Hidden among Erik's hair, Ebonique looked at the uncomfortable Ethan with sharp eyes, wanting to teach that reckless idiot a good lesson. Although she didn't really know the exact reason, Erik always deliberately avoided any conversation about his surname. It was always subtle and casual, but incredibly evident that he preferred to avoid the subject, and as his contracted spirit, she knew him well enough to say there was a very important reason.
A similar thought ran through Chen's mind, as he was possibly the person who had known Erik the longest in the university. Although he had never dared to ask, he knew there was some story around his old friend's last name. But since Ethan and Christine were direct disciples just like Erik, he decided to simply watch in silence without adding anything. In his book, it was better to say the right thing at the right time than to try to "make an appearance" by force.
For her part, Christine, though she blamed Ethan for his recklessness, couldn't help looking at Erik with a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes. From Erik's expression—calm, yet contemplative and somewhat melancholic—Christine was sure the subject seemed quite personal. Something that would undoubtedly be extremely valuable "ammunition" for her seduction plan.
But as Christine began thinking of what to say to try to coax a somewhat "interesting" answer out of the star-haired young man without annoying him, the young man's expression suddenly changed. Erik's eyes abruptly sharpened, and, at the same time that he took the machetes from his waist, he announced in a serious voice.
"Two golems have emerged from the walls; they're 'boxing us in' along this path."
Upon hearing Erik, the expressions of Chen, Ethan, and Christine changed at once, becoming serious and resolute as they drew their weapons. Chen took the sword Erik had given him, and Christine gripped tightly her intricate staff, which, despite being made of metal, looked like a beautiful ice sculpture with subtle, elegant decorations in precious gems. Meanwhile, Ethan took a short wooden staff and an elegant dagger with an intricate design.
[It's not a good idea for you to use Spiritual Empowerment again; you still haven't fully recovered.] Ebonique announced in a grave tone through the contract. Erik replied evenly as Myst began gathering around him at an astonishing speed.
[Don't worry, I have no intention of using it for the moment.]
"Golems have incredibly high resistance to spells. It's best to immobilize them and run. Our goal isn't to destroy them but to find a suitable place for a base."
At the same time he spoke to Ebonique through the contract, Erik announced calmly. Chen, Ethan, and Christine nodded in agreement with serious expressions, then hurriedly mobilized their mana. Ethan and Christine were quickly surrounded by runes that released thick fog—though each was different. Ethan's seemed almost illusory, while Christine's was an icy fog.
At the same time, two magic circles appeared at the group's front and rear, rapidly forming a large number of Myst arrows. This caused the Myst in the area to move so violently that Chen, Ethan, and Christine—who had barely managed to adapt to the region's Myst—staggered a little.
"The golems are approximately forty meters away, but they're hard to make out in the dark. We'll need some light." Erik announced coolly. Chen quickly collected himself and made three hand signs while lifting the sword in his hand toward the sky.
With Chen's motion, the sword was covered in fire, which separated from the blade and gathered into two perfectly round fire orbs. The spheres shot off at high speed toward the front and the rear, soon revealing the golems' figures.
"I can keep the one in back busy for a while; you can focus on the one ahead so we can move forward." Ethan said seriously as his figure blurred into the fog. Erik nodded and turned to Chen and Christine as he spoke.
"Then we'll do the following: Chen will distract the front golem with a flare, I'll destabilize it with my arrows, and Disciple Taylor will pin it to the ground with ice."
"I'll follow your instructions." Christine quickly nodded with a small smile, while Chen dipped his head and said.
"Leave it to me."
"Then I'll take my leave."
At that moment, Ethan's voice rang out, but the young man was nowhere to be seen. Curious, Erik looked over his shoulder and found the second golem surrounded by a faint whitish fog, while eight "Ethans" began attacking it with daggers from different directions. Noticing the fog subtly gathering around the golem's legs, Erik nodded in satisfaction and turned to face forward, then ordered.
"Chen, begin."
"Crimson Lotus!"
At Erik's command, Chen swiftly executed six hand signs with his left hand while tracing a ring of fire in the air with the sword in his right. When Chen finished the last sign, he announced calmly, and the ring of fire in the air began to spin and then shot toward the golem at great speed.
When the ring of fire was a few meters from the golem, it suddenly stopped and increased its rotation speed, then collapsed in on itself into a fireball that quickly blossomed like a lotus. With the appearance of the rotating fire lotus, a kind of flame tornado rose from the ground and completely engulfed the golem, creating a "curtain of fire."
"Myst Arrows."
In a calm voice, Erik announced while casually flicking his hand, causing the crystalline arrows floating before him to shoot forward at great speed into the flames, tearing huge holes through the "curtain." Almost instantly, the sounds of heavy impacts mixed with the sound of shattering crystal echoed through the tunnel, and after a few seconds a loud crash resounded, stirring the surrounding fire greatly.
"Frost Prison."
In that instant, Christine declared it as the runes around her gathered into six circles in the air that released a thick, icy fog. Suddenly, from the center of each circle shot what looked like a thick, intricate chain of ice, which plunged into the flames without being affected in the slightest.
After a moment, Chen snapped his fingers, causing the fire to fade and revealing a golem chained up and trapped in a block of ice. At the same time, Erik moved his mana to fire the Myst arrows aimed at the second golem, which shot forth, kicking up small shockwaves.
As if guided by invisible wires, the arrows weaved through the air to avoid each and every one of the "Ethans" attacking the golem, striking it in different places. Soon the golem staggered backward, at which point an arrow formed out of the fog and slammed full-on into the golem's chest, then exploded.
From the impact, the golem lost its balance and fell to the ground, whereupon six new ice chains shot out to wrap it completely. Just as the chains tightened around the golem, they began releasing an icy haze that soon frosted over it, which, in a matter of mere moments, turned into a sturdy block of ice.
"Let's move. A group of hunters just entered my perception range." Erik announced calmly, and the others nodded with serious expressions and began running toward the nearest intersection.
"Do you clearly remember the 'map' I made of this place's interior?"
As they entered another tunnel through the intersection, avoiding the approaching group of hunters, Erik asked in a steady tone while glancing over his shoulder at the youths following him. Having realized Erik didn't want to talk about his surname, Ethan quickly replied seriously, acting as if he had never asked anything.
"I remember it perfectly."
""Same here.""
Soon, Chen and Christine added in unison, which made Erik nod in satisfaction, and he spoke in a contemplative tone.
"Perfect. Then let's discuss where to place a temporary base—somewhere we can take shelter in case the basilisk attacks suddenly before we manage to establish a secure base."
"I was thinking the exact same thing, and I've got some ideas."
Chen spoke seriously as he created a three-dimensional map of the second level with fire. Once the map was formed, Chen had small wisps of flame gather in two corners of the place and explained.
"These two corners seem like good spots to me. They're close enough to an intersection that we can flee through the tunnels if something happens, but far enough to go unnoticed without detailed observation."
"They're good locations, and the geometry fits quite well to create a relatively complex concealment formation." Ethan added shortly afterward in a thoughtful tone as he studied the map. Erik nodded and then looked at Christine.
"Do you have any opinion, Disciple Taylor?"
"I also think they're good spots, though I believe the one on the left is too close to the stairs. While that would be good for getting there faster in an emergency, it also exposes us to a pincer attack if we're discovered."
Christine replied in a serious, almost professional tone, which both surprised and, at the same time, pleased Erik a little. The young, blue-haired woman's coquettish, sultry tone wasn't exactly pleasant to him.
"That's a great observation, and I agree—it's better to use the corner on the right." Erik said as he looked at Ethan and Chen, who quickly nodded.
"Then we'll go with the one on the right. But do you have formation materials? There wasn't much in the bags, although there are mana crystals." Ethan asked, looking at Chen, who nodded and replied evenly.
"Erik gathered some and has them in his bag. What formation were you planning to deploy?"
"Mist Castle. It's 'cheap,' easy to deploy, and doesn't need many materials." Ethan answered after thinking for a second. Chen nodded and, after considering for a few moments, looked at Ethan and spoke.
"How about I deploy a 'Shadow Gate' around your 'Mist Castle'? If we adapt them a bit, they should work quite well together."
"Sounds like a plan. Do you have the materials?" Ethan nodded and asked. Chen looked at Erik and said casually.
"Not all of them, but Erik is good at finding substitutes."
"Don't rely on me too much. I'm not a magic cat capable of fixing everything," Erik replied, shaking his head somewhat helplessly. Chen chuckled and added with a smile.
"If it can't be done, we still have ingredients to deploy at least one formation."
"Perfect. Then let's move." Erik nodded and led the way, the others following close behind.
After some time moving through the tunnels, dodging groups of hunters, the group finally reached the chosen corner. It was far enough out of the way that they hadn't sensed a group of hunters for quite a while before arriving. Once there, Erik reached into the storage pouch at his waist and began taking out various things.
Soon, Chen and Ethan had in their hands several mana crystals, a few bamboo flasks with magical creature blood mixed with SARI, some bones, flowers, wood, charcoal, and three different metals. Seeing the materials, Ethan couldn't help looking at Erik with a strange expression, wondering where he had managed to get all that stuff.
Especially the flowers, the wood, and the charcoal, since none of those things were easy to come by—some were even quite expensive in the galaxy. He, who had been actively searching for materials for his formations, hadn't found even a shadow of any of those things in the garden until now.
"Where did you get all this, Erik?"
***
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