Nier, having already realized the incoming attack had leaned sideways and avoided the attack.
Reya was still in disarray but in the heat of the moment met the attack head on-
Fire lit in her palms as she catched the icicle- destroying it.
'Her reaction speed is fast' Nier thought.
But if one talked of reaction speed, Nier was something of a master himself.
Gazing outside from the broken window- Reiner was dead.
And the ice was spreading fast. Nier thought of everything in an instant with adrenaline rush and realised that the mist born from Reya's clash with the icicle was potentially dangerous if it stayed connected to the outside environment.
He suddenly extended his hand through the hole, grabbed Reiner's head and pulled it with force enough to break through the ice before it got fully spread and used the head as a cover for the window.
Soon the whole fog turned into a dome of ice trapping them.
Reya, wide-eyed. Sat in shock. Nier wasn't much different but he was in a better state.
"Reiner...Died?" She mumbled, Reiner was a true friend, one who believed in her. Even though they were world apart.
"Sorry to tell you but he was an earth mage- he possibly can't survi-" Nier suddenly chimmed and before he could finish-
"Shut up!" Reya screamed but soon calmed down- remembering her training as a magic knight.
Such deaths on missions like these wasn't something rare.
But-
'It's my fault...only if I didn't accept such a mission. They warned me but I was too focused on proving myself to brother. I am an idiot. Brother was righ'
"Oye, clown- look at these..." Nier suddenly spoke disrupting her thoughts.
The reason he spoke as such- was the designation floating above their head.
X above Nier and 10 X above Reya
Reya was still in mourn but Nier's action acted as a distraction and she pulled herself together.
'I will avenge you! Reiner' She declared in her mind as she thought of their predicament.
"This is likely the cause of an enemy technique, meaning that there is more than one attacker, the designations either refer to mana capacity, or stupidity" Nier said
"You've still got the time to joke around?" Ria said.
"Could be true...sometimes knowing who the stupider one is useful"
"10 times 0 is 0. Either that, or you agree to being stupid"
"You finally learned good comebacks, still needs improvement. In all seriousness, it likely refers to mana. My mana quantity is the only thing that's so much lower than you and can be put in variables"
"That makes sense but why are you sure that it's not from the same person? Someone of ice element could have conjured ice around us and used some technique." Reya asked.
"Not true, the ice around us has different mana than these floating numbers"
"How do you know that? I couldn't sense the ice mana but you could?" Skeptical- Reya asked.
"There are all sorts of things in which you cannot compare yourself to me" Nier lied but at the same time- he didn't.
"Besides, it's not important. And one more thing- it's not necessary true that the ice is from ice elemental mana. It could be a technique itself. That's the option I believe in most" Nier said as he readied his mind.
'I should have done this before, but I wanted to improvise'
"Tch" Nier thought as he clicked his tongue
"I'm taking 100 times the reward after this is over"
"No way! We'll discuss terms later"
"What's your magic technique?" Nier asked.
Asking someone about their technique was like asking a woman their age.
It was an unspoken 'official rule' to not do so.
Reya- understanding their position-- spoke without hesitation.
"Spit Bomb"
"..."
"..."
"Eww..."
Outside the carriage-
A middle-aged man stood as he watched the dome of ice surrounding the carriage.
Rather than a dome of ice, it seemed more like a transparent black dome filled with ice. The dome was surrounded by another dome. The shape of the latter was rather strange as though two spittoons were connected by their mouth.
The middle-aged man was standing outside both domes, but a youth stood inside the outer barrier as his palm touched the inner barrier.
"Professor Loy, do you think they have a chance?"The youth whose palm touched the dome asked-
"I was 90 percent sure before sealing but I have to say- that boy did impressive work. With their destination being so near. They got carefree. It was a perfect chance to freeze them but that man didn't let the fog connected. I'm impressed with his quick ingenious thinking. Still- I believe the chance of our victory overwhelms the ratio unless they can break through the brackets." Answered Loy- who was wearing a simple brown overcoat and black pants. The beardless middle-aged man was average in looks but excluded scholarly aura. His glasses and hat certainly helped in that regard.
"Be careful Nai, That girl's ability allows her to create explosive spit. That can possibly mix with water incase you turn the ice into water. Although within the parenthesis, it would only act as a waste of mana." Loy spoke calmly
...
"They have broken through, I felt a tremor" Nai said.
"Turn it into gas state, they'll get confused, Then activate the ability of the bracket- we will exhaust them first and then I'll deactivate the inner bracket- you can easily finish them after that" Loy said with a smile
It was soon that the ice around the carriage started melting and two figures emerged through a hole.
Just as the ice was melting however, the ice and water turned into fog.
"!!!" Nier's eyes widened as he saw the ice turn into fog as they broke the roof of the carriage.
'Steam? No...this is a little warm vapour'
"The enemy's technique might be the ability to change the physical properties of water" Reya said-- connecting to Nier's previous conjecture
The technique was likely not changing the physical property of any matter but only water otherwise they would have turned the mountain wall into mud and kill them through landside
"We still haven't seen him turn it into water but likely" Nier spoke, now feeling feeling a warm sensation on his face. Luckily, the steam wasn't actual steam but more like hot vapour.
Standing atop the carriage. They found themselves surrounded by fog, obstructing their view.
Suddenly-
X=1/10
A floating 'announcement' conjured above their head.
The previous designation changed as well-
For Reya- It became 1 and for Nier- 1/10
Suddenly- Nier spurted blood as he grabbed his chest.
"Arggh!"
Reya was shook at the sight
She felt his aura was rather weak the moment they met.
This could be interpreted in different ways.
The person was someone of calm character who kept their mana peaceful and supressed.
The person was someone hiding their power with some item.
or
The amount of mana the person has is miniscule.
Reya honestly didn't care if the answer was any of the options. She wasn't someone who judged people just based on their mana capacity.
But Nier had by-far the lowest amount of mana she felt. Which considering the pressure he emitted on her whenever they talked was a little surprising.
Unlike the people in the coast. She trained for various situations. She was easily able to distinguish aura of mana and the pressure someone emmited. There were many ways someone with low mana can emit dangerous aura.
Attributing it to aggressiveness, Reya left the matter.
But it seems that their enemy has the ability to reduce the mana of their opponents.
It was the essence of life. For someone like Nier who had such low mana, reducing it further was brutal.
But-
"Dammit- bastards" Nier cursed as he spit blood and stood up. It was as though he was used to it.
Taking out the chain, he spun it and whipped it around
Clank! Clank! Clank!
"There is a barrier surrounding us, I'll take care of it" Nier said as he pulled a katana
"What do you mean? You don't even have half as much as me and now it's divided by ten! What can you do when I ca-
Whoosh!
The katana suddenly lit up silver as Nier lifted it- touching the barrier ceiling and sliced it!
"!!!" Ria was shocked feeling her mana return
'What! How?'
"How!? You said your technique was a healing technique!"
"Special weapons. Can't be used for a some months now" Nier lied and jumped out the barrier.
Reya followed through bamboozled.