Chapter 56: Extra Perks

"That's correct," Nayala said as she immediately changed direction.

"How do you know?" Kafril, who glanced at his destroyed MCOM falling behind, couldn't help but ask.

Nayala quickly answered without stopping. "My MCOM is special. Only one type of signal can me accepted by it. The moment I checked, I saw the signal we got wasn't ours, so I knew it was something else." Indeed. She worked in the patrols as a soldier on the borders. She obviously wouldn't have the same common MCOMs as the others.

Instead, her MCOM was from the army.

Everyone understood and got nervous again.

Just as the tension was building, Kafril's sharp eyes caught a sudden movement. "On the top!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with urgency.

They were down the valley, so anyone approaching would have to come from the mountains on the sides or from the front or the back. They were quite far inside, so coming from the front and back would have taken time.

Without warning, three vehicles came hurtling down the mountain from the right side. They were not airships, which would have struggled to navigate this terrain. Instead, they were ground vehicles, their engines roaring as they closed in. Magic Energy brimmed from there, proof of the Magic Stones being consumed.

*Bang, bang, bang...*

Immediately, the three newcomers started to shoot down, forcing Linfel and the others to take cover. "How can they drive those things in this terrain?"

"I can, so why can't they?" Nayala spoke. "They are obviously soldiers from this area on the Volztain side. They have received training, so this isn't anything that impressive. Nonetheless, it does put us at a great disadvantage."

The three soldiers from Volztain didn't approach Linfel's group. Instead, they began to circle around the cover Linfel's group was using from different sides. They were obviously using their motorized advantage to keep their distance to shoot Linfel's group down.

"Ranged attacks!" Nayala shouted to Alvin and the others. At the same time, her Red Magic Energy gathered on her feet, and she dashed out of the cover from a boulder she was using. She selected a target and was intent on taking the guy down.

Alvin, Connor, and Kafril followed her order and began to use their Magic Energy to shoot at the enemy. Alvin made several speartips of earth, blasting them forward with his Magic Energy. Connor used his Fire Element to shoot fire arrows while Kafril shot a few Lightning bolts.

"Behind!" Linfel immediately called their attention. While Nayala tried to catch one of the enemies on foot, the other two finished circling their cover from the other side and were now aiming at their group and shooting their weapons.

*Bang!*

Alvin immediately punched the ground, and his Earth Element quickly created a big Earth Wall covered in Magic Energy. His Magic Energy was now fully recovered, so he could show much more strength.

*Tuf, tuf, tuf, tuf, tuf, tuf...*

Tens of bullets hit the Earth Wall almost instantly. The Earth Wall came out just in time. Unfortunately, Alvin gritted his teeth, finding it hard to keep the Earth Wall covered in Magic Energy.

As mentioned before, the weapons weren't normal. They were made to deal with Maguses and Familiars and their Magic Energy. They forced Alvin to waste a lot more Magic Energy. If he had used a normal Magic Energy Barrier, he wouldn't even be able to block those bullets.

Kafril and Connor didn't just watch. They changed targets and shot their Fire Arrows and Lightning Bolts at the two other vehicles. However, the enemy was just too far away and moving fast. For Level One Maguses and Familiars like them, that was just too hard to hit.

Linfel kept calm and took a look at Nayala. She was able to defend herself with her Red Magic Energy. Unfortunately, because she didn't have a vehicle herself, she couldn't catch up to the enemy she was pursuing while the guy kept shooting at her. Obviously, he intended to waste all of Nayala's Magic Energy from a safe distance. Sёarᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

'Hum... those vehicles are quite nice. What were they called...? I'm sure I saw it in the city network...' Linfel pondered. 'Oh, right! Bikes, Magic Bikes!

Well, these ones are very different from the ones I saw for sale. Everything had been modified so it could travel this terrain without issue.'

Finally, Linfel reached a decision. 'Alright. Let's get some of these bikes for ourselves.'

Suddenly, the Magic Energy escaping his Core disappeared, and in the darkness, he became nothing but a tiny shadow floating in the air. No, there was still some Magic Energy coming from that Core, but it was truly hard to perceive it.

Under cover of night and with the attention focused on both Nayala and Alvin's sides, Linfel left the Earth Wall Alvin's group was using without the enemy noticing. Of course, Alvin, Connor, and Kafril noticed it this time. Kafril even wondered if Linfel was trying to escape on his own.

'Don't worry,' Alvin used his Magic Energy to whisper in Connor and Kafril's ears,' He knows what he is doing.'

Connor and Kafril continued to shoot at the the enemies on the bikes, not having much of a choice, while Alvin held the Earth Wall and repaired the holes nonstop.

'Connor,' Linfel's voice echoed in Connor's ears, 'pay attention above. One of them just threw something while the other kept shooting to force you and Kafril to hide.'

Connor was taken aback. Nonetheless, he quickly created a Fire Ball and shot it upwards, illuminating the surroundings. It was just in time to see something falling in their direction. 'Kafril!'

Kafril understood and used his Magic Energy to create another Lightning Bolt.

*Kabom!*

*Boom!*

This time, the target was close enough, so Kafril was successful in hitting it. An explosion of fire and magic energy ensued, obviously showing it was some kind of grenade.

'Keep focused,' Linfel warned. 'They will definitely not approach and lose their advantage. They are just Level One Maguses, just like you three. Just hold on for a moment, and I'll do something.'

Alvin and the others nodded, kind of accepting Linfel as their leader at that moment. The two vehicles noticed that the grenade didn't work and continued to move around while Alvin focused on defense.

Linfel was satisfied with their teamwork. In the end, life and death situations were always able to extract the best of everyone. 'He won't last long, though.' Linfel looked at Alvin for a moment and took his attention away.

He was now tens of meters away from the group, heading in Nayala's direction. Her enemy had been moving around with ease, forcing her to keep running nonstop. Nonetheless, he still made sure he didn't get too far from his companions, showing his experience and training in this environment.

Not even a minute had gone by yet, and Nayala had always spent 20% of her Magic Energy reserves. She wondered if she should change her tactics for a moment when Linfel's voice arrived in her ears. 'Be ready to pounce. We need a ride.'

She was taken aback for a moment, wanting to take a look around to find Linfel. However, she wasn't an idiot. If her focus suddenly changed, the enemy would notice something wasn't right, so her eyes kept on the guy. It didn't matter where Linfel was. What mattered was that he was here and could create a chance.

It was during one of the moments the enemy was closer that, out of nowhere, an invisible thread appeared right at the guy's torso height.

"What?!"

The moment he touched the thread, a powerful Magic Energy passed through the thread, increasing its resistance several found and showing its existence.

The bike continued to move forward, but the biker fell back because of the thread. He didn't suffer any bad injuries and quickly got up. Unfortunately for him, Nayala had been waiting for this chance.

*Bang!*

Nayala hit the guy without holding back, instantly breaking tens of bones and sending him flying. The guy hit the ground several meters in the distance, and it was hard to tell if he was dead or alive.

The bike obviously fell to the ground as well, having no driver anymore.

Finally, Linfel showed his presence near the place where the bike fell. "Alright, we have one; let's another two."

Nayala quickly reached his side and pulled the bike. "How can you still float with so little Magic Energy release?" She asked, impressed that Linfel seemed to be just a Core pretty much.

Linfel released his ethereal humanoid form and smiled. "A certain someone trained me like hell." Naturally, he was talking about Horan, the same guy who sent him to the future.

Nayala didn't know what to say, but that didn't matter at the moment. She knew how to operate the bike even though the model was different from the ones she used. "Hope on!"

Linfel jumped on the back and used his Magic Energy to hold onto the bike. Also, he brought something else with him. "Here, the guy's weapon."

Nayala quickly accelerated while shaking her head. "If I could use the weapons, I would have taken the weapons from the soldiers we killed the first time. The weapons also work with one's Magic Energy Signature. It won't shoot a single bullet regardless of how much Magic Energy I pour into it."

"Oh! So that's why..." Linfel quickly left the Bike and flew to the fallen soldier on the back. Surprisingly, he was still alive.

"What are you doing?! Alvin and the others won't hold for long!" Nayala shouted, wondering if she should just leave Linfel there and quickly go rescue Alvin's group.

Linfel didn't take long, though. He soon returned to the bike and passed the weapon to Nayala. There was a difference now. Linfel was attached to the weapon with his Core. "Alright, it should shoot now."

"What?!" Nayala was taken aback.

"Just use it!" Linfel hurried her. "Let's go; we need to help Alvin and the others."

Nayala found this Familiar to be more and more strange, but she didn't complain and quickly turned the accelerator. The Bike wasn't protected by Magic Energy Signature since these were very basic models, so he could still drive it.

The other two soldiers noticed when their friend was taken down and immediately separated. One of them continued to pin Alvin and the others down while the other came for Nayala. Even if she had acquired one of the bikes, she didn't have a weapon to use. He didn't know how his friend was defeated, but he was determined to not make the same mistake.

As soon as Nayala entered his weapon range, he began to shoot...

*Puc, puc, puc, puc, puc...*

He wasn't the only one, though. Instantly, his body was covered in holes from the bullets shot from Nayala's weapon. He fell from the bike with his eyes open wide. Even in that darkness, he could easily identify the weapon in Nayala's hand. It was his friend's one. How could that be?

How could she use his friend's weapon without his Magic Energy Signature?

Well, his eyes weren't as wide as Nayala's... She was shocked that she really could use that weapon. She checked it, and she was certain it had a Magic Energy Signature lock. Nonetheless, it was still accepting her Magic Energy and shooting the bullets. The only difference in the weapon... was that Linfel was touching it.

"Just what are you? Some kind of magic parasite?"

"How rude! I'm a Familiar... with some extra perks." That was a lie, though.