“Well, it really is the easiest and most practical commute I've ever known,” Meyara muttered, almost in a whisper as she stretched with a groan. Her limbs were stiff from spending the night in a dense igloo, on a rock that was no less hard than the ice building. “If I were them, I would travel anywhere whenever I wanted.”

"You know, their skills are not that great," Adriel replied, though the look he gave Meyara was no less sparkling than the girl's eyes. “They can only shorten the journey to and from Frostfell, nothing more.”

"Still, it's better than us having to walk for days."

“You’re right.”

Arrogant words were on the tip of her tongue, Meyara really wanted to say that she was always right. However, her mouth preferred to praise the beautiful view that was now displayed before them.

In stark contrast to the Frostfell area which was covered in endless white and vivid blue, the place they stepped on this time had green expanses in various hues that refreshed the eyes in different ways. The green color looks contrasting but also seems to complement the blue sky above. Meyara had never seen such a beautiful view before.

The open grasslands are rich in wild grasses, and trees of all sizes and colors. Many of the branches swayed, various types of birds perched on them. A soft sigh escaped her lips when she saw a bird with bright red feathers flying in a circle pattern. Singing foreign songs that could tempt anyone to hum along. On land, another type of bird with a long, sword-like beak was walking on short legs. Pecking at the ground while occasionally looking up, as if jealous of those who could fly freely.

Apart from the truly amazing wildlife, the view also has a backdrop of snowy peaks of mountains. The bottom of the mountain was brownish. It was as if there were two different seasons on each mountain.

What jaw-dropping landscapes.

All of a sudden Meyara covered her agape mouth and turned around. The path that Eva had opened was completely closed, there was nothing but a very wide expanse of short grass there. It stretched as far as she could see. A line of confusion formed on the girl's forehead.

“Do you think Frostfell is located at the top of one of the mountains ahead of us? And we just move in the opposite direction?” Adriel voiced Meyara's confusion. The young man glanced around. He stared a little longer at the mountain he was referring to.

Meyara just shrugged, she didn't want to add unnecessary anxiety. “Let’s move. This should be a simple task. We just need to find the people who didn't return to their supportive families.”

“It can’t be that easy. You know those seers can't even see their reflections in the Lake of the Lost. So there’s a possibility that they—"

Adriel moved in front of Meyara hastily, alerting the girl who was thinking about which direction they should go. She wanted to ask what happened, but Adriel quickly shushed and motioned for her to follow him. With steps as calm as a mouse avoiding an owl, Adriel led the two of them towards one of the large trees covered in many hanging roots.

"Stay here! Don't come out until I say so," Adriel ordered in a whisper, before he ran with his arms stretched upwards. Meyara almost thought her companion was trying to cast a protection spell and something, but then several gun muzzles emerged from the overgrown grass, making her take a sharp breath.

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"So you're all really close by." The young man said calmly, his breathing was even, and his posture was straight with his palms open on both sides of his head. He didn't seem the least bit nervous. Meyara felt a little strange seeing Adriel's appearance like that. "Then why don't you go home? Your beautiful wife is waiting, but you would rather wander around here, sleeping on the dusty ground accompanied by wild animals and numerous itchy grass?”

Behind her hiding place, Meyara tried to peek at the men who began to appear one by one. Her eyes slightly widened, seeing the beards and mustaches that grew thickly on the faces of the long-haired men. Their appearance was a stark contrast to the men at Oxcross they had met before. Plus, maybe because their original residence was in an area filled with ice, the men wore such thick clothes, although now several layers of their clothes were tied at the waist because the air around them was much hotter than Frostfell’s air.

She held back her laughter when she saw one of the men had long hair in a ponytail. The hair style really suited him despite his scary appearance.

"You're from Frostfell, I see." The man increasingly brandished his weapon that looked like a small spear thrower. A harmless-looking weapon, as long as the spearhead was not smeared with poison. “Did the seers tell you to come here?”

"I volunteered because I wanted to know what was holding you all back," Adriel answered, scratching the tip of his nose calmly until the other person stomped his foot as a warning. “They think you are in such great danger or dying so you guys can't go home. It seemed their worries were pointless. You look healthy and ready to attack me at any time.”

"Then you're lucky you didn't come alone."

Meyara froze when she realized that the one who replied to Adriel this time was not the man standing in the middle of the meadow. The foreign voice sounded very close and came from behind her back.

“Meyara!” Adriel was heard screaming, but Meyara could not respond to his call.

Her body had only half turned when a sharp object slightly scratched the skin of her neck. Her hands were immediately tied behind her back, while her mouth and eyes were covered with a thick cloth. Darkness immediately took over her vision. She wanted to rebel but the foreign man held her back swiftly.

"Ssshh, don't you dare try to spell anything at me, darling. Even though we're all just ordinary people, we've been dealing with superpowered people like you for a long time. You won't be moved if we suppress most of your movements and senses." Hot breath tickled the side of Meyara's face, making the girl want to dodge by stepping back. She could smell a sickening odor coming from the man, like a mixture of rotten potions that Adriel had accidentally left behind several years ago.

In the midst of this potentially dangerous situation, Meyara realized several things.

Firstly, as Eva said, unlike the people of Oxcross who don't use much magic by choice, the men of Frostfell didn't actually have any abilities. That was why they aimed their weapons at Adriel from the start, and were now holding back Meyara's movements, for fear of being attacked with magic.

And secondly, those men were not as nice as Eva said. This raised two other possibilities, either Eva had lied, or that these people had been deceiving the seers for a long time.

In fact, even at a glance, Meyara knew that they were nothing more than a group of bandits who survived by attacking any stranger who entered their territory.

Maybe Meyara was too quick to jump to conclusions, because not long afterward she heard the voice of the man who had been talking to Adriel ordering the other man to remain silent.

"Do not move! All of you!" the man ordered out loud. "They are still teenagers, we don't need to be too offensive."

"But, Galen ...." The man holding Meyara sounded as if he wanted to argue.

"No! Don't call my name like that! You know I'm the boss here!" Galen spat, Meyara almost grinned after finding out that relationships between those men were so easily broken. This could be an advantage for her.

"Okay! Do whatever you want!"

After that, Meyara didn't hear anything else and only felt her body being pushed very roughly. She stumbled repeatedly while her mind was occupied with other things.

“Why … why can they be found so easily?” The thought only made her more confused. "If the seers couldn't see them from the reflection of the lake, how could we accidentally meet them?"

***