"Before I heard tales of people forging strong bonds with monsters. As a friend, rival or...., anyway, these creatures had possessed cores, and when they left our world, their companion would in very rare cases get a part of their power. The weird thing was these monsters which should have a core, had none after death. No one nows why, how or what conditions need to be met. It is nothing that really sees the light of day, either."
He leaned forward, talking a bit more quiet.
"Until you can use your mana, I advice against seeking out that foreign substance. Maybe don't even mention it. I for sure won't. Keep it a secret, then when stronger, it becomes a weapon or an asset."
'But why would that beast I helped killing give me his power. If it did so.' he thought while nodding.
'I'm almost certain it is this core. It feels identical to the aura Tusk emitted, weak and fleeting, but still there.'
"Good. Then try once again. Maybe you achieve some progress. Close your eyes!" René began, and after some time, Mikael opened them, exhaling strongly, his legs outstretched to improve the blood flow.
"This is so damn difficult! Again, no change."
"That is normal. Continue when we get back that training, maybe get some clues from Simon and don't stop trying. This part is something no one can really help you with. Should I mess with your mana with mine, your senses could be deluded. Let's get some rest now. We stayed awake long enough." he said, heaving himself up, also helping Mikael who's legs were a bit sore.
René woke Herald and Leon up, both were in good shape before and can do the job.
'Wonder what the variant left for me. A part of its power, if that is what happened.'
Soon, resting next to a root, backpack under his head he fell asleep. Before tho, he tried to meditate again, to feel his own mana. And he could, but then fatigue overcame him, knocking him sleeping right away.
"I don't seem to get him awake." Mikael heard muffled, turning over, wanting to proceed dreaming.
'Leave me, just go and I come after later.'
He felt a jerk, but he choose to ignore it, digging into his backpack.
"Well, you do it wrong, very simple."
'Hmm? Isn't that Sophia? What is simple?'
As he finished his thought, a candle lit up in him, eyes jolted open and he kicked away his blanket, looking around, arms waving.
"Wait, I'm awake, don't kick m..." too late, as he then felt on his leg the familiar tip meeting his limb.
"I knew you were about to, but for making us wait you deserve that. Get up, pack your stuff. We want to get back to the guild today if possible." she said, suppressing a yawn. The dark circles under her eyes showed she had the last shift.
'Her mood won't improve much today.' Mikael already guessed, betting they will get to hear some snapping sentences.
As he looked around, the others had already began to eat breakfast, wore somewhat repaired clothes and had packed their things.
'Better not let them wait.' he scrambled together his equipment, stuffing his blanket in the now relatively small backpack.
'Maybe I should invest in another one, bigger but same material.'
He hadn't purchased this one too long ago, but as he bought more, the space couldn't keep up.
'I can use it when going on shorter trips. Not having to waste it or anything. But for that I need to keep it somewhere safe. Maybe the guild has a place for that.'
Planning on doing so, he shouldered his bag, fastened his weapons and made sure everything was tight.
"Done? We delayed half an hour already. Glad you weren't too obsessed yesterday with training. Too much isn't healthy, either." René said, using a foldable shovel to kill of their glimming fireplace.
"Eat on the way back. From my estimation at a decent speed which we sure won't keep up our arrival should be around dusk, so maybe at night we see our goal."
His concern was because of Meri and Mark, one weak on her feet, albeit able to walk, while the other had to be carried.
"Poor guy woke up two times in the night. First question was about Meri, as was the second. I was just changing his bandage, reapplying the ointment, and upon realisation he fainted again. Maybe he wakes up today." Alf told Mikael, who walked besides him and Leon, who carried the stretcher.
Meri walked on the other side, keeping a close distance to Mark. All together they walked through the forest in a diamond formation, keeping the more injured Alf and other two in the center while despite that René walked at the end again.
'He is clearly on another level. To be so fit after first a difficult fight, then recovering from injuries enough to kill a normal person and then using magic that tires me out after few tries.'
René's eyes were as serious as when they started their mission, vigilant and always watching.
They went through the woods without an obstacle, only the roots, holes in the ground and the undergrowth being against them.
"No wonder we don't see anything yet. That monster should have hunted everything remotely threatening and edible in its territory, while the necromancer himself also hunted down its minions. The closer we get home, the more creatures we should find." Leon mentioned as Herald came back from what he guessed could've been a Goblin trail.
"It was clearly a massacre. I saw rotten organs, lost bones and dried blood. But the corpses itself were missing."
"Makes one wonder how much lives in Nodan. And we are still in only a very small and outer part. The lords knights once rode around the edge, along the tree lines. As they reported after a young squire climbed a mammoth tree the area encompassed was farther than the horizon, and even mountains touched the clouds."
Mikael listened, trying to imagine the sheer magnitude, but his imagination let him down.
"Why didn't humans ventured in here before? A region so wide should interest anyone, no?"
"Who said they didn't?" René answered, gathering some resin from a tree. The golden sticky fluid ran into a small tube he had, which was stored away then.
"Maybe a whole civilization was once, or is still, native here. We just don't know. Or previous adventurers traveled in here, never seen again. We issue an incredible amount of missing quests each year, and that is not even from Nodan."
"Yeah, because why would some go in here. Everything is unknown, could kill you or hold some other stupid surprise. See, we went in here two times, only. For not even that long. And what did we encounter? Hordes of undead, too many Goblins and Kobolds, a bear variant and a necromancer. Heck, we are at least 5 Copper ranks and 3 stone, and had a very challenging time. I get a nice long pause when receiving our reward." Sophia nagged, but everyone agreed in silence.
They walked without big pauses, only resting for maybe 10 minutes to fill up their water provision, removing dirt out their shoes and changing Mark's carriers.
Now Herald and Meri, who claimed to feel much better already after a nights rest and Mikael's herb.
Leon now scouted ahead, freed from the burden.
After another hour of tireless travel, Mark from his position opened his eyes, staring at Meri who looked down on him from her point.
"Meri? Where are we... How are you? Have you recovered?" he wanted to lift himself up, causing the crudely built stretcher to swing, out of Meri's hands.
He fell to the ground, head first, followed by his torso that came over the side.
The shock from his broken leg made him wince, but the ointments seemed to lower his pain. Only a sharp exhale and a high pitched sizzle came from him, before Meri held his head between her hands, kissing him over and over.
"We won't even arrive at night." René lamented, but he smiled, walking over to Mark and helping him stand up, slowly after Meri let him.
"Take it slow, don't make hasty moves. Your leg is still battered. Better stay on the stretcher until we get a healer to fix that." René adviced.
"Yeah, listen to him. You were in so much pain, and the bone even stuck out. Let's get back first." Meri agreed.
"Not that I wanted to walk alone. I now the state I'm in." he calmed her down, as she was clinging to his arm, as if trying to keep him from walking. But his gaze on a decent length branch some meters away suggested otherwise. And maybe René noticed that.
After he resumed being borne by Meri and Herald, Mikael filled him in of what few he missed.
Their little stop didn't dissuaded their schedule, and as the moon stood at its highest, Leon told them about the far away torches from the villages edges.
That had lifted everyones spirits, speeding up their pace. Ignoring the painting feet, blisters and cuts from bushes and thorns, they walked towards the west.
"When we get back, you can go back to your home, inn or whatever residence. But don't tell anyone yet what we encountered, fought or experienced. We need each ones report tomorrow, after that we hand out the first reward and give us all a free day. After that maybe individual conversations, updates for the profile and the bonus. I stop talking know." he said as half of them were tired enough to drowse off standing.
"Get back. Get maybe a hearty meal and some booze, and tomorrow afternoon come see me at the guild."
They passed the front gate, Mikael being greeted by Beron, who had the night shift again.
As he saw them one after another walking more or less bandaged up with tired and less joyous expressions, he whispered to him:" Was this mission a failure? Even when no one seemed to be dead?"
"It was a success... I guess. But it had changed to much from the original objective. Sorry, but more I can't tell."
Excusing them, Mikael went also on the path towards the inn he stayed in.
"Mikael, you maybe have to stay tomorrow a bit longer. I bet Simon wants to have a longer chat with us." René sighed, wishing him then a good night.
'For sure about me being awakened. Maybe he already wants to train me. Or not,after all I don't have exceptional talent. Have to make up for that with training.'
After he ate a Luke warm left meal from this night, he went to his room, once again meditating, trying to control his mana.