Chapter 136.3 - The Hunt

The idea of tracking a slippery bastard like Zharokath was a delicate game—one that required more than just skill. It was a test of precision, a dance between noise and signal, and a single misstep could mean losing Zharokath for good.

Zharokath had layered himself in defenses, protections that monitored every inch of the surrounding area for disturbances in mana. The filters that surrounded him were complex, weaving through the ambient mana to detect anything out of place. The problem was, I couldn't know exactly how they worked. Without seeing the specific enchantments and artifacts, there was no way to be absolutely sure what would trigger them.

I had to rely on what I knew, what I had studied. Tracking spells, detection methods—they all functioned on similar principles. They sifted through the background noise of mana emissions, separating out anything that didn't fit the expected patterns. But, as I had learned, no filter was perfect.