Chapter 282: Darren and Nina

Chapter 282: Darren and Nina

Master?

Yes, minion?

Do we really have to meet these people? Were ok by ourselves.

Can you be proud of someone just for trying to be antisocial? Because damn, I am.

I'm already mentally preparing for having to deal with people. This time I'm severely weakened. There aren't any extroverted members of Group 4 here to absorb most of the damage or who have a good match-up against extroverts.

Nope, this time it's just me and my disciple who seem to have the same problem.

All of this is compounded by the fact that weve already spent over a week by ourselves, and neither of us speaks very much. That leaves 2 weeks left with my silly disciple and to maybe finish the side quests.

Locating the natives or survivors, as the system calls them in the side quests, should be the easiest one and maybe they can help me locate the Mirror. The reward for that one is listed as a series of question marks, and that interests me greatly.

Together we reach the part of the city where Darren told us to meet him, so I sit on a chunk of debris and, after observing me for a moment, my disciple does the same. She even mimics my expression and then we wait.

Straight away, I notice a dozen or so people surrounding us. None of them feels close to 200 and they dont think Ive noticed them yet. They proceed to carefully examine me. Not exactly me, they seem to be trying to sense how much mana I'm passively radiating and try to estimate my strength that way.

As always, I keep Mana Cycling running. Ever since Lissandra taught me, Ive kept it up almost constantly. In combination with my Mantle, it almost fully stops the leak of my mana and it also constantly improves my control, even as my reserves grow.

In an attempt to avoid spooking them too much, Ive been letting a bit of mana leak. Too little could seem as suspicious as leaking too much. I'm smart, am I not?

Even my disciple hasnt noticed anything as shes been scanning the area with her delicate senses, but that's fine, we can work on that.

The strongest member of their group uses some weird skill and his voice speaks in my ear even though he hasnt changed position.

Are you the one Darren spoke with? he asks.

I respond, with the password he gave me, Zero, one, three, four.

Only then does he use a skill to step out of the shadow, keeping his distance from me.

He speaks normally this time voice, You are ten minutes late.

[Shadow Whisperer - lvl 167]

We did meet a few veilshriekers on the way here, I answer as I observe him.

The man observes me as well and then nods.

My name is Kaiden, please follow me. This time he whispers again using the weird projection skill and a few more of his group members appear.

My disciple seems to be surprised and might even be thinking about how cool they are, but I have trouble taking them too seriously.

Am I the asshole here? I mean, they probably need to be skilled to survive here, scavenging for food and water while fighting monsters and avoiding the stronger ones like Veil Guardian.

The moment they move, I follow them and when they speed up, I grab Vega and run with her in my arms.

She seems to dislike it, but I also notice that cheeky disciple of mine comfortably resting her head against my chest where my heart is.

Any problem with my heart? I ask.

The group speeds up even more and I use some of my mana to strengthen my body and slow down a bit so I dont pass them. We run through the streets and occasionally hide in a building while we wait for a group of veilshriekers to pass.

Masters heart is strong, Vega says to me.

Is that a good thing?

Yes! Demon Hearts are important to demons and I heard the Hornless Demon has the strongest ever!

Oh really? What does it do?

Her eyes shine at the prospect of telling me about her hero, His heartbeat can be heard throughout the entire world when he gets angry, and only the human's Bloody Hero has ever survived a fight with him!

Oh, that sounds cool.

Yes! she nods and once again listens to my heart, But I think master also has a strong heart, almost like a demon.

Well, let's not tell her that it's only a cheap knock-off version of a trait, that it's terribly inefficient in comparison to traits. And unlike traits, it can kill me much easier.

He puts down a bag that contains enough dried meat to last an adult man for a few weeks, and there are even some bottles of water. Next to it, he puts down a rare cape that seems to have some kind of camouflage effect.

The way they present them seems to mark them as extremely valuable items, probably a show of goodwill and an attempt at building a relationship.

I would rather ask for information instead if thats okay with you. If you dont want to answer, I can take the items. If they refuse to answer, I will force them to do so. I wont kill anyone or damage their home; theres no need for that. Just a show of power seems to be enough.

To my fascination, Darren seems to read my intention, and even though he tries to hide it, his hand starts shaking again.

How amusing. Now I really want to mess with them. Should I release my mana a bit?

Before I do anything, Darren hurriedly speaks, Yes, we can do that as well, he forces himself to answer calmly.

Nina seems to notice that, and her eyes examine me again. I see her hand sliding closer to her swords.

Do you know anything about the Mirror? I ask.

Darren puts his hand on Nina and stops her from drawing her sword. After another signal, everyone else around does the same.

A long sigh escapes his mouth, The Mirror is a relic of the past and weve been trying to locate it for a long time. The encrypted mana stone you helped us to retrieve did contain information on it, as well as its location.

Oh, lucky me.

So, where is the problem? I ask.

The Mirror is to the north, in the Valley overseen by the Bastion. The way he says it sounds like that should explain everything.

Darren, tell me like I'm five and know nothing about this place. What the hell is the Mirror, what is the Bastion, and what's with the Valley? Keep it simple, okay?

A few of them dont seem to like the way I talk to them, but its not like Im rude.

Just in case, I check my disciple, and she looks at me like I'm some sort of hero. I also notice the way she mirrors my expression, and stance, and even looks around similarly.

Damn it, is this Min-Jae syndrome? Why do these weirdos keep doing this?

Put simply? The Mirror is, as I said, a relic of the past. An item spoken of legends, yet we are unsure of what it does, but it's likely to be an extremely powerful artifact. The Bastion is the most secure place we have knowledge of, the remains of the past with working defensive mechanisms and other things left behind by our ancestors. The Valley is, well, the Valley; it's a place with extremely dense mana radiation. People die just from coming too close to it. No one from us knows more.

Well, thats simple enough.

Okay, we can stay in touch. I just need a map or something to lead me to the Bastion and the Valley.

Darren nods and I feel my mood improving. Damn, I'm getting better and better at dealing with people.

POV Nina

The young man continues speaking with my father, and I do not take my eyes off him, not even for a second. For now, I decide to trust my father and not send the signal to attack.

The man called Nathaniel seems to notice, and when I meet his two differently colored eyes, I feel my body shudder. His stance remains extremely relaxed the entire time. I keep looking for a hint of a battle stance or defensive one, but I see no such thing.

Surrounded by all of us, he doesn't even seem to mind. But the most scary thing is the way he radiates his mana.

I would be less scared if he was radiating it in waves strong enough to drown me, or if I couldn't sense it at all.

No, what hes doing is much more terrifying. The mana leaks from his body in perfect dispersion. The exact same amount of mana radiates from his arm as from his leg, chest, or head.

I can't even fathom the amount of control that requires or the reason he has for doing such a thing.

The little girl by his side seems to be one of the unlucky human mutants, seeing her red eyes and horns, meanwhile her expression matches that of the young man.

When he finally leaves, I feel my body and mind relax and immediately order a few men to make sure he left and left nothing behind.

What happened? I ask my father.

We were lucky, very lucky. Nina, if you ever deal with him in the future, be respectful, be direct, and never attack him first.

Father, explain properly.

I used my [Intuition] a few times, Nina. That person did think about fighting us multiple times and even getting into the Sanctuary. He even noticed my skill and kept thinking about forcing his way into the Sanctuary just for the sake of it. Always a half-step away from actually doing it.

"Do you think he is someone from before the war?"

"I think so. He is strong enough to be of that generation."