Chapter 262: A Scare
“So thirsty… West Tower, bring me a glass of water.”
Ace mumbled in a dry, raspy voice, hovering between sleep and wakefulness. The surroundings were silent, save for the bright moonlight filtering through the branches of the jungle and the distant howls of wolves.
Ace’s eyes snapped open. He felt an ache all over his body. His black robes were tattered, and the silver badge was damaged, no longer shining.
Subconsciously, he reached for the Bag of Holding at his waist, only to find it gone.
Ace’s consciousness began to clear. He looked around and realized he was being clutched by an unfamiliar flying Monster, moving rapidly through the air.
Instinctively, he activated the Shadow Transformation Spell, turning into a mass of shadows that wrapped around the Monster. At the same time, he activated the Perception Spell to observe the surroundings.
‘This is a jungle, but it doesn’t look like the jungles of the Larr Mountains. There’s no cold wind here, the plants are unfamiliar, and this Monster is strange too. Where on earth am I?’
As Ace analyzed the situation, the Monster, wrapped in shadows, couldn’t comprehend what was happening. It struggled violently, trying to shake off the shadow.
The moon gradually receded, and the sun rose. By a river in the jungle, Ace was gnawing on the flying Monster, which he had just roasted using the Scorching Flame derived from the Four-Element Ring.
“Crunchy. Tastes a bit like chicken. Pity I don’t have any of my delicious magical spices; I couldn’t bring out the full potential of these good ingredients.”
Ace muttered to himself as he gorged on the meat and drank the boiled, clear river water.
He immersed his spirit into the Soul Sanctuary and guided the True Spirit to descend. The entire Soul Sanctuary trembled slightly but remained fundamentally intact.
‘It seems the expanded space created by the Spatial Expansion Rune Array wasn’t stable. When such an unstable space underwent a spatial jump, it shattered, affecting the stability of the teleportation. This ultimately resulted in a turbulent teleportation effect. That must be how I ended up here.
‘Given the turbulence, I should be grateful I was transported to a habitable place. It’s just a shame about that bag of elemental magic Casting Materials. Stable Magified Explosives are not easy to manufacture.’
While eating the barbecue, Ace analyzed his current situation, simultaneously feeling the sting of losing his Casting Materials.
After eating his fill, Ace carefully scouted the surroundings. Confirming there were no immediate threats, he inscribed a simple Summoning Magic Array and summoned his Shadow Ravens.
Although he could achieve brief communication and synchronization with his Rational Clone through the True Spirit, he could only vaguely determine that he was to the north of the High Tower Territory. He couldn’t pinpoint his exact location.
‘I must investigate. If I follow the river, I’m bound to reach a populated area. I’ll need to change my attire then to avoid exposure.’
With the Low-Altitude Flight Spell, Ace could have moved at high speed and left this stretching jungle in a day, but he didn’t.
Rapid low-altitude flight meant a greatly increased probability of being discovered. Ace chose to play it safe. He expanded his Perception Spell and walked carefully along the river. The flock of Shadow Ravens stirred within his shadow, fluttering out to lurk in the corners around him.
Ace was extremely cautious. He had just advanced to Level 1 Life. Although he had diverse means, in this unknown land lacking necessary intelligence, carelessness could easily cost him his life.
Four days later, at noon. The winter sun warmed the earth.
Ace’s expression turned grave. Using ultrasound perception, he had detected a blurry group of humans ten kilometers away. Out of caution, Ace activated the Time-Limited Mirror Image.
The vitality Mana within his Soul Sanctuary pulsed, and a clear, transparent mirror gradually formed in front of him. Rippling like water, a mirror image identical to Ace stepped out from the surface.
Ace inscribed a Summoning Rune Array on the mirror image, allowing them to swap positions if necessary.
The mirror image transformed into a nightjar, activated mana concealment, flew into the air, and slowly approached the group of humans.
Ace followed behind, gradually getting a clear view of the group.
Calling them humans wasn’t quite accurate; a group of Divine Descendants was more precise. In his perception field, Ace discovered one deep red figure, two pale red figures, and thirteen bright white figures.
‘One Great Hero, two Heroes, and thirteen Pseudo-Heroes. Such power would be a formidable force even in a city-state. What are they doing here?’ Ace thought heavily.
As the mirror image got closer, the appearance of the Divine Descendants became clear: pure black plain robes, bare feet, iron masks that blocked perception from prying into their faces, and giant scythes on their backs.
Ace’s pupils shrank instantly. This attire, these standard Wonder Items—it was the Punishers organization!
The leading Great Hero seemed to glance casually at the sky. That momentary eye contact made the mirror image’s hair stand on end, and Ace’s main body felt a sudden palpitation.
‘Not good, I’ve been spotted!’
Ace was horrified. This figure, who appeared to be at the Great Hero level, had actually seen through the mana concealment. Far away, the cowlick on the top of Ace’s main body’s head swayed, and a shielding ability similar to a rule activated.
The Great Hero pulled the giant scythe from his back, arched his body like a bow, and hurled the weapon toward the sky.
These three actions were completed in the span of a breath. The mirror image in the sky had almost no time to react before it was sliced into over a hundred pieces by the spinning scythe.
Ace only had time to order the Shadow of the True Spirit inside the mirror image to dissolve itself before he felt the image shatter.
“Huh?”
The Great Hero Punisher made a confused sound. After the nightjar in the sky was chopped into fragments, it immediately dissolved into Mana and dissipated in the air.
The Great Hero’s cold eyes stared at the sky through the iron mask. Then, he suddenly looked around, and a blinding light burst from his cold eyes, scanning the surroundings.
Ace had already transformed into a shadow. He made no extra movements, keeping the shielding effect fully active.
After a long while, the blinding light disappeared. The Great Hero snorted coldly, seemingly in thought.
“Lord Karim, has something happened?”
A purple-haired male Punisher behind the Great Hero bowed slightly and asked.
Karim spoke coldly, “Roon, someone was spying on us. I killed the spy who was very close to us, but there was no corpse and no soul. The Eye of Truth found nothing either.
“Perhaps it’s a new trick of the Fire Stealer Alliance. We might have been discovered. We must move immediately. The mission to search for Fire Stealers is postponed.”
Purple-haired Roon replied, “Those damnable Blasphemers, they’ve come up with new methods of blasephamy!”
They dared not stay long, appearing to have learned painful lessons in the past. Under Karim’s command, several Heroes with perception abilities activated their perception authorities and evacuated in an orderly manner.
Ace dared not move. He wasn’t entirely sure about the Spirit of the Book’s shielding effect. Seeing those Heroes release their perception authorities, he almost wanted to flee for his life.
However, he controlled himself and suppressed the urge. After all, this was an ability capable of shielding the Wizards’ Collective Subconscious Sea; the Divine Descendants opposite him should find it hard to detect.
Facts proved that suppressing the impulse was correct. The Divine Descendants were busy evacuating, sensing their escape route to avoid potential ambushes.
After confirming the other party had fled, Ace never considered tracking them. A Great Hero who could see through mana concealment at a glance could absolutely crush him like a bug. He would have to be suicidal to follow them.
Playing it safe, Ace unhesitatingly chose to leave in the opposite direction.
An encounter where both sides were spooked ended with both parties retreating.
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