In the middle of the forest, under the thick and dense canopy hiding on the lower ground from the light of the moons, black figures playing in the darkness to preserve their anonymity began to pass.
From branch to branch, they quickly crossed the woods before suddenly stopping at the edge of the forest. A huge plain was visible in front of them, with no possibility of hiding.
- "Rebecca, are you sure?" a male voice asked in the darkness of the forest.
- "Yes, according to reports, the shrine was attacked and the protective barrier was broken by something or someone" replied a nearby figure.
- "Okay ... We will check that the barrier has been destroyed. If so, we will check if there are any bandits then we will immediately go back to inform the Elders. Understood?" he immediately pressed, emphasizing the 'immediately'.
Under the moonlight, the female figure then came to turn her gaze to another nearby, revealing her face under her hood. Her yellow eyes, pale smooth skin and soft features gave her a certain form of innocence and an aura of kindness and compassion. At first glance, she looked like she was in her twenties, maybe 19.
She wasn't necessarily strikingly beautiful, but no one could say she was ugly either. She was slightly above average. With a small smile, she came over to nod positively.
The figure next to her then sighed and rushed across the plain, running. Immediately, Rebecca followed him just behind with three other hooded figures in black. Alone and in silence, they then began to run in the direction of a large rock formation.
Cliffs lining the formation with above what looked like a plateau. Under the court of the night, the small group then advanced without any concern.
Isaac was lying on his flying rock, his gaze lost in the stars and a slight smile decorating his expression, when suddenly a beep sounded.
He then got up and sat down before looking at the red window that appeared in front of him and starting to read its contents, eyebrow arched slightly.
[System] Unidentified entities on approach.
[System] Distance before arrival: 3km
[System] Estimated destination: Garden of Origins
[System] Location: Azimuth 20 ° E
He had no other options or other information about who, what or why these entities were present. Immediately Isaac then rose to his feet, a feeling of excitement growing in his chest.
"People? Please, I want to see people!" With that, he then jumped off his rock and then began to float in the direction of the compass in the window.
As he approached the edge, he could then notice a dozen defense golems already posted above at the edge of the cliffs. Silently, he then decided to come and land in turn at the edge of the cliff before taking a look towards the wild plains below.
Immediately Isaac regretted his decision and looked up, stepping back, seized with sudden dizziness. "It's high .... It's too high !!!" Although he had already been able to see the world from several feet above sea level, Isaac had never experienced such a high altitude.
Despite having his flotation spell in the event of a fall, he couldn't help stepping back reflexively as he placed his hand on his chest in an attempt to calm his frantic breathing.
After a few tens of minutes, a new notification appeared.
[System] Unidentified entities on approach.
[System] Distance before arrival: 500m
"Already?" Isaac thought, looking into the distance. "These people are fast, unless they're monsters." Regardless, he had to take action if they turned out to be hostile.
Just as he was about to summon a Gelom to try and see what was going on, several needles appeared on the compass on the console. The distances of the entities then seemed to fluctuate before finally stabilizing.
The hands then continued to oscillate, each pointing in a different direction from the others, eventually creating a semicircle.
"Have they split up? Are they circling the garden?" Isaac thought, observing the behavior of the new arrivals. "Interesting..."
Seeing that they weren't going to try to climb up the cliffs, Isaac decided to wait a bit and came to sit crossing his legs. He then closed his eyes and then began to focus on the energy that was around.
Over the past few days, Isaac had found a new hobby to do which was to manipulate the energy around him, not only to familiarize himself with the strange feeling of manipulation but also to perform testing and experimentation of all kinds.
Back below, the group of hooded people then looked up at the cliffs before slowly raising their gaze upwards. Missing the stiff neck, a figure then came to distribute stones to the various people present.
The stones would have looked normal had it not been for the inert rune marked on their surfaces.
Nodding, the figures split into two groups, one starting to the left and the other to the right, before beginning to circle the large rock formation.
Despite its size, the two groups then continued, stopping at times to drop a stone, bury it and close the hole so that nothing was discernible before setting off again.
After several tens of minutes, thanks to their unusually fast speed, the two groups completely circled and met on the other side of the formation, in its shadow cast by the moon.
With another nod of the head, a figure then pulled out a new stone about twice the size of the others with an active rune inscribed on it. The energy still vibrating on its surface, the man then came to place his hand in front before saying aloud:
- "Search: Shield"
Isaac was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed when suddenly the natural energy and mana around him began to vibrate. He immediately opened his eyes and came to return his attention to the window in front of him.
[System] Intruders detected.
[System] Approaching Mana Wave ...
[System] Analysis failed.
[System] Rune of Protection inactive.
Immediately he stood up and looked down before noticing that the figures had completely disappeared. He turned back to the compass before turning around completely.
"Did they go all around? !!!!" he thought in surprise. "They are fast ... too fast."
With that, Isaac activated his flotation spell before suddenly creating a green arcane behind him. The arcanum immediately activated and unleashed a sudden gust that pushed Isaac at high speed to the other side of the High Plains.
Halfway, while he was still in the air, a sudden wave of energy appeared at the edge of the plains and directed towards the sky. Puzzled, Isaac then frowned slightly before throwing a new arcane to speed up. He looked out the window again before frowning even more.
"They are leaving ?" He wondered as he saw the distance of the intruders increased, then the compass again pointing in a new direction. "You are pissing off all the time moving around there!"
Immediately, Isaac summoned an arcane to stop and then turn back. "They surely need to go back to where they came from ... Reconnaissance team? Possible, but why?" he thought as he continued to cross the plain.
Hypotheses began to run through his head, the first much more plausible than the others.
"Perhaps they saw the ray and came to investigate ... But therefore, that would make them either thieves who know the Garden, or guards who protect it, or simply frightened inhabitants who live not far."
While he was thinking he then reached the edge just as the group of figures appeared under the moonlight to the right, seeming to have finished their turn and streaking towards the direction they had come from.
"Either way, it's possible that they'll bring back reinforcements ... possibly to attack the Garden." Isaac then weighed the different consequences that this had. If they were bandits, then it would be wiser to stop the group immediately.
If they were the guardians, then he had more reason to go and meet them. They would be much more informed than him about this world and he badly needed information.
Especially since it had been a few weeks since he had seen any signs of life. The decision was made. Immediately Isaac threw himself from the top of the cliff and flew away. He quickly calculated the trajectory and the speed of the group before predicting according to its speed the point towards which he could intercept them.
Once done, a green arcana appeared again and Isaac was propelled forward just as a message appeared on the window.
[System] You are about to leave the area of influence of the Rune of Logic.
[System] Warning: Action not recommended.
He arched his eyebrows slightly but didn't care more. It made sense for the system to recommend him not to go outside the defensive zone. He ignored the warning then and continued just as the screen suddenly blurred.
"?" Isaac thought before seeing the screen simply shatter.
Surprised, he then stopped before looking in the direction of the High Plains. He was already about fifty yards away. What had happened?
"Has the system crashed?"