Alnea watched in silence as the two girls walked in opposite directions, sifting through the sands with their feet, while using the senses of their Spirits to observe the possible fluctuations of Fortune Springs. It was a crude method, but it was also the only method that he could think of. After all, unlike the Fortune Springs of the Night Canyons, the Fortune Springs of the Black Desert were not so easy to find.
For as far as he could see, be it from his eyes, or his Spirit, the only thing that the desert had were the rolling dunes of sand. There were also the wavering plumes of air, and scorching rays of Enn, but those could not possibly be the Fortune Springs he was looking for. And neither could the countless Oren Beasts, hiding within the sands, be the carrier of the Fortune Springs.
If the rumours that Karl had heard were true, then the Fortune Spring they were looking for was bound to be within the mounds of sands around them. All they had to do was to search through those mounds. Unlike the boulders and the ponds in the Night Canyons though, those mounds themselves were not the Fortune Springs. As such, just unfurling their senses over those dunes was not enough to find the Fortune Spring.
Moreover, Fortune Springs often tended to be cut off from the rest of the world, and revealed their presence only when someone could uncover their secrets. That, or one could rely on the blessings of Goddess Ilea to stumble upon the wonderful creations of the Origin Sea. And given how they had spent nearly a day searching in the area in vain, they clearly did not have the Goddess’ blessing.
In the end, they could only try physically disturbing dunes in the area to see if they could trigger the Mysteries of the Fortune Spring. It would be tiring, but it was the only method that Alnea could come up with. At least, it was the only method that they could use without alerting the Oren Beasts in the area. And if it could help keep the two girls occupied…
“You are too indulgent with them.”
“…I am just trying to lessen my work,” Alnea said, getting back to sifting through the sands.
“Have you ever though that it is because you indulge them so much that they always keep making troubles?”
“…I just encourage them a little.”
“By always letting them have their way?”
“…It is not as if I always let them have their way. And whenever I indulge their tantrums, I make sure to spend some time with you too.”
“And? Should I be happy about it?”
“…Shouldn’t you? No matter who wins the bet, in the end, you will be the ultimate winner.”
“…Do you think that you can shut me up with just a promise of spending a day with me?”
“…Fine. This will be a pain… but I will talk to them later.”
“It is time that you should.”
“…Then about the bet this time… Will you still go out with me or—
“Huh? Were you saying something?”
“…Nothing. You should get back to keeping a lookout. We don’t want any Oren Beasts sneaking up on us.”
“Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself,” Yuri said, flashing him a smirk, before returning back to scouting the desert with ‘Echoes of Fate’. An Arcana working on the principles similar to that of Dark Resonance, except with the Mysteries of Fate, that helped her identify all her enemies, and any potential threat within the range of her senses.
It did not matter if the threats were hidden, or deliberately trying to escape her detection. As long as the threats were not at least two entire Ranks beyond her level, they would not be able to escape her ‘Echoes of Fate’. As a trade off, the Arcana made her lose her ability to scout the terrain, rendering it useless for exploring new areas, but for situations where they had to be on the lookout for enemies, it worked like a miracle.
“Ralph! There is an intermediate phase Oren Beast sneaking up on you from your left…”
An intermediate phase Oren Beast… Just in case, Alnea decided to be a little more cautious, and said, “Norren!”
“Got it!”
“Everyone else, keep looking for the Fortune Spring,” Alnea said, waving everyone back to their work. But it did not take long for another Oren Beast to sneak up to them.
“Vestia, thirty metres to your right, an Infant Stage Oren Beast…”
“Leave it to me.”
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And another.
“Karl, twenty metres behind you…”
“Aren, Fran, go help him out.”
And another.
“Alnea, thirty metres to your right…”
“Zain! Trap the Oren Beast…”
“Finally, my turn…”
And another.
“Cecilia, behind you…”
“I have already seen it. Leave it to me and Forne.”
…After nearly two hours, and about a dozen Oren Beasts later, Alnea called for the Star Seekers to gather once again.
“Did anyone find anything strange?”
“…We would have called you if we had found anything.”
“He is not talking about the Fortune Springs,’’ Yuri said, with an apprehensive look on her face. “Have none of you noticed it yet?”
“…Are you talking about the Oren Beasts?” Karl said, a bit hesitant with his words.
“Now that you mention it, the beasts do seem a little more proactive than usual.”
“That is an understatement,” Alnea said, turning towards Vestia. “And I thought you would have noticed it earlier.”
“…I was a little too engrossed in searching for the Fortune Spring,” Vestia said, with a hint of guilt in her voice. “I will pay attention next time.”
“…Don’t worry. It was not your job anyway.”
“Still… I should have noticed it earlier…”
“…It is not like we noticed it either…”
“Talk about yourself. I noticed it when the first Oren Beast attacked us.”
“Then why did you not say anything?”
“…I was just checking how long it would take for everyone else to notice…”
“…Anyways, being ambushed by fifteen Oren Beasts in the same area, all in the span of two hours, is not a good sign. At the very least, their behaviour is not natural. It looks like they are being driven towards us—
“Is it the Lotus clan?”
“No,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “I have information from reliable source that the Lotus clan is going to be busy for a while.”
“…How reliable is the source?”
“Reliable enough for me to stake my life,” Alnea said, ignoring the hint of red creeping up on Vestia’s face. “It is precisely because I trust this information that I decided to take advantage of the Lotus clan’s inattention to look for Fortune Springs in the first place.”
“Then the Oren Beasts…”
“It is not only the Lotus clan who has the means to drive Oren Beasts.”
“…You mean that we are being targeted by other Wanderers?”
“…If those Wanderers are also looking for Fortune Springs, then I can see how they may be targeting us,” Vestia said, losing all her shyness for a solemn look. “The question is, are they trying to drive us away from this area, or are they trying to kill us?”
“…It doesn’t matter what their intentions are. As long as they dare to come in front of me…”
“…If there really are Wanderers behind the attacks, then they would not be stupid enough to come in the open,” Aren said, playing with a dagger in his hand. “Besides, why are you all just assuming that we are being targeted by Wanderers? What if there is something else behind the Beasts?”
“…Like?”
“Like an Adult Stage Oren Beast.”
“…It makes no sense,” Norren said, shaking his head. “An Adult Stage Oren Beast would surely have the ability to drive some Adolescent Stage Oren Beasts, but if it would really want us out of here, it would have attacked us on its own.”
“…What if it just cannot deal with us on its own for now? What if it is stuck experiencing the Fortune Spring?”
“Then it would be even more impossible for it to drive other Oren Beasts.”
“…I still think that it is more likely that we are being targeted by an Adult Stage Oren Beast.”
…While everyone was discussing what or who exactly their enemy was, Cecilia turned towards Yuri, and said, “You know who it is, right?”
“…I have an idea.”
“And Alnea?”
“…His guess is the same as mine.”
“Then why are you two just watching everyone waste their time?”
“…Sometimes, it is better to waste a little time, than to hastily come to a decision. Besides, we are not sure of our guess. So why not take this time to listen to everyone’s thoughts, and see if they can inspire us?”
“And? Did they inspire you?”
“…Not much. But it did confirm our thoughts. By the way, why have you not said anything about your guess?”
“…I am not good at guessing. Especially when it comes to deducing result from so little facts.”
“That is all the more reason why you should participate.”
“…If I do all the thinking, then what will the two of you do? It would be better if I leave all the complicated stuff to you two, and just do what I am good at.”
“…Let me guess. We should just let you handle all the battles, right?”
“I knew you would understand me.”
“…I will let Alnea handle you later,” Yuri said, shaking her head with a wry smile, before turning towards the other Star Seekers. “Being cautious is good, but let’s not jump to conclusion just yet. I think everyone has forgotten that unlike the time the Lotus clan ambushed us, all the Oren Beasts that we faced today have come at us one at a time. If they were really being controlled by someone with malicious intentions, would it not have made more sense to just send all those beasts altogether?”
“…This makes everything so much more confusing…”
“…What exactly are we facing?”
“…Fate,” Alnea said. “Fate and Fortune.”
“…Fortune?”
“…Are you saying…”
“…Those Oren Beasts we faced… They might have been influenced by the Fortune Spring.”
“…But why would a Fortune Spring target us?”
“To test us, of course. And to give us a hint. That’s what Fortune Springs do, right? They check whether we are worthy or not, and then bestow us with their Good Fortune. It is just that the Fortune Spring we stumbled upon today might be a little more hidden than other Fortune Springs. It is only right for it to give us a hint…”