It took Ethan about a week to 'inspect' Lady Agatha's corpse. After reading whatever was left of her mind and examining every nook and cranny of her body, he came to several conclusions.
'This new method of making formations isn't necessarily better. It's just different. However, what is better are these tattoos.' From neck to toe, the old woman was covered in ink. Some showed dragons and scenes of battles, while others seemed to represent events from her life.
But, all of them were just a cover-up. What truly mattered were the mana circuits hidden within.
On each of the witch's fingers, tattoos containing the circuit of different wind spells were painted. On her chest was a huge defensive formation, and the tattoos on her legs could increase her speed 5 fold.
'It's not that the spells are necessarily better…' The difference lay in mana consumption and efficiency. Normally, Ethan and any mage for that matter would expend as much as 10 times more energy to summon a spell they weren't suited for.
However, the tattoos bypassed this problem. Using them like reusable spell scrolls, one could summon several unrelated spells at once or reduce the casting time of highly complicated techniques to mere seconds.
"Are you a necrophiliac?" While Ethan was lost in thought, Ana had entered the room. "And, who does that corpse belong to?"
"Doesn't matter." said Ethan as he got up. "Ana, how do you feel about getting a tattoo?"
At around the same time, outside of Last Heaven…
Around 200 mages were gathered in the middle of what looked like a former warzone. It was the only patch of land for miles to not have any trees, and the ground was littered with crevices as if bombs had struck everywhere.
Even more worrisome, the grass had just barely grown back indicating the events which caused this mess were recent.
"How's it going?" asked Magnolia while dusting off some dirt.
"The reconnaissance team said it's just an empty cave." answered her husband. "I sent them back to check further."
Unfortunately, the treasure map they found after the family's meeting didn't specify anything other than a location. There could still be traps within the cave, so risking all 200 servants was a bit much.
"There's something really unsettling about this place." complained Nolan.
"What makes you say that?" asked his wife sarcastically.
If the holes in the ground were recent as they suspected, then their endeavor would probably be pointless. However, they had to least try given the family's current situation.
"Sir, we've lost contact with the reconnaissance team." A level 2 mage reported. Each member had a tracking device, so this was distressing news.
"Send another." said Nolan flatly. Since one team was already gone, his decision to play it safe was cemented even further.
One group after another entered the tunnel, until by nightfall, around 7 teams were missing.
"That's 35 people." complained Magnolia to an already nervous Nolan. "We can't afford to waste any more troops."
"Then, what do you suggest we do? Return empty handed after losing 3 dozen mages?"
"Sir." one of the soldiers walked up to the couple making them wince. "The reconnaissance team has…"
"I know!" snapped Nolan. "Get everyone to start digging. If there are traps below, then we'll bring the whole freaking dungeon to the surface."
"Yes, Sir."
After the soldier left to deliver his orders, Magnolia put a hand on Nolan's shoulder.
"How long do you think that's going to take?" she asked carefully. Everyone knew this forest wasn't a place one wanted to stay in for long.
"How the hell should I know?" grumbled her husband. "If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears."
While they were having this conversation, some 10.000 feet above their heads, something and someone were watching.
'What the hell are they doing now?' wondered Amelia from on top of her friend. Though the Queen said to bide her time, watching a bunch of humans dick around for hours wasn't her idea of a peaceful afternoon.
Even her Rainbow Hawk was starting to lose patience. The rank 4 existence was nowhere near tired, just unbelievably bored.
"Hmm… No worries Sunshine. They seem to be digging properly now." She wasn't worried about the enemy infiltrating their tunnels but of them getting away.
'It's just a matter of time.' The bigger the hole the humans made for themselves, the harder it would be to escape. 'Since they're so keen on digging their grave, we might as well wait.'