Chapter 357: Finish It

Dark Continent. A place no humans were allowed to set foot. Unless one was, at least, Diamond Rank Hunter, or a Diamond Rank Explorer with at least one Inheritance item and must have the backing of one of the Great Houses.

The Dark Continent was said to be surrounded by black mist. No one knew how long the dark continent stood and passed the test of times, but it was already there even before the Makers have arrived, or showed themselves. The Dark continent was the reason why almost half of the Kingdom's Diamond Rank Hunter dwindled to half every year. But no one could stop them from venturing into the Dark continent since they believe all the treasures of the Lost Kingdom were buried there. And for those who wanted challenges, Dark continent houses the weirdest, strangest, and strongest magical beasts.

"Or so they thought," Tiathe brimmed a grin. "Strange magical beast? Yes, a lot of them. But treasure? I doubted that."

Ned listened to Tiathe while he was coming up with a plan to go there. Ned nodded to let Tiathe continue. Her information being shared with Ned was more than any libraries of the continent there was. So Ned must not let it slip.

"How come you know all these without making contact with other elves?"

Tiathe almost pop a burst of laughter but she was trying her best not to as she held her stomach.

"Every year our King was sending Semsmirs to prepare our escapes." Tiathe explained. "Semsmirs are very good on spying since they look more of human than elves, and we're devoted to entering our Kingdom."

"And that Kingdom is?" Ned nearly cut off Tiathe, he bowed slightly to acknowledge his mistake.

Tiathe bowed in regards to Ned's courtesy. "In the Dark continent was the Great tree of Pin'Tu. After the Second Race War, and losing due to a great difference in number, my kin fled to the Dark Continent and settled there for hundreds of years. But I guess we will soon have freedom."

"What do you mean?"

"I have received news months ago," Tiathe looked at Ned. And Ned saw her almost in different life after what had happened between them. "That our King might find a realm that would lead us back to our home. A realm of elves. It's just that…" Tiathe ran her fingers on the skin of her neck then at the back of her nape. She looked at Ned with sadness. "This mark of mine is entirely different of yours."

Her mark was the mark given, perhaps burned to etch by her master.

Ned circled the hollow tree and stopped to check the mark or her seal. The seal of slavery behind her neck: 3 rings that almost resembles a target range with a hole in the center. Ned focused and once he did, he felt a different kind of Mana locked in the center, the one in the hole. And if he focused even further, Ned could sense threads like spiderwebs of Mana interlocking in every part of her body as though each Mana was holding to every fiber of her and once severed or snapped, this thread would stop sending Mana and might kill Tiathe in instant.

"And the only way to remove the seal was to find the person who did it and forced him to inject his mana with the complete intention of setting me free."

Ned sighed and knelt beside Tiathe. "Then we'll have to find this person and forced him to undo the seal." Back in his time at the Empire of Sskat, Ned was tasked with torturing captives, and he smiled that he gets to use different techniques to torture someone and give up willingly. But this time, it was torture with reason and Ned was willing to do it to achieve his goals. But his face dampens upon hearing Tiathe's next words.

"You were a hundred years late, Ned."

"Then how about your Master here?" Ned was pertaining to the person who ordered her to watch for the Kruka-toa encampments.

"You might be able to battle Gold Rank, perhaps, given time Diamond Rank Hunter. But not this one, Ned." Tiathe sighed and shook her head in disdain. "Even if you trained for years, you won't be able to force this man to temporarily release the seal on me."

She meant that there was stronger than Diamond Rank Hunter? Ned never heard of these people. Even now, if he was to fight Edwin the treacherous Royal Knight, Ned would still be defeated. "Who is this person?"

Tiathe opened her mouth, but as soon as she does, her lips quivered, her eyes shook, and her body shivered. Looking at her, she was like put in a room with someone she most hated or feared. Her hands were shaking so much that Ned had to hold them to help her control and regain her consciousness.

"It's fine," Ned said, trying to calm her down with her soft voice. "You don't need to tell me."

She was more than fearful just by thinking of the man or the man's name. But to help Ned she must, at least, give Ned something he needed to be aware of.

"In the Ring City was where I put into chains. Then after years of unforgettable and unforgiving deeds of humans, I was, eventually sent here to the southern region of the continent. And the only person to do it, to be able to move slaves from one place to another is a person even Kings must show respect. He was a Hunter, one of the few, one of the first, maybe one of the oldest. He is a person ranked higher than Diamond. He is one of the people that founded the Hunter's Guild Association and is ranked Platinum."

Platinum, Ned thought and imagining rubbing his forehead to soothe himself. This is something I never accounted for. Of course, there was this rank, I should have thought that Diamond wasn't the highest. And so Ned sighed.

Unable to control herself, Tiathe's eyes produced tears. For them to continue dealing with things, Ned decided that they must rest.

But not Tiathe. Instead, she let Ned rest while she went out to hunt for their food. Ned insisted but since he could barely move a muscle, he put the thought on hold and let Tiathe do her thing. With her magic, it would be easy for her to mimic trees and hide in between trees as long as she was surrounded by nature.

Tiathe waves her hand and a part of the hollow tree moved, creating a hole big enough for her to fit.

It was almost dusk when the two finished talking. Ned slid himself on the ground trying to get more rest.

[Do you think she knows?]

It was ICE that broke Ned's thoughts.

"I think she doesn't," Ned whispered, trying to ponder things.

After he sensed Tiathe's Mana, Ned found out that the seal was controlling her life. Even though she got her own Mana, the one that supplies her lifeforce was the person's Mana who was her current master. Ned suspected that Tiathe must at least see her master once a month to supply her lifeforce.

Can you severe the seal? Ned had to ask ICE.

[I can. But not you, Ned.]

[It is so complex that it would take you days to find a single weak spot of the connection. Once you find the weakest spot, it will take you more days to sever the connection from Tiathe and the master's mana. All that in only one connection. Now do it a thousand times.]

"By their Maker," Ned said, taking a long and deep breath.

[But if I have a body. I could do it all in three hours.]

"But you don't have one." Ned sighed. "What do we do then?"

Severing the connection was like doing the Earth's most complex heart operation. One person wasn't enough to do it.

[For now, leave it. After what happened to you two, we both know she is the most important person to you right now. But we can't help her current situation. You need to ask her how to get to the Dark Continent and promise her to return and free her.]

It was the most logical idea, for now. And so Ned followed along with ICE and rested.

It was another morning, her fourth day in the hollow tree, and his energy was blinking at 2% with his mana unable to ascend to a hundred. Ned was at his weakest's weakest.

Tiathe sat beside her, paling and sweating, but brimming with a smile as she held Ned a slice of meat, and some mushroom only her could procure in the wild.

The meat was already cooked, charred to blackness but the inside was tinder. Ned thought it must be hard for her to find a place just to simply make a fire and cook the meat. The mushroom was edible even though raw. And so Ned started with the mushroom and finished with the meat. A wide leaf was rolled and filled with water which Ned drank.

After a couple of minutes, Ned regained at least a fourth of his strength, abled him to walk. And so he started.

"Change of plan, Tiathe," Ned said bravely. "Tell me how to get to the Dark continent and I promise you: I will be back and free you."

Tiathe smiled after she showed Ned sadness in her eyes. "I already said I will come with you. Also… " Tiathe pulled a makeshift bag of fibers slung behind her back and threw them on the ground, across Ned. Storing orbs rolled, there were ten of them all filled with swirling Mana. "You still have to finish the Hunter Exam."