Upon hearing Erik, everyone turned to look at him with serious expressions, though a subtle glimmer was visible in their eyes. Erik was right—the real challenge was only just beginning.
Although it was a relief to have potions and equipment, the reason they desperately needed them was because of the situation they were in. There were 'hunters' out to kill them and members of other factions who wouldn't hesitate to do the same if given the chance.
"I just remembered that there's something in the cave that kind of looks like an exit. Once we have our gear ready, we need to check that out carefully." Remembering the strange room, Erik commented, to which everyone else nodded seriously.
...
After a quick discussion about their different roles, Zoe, Frank, and Elara got to work preparing rations. Meanwhile, Erik started brewing a new batch of mana recovery potions to use up all the ingredients. By the time night fell, Erik discovered the 'temple entrance,' and everyone began passing around the rations and different ingredients.
In the following days, Erik focused completely on potion-making, creating healing potions, antidotes, concealment potions, and more—making the most of every ingredient they had access to on the island. Afterwards, he began crafting simple leather armor from the hides of the animals they hunted, as well as some metal tools, like a couple of machetes, though he had refrained from engraving runes on them.
Meanwhile, Elara, Frank, and Zoe concentrated on gathering as many resources from the island as possible, stripping everything like locusts. Since everything would be lost once the basilisk awoke, it was best to take everything they could while they still had the chance. Moreover, magical ingredients took at least decades to grow, so they couldn't expect more to appear anytime soon.
But as more data about the basilisk accumulated, Erik began to notice something concerning—not only were changes appearing in the basilisk, but they were accelerating. This caused his expression to grow more serious with each update, something that Ebonique, who was always attentive to her beloved contractor, easily noticed.
…
"Is it that bad...?"
In the middle of the night, Ebonique asked while coiled around Erik's neck, who was sitting in front of a campfire, making calculations in an improvised notebook. After a heavy sigh, Erik set the notebook aside and spoke in a weary voice.
"Yes. If the basilisk keeps evolving at this pace, it will probably awaken in less than a month."
"… I see…" Ebonique replied quietly, then gazed off into the distance, toward the waterfall. A few moments later, the dragoness looked at Erik and spoke in a serious tone.
"But that's not all. There's something else worrying you."
"Am I that obvious?"
Erik asked with a slightly bitter smile. Ebonique replied in a calm voice as she glanced toward the 'houses' made of compacted earth, where the others were sleeping. Right now, it was Erik's turn for night watch.
"Maybe not to the others, but you are to me." Ebonique shifted so she was looking directly into Erik's eyes, then asked in a calm but serious voice.
"What's really going on? I want you to trust me and tell me. I'm not one of those kids—I'm your partner and your strongest support. You can count on me for anything."
Hearing the seriousness in Ebonique's voice, Erik looked into her eyes for a moment, then gazed up at the starry sky with a thoughtful expression. After a few seconds, Erik let out a deep sigh and began to speak in a reflective tone.
"… The truth is, I don't know what's happening. Maybe it's just anxiety, but I have a bad feeling, and it frustrates me that I can't pinpoint what it is. Also, lately the Myst has been acting very strange, giving me too many 'suggestions' to modify the bio-mystic technique, and it's getting worse every day. Something in the environment is changing, and I feel like it's not good for us…"
Upon hearing Erik, Ebonique turned to look at the dark forest and quietly began to materialize a part of her true form. For his part, Erik let out another sigh and stood up from the log where he'd been sitting, then walked over to a nearby stone table, where he spread out a large sheet of paper.
On the sheet, three different rune arrangements for artifacts were drawn, which Erik began reviewing once again with a serious expression, making slight adjustments. Meanwhile, Ebonique continued to materialize a part of her body as stealthily as possible. After almost an hour, the dragoness's eyes shone with a deep purple light, and at that moment, the entire ruin appeared before her eyes.
But in that instant, the dragoness quickly dematerialized her true body and hid in Erik's hair with a dark expression. In the split second she was able to see the whole ruin, Ebonique noticed an important change—the aura of that bastard collector was growing denser and was starting to cover everything, as if it was swallowing it all up.
There was something strange about the aura, though, as it was spreading very slowly, but that didn't lessen the danger it represented. If things kept going like this, it would only be a matter of time before she wouldn't be able to materialize her true form without being noticed, which would be a real disaster. As Ebonique sank into deep thought about her next steps, Erik asked in a confused voice.
"Did something happen, Ebonique? Why did you hide like that?"
"…The aura of the spirit I told you about is getting denser, which limits my actions…"
After hesitating for a few seconds, Ebonique replied in a serious voice. Erik's eyes widened in surprise, and he focused completely on the Myst, extending his perception to the limit. But once again, he didn't sense anything strange, apart from a slight 'heaviness' in the Myst.
"Is that 'aura' something only spirits can feel…?" After a few seconds, Erik asked with concern, glancing at Hiyori, who was lying in front of Zoe and Elara's 'house.'
"… Not all of them, only those with high perception." Ebonique lied, her expression complex. Erik brought a hand to his chin, then asked seriously.
"Will the other spirits besides you be affected too?"
"Yes, they won't be able to be summoned if they return to the spirit dimension." Ebonique answered in a serious tone. Erik's expression couldn't help but grow even darker as he listened to the dragoness.
Spirits, although practically immortal, could still have their incarnations—born from a summoning through a contract—damaged, and if they took too much damage, they would disappear and have to be summoned again. Therefore, Erik was now facing the possibility of losing nearly a third of his power if Ebonique took too much damage.
"So that's the change…" Erik said in a heavy voice, then looked over at the white fox spirit and called out in a calmer tone.
"Hiyori, could you come here for a moment? I want to talk to you about something."
Upon hearing her name, Hiyori lifted her head in surprise, then quickly got up and approached. Although she didn't dare make the young man with starry hair wait, she didn't rush either—after all, that dragoness was giving her a warning glare that made her fur stand on end.
"Yes, Erik-sama?" When she reached Erik, Hiyori asked in an elegant and calm voice. Erik spoke in a serious tone.
"Have you felt anything strange lately? Any changes? Anything out of the ordinary?"
"Not really. Everything seems normal…" Hiyori replied in a contemplative voice—she truly didn't feel anything strange. Erik nodded, then spoke seriously.
"Ebonique informed me that there might be a spirit involved in this, and because of that, it's possible you won't be able to be summoned again if you return to the spirit dimension."
The fox's eyes widened in disbelief at the news, and she glanced discreetly at Ebonique in Erik's hair. Seeing the dragoness nodding, the fox could only tremble slightly. Something like that was something very few spirits could pull off, and with an Eternal right in front of her, it was highly likely she had gotten caught up in a dispute between Eternals.
Feeling the urge to cry at her misfortune—since a conflict between Eternals was not something a small fledgling like her could get involved in carelessly, or she might lose her life—Hiyori sighed in deep regret. After a few seconds, the fox spirit looked at Erik and spoke seriously.
"If your esteemed contracted spirit says so, then it must be true, Erik-sama. Rest assured, I will make sure to be careful from now on so as not to leave you all alone in such a dangerous situation."
"Thank you, Hiyori. You're a considerable force for our team. Losing you would be a big blow." Erik said with a small smile. Hiyori quickly replied in a firm tone.
"There's no need to thank me, Erik-sama. I can't leave my little Zoe unprotected—it's my duty to protect her."
"I understand, but I'd like to thank you anyway." Erik said in a calm tone, then extended his hand slightly and asked.
"Would you like me to share some mana with you? Ebonique and Ignis—my master's contracted spirit—love it."
"T-that's not necessary, Erik-sama. Is there anything else you need?" Hiyori quickly replied, a little nervous, trying to keep all her fur from bristling because of the killing intent she felt from a certain dragoness.
"I understand, and for now, I don't need anything else. Thank you for your time." Erik said calmly. Hiyori quickly gave a slight bow, then returned to her original position in front of Zoe and Elara's 'house,' wanting to get as far away from that terrifying dragon as possible.
…
"Erik, don't casually offer your mana to others." Once Hiyori left, Ebonique scolded indignantly. Erik replied in a calm tone while giving another look at the rune arrangements drawn on the sheet.
"It's not a big deal. My mana recovers on its own, so it's not a loss."
"It doesn't matter. Don't offer it casually, especially not to a spirit."
Ebonique quickly replied with seriousness. Erik's face showed a slightly puzzled expression at how serious his contracted spirit was, but remembering what she'd told him about Lirio before, he asked.
"Is it because of the possible addiction to my mana?"
"Yes. Your mana is just too delicious. Many spirits have never tasted such an exquisite delicacy and could end up doing crazy things to 'taste' it again." Ebonique warned in a slightly solemn voice, since even an Eternal like her had been captivated by that exquisite flavor—a lower-ranked spirit could easily go mad.
"Is it really that good…?"
Erik couldn't help but ask in confusion as he looked at his right hand. His mana, besides being 100% neutral—without any affinities—didn't seem special at all. Besides, he wasn't the only one without affinities; although rare, there were countless humans in the galaxy, so there were millions more like him out there.
"It is. So be careful from now on."
Ebonique replied seriously, which led Erik to take a small leather-covered notebook from his pocket and make a note to remind himself to investigate this later. Shortly after, Erik put away his little notebook, then spoke seriously.
"Well, let's set that aside for now. Now that things are getting complicated, I need to make magical artifacts for the others and, if possible, at least repair our armor a bit."
"I'll help however I can."
Ebonique quickly replied with determination, to which Erik nodded before putting away the sheet with the rune arrangements and grabbing a notebook from the storehouse that had a list of properties, instructions, and some drawings of different plants.
…
Once Zoe woke him up to take over the watch, Erik went to the usual clearing to practice his bio-mystic technique. When he finished, Erik's expression grew much darker—the changes had been more aggressive this time, and even some of the movements had changed completely. The changes in the environment must have been accelerating.
"Is something wrong, Erik?" When Erik returned, Zoe couldn't help but ask with concern after seeing his slightly worried expression. The star-haired young man replied in a serious tone.
"Yes. We need to speed up the gathering of materials. Things could get complicated at any moment."
Zoe's eyes widened at the news, but she quickly composed herself and replied in a serious tone.
"Understood. We'll focus on that completely and move everything directly to the 'temple.'"
"That's for the best." Erik said thoughtfully. "For now, I'll be running some tests to see how complex an artifact needs to be for the golden chains to appear—if they appear at all, and it wasn't just a one-time thing."
"I see. If you need anything, don't hesitate to tell me." Zoe said, her heart beating a little faster. Erik nodded and replied as he walked toward a stone table where two machetes made of Ferrux were lying—the same alloy as the cauldron.
"I will."
…
Taking a burin, a punch, and a hammer made of true copper and Ferrux, Erik began to engrave runes onto one of the machetes, following one of the arrangements he had drawn on the sheet. Meanwhile, Zoe, unable to calm down, started moving everything that was still left in the 'storehouse' to the 'temple' with slightly hurried steps.
Carrying a huge wooden box, Zoe made her way through the long corridor connecting to the temple inside the cave. Coming out through the second temple entrance, she set the box down among several dozen other boxes and barrels that were perfectly organized there. Inside those boxes was everything they had collected in the past few days, and the 'cave' had become their storage room.
Once she'd unloaded everything, Zoe passed by the building to the left of the temple, which used to have a lectern and some benches made of stone but was now packed with dried food. After making sure everything was in perfect condition, Zoe went back to the temple and ran down the corridor to return to the garden and grab another box.
…
After a few hours, Elara and Frank woke up and came out of their respective 'cabins' after casting a simple cleaning spell on themselves. Outside, the two young people found Erik completely focused on carving runes into a machete, while Zoe was coming out of the temple—whose door was only barely unburied—reading a notebook with a serious expression.
"Were you checking the supplies?" Since Erik seemed busy, Elara approached Zoe and asked in a calm voice. Zoe looked up from the notebook and replied in a solemn tone.
"Erik warned me that things could spiral out of control at any moment."
Elara and Frank couldn't help but widen their eyes in nervousness, their fists clenching tightly. With an expression even more serious than Zoe's, Elara asked in a grave voice.
"How can we help?"
"For now, I've already finished moving everything we prepared last night." Zoe said seriously. "So let's focus on gathering as much as we can from the forest. There seem to be animals in the rest of the garden too, but the valuable magical plants are exclusive to this area."
At that moment, Frank spoke up in a serious tone as he looked through a kind of leather album containing various samples—leaves, mushrooms, pieces of wood, and the like.
"These past few days, I've been making a 'catalog' of samples for Lirio. If you need to look for anything specific, we can use it."
"Good thinking, Frank, that'll save us a lot of time." Elara nodded and praised him seriously. Frank gave a slight bow to accept the compliment. At that moment, Zoe spoke seriously.
"Let's head out right away—we have no time to lose. I'll go let Erik know."
After the two young people nodded, Zoe walked over to Erik and waited a few minutes for him to look at her, since she didn't want him to ruin his work by accident. Soon, Erik looked up at Zoe, who quickly spoke before he could say anything.
"Erik, we're going out to gather everything we can from the forest."
"Go with Tiberius and give this to Frank." Erik said quickly as he picked up a notebook from the table to hand to Zoe, then added seriously.
"These are my notes on the mysterious ingredient for the bio-mystic technique potion. I have a feeling it's a very important clue. But just look for the ingredient in passing—don't focus on it completely. What we need most right now is to gather as many resources as possible."
"Understood."
Zoe pressed the notebook to her chest and nodded quickly before heading over to her companions. After giving the notebook to Frank and passing along Erik's message, Zoe gave the signal to depart and ventured into the forest with Hiyori by her side. Erik was left only with Ebonique and Kaiser, who stayed protectively close to their contractor.
With Ebonique as his assistant, Erik made rapid progress engraving runes onto the Ferrux machetes. On them, he inscribed different rune arrangements, each one more complex than the last. However, he deliberately left them one step from completion, since they were meant for testing and he wanted to keep the variables to a minimum.
By the time Erik was putting the finishing touches on the machetes, Zoe and the others returned. They carried a black lion and dragged a huge net full of wood, minerals, and even black soil, plants, and young trees dug up with their roots. That last part was something Erik had specifically requested, since he had an idea in mind.
Using arms made of solidified Myst, Erik quickly began to harden everything. Meanwhile, Zoe started cutting wooden planks, and Frank and Elara began nailing them together with copper nails to create large boxes for storing everything Erik sorted. Soon, Erik finished sorting, and Frank began nailing the lids shut while Zoe and Elara packed the remaining items into the other boxes.
But at that moment, the wolves began to howl, which alarmed Erik, who immediately stood up and started looking around. After a few seconds, the ground began to shake, putting an incredibly grave expression on Erik's face. In an urgent and solemn voice, the star-haired boy quickly ordered.
"To the 'temple,' now! Take whatever you can!!"
***
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