Inside the now stationary airship, a lovely well dressed young woman was in a large well decorated dinning area with a maid by her side.
"Has the fog not yet cleared? I hate being delayed like this" The young woman expressed in an irritated tone.
"I do apologize Lady Anastasia, let me go ask the captain about the status of things." The maid replied before bowing and excusing herself. She then turned and left the room, leaving Anastasia alone.
'Perhaps I should have boarded a ship with brother? No, the mere thought of being around so many people, including lower class families sounds like such a chore' She sighed while showing a dismissive look on her face.
Some time soon passed since her maid and left and she began to glance around as she noticed the place had now become far too silent. She let out yet another sigh before lifting a bell off her dining table and ringing it.
"Where has that fool gone off to?" She muttered in an irritated but low tone as her ringing the bell on the table produced no results.
Left with no other option, she simply stood from her seat and went towards the exit of the dining area with a displeased look on her face. She opened the door roughly and prepared to walk out and yell at her maid's incompetence but she stopped right before fully exiting and jumped back into the room as if by reflex.
'Blood!' She thought to herself as the scent reached her nose.
"Hmm? Your senses are really sharp for a human." A childlike voice complimented the now alert Anastasia who still wore an annoyed look on her face rather one of worry.
She continued to look forward and waited for the owner of the foreign voice to reveal themself. A moment later the owner of the voice Oxin did just that as she walked into the room dragging behind a bloody mace.
"You're the one responsible for the foul stench of blood on my grand airship? Bold." Anastasia asked in angry tone as she began to clench her fists.
Before Oxin could answer the flow beneath her began to glow as runes appeared right beneath.
"!!"
Oxin's senses warned her of the danger but her reactions were slow. However just at that very moment, a large muscular hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her out of glow's radius. Less than a second later a large spike shot out from the circle.
"So there's more than one...." Anastasia commented with furrowed eyebrows.
"For someone who's about to die, you seem confident. I like that in my prey." Jagu who now stood behind Oxin states with a grin on his face.
"Now, let's fi-" Jagu smiled at the young woman and prepared to attack but was prevented from doing so by a blast of fire hitting him from behind.
"Run Milady! These two are A class contestants at the very least!" The maid who had initially left Anastasia appeared from behind and warned her in a panicked tone.
Her attire was damaged at some parts and her forehead was bleeding but she faced Jagu and Oxin confidently.
'A class and two of them. Dammit!' Anastasia thought to herself before extending her hand forward and chanting something under her breath.
Once she did so, another magic circle appeared but this time beneath her.
"Shift... Invoke!" She commanded and instantly vanished from the room using an outer mechanism rather than her own mana.
She reappeared on the deck of the same ship and took only a moment to breath heavily before preparing to make her way elsewhere.
" Hoh? A rune that sends an individual from one location to another within the a small area" A voice appeared on the scene and assessed causing Anastasia to once again become alert.
However as she turned to face the direction of the voice, she was greeted by a hand gripping her by the neck and raising her body from the ground.
"Struggle and you'll die, I assure you I'm not bluffing" The owner of the intimidating yet calm voice, Aron stated as he looked the young woman in the eyes. He could easily make out the way she used to escape due to the similarities it held with the mechanism in Argos's library.
Aron didn't outright kill her because she seemed to be important at least from first glance as her mana signature was reasonably dense.
"Just who are you? Do you have any idea who you're treating this way?" Anastasia asked and Aron shook his head slowly.
"No I don't, that's a matter to discuss another time. For now... sleep." Aron replied with a neutral expression on his face.
"Y-you!, when did you..." Anastasia muttered in a weak tone before eventually closing her eyes. At which point Aron let her go and laid her down on the deck.
'I may be far from being a genius level talent at magecraft but the sheer arsenal of methods I know is more than enough to make up for it' Aron thought as he retracted the hand he used to grip her neck, which upon closer inspection had a strange rune drawn on it.
"Jin!" He called out and almost immediately the fog that filled the mountain range had began to disperse. Jagu who was carrying the now unconscious old maid who had attacked him soon joined him on the deck along with Oxin.
"I hate mages, they always have so many tricks up their sleeves it's hard to be ready for what they'll do Tsk." Jagu complained before laying her down next to Anastasia.
"The last thing I expected was for an older human Lady to give you trouble Jagu." Aron said while showing a small smile causing Jagu to let out a deep sigh.
"She was just quick with her casting, and the space within the airship wasn't enough for me to properly fight. You've seen me in open spaces, she wouldn't have stood a chance I tell you! Is it even allowed to bring outside help in the Journey?" Jagu patted his chest before asking with a serious expression on his face.
"As far as I know no. Think of it as a testament to how important she might be." Aron explained in his usual calm tone causing Jagu to smile and break out into laughter.
"Haha, a big catch then." Jagu laughed it off and gave Aron a hard pat on the back which didn't even cause him to shift in the slightest.
Aron found this gesture uncomfortable to say the least but didn't voice this. The short time he'd spent with the other contestants was the most social he had ever been in his entire life so it was only natural to encounter some gestures or acts foreign to him.
"Yes... a really big catch." He expressed with a small smile on his face.