Avril crouched and weaved through the wheat fields at a swift pace, hoping to remain undetected. However, the bad news eventually came.
"I've found you, dear Avril——"
The barking of a large dog echoed, and upon turning her head, she saw a massive skinless hound rushing towards her at a breakneck speed. The wheat was crushed and broken, bending and flattening as if parting waves, yet offering no hindrance whatsoever.
Behind the hound, Aflra moved with equal swiftness. Unlike the dog, she took great leaps with each step, covering a distance of five or six yards, as if she were running on the wheat itself, a feat that could be described as running on grass.
Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest, and Avril tried to increase her pace, but her labored breathing indicated that her body had reached its limits. She must not be caught, absolutely not. The fear in her heart twisted her expression, and she felt no pain even as her palms were scratched by her own nails.
Suddenly, a gust of wind from behind announced the flight of a staff overhead, which landed in front of her. The venomous snake coiled around the staff opened its mouth, revealing its emerald fangs and crimson tongue.
"Ah!"
Avril came to an abrupt halt and fell to the ground. Turning her head, she saw a gaping maw with sharp teeth almost touching her delicate face.
A snap echoed as the maw came to a stop. Aflra's hand was deeply embedded in the hound's nape, pushing it away. The lifeless body of the hound was casually tossed aside, and Aflra approached, her massive palm grasping Avril's chin, the sharp nails scraping against her cheek.
Aflra's face loomed closer, the sharp tip of her nose pressing against Avril's, causing her pupils to contract to a pinprick size.
Aflra smiled faintly, her shark-like teeth emitting a foul stench: "Avril~ My little darling, I've caught you!"
Unbeknownst to them, the sky had been covered by dark clouds, with a burning cross nearby, and a downpour lashed down, the flames struggling and flickering, the cold venomous snake clinging to the body, hissing.
A crack of thunder echoed, amidst the white light, Aflra raised her right hand, the sharp kitchen knife glinted coldly, and swung down...
Eyes opening, the first sight was the gray tent ceiling with a ray of sunlight shining in, casting flickering shadows. Avril's head throbbed painfully, and she struggled to raise her arm to shield her eyes.
The tent flap was pulled down, and Aflra approached with a basin, knelt down, placed the basin aside, and pressed Avril back down: "Don't move, you have a fever."
With that, she dipped her hand into the basin, picked up a cloth, wrung it out, and meticulously wiped Avril's forehead.
The cool, damp cloth brought some relief to the dazed Avril, and she became more lucid: "Sister, where are we?"
Aflra smiled faintly: "Welcome back, Avril."
Avril suddenly got up, rolled up her sleeves, and saw her smooth arms. Aflra watched Avril's actions with a smile, not stopping her. Under her wide sleeves, a dark ink stain squirmed and struggled, yet it was held back by a seemingly fair layer of skin.
Staggering along, the group arrived at a village. Faced with a group of noble lords, the village head hurriedly gave up the best room. This village was a knight's territory, not very large, it seemed only about forty to fifty households. Not far away, there was a sawmill, said to be the property of a knight. The villagers had to pay a large amount of taxes and also had to spend a lot of time running the sawmill every week.
As for the knight himself and his family, they did not live in this village but resided in the town, only occasionally coming over, usually with the village head delivering the taxes and the sawmill's profits.
But this had nothing to do with Aflra. What she thought in her heart was that she could finally have a good sleep, and it was time to deal with the nightmare.
Outside the cave, the wind and rain were heavy, with thunder and lightning. Inside the cave, a group of flames burned fiercely, with a pot hanging above the flames, boiling water rolling.
The devil-like Aflra picked up a bottle plugged with a wooden stopper and shook it. What was in the bottle was not wine, but a cloud of black smoke, she struggled forcefully, occasionally showing a little girl's face, her small mouth opening and pleading with Aflra.
Aflra ignored it, just humming a song, lifting the pot lid, throwing the bottle in, and then covering the pot lid. A flash of lightning passed, and a few strands of wind and rain blew in.
In the cave, the heat was dense, and strange ballads echoed. The pot lid was opened, and a burst of heat rose. Sharp nails reached in and took out the scalding bottle.
The wooden stopper was pulled out, and on the stone wall, the firelight shone, and the shadow was projected. The bottle was brought to the mouth and drank up.
Fear, anger, desire, loss... All kinds of emotions accompanied by this drink, all surged into the mind...
Aflra opened her eyes, and the [Gourmet Technique] was activated, then she showed a smile. Not only because of the unique taste of the nightmare, but also because of the abundant harvest.
[Meditation] has made further progress, +1 magic power total, +3 [Gourmet Technique] proficiency. The most critical thing is that [Fear Technique] has been upgraded.
② [Fear Technique] → ③ [Fear Technique]
③ Fear Technique (200/200): -5 magic power, casting speed 0, range of direct vision, no attack power, effect to make the designated target have hallucinations, and after the scare is successful, capture the other party's fear and convert it into magic power.
In this way, another third-ring magic was obtained, and Aflra obtained three experience points, only one point away, and she can be upgraded.
[Personal Attributes]
Name: Aflra Level: 4 (15/16) Life: 16/14+2 (+3) Magic Power: 17/17 (+3, +5 in a meditative state) Talent: Lightning Reflexes, Vibration Sensing, Dragon Sleep, Sharp Vision
[Specialty]
Meditation (2/10) → Quick Casting (1/5) Magic Circuit (2/10) → Magic Surge (1/5)
[Skills]
② Cold Wind Trajectory (200/200): 2~8 magic power per second, casting speed 0.5~2 seconds, range of 24 (5~20) yards in a straight line, no attack power, effect of freezing/± (10~40)% movement speed
② Fire Control (200/200): -0.25 magic power per second, casting speed 1 second, range of 10 yards, average attack power, effect of controlling fire
② Electric Claw (12/200): -10 magic power, casting speed 5 seconds, range of 0, strong attack power, effect of paralysis, chain
③ Fear Technique (0/200): -5 magic power, casting speed 0, range of direct vision, no attack power, effect to make the designated target have hallucinations, and after the scare is successful, capture the other party's fear and convert it into magic power
② Gourmet Technique (4/20): +2 life total, -1 magic power, casting speed 0 seconds, range of stomach, effect of digestion, capture ability, after being full, life value is restored to a certain extent
After a 15-day journey, passing through three noble territories and a mountain, they finally arrived at Anglas. Although there were some minor incidents, it was relatively calm. Faced with a fully armed vehicle of more than 50 people, no mountain bandit or robber dared to make an attack.
This made Avril, who was full of adventure fantasies, feel lost, but all this disappeared with the arrival at Anglas.