map three times with no success. Just as he was about to expand the radius again, a new dot flickered into existence, then vanished just as quickly.
His brows furrowed. ‘What was that?’
Instead of scanning everything at once, he narrowed the map into a focused cone, providing a detailed view of that area, including the disappearing dot.
It reappeared, much closer this time. But just as before, it vanished almost instantly.
Sol’s lips twitched. ‘Oh… I see. She noticed and avoided it, huh?’
With the remaining Thunder Wolf Kings dead and the dot moving directly toward him, it didn’t take long to figure out who it was.
Somewhat disappointed that his new skill had been countered so easily, he canceled it and began lowering the floating platform.
“Bark! Awroo? (We’re going down! Are we falling?!)”
Sol chuckled at the Raijin’s reaction. Ever since it had tagged along, he’d noticed how it overreacted to everything, animals in the distance, rocks, even stray leaves.
It made sense. The beast was only recently born. Even though it had gained knowledge from Varek’s law technique, it was still experiencing everything for the first time.
“We’re not falling. Well… I guess technically we are, but on purpose. A friend is almost here, and she’ll be joining us.”
“Awroo?! Rawr? (Friend?! Can I be her friend too?!)”
Sol let out another small laugh and nodded. “Sure. You can befriend whoever you want. Though… it might be tough with her.”
“Awuu! Awroo! (Doesn't matter! I’ll be her friend anyway!)”
Amused by its confidence, Sol said nothing more as he landed the platform.
The moment they stepped onto the ground, a blur of motion shot out from the trees, stopping just a few steps away.
Amber stood before them, her usual composed demeanor unchanged. But Sol immediately noticed the blood covering most of her body.
He blinked, taken aback. “Amber? Are you okay?”
She gave a small nod. “Not my blood.”
Her calm tone made it sound like it was nothing, but Sol couldn’t help feeling concerned. He’d expected her to eliminate the remaining Thunder Wolf Kings without much trouble, but seeing her like this made him wonder how intense the battle had been.
Sensing his unspoken question, Amber answered, “Last three grouped together. No threat.”
The last three Thunder Wolf Kings had noticed the disappearance of not only their brethren, but also felt the death of Varek as they were no longer under his control. Believing they would be next, the remaining Thunder Wolf Kings grouped up for a final stand but even if ten joined forces against Amber it would only delay their deaths.
Then, without hesitation, she turned toward the Raijin. With a swift motion, she raised her dagger and pointed it directly at the beast’s face.
“Kill this one too?”
The Raijin, who had been standing proudly a moment ago, froze.
Its ears flattened, body stiffening as it stared at Amber, at the blood staining her clothes, at the cold, emotionless look in her eyes.
The atmosphere around her was completely different. She didn’t feel as strong as Sol, yet the Raijin still felt uneasy.
With a startled whimper, the beast took a step back. Then another.
Without thinking, it darted behind Sol, peeking out cautiously from behind his leg.
“Hyuu… (Help…)” it whimpered softly.
Sol sighed. Their first meeting couldn’t have gone worse.