Chapter 99 - Worries

After climbing up to a certain point, the nearest mountain, Zaos, and Verkan stopped taking a break and looking around the region. While they couldn't see much, they confirmed that there were no signs of bonfires in several kilometers around Salide.

"Do you think you can learn the same magic tracking skills of the followers of the demon god?" Verkan asked as he looked around, trying to find any movement amidst the darkness below the mountain.

"I don't know, sir…" Zaos frowned. "Wouldn't be bad if anyone tries to learn that? I am pretty sure that is a skill that belongs to the followers of the demon god."

"That is why some people on our side should learn that," Verkan said. "By doing so, we will be able to notice their presences much faster and prepare some sure-kill ambushes."

That made sense, but in the end, Zaos couldn't help but feel hesitant about it. Come to think of it… why the followers of the demon god would have such a skill? It wasn't like they had any reason to be able to feel the presence of other mages when they never had to fight other mages.

"If it isn't a spell, it shouldn't be hard to learn," Verkan said. "Well, at least I think so. By the way, what was the distance between you and the followers of the demon god when they felt your presence?"

"Around thirty meters," Zaos replied.

"Mmm… that is quite a short distance," Verkan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Anyway, you should try to learn it."

Zaos nodded after hearing that. Now that he was talking about it with another person, Zaos began to realize several strange things about that incident. The range of their detecting skills was short, probably because they don't use it very often.

After closing his eyes, Zaos tried to feel Verkan's presence, but he didn't notice anything in the end. All living beings had mana, so it shouldn't be difficult to notice the magic presence of someone so close. Still, in the end, Zaos had no idea what he should do. He will continue to try, but truth to be told, Zaos didn't have many expectations in learning something from zero. All the things he knew came from the books or someone who taught him.

"Think about that skill and see how you can learn it while we walk, I will keep my ears and eyes open for us," Verkan said. "Let's get going."

After going down that mountain, Verkan immediately leads Zaos to another. Since he also wanted to make sure that not a single trace left by them would be found, Verkan chooses the harshest routes to follow. While that was a bit troublesome, Zaos didn't feel that bothered, even though he was fully armored and still was carrying the longsword that was as big as himself.

Before sunrise, they climbed to other mountains up to the midway point while heading North. However, they didn't find a single trace of the enemies. Zaos had never come so far in the North, so he couldn't help but feel a bit worried about it.

"We will rest here for the day," Verkan said while he looked around the third mountain they climbed. "It is a pity that we can rely on some trees to offer some protection against the wind."

"… There aren't many caves around these mountains, sir?" Zaos asked as he looked around as well. Maybe we can find one… maybe the followers of the demon god are using some of those."

"They are hard to find thanks to the snow," Verkan said as he opened his bag and took out a while cape. "While we can't discard that idea, a cave would make them easy to find, since they would leave too many traces around it. Anyway, I am going to hunt some rabbits, wait here."

Zaos and his squad were also taught by Elius how to hunt some small animals in that region, but they weren't good enough to hunt them and cover their traces simultaneously. At least for the time being. Regardless, the while cape that Verkan put around himself was a common item soldier used when they are in the mountains. Using that as a group wasn't that efficient since too many white points moving would be noticed, but only a couple of them. That was another matter.

While Zaos was quite hungry, thirsty, and a bit tired as well, he decided to use those as fuel to learn that magic tracking skill. If he manages to learn that and increase the perception range if compared to the followers of the demon god, he will have an extremely useful weapon against them.

"Let's see… feeling my own magic presence should be a good first step," Zaos muttered to himself.

Zaos assumed his meditation posture and then tried to feel his presence. Since that was something he was used to doing, Zaos, in the end, began to meditate, and before he could notice, two hours passed, and Verkan returned with two rabbits.

"I hope you like the breakfast, my lord," Verkan said as he skinned the rabbits. "I believe the rabbits cooked by me are tastier than the meat cooked by the best chiefs in the capital."

"We don't have a chief," Zaos said. "If you really know my father, then you should have known that he isn't someone who takes pleasure in eating or drinking."

"I can't think of anything that guy takes pleasure," Verkan said and then laughed a little. "What about your mother? I always imagined that a boring guy like your father would marry a spoiled noblewoman who only wears the best dresses and drinks the finest wines."

"You couldn't be farther from the truth," Zaos said. "My mom is the best person you can ever meet considering all of those that belong noble families. Even those she is supposed to hate, she treats them with care. I wonder how come I will explain this mission to her without making her worry."