Discord: /CGen5YA
Chapter Seventeen
The door's bell tinkled as he entered the shop, and Alex couldn't help but think it was just as the children had described it. Piles of books and paper were scattered haphazardly throughout the space, easily equal to the number of books actually seated upon the shelves. He was forced to take a moment to actually observe all of what looked to be some sort of organized chaos in order to chart a path towards the back of the shop where he heard someone humming while bustling about.
"Hello?" Alex called out as he picked his way through the stacks.
"Oh? Oh?! A customer! How exciting!" Alex finally came around a bookshelf to find a small man not much taller than himself, a curled mustache and a somewhat rumpled suit being the next most notable features that drew Alex's gaze. He was in the middle of what looked to be reorganizing one of the shelves. "Hello! Hello! Welcome to Nate's Books and More! How can I help you?!"
Alex blinked, unintentionally muttering to himself.
"I thought Fiore was strange, but this country is bizarre." The man who Alex was assuming was Nathaniel Vix hummed in bright eyed curiosity.
"How so?"
Alex blinked again as he registered that he had actually spoken aloud, deciding to explain himself anyway.
"…Half the citizens look like Vikings while the other half look like they should be prancing around in Pergrande's courts." He waved his hand as a general gesture. "At least in Fiore we all somewhat mesh in base appearance, even if we're a cultural melting pot, though I'm definitely not counting wizards. Wizards are all weird." The little man nodded along while humming in agreement.
"Yes, yes, I can see how that impression could come about, though I haven't the slightest clue as to what a Viking is, but I believe I understand your meaning. It's because of the relations between Isenberg and Pergrande. Isenberg imports many goods from Pergrande, who often hires labor from Isenberg's hardy people. It's caused a bit of a blend of culture between the two."
"I see. That makes sense. I guess what the kids told me about you being a historian has some merit then?"
"Oh, yes! History is fascinating, though I'm truthfully more of a self-proclaimed historian than any kind of certified professional."
"That's fine, I was just hoping you could answer some questions I have about Isenberg. I suppose this would fall under the 'More' category of your store name." The little man nodded along.
"Of course, of course! Ask away, I'll do my best to answer!"
"To be brief, I'm looking for an ancient battlefield rumored to be in the Dragon Spine mountains - " Alex suddenly found a hand latched over his mouth, the man's eyes darting about frantically.
"Are you trying to disappear?!" Nathaniel hissed under his breath. Alex just stared, confusion in his eyes plain to see. The historian put a finger to his lips before skulking off. A minute later he returned and silently gestured for Alex to follow him into the back. Alex remained silent throughout, wholly unworried but willing to humor the book shop owner since he obviously had information Alex badly wanted.
After watching the man double, then triple check all of the windows and doors of the back room, until it seemed he was finally ready to talk.
"Kid, you have no idea what you just stepped into, do you?" The excitable, happiness of the earlier man was gone and replaced by a somber expression and tone. Alex shrugged.
"Nope. Not a clue. The battlefield is something I heard about from an old document. It may hold something important to me."
"May hold something important the kid says," the man scoffed. "Kid, the entire Dragon Spine is a death trap, and not just because of the ambient mana attracting beasts and monsters to the area. Nobody knows who it is, but there's a really nasty group, some kind of cult, that's set up shop out there. They've got eyes and ears everywhere, which is why I'm acting so paranoid. Anyone so much as sniffs in their general direction, they go missing."
"I'm a wizard. I can handle whatever it is."
"Be that as it may, kid, just having this conversation is a huge risk." Alex levitated two golden nuggets out of his pack and placed them on a nearby table.
"It's Books and More, right?"
"It isn't about the money, kid." Alex gestured, a solid semi-sphere of spatial fabric popping into existence around them.
"There, now nobody can hear us and I've made it an official business transaction." He nodded towards the nuggets. "That should be more than enough to buy the information, your silence, and cover any hazard pay you might incur."
Nathaniel hesitated, glancing around at the shimmering material around them.
"Are you sure about this, kid? This isn't the kind of business someone just casually walks into." Alex simply shrugged with an expectant look. Nate sighed before swiping the nuggets into a hidden pocket.
"…fine. I know about the damn battlefield. Been hiding the information for months ever since those accursed Avatar fanatics showed up. Buried all the books on the topic out back. It's deep, very deep, within the Dragon Spine." He pulled out a rolled-up map of the country from a nearby cabinet, pointing out its rough position.
"It should be about here. It's a massive glacial valley carved into the middle of the mountains, almost exactly on the border between Isenberg and Pergrande." Alex quickly memorized everything he could from the more detailed map area, Nathaniel continuing to speak as Alex looked it over. "The problem is getting to it. There're no roads or paths that lead that deep, and the range is crawling with all sorts of dangerous creatures. All of that is before we even mention Avatar." Alex glanced up.
"What do you know about them?"
"They've been around for a while, not just the months here in Isenberg, either. Years, at least. The details are a bit sparse, but they seem to worship some sort of god of life or death. Nothing about them is very clear." Nathaniel shrugged.
Alex nodded. He wasn't worried about the cult, or at least, he wasn't worried about encounters with them. However, he was worried about their head start in searching the mountains. If something as large as a cult with ties to either of those domains was poking around, Alex was willing to place good odds on a functioning fountain being in the area.
"You aren't just a book clerk or a historian, are you?" The man let out a sardonic laugh.
"What gave it away? Was it the knowledge of ancient and dangerous secrets, or the information about a cult nobody has heard of?"
"Alright, alright. I get it, jeez." Alex murmured.
"If you're determined to still make the trip, be prepared. I know some wizards can fly; if you can, don't, you'll only be painting a massive target on your back to the predators and fanatics."
"Thanks for the tip. Anything else you can think of?"
Nathanial took a moment, eyes rolling up to look at the ceiling as he thought everything over.
"No. That's pretty much it. You aren't going to ask about my real job?"
"Nah. Even if you told me the truth, I don't really care. I only care about having good information and you seem, if nothing else, at least self-interested enough, if not a bit prideful about your work, so I'm willing to place faith in the accuracy of your words."
"…You're a bit scary for a child."
"I've been called a monster before… though it wasn't meant as an insult. Thanks for the information, I'm on a deadline you see, so I need to get moving." The trip to the mountains would take a week, maybe an extra day or two if he stuck to the wilderness to keep a low profile. Going in on foot would really put the crunch on his time, but constantly being attacked would be just as bad or worse if he picked a fight with something out of his league. Alex let the barrier fall and made to leave. He needed additional supplies if he was going to take the inconspicuous route.
"Good luck, kid." Nathanial stuck out his hand, giving Alex a firm shake as they parted.
Nine days later, Alex was hiking up the first official mountain of the Dragon Spine, the surrounding foothills rolling in the distance behind him. Hovering in front of him, Alex had his tongue slightly pinched between his lips as he used his magic to manipulate a needle and thread to weave as tight a backstitch into the two squares of practice fabric as he could manage. He was just putting the finishing touches on the stitchwork when his concentration wavered, his focus interrupted by a roar as a manticore pounced out of the surrounding trees, the fabric and tools dropping out of the air as he spun to the side, fist clenched and cocked back.
"Spatial Blow." The energy of his attack rocketed out, slamming the creature backward, toppling several trees in the process. It was completely unharmed, only slightly disoriented as it refocused on its prey.
"Bundled String Theory." Alex released several lines of slicing energy as the beast charged once more, the lines only managing to scour shallow cuts into the shoulder of the creature as it attempted to weave out of the way. Alex bounced up into the air to avoid the huge pouncing claws that came down on his position, a ball of silver-grey ethernano swirling into existence within his hand which he tossed below.
"String Bomb." It detonated directly on the beast's back, blowing a meaty chunk out of his target from the direct location, the expanding lines leaving a spider web of cuts expanding outward from the wound.
"You're a hardy bastard, aren't you?" Alex muttered, springing to the side to avoid the scorpion tale that came striking at his back, his domain having been locked into place from the moment he was attacked. Alex took a moment to focus, inhaling and exhaling as he kept an eye on the pacing beast below him. He began condensing his ethernano and the spatial fabric it touched into a single point within his palm, the manticore's ears and eyes perking up as it focused on the concentration of magic as it condensed, just beginning to backpedal and flee when Alex spoke again.
"Black Hole." The manticore's attempt to turn and run became an attempt to turn, then an attempt to simply stay grounded in its position, claws digging into the earth and tail wrapping around a nearby tree as Alex tossed his pale imitation of an infinitely dense spatial hole down at his target. Wind and various pieces of forest debris and detritus swirled toward the spatial anomaly at high velocity as it bore down on its intended target.
The moment the manifestation touched the manticore's fur, it imploded, a massive chunk of the beast being ripped from its body under the gravitational force. As the magic finished running its course, Alex surveyed the damage. The beast crumpled, dead before it hit the ground. The front right side of the creature had been completely separated, condensed into the ridiculously compact orb of various elements that now sat within a small hole it had made in the ground from its short fall to the earth.
"That might have been a little overkill…" Alex murmured as he looked around for his tailoring project and turned up nothing. "Damnit… it got sucked into the gravity well…" He sighed and hung his head as he lightly landed back on the ground. "Oh well. If I'm already getting attacked out here on the outskirts of the range by such a magically dense creature, I should probably remain focused anyway." Alex frowned as he looked over the massive corpse.
"Really wish I had my pocket dimension complete. Feels like such a waste to leave such valuable magical creature parts and meat." He muttered and let out a sigh, hitching his backpack further up his back and stepped around the corpse to continue making his way up the slope. He was entering the range almost directly southwest of his goal, so he would be cutting through a large portion of mountainous terrain. A massive roar sounded out nearby, Alex turning with wide eyes as something flared a mana pool significantly larger than his own.
"Shit!" He took off at a sprint, spatial fabric shooting him forward at high speed with each step while his ethernano bolstered his physical body. 'There shouldn't be anything that strong this far out of the interior mountains!' An explosion of force rocked the surrounding area, the ground and trees quaking, though Alex was unfazed by the sudden tremors, his feet never directly touching the earth. 'It doesn't seem to be chasing me, so maybe it was simply staking a claim on the corpse I left behind? Regardless, whatever this cult is doing has really stirred up the local fauna.'
Alex kept up his expeditious pace, never slowing but also ensuring his travel was completely silent. Whistling wind from high speeds or breaking the sound barrier would be a quick way to attract a lot of dangerous and unwanted attention. He was already running the risk of being detected by anything with a form of mana sense. Only once he was sure he had put enough distance between himself and whatever monstrous creature had decided on an afternoon snack did he decide to slow his pace, finding himself much deeper into the range than he had been. He immediately suppressed his magic and continued scuttling along the slopes, playing it safe in order to drop any curious eyes that may have been tracking him through more mystical senses.
It didn't last long. Only a few short minutes passed before a similarly sized beast padded into sight as Alex skulked through the trees, its nose tilted up into the wind. Alex immediately slipped behind cover, eyes wide in surprise as he glimpsed the lion's mane and ram's head perched atop massive shoulders, while a snake lay curled atop its hind end. A manticore was one thing, but a chimera was in a separate class entirely. Claws and teeth combined with the ferocity of a feral lion, magical ranged attacks and natural magical resistance gained from the ram, while the snake struck from blind spots with speed and poison while protecting its rear. Chimeras were S rank magical creatures for very apparent and deadly reasons.
A deep, rolling growl left the lion's maw as it stopped, surveying the area. Alex condensed his presence as far as he could manage, nearly holding his breath with how shallow he was breathing. He gently pressed himself against the tree, stabilizing himself to ensure the least amount of shifting and movement. Cold sweat ran down his back as he waited, the snuffling slowly, gradually creeping closer.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when a magical laser sliced through the undergrowth two trees over. A distant challenging roar answered the attack, the chimera snarling, its form blurring as it passed Alex's hiding spot, his wide-eyed surprise mirrored in the eyes of the snake though he was ultimately ignored as the creature continued into the distance, choosing to answer the challenge of a more dangerous beast encroaching on its territory.
Alex let out his pent-up breath, gasping heavily as he immediately fled deeper into the mountains, away from the explosions and screeches accompanying the brawl between what was likely two powerhouse creatures of the area. He didn't stop moving until the sun had begun dipping below the peaks, sending out a quick burst of his domain in order to find a small, hidden crevice or cave in which to pass the night in relative safety. His magical pulses did not go unnoticed. The master of the current stretch of mountainous territory could be heard stomping through the area for some time after, though Alex had already secreted himself away within a fissure long before its arrival.
"How the hell did these cultists supposedly make it with their full group deep enough to find the valley without getting wiped out? They would have had to have an unbelievably powerful mage with them to even dare attempt the trip." Alex muttered, practically subvocalizing his words to keep from making excessive noise. It wasn't long after that he finally managed to drift off.
The next week and a half proceeded in a similar fashion. The inner mountains of the Dragon Spine were infested with S rank and higher beasts and creatures. Alex had more than one close scrape with death, managing to escape in most cases due to heavily leveraging his rapidly expanding and developing spatial abilities. It was during one particularly close encounter with an Ekimmara that he achieved his biggest breakthrough, though Alex hoped he would never again come so close to death as he did that evening.
He had finished tucking himself away in a hidden alcove for the evening when he first heard the clacking of disturbed pebbles cascade down the nearby slope. It was the only warning he received, a massive claw suddenly popping into existence mere inches from his rapidly widening eyes. It was a desperate, instinctive attempt to preserve his life as he lashed out with his magic, his domain slamming into existence, the pure need and desire to move pulling him away from certain death. His body shifted, the ground he was resting on condensing as a spot further away was pulled towards him.
The Ekimmara was surprised but quick to react, springing forward to renew its assault, but Alex was just as quick, spatial fabric bouncing him up into the air even as he lay prone, a Spatial Blow shooting out at the same moment and impacting against the creature in order to buy even a second more time. It was successful, Alex shooting himself up above the treetops where he rapidly adjusted and flung himself away from the area, leaving behind the screams of rage of his hunter, though only until he was certain he was far enough for safety, quickly dropping back to the ground to continue his journey through the night, suddenly feeling as if sleep was more of a luxury than a necessity.
With the inception of his new Spatial Step ability, Alex felt he was already touching on the first steps to true teleportation and portals, his desperate escape lighting the way. Spatial Step functioned by essentially pulling the fabric from a further point towards him. It was energy intensive, but with his vast reserves from his years of fanatical training, he could sustain it for some time with relative ease.
It had quickly become his primary survival tool in this immensely dangerous environment, keeping him just out of reach of anything looking to acquire a taste for wizard while allowing him to rapidly evade any follow up pursuit once he managed to make his escape from unexpected encounters.
It was another sleepless night towards the end of his journey to the valley. The constant pressure of awareness alongside the lack of sleep he had gotten after his encounter with the Ekimmara was wearing him thinner and thinner, his own mind beginning to betray him as he considered his path so far and what he still had yet to face.
'Am I really strong enough for this…?'
'No, you're not. All you've done is run, skating by on luck in a place that should have killed you. You were warned, yet arrogantly tried anyway.'
'That can't be true. I've survived using my skills… my training.'
Something small and light clattered to the ground some distance away from Alex's hiding spot. His eyes shot open, body tensed and ready to move if necessary as they glanced around the immediate area.
'How much training did you do for fleeing?' His mental voice chimed in. 'All those hours spent running away and hiding sure are doing you good now!'
'Shut up.'
'You're ignoring the cult too. Avatar, how strong must they be to have a group make the trip out here?'
Alex visibly shivered as the thought raced through his mind. He was in over his head. The thought had been itching at him for days. A constant reminder that Avatar had a multiple people survive these mountains, yet all he could do was run and hide from the creatures stalking the forests and cliffs.
His voice was hoarse as he whispered to himself for the first time in weeks.
"Arguing with myself in my own mind. I really am losing it…" It didn't take much longer before Alex succumbed to his exhaustion and was swept into a restless sleep, his dreams of sharp teeth and long claws reaching out from the darkness.
The next day was the end of his three-week journey. Alex finally managed to crest the final peaks overlooking the valley. Deep black bags hung beneath his eyes as he collapsed to his knees atop the ridge peering down into the valley. The day prior had been remarkably peaceful by comparison to the rest of the trip, which in itself was suspicious. From the top of his current perch, Alex could see the established area where the cult had set their staging grounds on the edge of the forest. There were remarkably fewer tents and fires than he had anticipated given how widespread and insidious the group's reputation had been, though that could likely be attributed to this group either being a powerful specialist group, or their numbers having been culled.
In the case of the former, he would need to be even more careful than he had previously anticipated for a couple reasons, directly was their power levels, and indirectly, the strength and intelligence of the cult itself in regards to its more far reaching influence. If it was the latter, it was a much lesser threat, but managing to get this many of their people through the death zone known as the Dragon Spine was still a cause for caution. It leaned towards the explanation that they at least had a single individual capable of protecting a group through such a hazardous environment.
Regardless, Alex knew he wasn't making any progress kneeling on the ridge and thinking, so he began his trek down into the valley. He needed to visit the cult's camp and do some snooping. Leeching off of their knowledge and progress would expedite his search, saving him time with his own while providing intel on their resources and capabilities. He would need every edge he could get in order to swoop in before Avatar could lay claim to whatever treasures might exist within this place, Elixir or otherwise.
A/N:
Double release to catch this up to Unique. I have no excuse for the delay, I just didn't feel like working on this project.
Big shout out to Rain Sennin for helping me with beta reading and brainstorming.
I'm going to start limiting my responses to reviews in chapters. It's making my word count a bit too inaccurate. I recommend joining my Discord for timely answers or up to date information on my writing, including other projects that I don't have posted anywhere just yet.