Despite Nakt's words of encouragement only a few people actually managed to follow his lead. Counting both Nakt and Faisal there were fifteen survivors in total. The thirteen survivors who managed to follow him were those that still had auras to spend, Nakt's base running speed is often considered inhuman to begin with.
Four of them were the direct disciples that Nakt and Faisal were prioritizing, the remaining nine were all disciples that were under Paul's lead. His focus on making the unit effective without much reliance on aura served them well.
Nakt led the group to a nearby river, where they would all spend the rest of their day. Recuperating from their wounds while also trying to gather resources for survival. The disciples were rightfully downtrodden about their current situation.
Hektor's birds were numbering in the 30s now, dwindling slowly over the past few weeks. "Status."
Name: Hektor
Title(s): Young Soldier
Mana: 810/1,500
Aura: 1,820/6,890
Personal Skill: [Manifest Minion]
Skill(s): Markluzian Spear Art, Fists of the Tiger, Blue Sky Spear Art, Mana Barrier, Mana Bolt
Souls: 285
He then clicked on his personal skill, to look through the presets that he currently had.
[Manifest Minion]
At the cost of mana and collected souls the user may summon loyal servants that are based off of a particular preset. At the cost of 25 souls, the wielder may gain new presets in the class of their choosing.
Available presets:
Middle-Class:
[Terrestrial Predator - Cost: 2,500 Mana, 10 Souls]
[Insect Soldier – Cost: 3,000 Mana, 10 Souls]
[Avian Scout – Cost: 2,000 Mana, 10 Souls]
Low-Class:
[Corvidae Cost: 500 Mana, 5 Souls]
[Bat Cost: 500 Mana, 5 Souls]
[Carrion Feeder – Cost: 500 Mana, 5 Souls]
[Miniature Flame Sprite Cost: 1,000 Mana, 5 Souls]
[Bulky Imp- Cost: 1,000 Mana, 5 Souls]
Souls: 285 -> 280
He summoned another black bird before contemplating on what to do next. While he did grow as a martial artist, his pool of mana remained the same. He initially planned on saving up money for the mana-circle procedure but at the moment that option is close to impossible.
Among the summons he had, the Middle-class summons despite them being "defective" appear to be his most powerful. He wanted something that could fulfil the role of an actual soldier, but the low-class preset that the skill gave him was the Bulky Imp.
Which upon research and asking around is apparently a common variant of the fire imp, a low-tier demon that has great strength and is resistant to fire though they have close to no magical power compared to their scrawnier variant.
'I also can't risk being called a demon summoner.' Hektor thought to himself as he looked through his options once more. 'Should I try that then… the Miniature Sprite?'
From the moment he read those books, Hektor swore not to use the preset. Hektor began to meditate to recover the mana he spent on the crow. Rapidly gathering energy to his core.
"Why is he recovering mana?" One of the other disciples asked out loud.
"He uses mana to summon those birds." Tarik responded. "He lost quite a bit of them, It takes a while for him to bring more of them back."
"We could use all the help we can get, let the man do his thing." Paul commented while cooking up a small pot of stew.
"It's times like this that I appreciate your personal skill, my dear Paul." Tarik smiled while grabbing a bowl filling it with the stew.
"[Foraging] is a common personal skill from my hometown, it helps out a lot when we are out in the wilderness." Paul replied. The fish stew had an assortment of root vegetables and even some potatoes in it. Items that even the trained eye of an experienced camper would have a hard time finding.
"I see, this will be useful in our journey then." Garnesh responded before finally bringing everyone's attention back to the adults of the group. "So… Instructor Nakt and Uncle Faisal, where do we go from here?"
"It's simple really, with the fall of Sangraya the path we took to get there will no longer be an option." Faisal answered. "Meaning that we have to take a detour. The Eastern Jungles might be a dangerous region but it's better to try and survive a journey here than be overwhelmed with numbers from the regular path."
A small spark the size of a marble appeared next to Hektor, floating around him.
Souls: 280 -> 275
"Fireflies huh? I'm surprised that the birds haven't eaten it." Tarik commented. "Instructors, I'll take first watch with Hektor. The rest of you can head to bed too."
It would take another half an hour for Hektor to gather enough to summon a second [Miniature Flame Sprite] but he decided to give the little summons a chance. He went to bed after summoning a fifth one.
'Who knows, it says that a single one isn't one worth the effort but with my ability I can collect up to a hundred of them just like the crows.' The small floating lights around him would circle around the campfire every so often, aiding in stoking the flames.
Souls: 275 -> 260
---
"The line we were defending has fallen, I've heard news of things going awry on your end too my dear friend. Teksar and I wish you well, our crew of mercenaries have decided to retreat back to the capital. Everyone is being called back, I wish you could send more messages to us but we both know that this will be impossible given the current predicament. Stay alive Hektor.
I hope that this message finds you well, Lufan."
Even with just a few lines of text, Hektor appreciated the message that Lufan sent him. He could tell that the crow he gave him was well-fed and taken care of. He attached a small letter to respond, informing them of his current predicament.
"Instructor Nakt." Hektor called out. "The birds have found signs of a town, south of our current location."
"Perfect, we are headed south. Drink your fill and stock up on water and food, let's see what this little town has to offer."