The air is tight and awkward as I silently pack my stuff. Yara's face is a mix of anger and depression. Alpha handed me the stuff that they confiscated.
Eta is happily humming while deconstructing the tent and Alpha is currently on the lookout.
While trying to pack my items, I noticed that you can put a singular item that holds multiple items.
For example, if a bag is full of items and you put it in your inventory, it still counts as one item which I think is great.
"No anomalies ahead," Alpha said while standing on top of a tree.
"Let's move," Yara said in a monotone voice as she carelessly throws her bag.
Blue boxes began to overlap with the bag and suddenly disappeared into thin air.
I can see her gaze piercing toward me, I don't know if she is curious about my left eye or if she's just looking at me.
Not realizing, Yara is already in front of my face, carefully examining my eye.
"Funny eye," Yara mumbles to my ear with a grin on her face.
Naturally, I was shocked and immediately tripped and fell.
"That eye will be of great importance to you. I can feel a lot of mana from it." Yara said to me.
Eta suddenly barges in to show her new hand-made rocket launcher that she developed.
Eta then explained the situation about what happened in the tent, about me being back to life, and especially disintegrating the lurkers. Literally.
Yara told her to shut up and casually throws her on a tree head-first.
"Looks like the situation became more vibrant," Alpha said with a smile.
I replied, "I hope it will be like this for a long time."
One of the squads that Yara sent before returned with minor scratches and injuries in their cloaks and fewer people.
They were around 20 from what I saw, but after they returned, they're now 17.
"What happened, where are the remaining members?' Yara asked one of the remaining members.
The man sighed in sorrow, "We successfully repelled their main force, but we lost control of the barrier."
"Hence, 3 people volunteered themselves and put their bodies on the line."
The scene was brutal and to think that it's moderately far from Kash's position.
What the man described of the scene is rather horrific. Countless corpses started piling from the opposing force, ranging from as young as at least 16, and the oldest at least 81 were all brutally killed.
There were countless more militia from the horizon being supported by magicians and swordsmen, but we managed to force most of them back.
However, from the bodies, there was golden liquid oozing out. That golden liquid started to attack us, trying to take down one of our damage dealers.
She took a considerable amount of damage, a large cut on her left shoulder, and small holes in her right arm.
She kept fighting on, she tried every element to at least hold it back, but it had no effect. She assumed that the only way to exterminate it is to at least split it into tiny pieces.
In her last moments, her mana started to condense to the tip of her sword. She dashed towards the golden liquid, parrying its attacks.
In that swing, she released the condensed mana on the golden liquid, causing our vision to go white for a solid 2 seconds with a ringing sound echoing through our ears.
What I saw after that was beautiful. I can see white shards filled with various lights covering the golden liquid, eventually collapsing it into nothing.
After that, she had a Mana Deficiency shortly after and silently died because of her wounds.
"Hmm, I see," Yara said as she ties her hair.
Yara followed up with, "Let's recover their bodies and bury the corpses properly."
Eta finally got out of the tree and went to Kash trying to hand out something.
"Kash! Have this." Eta threw a ring toward me, I grabbed it and the ring suddenly flicker.
The ring is rather, off-putting. I sense small mana from it, but other than the odd feeling it makes, it looks pretty.
I wore the ring and immediately felt a sense of relief and calmness, I asked Eta what is this.
Eta replied, "Ah, it's a soothing ring that I made. It's a fortune and you must pay it back."
I said, "But I thought it was a gift for me."
"Money is everything. Now pay 300,727 gold, 3,727,221 silver, and 1,727,971,632 copper." Eta said while dozing off in the distance with a funny look.
"That's only 50 copper you fucking fraud!" Yara then grabbed Eta by her nape and threw her into the stratosphere.
The words "Nyaaaaaaa!!" echoes through the sky as Eta is ascending.
"Woah, that's a new record," Alpha said while munching down beef jerky.
Yara sighed and stretched her right hand. Blue boxes started to overlap her hand and began to form a silhouette.
After the formation stopped, she held it and threw it gently, revealing Eta in a fetal position swaying her arms like she is flying.
"Get up, we're leaving," Yara said to Eta.
Eta immediately sat down and replied, "Yes ma'am!"
Yara looked at me with a smile on her face, "Are you ready?"
I replied, "Yes, ma'am!"
Now the problem is, I don't know how to at least keep up with their speed. Considering what happened when Yara carried me, I wouldn't want to be carried again.
I asked Alpha to teach me how to apply power to my feet, but he declined and said you will learn it in the future.
"You already want to run if you haven't walked yet. Be patient and it will come." Alpha said to me as he carried me.
...
All of their feet began to glow in various colors, my left eye can see the direction of where the white line is connected from their abdomen to their feet.
My vision began to get blurry all of a sudden, and then I realized that we were already moving. Alpha is much more careful than Yara when it comes to carrying, which is more comfortable.
I can feel the warm wind blowing through me and I started to feel drowsy. Before I slept, some of the squad split up into three groups and went in other directions.
Yara went left, Eta went right, and I and Alpha kept going straight.
I don't know what they are up to but I just want to feel the warm and serene wind caressing my body. Before realizing it, I already was asleep.
...
"We're here now, wake up," Alpha said while tapping me on the waist. I rubbed my eyes to take a good look at where we are.
The sky is light blue and covered with cirrostratus in the atmosphere.
As I open my eyes, I can see a towering wall that is at least more than 800 meters high. And we are at the bridge between the grass plains and the City.
"This is the so-called Frontline Barrier, Aegis, Try squinting your left eye," Alpha explained.
I did what Alpha instructed me to do, and I squinted my eye. What greeted me was something that I cannot explain.
I can see hundreds if not thousands of lines flowing freely from the city's skies, all forming a web-like formation that is invisible to the naked eye.
"What do you see?" Alpha asked.
"I can see white lines all flowing freely from the city's skies," I replied.
"Those are the souls of the magicians, they protect this place as if it is their homeland," Alpha said.
"This City has stood against time for several decades, nobles put their financial funds and savings into this place, because it is the only City that will protect them."
"Calling it a City would be an understatement, we usually call it 'The Citadel of The Holy Kingdom'." Alpha followed
What a cool and respectable name for a City. Honestly, in curious to see what's on the inside.
I asked Alpha to drop me down so that I can take a look. The sound of creaking wood, as I walked on the bridge excites me.
At the end of the bridge, I can see a gate made of dark wood and reinforced with iron. Despite looking physically weak, my left eye says otherwise.
I can feel pressure as I look at the Citadel before me, there are no eyes but I can feel it gazing toward me.
The gate is reinforced with countless faint white orbs that vaguely resemble a circle with runic letters surrounding it.
The Soldiers are holding a two-pronged spear with a long cloth between the handle and the blade.
Their armor is made of leather and reinforced metal plates, and it is also imbued with mana. Their helmet is made of metal with a design similar to the Barbute.
But the soldiers don't have any white lines in their bodies, but rather their bodies are emitting a translucent white fire.
I have a lot of questions that have yet to be resolved, but for now, I'll have to get used to this world and settle on a place to rest first.
"Let's go in." Alpha pats my back as he walks toward the gate with his fellow squad.
I looked back and I see the green plain fields, waving as the wind blows and the daylight shining above the forest. I smiled to myself, feeling that it will be a long journey ahead of me.
I faced toward the gate and made my walk.
...
"Is everything prepared?"
"Preparations are complete, new faces will be coming soon, master"
"I'm looking forward to the batch this year."
"Oh I forgot, Rei told me to give this to you saying that you won't regret letting him in, master."
"Kash, huh. Just from the description alone, I feel like I have high expectations for him."
The description reads, "A unique person. His place of origin doesn't exist yet I can feel a strong sense of potential and empathy in this young man. Please train him to at least defend himself."
"But it will be for nothing if I haven't seen him in person."
"you're going, master?"
"No. Not now. Not when they are currently with him. 'The Omen's Blessing Union' is with him."
"The Mercenary group, master?"
"Yeah, they have eyes on him and they're even protecting him. Rei, why are you protecting a young man that you just recently met."
"What are your plans, master?"
"We'll stick to the plan. The tensions are rising in the northern border, we need more magicians and swordsmen."
"Understood, master."
"I'll be waiting for you. Kash."