Chapter 68: Swamp

Zach and Julius looked at Dukiel for a moment before glancing around. Then, they walked up next to Dukiel and also looked at the map with all the navigational skills they could muster.

"Are you sure? Doesn't it look like we're here?" Zach pointed at a random spot on the map.

Julius and Dukiel ignored him. Sёarᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"How did we get lost? Did we take a wrong turn somewhere or something?" Julius asked Dukiel.

Dukiel shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't think I have made any mistakes. I've done the same thing I've always done. Of course, if I made a mistake, it's a sign I wasn't paying attention, so I could've missed that I made a mistake—"

"Can you stop saying mistake like that? Isn't it more likely that we've found what we're looking for?" Zach scowled at Dukiel, interrupting him when it was clear he was only spouting nonsense.

"What do you mean?" Julius tilted his head as he looked at Zach.

Zach looked between Dukiel and Julius.

"Don't you remember what the principal talked about and the fact that the mountain appeared out of thin air right in front of our classmates' eyes? The Underworld uses tricks and illusions to hide and keep people away from their hiding places. This is something like that."

"Are you sure?"

Zach nodded.

"If Dukiel didn't make a mistake and doesn't even remember making a mistake, there's no way we would have gotten lost." Zach's words of overwhelming confidence stunned Dukiel, and his cheeks grew hot. He turned away.

"T-thanks."

"Anyways…" Zach looked around again.

"If we're lost, do you two suppose we've arrived?" Zach glanced at the ground before facing Dukiel and Julius again. They hadn't noticed anything different or found any signs of the supposed Locale that Zach was sure was in the swamp.

"What do you mean?" Julius asked doubtfully.

But the Underworld's name wasn't for show.

Zach tapped the ground with his foot. He grinned.

"What do you think I mean?" Zach glanced at Yanael. She nodded and unsheathed her sword.

Julius and Dukiel quickly understood what Zach was aiming at and took cover behind him. Dukiel also ordered his Sentinel to get ready and assist Zach's angelic maid. Four arms popped out of the Sentinel's body and pointed the same amount of orbs at the ground.

Zach's eyes widened and he tapped Dukiel's shoulder.

"I wanna try something. Have your familiar cooperate with me."

"...Sure." Dukiel was hesitant but he communicated Zach's request to the Sentinel.

The Sentinel turned and looked at Zach. It waited for him to do what he wanted to do. Zach smiled and skipped over to it. Yanael took a step back so Zach could work undisturbed.

Zach reached up and grabbed the Sentinel's arms, pointing them all at the exact same place. However, that place was in the air. If the Sentinel fired those lasers as they were, they would intersect and strike at least four different places on the ground or the barrier.

But Zach was only halfway done.

He concentrated and created a translucent barrier the size of a small coffee table. It looked like a sheet of glass, and as if that wasn't enough, Zach touched the sides and the middle, making it thicker in the center and thinner on the edge.

Zach took a step back and squinted with his hand on his cheek as he inspected the barrier and the Sentinel's lasers. He took a step back. Then another. Then he put up another barrier around the Sentinel and the barrier.

Dukiel and Julius were amazed.

Zach had come far. They remembered his claim to having gone three weeks with his barrier active non-stop. They hadn't really believed it. It was outlandish, even if they didn't take his idealogy about skills to heart.

After all, Anerias' Hound couldn't keep its paws ablaze for that long, even if it could set them on fire like breathing.

However, seeing Zach put on the current display right in front of them made his words much more believable.

Just the fact that he could put up several barriers at once was impressive. But they were all different in structure and texture. It was like he was using three different skills at the same time.

Before Dukiel and Julius had more time to ponder on Zach's display, the Sentinel got the go-ahead from Zach and fired its lasers at the barrier in the shape of a convex lens.

Red light burst out and filled the upper half of the barrier and the surrounding area of the swamp.

Surprisingly enough, the lasers took to the barrier and blessed right through it without spreading much to the sides.

"Tch."

Zach clicked his tongue. It wasn't perfect. The beam was much thicker than he had planned, and one side strayed away, creating a teardrop-shaped laser instead.

Zach signaled for the Sentinel to stop, and he walked over to fix the lens and the lasers' positioning. He was careful to avoid the rising steam from the ground. But at least it was easier to stand and walk now that the ground was dry.

His barrier was also hot, which was another piece of evidence that it wasn't perfect. It wasn't letting all the light of the lasers pass through it. But Zach wasn't sure what to do about that other than reinforce it. He couldn't make it any more translucent than it already was.

It took some trial and error, more than Zach would have liked, but he eventually found a position for the lasers and a lens design that worked.

"Full force, Sentinel!" Zach called out in excitement.

If the Underworld's Locale was responsible for them getting lost and what was going on in the swamp, they would undoubtedly be underground. If the size was anything like the Giupusta Locale, just digging a hole straight down somewhere close to the center of the swamp would be enough to find it.

But digging a hole deep enough could take hours and days, even if the familiars helped.

Fortunately, there was a more efficient way: Brute force.

And now, Zach had designed an even more efficient way: Concentrated brute force.

The corners of Zach's mouth twisted upward in a wild grin. His grueling training was showing its effects.