Chapter 219 Ensnaring Fog

“I was going to save this for after we made it through the trial, but...” Melisande fiddled with her silver tufts, “...I think I’m going to stay in Vasmoria after this.”

“Huh? Really?” Emilio looked surprised.

It was the first he’d heard of this, and it was clear that Melisande knew the impact of such news as she looked down, only briefly meeting his eyes.

“I saw it when we were in Indasia. The mage academies in Vasmoria are famous around the world–and with the money I’ll earn working as an adventurer, I’ll be able to attend classes,” Melisande explained.

“You’ve been putting a lot of thought into this haven’t you?...” Emilio asked, holding a melancholic smile.

Everett added in, “One of my ol’ friends went to Vasmoria to learn magic! He’s pretty successful now as a tutor, though...he doesn’t respond to my letters anymore.”

Brushing the bumpking’s words aside, Emilio continued, “I guess I’m not a very good teacher, am I?”

“It’s not that! You’re a great teacher–really, Emilio!” Melisande clarified.

“Then?”

“Well, it’s just...after the battle last night, I realized as I am right now, I’m just holding you back,” Melisande explained, “It’s not just that one time–it’s been like this. I understand I’m inexperienced, but if I do this, you won’t have to coddle me anymore.”

“I don’t mind–” Emilio tried to reason.

Melisande stopped him, “Emilio, please. This is what I’ve decided is best for me.”

It took him a moment to accept it as he opened his mouth, about to try and reason otherwise, but nodded, “Alright then. But, you better send me letters about how it’s going–I can’t have you flunking and making me look bad,” he playfully said.

The silver-haired girl laughed, pridefully placing her hands on her hips, “I’ll ace everything they throw at me, don’t worry about me.”

After that unexpected revelation, they continued moving on before the quiet demi-human who kept a quicker pace, staying ahead of the rest, spoke out.

“What about you, blondie?” Yuna said.

“Huh?” Emilio looked ahead.

Yuna clarified, “Where’s the first place you want to go?”

“Oh,” he let out, putting his hand to his chin, “Err...”

Though he initially posed the question, he hadn’t put much thought into it himself yet as the others looked at him, awaiting his answer.

Pondering it, when he truly questioned where he wanted to go, he found himself only with one answer as a natural smile appeared across his lips.

“I think I’ll go pay my folks a visit,” Emilio said.

The genuine, wholesome answer drew a smile from the others as well, though Yuna’s was questionable as she kept her mouth hidden with the fabric of her scarf.

“Home, huh? Not a bad idea,” Everett said.

“Yeah, I think I’ve worried them enough by now,” Emilio laughed.

–

Trekking through the forest, none of it was recognizable to the parts he explored when first arriving in the valley, though the group found themselves now hiding together behind a mossy boulder.

–

In the bowels of a dark room, a bald-headed, tan man held a smile, looking up as he sensed the arrival of trespassers, though welcomed it.

Held in his grip was a splitting maul, using its blunt side to strike a nail engraved in the floor that was etched with mystical inscriptions.

“...I hope you enjoy your stay, my new toys,” the man held a malignant smile.

–

There wasn’t a lot of inspection to do, other than the presence of chopped wood in front of the lodge, the windows were completely sealed, allowing no glance to its interior.

“Anybody home?” Everett asked, knocking on the boarded window.

Melisande circled the lodge, checking for any windows or cracks in the wood, though it was surprisingly well-maintained.

Joining her in this check-up, Emilio noticed the state of the singular lodge as well, “...Are you getting the same idea I am?”

“Yeah,” Melisande nodded, “...It seems like this place is occupied, or at least recently was.”

While they investigated the state of the structure, their attention was called by Yuna who shouted for them:

“Hey! Something’s going on here,” Yuna remarked.

As Emilio and Melisande turned their eyes from the wooden lodge, with Everett doing the same, they looked around to find a wall of fog now completely surrounding the sector of the woods.

“Huh? Wasn’t it clear just a minute or two ago?” Everett scratched his head.

They met up at the front of the lodge, stepping towards the mysterious fog that enclosed around the building.

This doesn’t feel normal. I can sense it–there’s mana laced in this mist, Emilio thought.

Sticking his hand out to touch it, Everett’s armored fingertips lightly met the white mass of vapor before a spark hissed out, causing the man to stumble back, “Gah-!”

“Are you okay?!” Melisande asked.

“What happened?...” Emilio wondered.

Upon closer inspection, there was no damage inflicted on Everett, only a brief pain described by the man’s yell.

“...Huh, nothing?” Everett looked at his hand, surprised it wasn’t wounded.

Yuna didn’t turn her attention from the thick barrier of fog, picking up a blade of grass and slowly bringing it near the wall while the others watched intently.

Just as the grass touched the barrier—ZAP. It was rejected and blown back, though kept intact.

“It didn’t burn the grass?” Melisande asked in surprise.

Holding up the verdant sliver of grass, Yuna displayed that it was completely unscathed, “Seems like it.”

Enacting another test, the others stood back while Emilio began to conjure a spell, able to carefully concentrate as he brought his hands together to manifest a powerful force.

He momentarily activated the first stage of his Dragonheart System, accessing the azure flames before using them to bolster a fire spell of his: “Volley of Ifrit.”

A half dozen streams of azure flames roared out, curving around through the air before crashing against the fog wall in unison, resulting in an explosive wave of bright-blue flames that swirled and exploded continuously.

“Woah...!” Everett reacted to the heat.

Despite all of the flashiness, after the flames dissipated and Emilio breathed out, there wasn’t any damage dealt to the nebulous barrier.