Chapter 616: Fear (1/2)

Chapter 616 Fear

Ilea appeared alongside Neiphato and Feyrair. “Finally,” she murmured.

“You could’ve found something closer,” Fey commented.

She hissed, displacing the group outside. The Miststalkers were dancing around mistily. “Who the fuck knew that dungeon would be so far underground? Doesn’t matter. We’re here,” Ilea said and looked around. Bluetails, bluetails, bluetails. Plenty of groups around.

“We will want to hunt alone,” Feyrair said.

Ilea went to Neiphato and grabbed his hand. “I’ll leave a mark on you too. Call for me if you’re about to die.”

“What if You are about to die?” Feyrair asked.

“Against a Bluetail? Worst that can happen is them ripping off my head and eating it,” she said.

“You don’t die from that?” Neiphato asked with a straight face, looking at the mark on the back of his hand. “Thanks.”

“That’s not even a scratch for her,” Feyrair said. “But seriously, don’t be too arrogant.”

“Too Elvish you mean?” Ilea asked.

He smiled. “Exactly. Come Neiphato, I will show you the spot Kyrian used in his hunts. I will hunt nearby too.”

“Good luck you two,” Ilea said.

“Where will you be?” Feyrair asked.

She looked around as they ascended, moonlight illuminating the mists below, dark swaths of smoke rising from one of the distant isles. She gulped and nodded to herself. “Gonna have to face my fears if I want to get stronger.”

“What could you possibly fear?” Feyrair asked.

Ilea looked at the waves crashing against the stone shore, ripples going through the mists form below. Plenty of things, my dear Elven friend. We’re not all blessed with a draconic ego.

“Good hunting,” she said and moved her wings, her body carried towards the ocean.

Oxygen repository will help, Harmony of the Drowned as well, she thought and summoned the Drowning Bear ring she still had. Displacement if I get caught in pressure similar to Hector’s. That should lessen the risks somewhat. And I have a third tier water and wind resistance.

Ilea still would’ve preferred to go face the high level creatures in the caverns below some of the other isles that Kyrian had mentioned. Getting stuck under a few metric tons of falling rock may be more difficult to get out of than water, but she still very much liked the idea more. It just felt more grounded.

The mists parted where she dove into the water, her wings retaining their magical ability to propel her through the liquid, her water resistance allowing her to move nearly as if she was in the air. Her Light Magic Resistance allowed her to see in the darkness of the ocean, pretty far actually when coupled with her Eyes of Ash.

It didn’t alleviate the fear she still very much felt but that she tried to lessen with her constantly active Meditation and healing. Her mind would simply be hammered by magic, not allowing her to fully experience the unknown.

For a few minutes, Ilea simply drifted in the water, feeling the coolness around her, observing the currents and spying for Bluetails. Her body wouldn’t have issues without air for quite some time. Indefinitely, according to her Oxygen Repository, though she would supposedly be weakened significantly, however that would manifest. Either way, she didn’t exactly plan to stay down here for days on end.

No creatures showed.

She sighed, a few bubbles of air floating up from the gesture before she looked down to the darkness, the depths an unending abyss even to her heavily enhanced sight. Fuck it. Want to improve? Then you have to do the work.

Ilea slowly descended, her wings nearly floating in the water as she felt the pressure build. She wondered when her ears would pop, already she was dozens of meters deep. Perhaps it wouldn’t happen for another few kilometers, her body simply too strong at this point.

How would I compare to a submarine? I’m probably faster.

She turned her head when she noticed movement. A single Bluetail. Large. Ilea locked eyes with the creature, the reptile smoothly flowing through the water, even faster than she had seen them flying before.

It circled her a few times before it stopped, opening its beak.

Ilea couldn’t see the spell itself but she saw the ripples in the water. When it reached her sphere, she could see the magic like a bright underwater freight train barreling straight at her. And she remained, crossing her arms and wings in front of her as she waited for her precognition to activate. When it did, she grinned slightly and remained, letting the wave push her back.

She felt her wings and body tense up, nearly buckling against the immense pressure. Ilea coughed, her blood floating in the water ahead of her as she opened up her wings again.

The Bluetail swam in smooth small circles, its eyes on her at all times.

My turn.

‘ding’ ‘Fear Resistance reaches lvl 14’

Ilea sped up, using her wings as if she was flying through air, the pressure on this depth barely noticeable now that she was in motion. Her spells would be just as damaging, except perhaps Heart of Cinder, but she would try nonetheless, already charging up heat.

[Northern Bluetail – lvl ???]

Eight fifty. A worthy opponent, she thought, hoping it would do more than send a few waves of water at her. Grapple and kill.

___________________

Kyrian tasted the tea, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the warmth spreading through his body. He really did appreciate Ilea’s storage ring she had gifted him a few years past. Everything he had stored in there came in handy during his long time on the Krahen Isles, but well, everything was cold.

“Like it? I assume you didn’t set up an herb garden on your island,” Trian said.

Kyrian sighed, twitching slightly at the taste he didn’t realize he had missed that much. “No talent for gardening. Especially when the ground is frozen and made near entirely of stone.”

The mage smiled, putting his boots up on the table as he crossed his arms. “Understandable.”

Still the noble after all, Kyrian thought.

“What is it?” Trian asked.

Kyrian wasn’t wearing his helmet anymore. He knew he had always been somewhat easy to read but after years without human contact, everyone might as well have been mind weavers.

He looked down, moving the metal spoon with his magic to stir the reddish liquid. “Just thought… that you were different. Last time I saw you…,”

Trian lightly tapped the table with his heel. “After the Birmingdales. Yes. I was… lost in a way.”

“Did it help?” Kyrian asked, his gaze moving up to meet his friend’s. “Killing them.”

He remained quiet for a few seconds, the smile gone from his face now as he pondered the question. “It felt right. Back then. It was the only thing that mattered,” he said and paused. “I don’t think it was wise. We killed people who probably had little to do with what happened to my family… and yet it’s difficult, to care. To regret it. I know I should, but I don’t. What they did…,”

Kyrian grunted, sipping on his tea. “I wanted to kill him. Arthur.”

“Redleaf?” Trian asked.

He nodded. “I had agreed to help… I blamed myself, sure… but it was his fault, his spell, the Taleen gate. I know it’s not comparable, I know. I’m… I don’t know.”

“You’re pissed that you didn’t get the chance to stomp his face in?” Trian asked.

Kyrian looked at him. “Maybe. Yes.”

“Isn’t it poetic to know his daughter was the one to kill him? She had her reasons too,” Trian said.

“It is. Of course. And I’m glad they resolved the matter,” Kyrian said.

Trian started laughing. “Oh don’t give me that look. I get it. You promised to help, you were sent away and they still finished it. Without you there. And then you’re stuck on an island for several years.”