Chapter 281: Realization. (1/2)

'This changes everything,' Ozul had a thoughtful face.

Now that it was very likely for a Rank-10 Magical Beast to have been residing in these unexplored lands, he would have to be extra careful not to encounter it.

Earlier he was planning to explore as much as he could in the little time they were going to stay here, but now he would have to keep his curiosity under check and limit himself to check out those ruins marked on the parchment only.

There were only general directions specified on the map since people hadn't mapped out these lands yet.

Just then, he noticed the worry growing on the duo's face and even the Rogue Crew had taken defensive positions. They were ready to face some giant Beast coming directly at them.

”Ease up. There is nothing to worry about... as of yet. You guys come out as well, there is no one to hide from here anyway,” Ozul said the last part to the Rogue Crew since they were putting in extra efforts to only stay in the vicinity and not come out in open sight.

Immediately as he said those words, the Rogue Crew appeared, all floating behind him.

Raven and Blaze also calmed down, but they kept up their guard.

”When I tell you to run, all of you are to immediately head back to the headquarters. These are my orders,” Ozul said, making all of them nod their heads except for Raven and Blaze.

Although he had just told them the same, it felt as if this time things were more serious than before. Something had changed, but they didn't know what.

Looking at Ozul's stern face, they knew that they weren't even allowed to ask anything.

The duo only sighed with apparent worry on their faces. They would have already suggested to give up on exploring those ruins if not because they already knew Ozul wouldn't agree.

In the end, Raven could only leave her mouth hanging open as she stopped herself from asking any questions.

Although she worried about Ozul, she also knew that he had his reasons.

”Let's move. Keep alert all the time,” Ozul reminded them to stay vigilant since even he might not have enough time in case that Rank-10 Beast really appeared before them.

What he didn't think was whether these Rank-8 Mages would even be able to move if a Rank-10 Mage exerted its aura on them.

The group seriously nodded their heads before following after him.

A few more hours and they had left the woods far behind and were now in a desert.

As they had expected, the Beasts that appeared next were mostly of Earth Element. What they didn't expect was the sudden rise in their strengths.

From Rank-4 occasional Beast sightings to suddenly encountering even Rank-6 Beasts!

'With sudden changes like these, no wonder people won't try to create settlements in these lands,' Ozul thought before he noticed others' exhausted faces.

After continuing on for a few hours, he decided to make a stop after they had crossed the desert and again arrived at a grassland.

Rank-6 Beasts were appearing more frequently now and some even dared to attack their group. These were mostly only the Beasts who hadn't eaten anything for weeks. Hunger had made them suppress the sense of fear and the little bit of rationality that they possessed.

”Deal with them,” Ozul naturally didn't bother to care about such Beasts. He had brought Raven and Blaze to train here, so he made them deal with all of the Beasts.

He even stopped the Rogue Crew from interfering who were more than happy to oblige.

While Blaze and Raven were tasked to kill all the Beasts which came near them, Ozul chose to simply laze around on a tree in his own thoughts.

Suddenly, he felt a little off and looked around before he realized what he was missing right now, 'Where did Jinx go off to...'

It had been quite a while since Jinx went away. That cat only listened to him when she wanted to.

He thought about Jinx for a while before his thoughts moved to his 'Scent'.

Ozul hadn't been able to find any plausible reason for his Scent to increase Mikol's strength like that.

He had to test extracting his Scent from someone stronger than that prisoner, but he didn't have time to find someone like that now.

Just then, he again paused his line of thinking as he realized something, 'Tch... I could have used them.'

The three Rank-8 Mages sent by the Church had probably consumed the healing potions more than once. They should have been more than enough for him to at least draw a plausible conclusion.