Chapter 569: Request (1/2)

Chapter 569 Request

Ilea stayed with the Reapers until she could think with little strain while their magic pressed down on her.

It took her another full day, the time passing quickly thanks to her meditative state.

‘ding’ ‘Lightning Resistance reaches 3rd lvl 8’

‘ding’ ‘Mental Resistance reaches 3rd lvl 13’

As the strain lessened, so did the rewards.

Ilea didn’t feel confident enough to disable her Mental defenses. Not for a long while. Neither did she think it reasonable to remain for much longer, deciding that other skills should be prioritized.

About six days left until my meeting with the Elves.

She slashed through the hordes, destroying the monster eggs just as much as the living. The larger versions had a higher level than most of the small Reapers but they lacked any mental powers, instead using their claws and high speed to fight.

Neither of those properties impressed Ilea.

[Blue Reaper Guardian – lvl 482]

The creature slashed its claws into her ash, getting stuck before its head was pierced by ash, exploding in a splatter of gore.

The level difference and low number of Guardians led to no level ups for Ilea’s main Classes, not that she really expected anything.

At the other end of the cavern, she found a large Reaper stuck inside a web of blue fleshy tendrils. It slowly opened its eyes to stare at her.

[Blue Reaper Hive – lvl 520]

“Do you want to talk?” Ilea asked and established a mental connection. “Hello.”

A low hum resounded as the creature gathered magic. A moment later, a blast of mind magic slammed into Ilea’s defenses.

“I guess not,” she sent, having found the attack more than disappointing after the combined efforts of over a hundred Reapers. “My turn.”

She held up her right arm, releasing the heat and energy she had formed within her core.

The spell turned the remaining Blue Reaper to ash, the crevice it had lived in charred and glowing.

“Didn’t want to talk,” Ilea said.

“Well… would you be inclined to cooperate after someone murdered all of your children?” Meadow asked.

“No. But I’d at least acknowledge that they were little brats, attacking the intruder without trying diplomacy first,” Ilea said.

“At least I can observe what the removal of a monster species does to the surroundings. Now I’d like to implore you to stop hunting random monsters here if all they’re doing is remaining in their nest. That is, if you don’t have any remaining grudges,” Meadow said.

“Just down in the Descent. And pretty much just the Sun Sprites. The rest I don’t really care about,” she said.

“Will you go there now?” Meadow asked.

“Nope. I mean I could go challenge the Griffin… but I think I should work on a few skills before reaching five hundred. Can I use the portal again?” Ilea said.

“Of course. I’ll supply the energy. The changes your friends have made should allow someone like you to use the gate independently. Though the cost is still quite high,” Meadow said.

Ilea appeared in the large cavern and checked in on the two enchanters. The new platform they were building looked simpler if anything. A good sign I suppose, she thought and checked the few messages still in her mind.

‘ding’ ‘The Faen Valkyrie has reached lvl 406 – One stat point awarded’

Very useful.

So saving a species rewards a Core point but exterminating one doesn’t? Hmm… well I suppose it’s not the only nest in the North. Would take quite some dedication to hunt down every single Blue Reaper.

“I’ll see you around then, have fun you three,” she said with a wave, stepping onto the platform she had arrived on.

“Have fun training,” Meadow said.

“What? When did you get here?” Iana said when she looked up.

Ilea just laughed before she vanished in white light.

It was early morning in Ravenhall, the first light of the suns still hidden behind the mountains.

Ilea stood next to a large table on her breakfast terrace. On it was a map.

I have eleven marks… well the waiter is probably not going to get killed at this point.

She dissolved the mark, assuming that Helena had left town ages ago.

Which leaves nine free marks.

Besides Claire and Trian, none of the marks were in Ravenhall and while she could gauge a general direction for the others, it was impossible to pinpoint their location.

With Claire and Trian however, she could make good guesses as to where they were.

“Ma’am? There’s a woman here… looking for you… eh… she has a lot of cats with her?” the waiter said when he stepped out of the stairwell.

“Yeah, let her up. I hired her,” Ilea said.

A woman in her thirties joined her a minute later, a dozen cats either clinging to her leather robes or walking close to her.

[Mage – lvl 84]

“Pleasure to meet you,” Ilea said with a grin.

“You’re the one they call Lilith?” the woman said. “I’m Cali. You don’t strike me as particularly impressive, I’ll be honest.”

“I don’t really care,” Ilea said. “Are those wild cats that live in the city?”

The woman eyed her and nodded. “Yes. Just like the request said. But let me tell you, if you plan to eat, sacrifice, fuck, or skin them, I’ll make them leave right now.”

“I just want to mark and track them,” Ilea said. “It’s harmless.”

“Of course it is,” Cali said and walked a few steps closer.

Ilea displaced the closest cat into her hands, using her healing to calm the frightened animal. She stroked its head with a smile before placing a Sentinel Huntress mark onto it.

“That’s one,” she said and let the cat go.

The woman watched with a confused gaze as Ilea placed the rest of her marks.

“You didn’t take that one,” she said, pointing at a white cat sitting next to her.

“Mhm,” Ilea said and turned to the map. “You can let them go now. I promise I’ll cause them no harm.”

“As you wish,” Cali said, something about her aura changing.

A few of the cats remained nearby, the others jumping onto nearby roofs or leaving through the stairwell.

“Good luck with your experiments then, Lilith,” the woman said and turned away.

Ilea watched her go before she focused on the map. Nine ashen dots floated over the location of the terrace. Two dots were located at other locations in the city.

She focused on her skill and took a deep breath.

Okay, now we wait, she thought and tried to visualize the various marks in her mind, using her ash to relate their movements on the map.

The first twenty minutes were absolute chaos but as time went on, Ilea slowly got the hang of it. She had to fly up a few times to get an aerial perspective, the different marks much easier to distinguish from above.

When she landed for the fifth time, a new face had joined her terrace.

Or more accurately, a new mask.

“Sulivhaan,” Ilea said as she landed and moved the ashen dots around. A distraction might help with the skill.

“Ilea, it’s been some time since we last talked,” he said, face covered in the same mask he always wore.

[Mage – lvl 275]

Getting closer to three hundred, hmm?

“I suppose it has,” she said.

“You weren’t lying about your planned meeting attendance,” he said and chuckled.