Chapter 88: Dylak’s Revenge (Part 5)

Clara remembered the day she bought her first Mount vividly. It was a sunny day in Barbantilla Town, in the northwest of the South Arcane region. The establishment looked more like a farm than a Mount shop, which made Clara grimace as she entered, but her sister giggled excited.

“This is so cool!” Emily was saying, jumping from one display to the other. “What species should we pick?”

“Whatever mounts are on discount, Emily. So stop.”

“Oh, come on! Let me at least fantasize for a minute that I’m riding this cutie!” Emily said, pointing at the brown-furred, horned creature that puffed through its nose and stomped with one hoof with pride.

“That beast doesn’t look good for long-distances traveling, stupid sis,” Clara muttered while searching for the store owner, an NPC wearing a long braid and overalls. She even looks like a farmer too.

“Welcome, travelers! How may I help you?”

“We’ve come for the ad. You’re selling two mounts at a discounted price, right? Tell me you still have them.”

The NPC grinned at her. “Of course, miss. Come this way.”

Clara pulled Emily by the collar of her shirt, and dragged her all the way to the designated display, showing a pair of 10-feet-height, fat, long-necked birds.

This time Emily was the one that grimaced. “Their ugly as fuck. No offense, sweetie,” she said to the NPC.

“No offense taken, miss, tee-hee.”

“And what’s with those pastel colors? That’s why no one buys them.”

“Stop complaining, Em. We need them, and these are the only ones we can afford. Do you want to keep walking everywhere we go?” Clara stared at her sister, who continued to glance at the horned mouth with a sulky expression. “Think about it for a second. These chickens have better stamina, and…”

“Okay, fine, buy them!” Emily cried to avoid a speech. “You’re the one that knows about this stuff, anyway. I want the blue one, okay? Just pay the NPC already while I say goodbye to my little Hornyhomie… Sniff”

“Horny…?” Clara muttered before laughing out loud.

***

**

*

“Yeah…” Clara said, exhaling. “You never were good at naming stuff…”

“Miss Clara?” Fabio called softly, to which Clara shook her head.

“I was just thinking out loud, sweetheart. Don’t mind me. So, any news from New Unus?”

“Nothing, ma’am.”

Clara groaned. “I’m bored to death, dammit!”

Both were riding a pink unicorn with a blue mane that advanced slowly while waiting for any news from their guild partners.

++++ An hour ago, after Amelia heard Ashley’s story, she ordered them to summon their Mounts. “Good one, Ashley. Yours has great speed. Unlike yours, Clara. Did you choose that one just because it was pretty?”

“Well… yes?”

“Whatever,” Amelia said, irritated, before riding her winged tiger. “I’ll take Bella with me. Since I’m the only one that can fly here, I’ll go to New Unus to check if Alan is there. Meanwhile, Ashley, take Anastasia with you and go to the Prione Woods, where that supposed Dylak’s Mansion is located. Just scout the area, please. And Clara…” Amelia glared at her. “Try catching up with us…” +++++

“Did you see the way Amelia looked at me?” Clara asked Fabio, sighing.

“I think Miss Amelia is just worried.”

“And yet, she looked very composed while telling us what to do. She really is something… I wonder why she’s not the guild leader.”

“It may be an agreement between Mister Alan and Miss Amelia.”

“You think, Captain Obvious? Go faster. I don’t want her to yell at me for arriving late or something.”

“Understood.”

While Fabio rode, Clara tightened her arms around his waist and leaned her face against his back.

**What am I even saying? He’s the one that’ll save this spaceship from certain damnation, right? Although I told him I wanted to be part of his ‘saving humanity’ story, do I really believe in my words?**

She remembered when Alan activated his Unique Talent for the first time, and the fascination she felt when he manifested his Anima.

**I felt quite envious, actually. He isn’t even level 10 yet, and he has already unlocked his Unique Talent… Maybe he really is special after all.**

“Clara?” Ashley called through Party Chat.

“What is it, new sis? Have you found him?”

“Not yet, but I have found something quite peculiar. Come to my location. I will give you my coordinates.”

It took half an hour for Clara and Fabio to reach the designated point, where Ashley was waiting alongside Anastasia, riding a huge feral-looking gray wolf that snarled at the sight of the pink unicorn.

“I’m here, little sis! Did you miss me?”

“There is something you must see,” Ashley said, ignoring her words. Although the moonlight illuminated the entire landscape, the woods looked completely pitch-black.

“Um… Sweetie?” Clara said, confused. “I’m waiting for you to tell me what’s wrong about this place…”

“My bad. It seems that you cannot detect it. There is a force field surrounding the entire forest. That may be the reason we cannot communicate with Alan.”

“I… I see…” Clara whispered as she noticed the surroundings were being bathed in a warm light. She looked up, expecting to see the Novus’ sun, but watched an enormous ball of fire instead. “Is that…?”

“Amelia,” Ashley finished the sentence.

The pyromancer was standing atop her winged tiger, channeling: “Major Fire Crafting, Emperor’s Genocidal Tantrum,” she cast, throwing down effortlessly the 50-feet wide sphere of concentrated fire energy. This was supposed to level the entire forest, but it vanished once it touched the force field.

“What the hell was that?!” Amelia shouted once her winged tiger landed. A vein could be seen in her forehead. “That spell could easily wipe out three entire Unus Towns! Wait, no, like five Unus Towns!”

“It’s too soon to joke about something like that, don’t you–?” Clara was saying, sympathetically smiling, but Amelia’s glare shut her up.

“It was a terrific demonstration of power, Master Amelia,” Fabio said. “It’s a shame that it didn’t work.”

A little twitch in Amelia’s left eye made Clara hug Fabio. “D-dear! For your own safety, hush!”

“I’m also puzzled about what happened,” Ashley said, staring at the unaffected forest. “Amelia’s spell did not blow up. It looked as if it was absorbed.”

“There may be a reason this force shield acted that way,” Fabio said, with Clara still hanging from his neck. “This entire zone may be considered a Safe Zone.”

“That’s what I thought at first, but it doesn’t make sense,” Amelia said without looking in the NPCs direction. “Why would the Developers consider this place worth protecting? You said this place was abandoned, right?” she asked Ashley, who nodded.

“That is right. Alan and I visited this place some weeks ago so he could level up, but the dungeon and its surroundings were empty. Now, considering the information the Dylak NU said to us…”

“Not only did Viola Lang give this dungeon a second chance, but she also upgraded it,” Amelia continued, exhaling deeply. “Well, there are two types of Safe Zones, and there’s only one way to find out which kind this is.” Saying nothing more, Amelia rode her tiger and made it run towards the woods. Ashley’s wolf and Clara’s unicorn followed behind.

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