Chapter 187: Exposed (2/2)

I looked around, ”Where are they?”

”Good question. Ah, here's your answer.”

A raven landed on Torix's shoulder, glancing towards him. It cawed a few times before flying off. Torix sighed,

”Well, the silvers aren't as good at reconnaissance as I hoped they'd be. In fact, few of them even have eyes that rival a mole's vision let alone a hawk's.”

Torix threw out his hand in disgust, ”Even when armed with so many eyes at my disposal, I still cannot find the base near Mt. Ash. If anything, the silvers seem blind to it.”

I shrugged, ”Hey, if you want something done right, do it yourself.”

Torix sighed, ”Part of being a leader I suppose.”

With our goal set, we traveled towards Mt. Ash. Torix kept his silver army spread out, keeping them from clustering. This prevented him from giving their position away. At the same time, we stayed to the ground, the pillars of steel hiding us from anyone's eyesight.

After a day of hard-fought travel, we reached Mt. Ash. We came up to it as a blip on our minimap. Since we stayed low, we didn't make out the actual mountain even as we got close to it. I figured we'd never know we were on the hill beside for some steepness.

I was wrong.

The forest of spires thinned as we approached it. As I rushed out of the final few pillars, I gawked at the fabled peak. It wasn't owned by silvers, not even in the slightest. Giessian creatures swarmed the mountaintops, flowers, and trees sticking out from the gray wasteland. It didn't take long before we found the cause of the flourishing life.

A moat of lava encircled the entire mountain, warding off any grounded silvers. At the same time, some kind of electrical aura warded off nearby flying creatures. It acted like a magnet of the same charge as the silvers, pushing them away when they tried to enter.

This protective, magnetic forcefield was fed by some strange species of Firefly. A swarm of the bugs circled around the mountaintop as we approached. Night approached fast, so we passed onto the mountain and made a camp.

As the sunshine died down, the fireflies acted like a living light show. A symphony of yellow cascaded over the sky in waves, keeping the mountain well lit. Torix and I finished our base of operations and wasted no time, scouring the land with an eye for detail. We split ourselves up, giving us a better range to search.

I discovered many familiar species of plants and animals from around Yildraza. A variety of animals ran through the bushes, most of them charged with elemental mana. The sheer volume of life amazed me as well. Even though the mountain was a small area for an ecosystem, the animals thrived.

To our dismay, finding any source for the Skyburner's was next to impossible. We grew restless, and Torix and I continued the search nonstop. It didn't help that Althea sent me a message every five minutes asking what was going on. Of course I messaged her back, but texting wasn't my thing. It was more annoying than anything.

Several hours passed with us searching the mountaintop. With no notable progress to speak of, Torix and I specialized our searching. I burrowed beneath the ground, diving through the mountain. Torix's hordes searched the surrounding silver territory. The actual lich kept to the mountaintop, scrutinizing every pebble and blade of grass. The giant dragon frogs eluded us somehow, but we remained relentless.

Just as I believed that Draygalga lied to us, Torix got his breakthrough. He called me over towards the moat of lava. Besides the pool of molten rock, the fireflies swarmed above. Torix pointed up to them, ”Do you see those creatures?”

I nodded, ”Yeah. I'm tired of them.”

”As am I. Their wanderlust faded a while back, and now they act as a persistent buzzing in my ear. In fact, allow me to rid you of them.”

He snapped his fingers. As Torix did, an opaque shield enveloped us both. Seconds passed as the blurred surface of the forcefield faded. As it did, the fireflies disappeared. I glanced behind me, finding a Skyburner camp at the mountaintop.

I smacked my forehead, and glanced back to Torix, ”You're telling me it was here the whole time?”

Torix sighed, ”Yes. The fireflies were an illusion style of magic. Think of Delilath's yellow spheres, but many in number and tiny in size. They created the field that confused us.”

Torix gestured towards the mountain, ”What caught us was a very old and very powerful kind of illusion magic. The electrical field we felt was, in fact, mana used to maintain the spell itself. The magnetic resistance acted in much the same manner. It fooled the silvers into avoiding this place, and it fooled us into wasting time.”

Torix turned and pointed towards the mountain's center, ”A group of the Skyburners is hiding within the mountainside. From what I could gather, they're a collection of mages considering the illusion magic.”

I shook my head, ”Well shit. At least we only wasted a few hours searching.”

Torix shook his head. He murmured, ”We've been here for a week.”

I sighed, ”Fuck.”

Torix nodded, ”That's right. The illusion magic made us lose our sense of time as well. It's a rather potent combination of magics really. I'd be more impressed if it didn't hack into our constrictive time limitations already.”

Some frustration welled in my chest, ”They took us for fools. I'll tear off their arms and force their limbs down their throats.”

Torix laid a hand on my shoulder, ”Oh, we will do so. I'm equally displeased that they tricked us like this. However...”

Torix pointed towards the mountain, ”Since I discovered the location of the base, I've ordered my silvers to guard any and all exits. The Skyburners are trapped inside without any means of escape.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”Any plans to kill them off?”

”I'll send in my army. Once they've exhausted their stamina and mana on fodder, you'll rush in and finish them one by one. I'll offer support from a distance.”

I turned a palm to Torix, ”Sounds pretty solid. Are we going to go get Althea first?”

Torix shook his head, ”We'll be all that is needed.”

He turned towards the fireflies, ”Before we set out, I'll need you to dispel the magic here. I unable to do so.”

I pointed at the swirling masses, ”What's this barrier doing then?”

”It allows us to view without any illusion magic. Unfortunately, I cannot keep it cast on a permanent basis. On the other hand, you should be armed with quite an effective measure for disrupting the illusion.”

Torix waved his hand, ”The magnetic field here is used to repel the silvers. When we traveled to Rivaria, you were able to absorb lightning, correct?”

My eyes widened, ”Ahhh, I'll be a lightning rod and absorb the field, dispelling the magic.”

Torix put his hands on his hips, ”Precisely.”

Torix pushed my back, shoving me out of his illusion barrier. As I left it, the empty Skyburner camp disappeared. It mirrored a rocky cove, unassuming as a cloud in the sky. I passed it several times in my search. It convinced me now, my mind assuming that it existed with certainty.

Without letting the deception fool me again, I activated my Lightning Eater skill. The electricity around me drained inward, but the range of my draining was in the inches. I needed miles of pull, so I pushed out the scope of my draining. The aura bent, allowing me to drain the energy for several feet around me.

At the same time, the inklings of a headache formed. There was no pain from it, but the pulse of heart rang in my head. I ignored it, pushing further outward. As I reached ten feet, my skull itched and something popped in my nose. Seconds passed as a pour of silver blood drained from my nostrils into my helmet.

I grunted out the blood, used to it by now. That shit wouldn't stop me at this point. With my resolve set, I pushed out with my arms. As I did, the range of the electrical drainage extended out. Behind my eyes, my brain throbbed with a dull pulse. The first piece of pain poured in right after.

I laughed at the aching sensation while demanding my field of influence to expand. Every inch of growth felt like miles, but I pushed past it. A piece of my brain howled at me to stop this nonsense. I silenced it, relishing in the challenge. I was dead set on proving that part of my mind wrong.

With about zero percent of the mountain cleared, I clenched my teeth and clasped my fists. I strained my magical abilities, remembering the feel of my other skills. The electrical draining compared with my armor's needles in a way. Even more so, it mirrored Event Horizon.

Using my experience with those tools, I condensed the electrical drain. A moment later, I molded it into different shapes. It fought against me, not as willing to change as Event Horizon. At the same time, I wrestled my skill's resistance as if dropping it to the ground and smashing its face in.

Metaphorically speaking of course.

A bead of sweat dripped down my forehead as I took a deep breath. After getting a handle on molding the aura and condensing it, I used both at the same time. I pulled the area of effect inward, easing the process. Once I changed the field's density and shape, I enlarged it. As I struggled on, a notification appeared.

Lightning Eater(lvl 8)--->(lvl 33) Breakthrough achieved!

A wave of relief passed over me, the skill bending to me. Without skipping a beat, I pushed the range further out, covering several car lengths. The ability leveled a few more times over the next thirty minutes. Once I got several more car lengths added to the range, I turned to Torix,

”Alright, I think I got enough of it uncovered. I'll level the skill as we go.”

Torix closed his status, turning to me, ”Perfectly fine. It's a somewhat new skill so I wouldn't expect mastery of it already. We need a field for battle. That is all.”

I grunted, ”I...should be able to do that.”

Torix scoffed, ”I'd prefer it if you could do so without sounding constipated.”

”No can do...Not yet at least.”

Torix tsked, ”Well...I suppose I'll deal with it. Can you battle like that?”

I raised my fists, my hands shaking a bit, ”Yeah...I'm good.”

Torix's eyes narrowed, ”It's rather opportune that I gathered that army. Here I believed it wouldn't be necessary, but maintaining that aura of yours appears more than merely difficult.”

Torix pressed his hands together, ”I'll be pulling more of the weight than usual.” As he pulled his hands apart, a wave of dry air spilled out,

”It looks as though I'll be able to apply a few tactics I've been planning.”

We stepped towards the gialgathen mage's base while Torix cackled,

”I pray they're painful.”