“Master?”
“Yes, minion?”
“Do we really have to meet these people? We’re ok by ourselves.”
Can you be proud of someone just for trying to be antisocial? Because damn, I am.
I'm already mentally preparing for having to deal with people. This time I'm severely weakened. There aren't any extroverted members of Group 4 here to absorb most of the damage or who have a good match-up against extroverts.
Nope, this time it's just me and my disciple who seems to have the same problem.
All of this is compounded by the fact that we’ve already spent over a week by ourselves, and neither of us speaks very much. That leaves 2 weeks left with my silly disciple and to maybe finish the side quests.
Locating the natives or survivors, as the system calls them in the side quests, should be the easiest one and maybe they can help me locate the Mirror. The reward for that one is listed as a series of question marks, and that interests me greatly.
Together we reach the part of the city where Darren told us to meet him, so I sit on a chunk of debris and, after observing me for a moment, my disciple does the same. She even mimics my expression and then we wait.
Straight away, I notice a dozen or so people surrounding us. None of them feels close to 200 and they don’t think I’ve noticed them yet. They proceed to carefully examine me. Not exactly me, they seem to be trying to sense how much mana I'm passively radiating and try to estimate my strength that way.
As always, I keep Mana Cycling running. Ever since Lissandra taught me, I’ve kept it up almost constantly. In combination with my Mantle, it almost fully stops the leak of my mana and it also constantly improves my control, even as my reserves grow.
In an attempt to avoid spooking them too much, I’ve been letting a bit of mana leak. Too little could seem as suspicious as leaking too much. I'm smart, am I not?
Even my disciple hasn’t noticed anything as she’s been scanning the area with her delicate senses, but that's fine, we can work on that.
The strongest member of their group uses some weird skill and his voice speaks in my ear even though he hasn’t changed position.
“Are you the one Darren spoke with?” he asks.
I respond, with the password he gave me, “Zero, one, three, four.”
Only then does he use a skill to step out of the shadow, keeping his distance from me.
He speaks normally this time, “You are ten minutes late.”
[Shadow Whisperer - lvl 167]
“We did meet a few veilshriekers on the way here,” I answer as I observe him.
The man observes me as well and then nods.
“My name is Kaiden, please follow me.” This time he whispers again using the weird projection skill and a few more of his group members appear.
My disciple seems to be surprised and might even be thinking about how cool they are, but I have trouble taking them too seriously.
Am I the asshole here? I mean, they probably need to be skilled to survive here, scavenging for food and water while fighting monsters and avoiding the stronger ones like the Veil Guardian.
The moment they move, I follow them and when they speed up, I grab Vega and run with her in my arms.
She seems to dislike it, but I also notice that cheeky disciple of mine comfortably resting her head against my chest where my heart is.
“Any problem with my heart?” I ask.
The group speeds up even more and I use some of my mana to strengthen my body and slow down a bit so I don’t pass them. We run through the streets and occasionally hide in a building while we wait for a group of veilshriekers to pass.
“Master’s heart is strong,” Vega says to me.
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yes! Demon Hearts are important to demons and I heard the Hornless Demon has the strongest ever!”
“Oh really? What does it do?”
Her eyes shine at the prospect of telling me about her hero, “His heartbeat can be heard throughout the entire world when he gets angry, and only the human's Bloody Hero has ever survived a fight with him!”
“Oh, that sounds cool.”
“Yes!” she nods and once again listens to my heart, “But I think master also has a strong heart, almost like a demon.”
Well, let's not tell her that it's only a cheap knock-off version of a trait, that it's terribly inefficient in comparison to traits. And unlike traits, it can kill me much easier.
“Minion, I think you have a good heart as well,” I tell her and slide deeper into the shadows, waiting for Kaiden’s signal to continue.
“It’s Vega, master.” She seems to enjoy the compliment.
Kaiden gives the signal and I follow him out of the city.
We quickly move between the trees and he sends a few people to scout ahead. They return after a minute and we continue. We run for a minute longer until we reach a rocky hill with a small passage on the side, which we enter.
The light disappears as we proceed down a passage just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. We continue deeper into the hill and after a few twists and turns, we reach a chamber that appears to be heavily guarded and trapped.
My guides signal the guards and the traps deactivate.
“Quickly,” Kaiden says, and we pass through the location.
The same thing repeats a few more times until we reach a cave the size of a football stadium. It doesn’t seem to be natural, and its walls are extremely smooth, with a giant iron door lodged into the side of it. There are no circuits in it, no mana. It’s just a massive chunk of metal and it is currently closed.
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As we move closer, we see a man and woman, surrounded by three guards. Once again I carefully leak some of my mana to avoid spooking them.
Man, that was such a good idea. Nathaniel the sneaky! Nathaniel yet another normal guy with totally normal mana.
“Nathaniel, it's nice to meet you, I’m Darren.”
Darren has brown hair with a streak of gray in them. He is wearing old clothes like everyone else here, but they’re freshly ironed and free of holes. He doesn't have any visible weapons, but his body is muscular and his fists look like those of someone used to punching things.
[Iron Vanguard - lvl 159]
To my surprise, his level is lower than that of Kaiden.
I ignore the fact that there are so many of them surrounding me, “Hey,” I answer simply.
Vega seems to be less pleased, and I can read it in her expression, even though she’s back to acting the way she was when we first met. Big eyes, a slightly scared expression, and making herself as small as possible.
That's my girl.
“This is my right hand, Nina. I believe you’ve spoken with her before,” he introduces the woman next to him.
She is younger than him, maybe around thirty. But her expression is similar to Darren's. They might even be relatives. Maybe his daughter? Unlike him, she has two swords on her waist.
[Ethereal Blade - lvl 189]
Interesting, maybe Nina is the real boss here?
“So, about my payment for the things I left to you guys,” I start.
“Yes, we will keep our side of the deal. I also apologize for the trouble with the esteemed healer. She can be…”
“A bit annoying,” Nina offers.
“We don’t talk about her like that, Nina.” Darren turns to me again, “I would like to invite you inside,” he gestures at the door behind him, “but we have rules.”
Does he not know that talking like that will only make me more curious? Should I force my way in? It wouldn’t be that difficult.
The moment I think about that, mana radiates from Darren as if he is preparing for a fight.
It seems to spook Nina and the guards around us, and everyone puts their hands on their weapons and raises up their mana as well.
I don’t even bother activating my skills and just look at him. “Any problem?” I ask.
“I…” he starts, and I notice his hand shaking, but he squeezes it into a fist until it stops. He then shakes his head, “Put your weapons away!” he orders.
Everyone seems to act confused, but they do as ordered.
Did he read my intentions? Some skill similar to Izzy’s [Empathy]? That doesn’t sound right; I would feel his touch on me. Maybe it's something like Cipher’s skill? Some sort of cold reading information collection skill?
“I apologize for our rudeness,” he carefully searches for his words, even to Nina's surprise.
“It’s fine.”
“Thank you. As you said, we still owe you, and we can offer food, maybe a rare item for your help,” he gestures, and one of the men steps forward.
He puts down a bag that contains enough dried meat to last an adult man for a few weeks, and there are even some bottles of water. Next to it, he puts down a rare cape that seems to have some kind of camouflage effect.
The way they present them seems to mark them as extremely valuable items, probably a show of goodwill and an attempt at building a relationship.
“I would rather ask for information instead if that’s okay with you. If you don’t want to answer, I can take the items.” If they refuse to answer, I will force them to do so. I won’t kill anyone or damage their home; there’s no need for that. Just a show of power seems to be enough.
To my fascination, Darren seems to read my intention, and even though he tries to hide it, his hand starts shaking again.
How amusing. Now I really want to mess with them. Should I release my mana a bit?
Before I do anything, Darren hurriedly speaks, “Yes, we can do that as well,” he forces himself to answer calmly.
Nina seems to notice that, and her eyes examine me again. I see her hand sliding closer to her swords.
“Do you know anything about the Mirror?” I ask.
Darren puts his hand on Nina and stops her from drawing her sword. After another signal, everyone else around does the same.
A long sigh escapes his mouth, “The Mirror is a relic of the past and we’ve been trying to locate it for a long time. The encrypted mana stone you helped us to retrieve did contain information on it, as well as its location.”
Oh, lucky me.
“So, where is the problem?” I ask.
“The Mirror is to the north, in the Valley overseen by the Bastion.” The way he says it sounds like that should explain everything.
“Darren, tell me like I'm five and know nothing about this place. What the hell is the Mirror, what is the Bastion, and what's with the Valley? Keep it simple, okay?”
A few of them don’t seem to like the way I talk to them, but it’s not like I’m rude.
Just in case, I check my disciple, and she looks at me like I'm some sort of hero. I also notice the way she mirrors my expression, and stance, and even looks around similarly.
Damn it, is this Min-Jae syndrome? Why do these weirdos keep doing this?
“Put simply? The Mirror is, as I said, a relic of the past. An item spoken of in legends, yet we are unsure of what it does, but it's likely to be an extremely powerful artifact. The Bastion is the most secure place we have knowledge of, the remains of the past with working defensive mechanisms and other things left behind by our ancestors. The Valley is, well, the Valley; it's a place with extremely dense mana radiation. People die just from coming too close to it. No one from us knows more.”
Well, that’s simple enough.
“Okay, we can stay in touch. I just need a map or something to lead me to the Bastion and the Valley.”
Darren nods and I feel my mood improving. Damn, I'm getting better and better at dealing with people.
----------------------------------------
POV Nina
The young man continues speaking with my father, and I do not take my eyes off him, not even for a second. For now, I decide to trust my father and not send the signal to attack.
The man called Nathaniel seems to notice, and when I meet his two differently colored eyes, I feel my body shudder. His stance remains extremely relaxed the entire time. I keep looking for a hint of a battle stance or defensive one, but I see no such thing.
Surrounded by all of us, he doesn't even seem to mind. But the most scary thing is the way he radiates his mana.
I would be less scared if he was radiating it in waves strong enough to drown me, or if I couldn't sense it at all.
No, what he’s doing is much more terrifying. The mana leaks from his body in perfect dispersion. The exact same amount of mana radiates from his arm as from his leg, chest, or head.
I can't even fathom the amount of control that requires or the reason he has for doing such a thing.
The little girl by his side seems to be one of the unlucky human mutants, seeing her red eyes and horns, meanwhile her expression matches that of the young man.
When he finally leaves, I feel my body and mind relax and immediately order a few men to make sure he left and left nothing behind.
“What happened?” I ask my father.
“We were lucky, very lucky. Nina, if you ever deal with him in the future, be respectful, be direct, and never attack him first.”
“Father, explain properly.”
“I used my [Intuition] a few times, Nina. That person did think about fighting us multiple times and even getting into the Sanctuary. He even noticed my skill and kept thinking about forcing his way into the Sanctuary just for the sake of it. Always a half-step away from actually doing it.”
"Do you think he is someone from before the war?"
"I think so. He is strong enough to be of that generation."