Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 601: Next Step

Zac estimated it would take up to a day before they would reach the glasshouse since his flying treasure wouldn't work inside Mystic Realms. This wasn't a failing of his leaf, but rather how E-Grade flying treasures were created. They generally were dependant on the energy in the ground, which was why Zac's could fly no higher than a few hundred meters into the air.These methods rarely worked in Mystic Realms because they didn't have World Cores to rely on, and only D-Grade flying treasures who were completely powered by themselves or the user could fly freely. There were apparently specially made E-Grade flying treasures that would work in Mystic Realms as well, but that wasn't something Zac had access to right now.

Moving through an empty forest at least allowed him to learn more about the Re

“Be careful on your return. You never told me exactly how you got captured, but it seems a bit odd to me. Can you be sure that no one in your clan is working against you?” Zac said as he connected his tablet to the disks on the wall. “If things get out of hand you can always come to our side. We’re always happy to welcome new talent to our ranks.”

"No clan members would do something like working with the Lunar Clan at such an integral time," Leviala muttered, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as she was Zac.

“Step back,” Zac said as he turned to the scouts as he took out his axe.

“What are you-“ Leviala said with confusion, but she quickly realized what was going on.

Zac only shrugged in response before he activated the tablet. His axe might be useless in case the wall came alive, but it would work just fine in case there was an army of hostile combatants on the other side, no matter if it was Cartava clan members or werewolves. Thankfully only empty halls met his eyes as the gates slid open.

“I’ll see you in a few days then,” Leviala said. “I’ll bring a talented Datamancer to help out as well. Don’t worry, it’s my first-degree uncle and he’s our family’s chief technician.”

Zac nodded in understanding. When she talked about family in this case she wasn’t talking about the whole Cartava Clan that was comprised of almost 40 000 members. It was rather her actual family in the same sense that he would use the word. Having someone like her uncle there would no doubt help a lot, and the Datamancers seemed more akin to a crafting class than a combat-class, so Zac wasn’t worried even if he was E-Grade.

Leviala entered the next moment, her steps still a bit unsteady. However, Zac had gifted her a set of various pills, partly to help her get home in one piece, and partly as some sort of display of the good things that he could provide in return for the natives' cooperation.

There was no point in dawdling around, and the six remaining people of the group immediately set out as the gate merged into the wall behind them.

They were almost half-way to the glass-house by this point, but only one hour passed before Zac sensed something. Zac instantly flashed in front of his group as [Verun’s Bite] appeared in his hands, but he relaxed when he saw Thea stepping out from behind a tree a hundred meters away. She turned into a gust the next moment, immediately appearing in front of them.

“Cousin!” Jonas shouted with excitement, but Thea only gave him a small nod of acknowledgment before she turned to Zac.

“You’ve been busy it looks like,” she said with a smile.

“Well, one thing led to another,” Zac sighed. “Are you here alone?”

“No, I went ahead of the group when one of your demonkin geomancers sensed some vibrations in the ground,” she explained. “We thought it was a wolf pack that had strayed from the center of the forest.”

“Well, let’s go back. I have made some discoveries,” Zac said.

“We still haven't mapped out the whole area. We have found a gate, but it actually attacked us the moment we got close," Thea said.

Zac frowned when he heard that the gate was actively attacking people. Didn't Leviala know about it, or did she hide it?

“That's okay. I've found everything we need for the next step of the plan,” Zac said.

“Just like that?” Thea asked before she looked him up and down with a wry smile. “It really seems that the demon is right about one thing. Let you run off for just one day and you’ll come back with massive gains."

“I'd be more than happy to be the one staying behind next time," Zac said with a shudder, thinking back to just how close it was for him to be turned into a part of a Void Creature's bodysuit.

They started walking in the direction of the glasshouse, and Zac helped catch Thea up to speed.

“So we’re going to those labs next?” Thea asked.

“I’m thinking that’s the move,” Zac nodded. “We might find useful things there, and it’s close to the Core sector where the treasure is. If the barriers really disappear when the Dimensional Seed matures we’ll be in a good starting position.”

“We’ll need to make some preparations then,” Thea mused before she added with a low voice. “By the way, I met with your friend, Ogras. Something seems to be wrong with him. He didn’t come with us to this place, he's holed up in your compound. He hid his face in a big robe as well.”

Zac frowned at that, and the image of shadows repairing the hole in Ogras' chest resurged. The demon had seemed fine until now, but were there complications from his familiar fusing with him after all?