Journey to the Mountain of Mysteries

Aeon wandered around the city for three hours before finally heading to the back of the City Hall. He didn't inform his father about his mission because his old man would surely not permit him, even if the reward was extremely tempting.

About forty people were gathered at the rendezvous point, though only 30 of them would set out on the mission. The other people distributed a special fanny pack specifically made for them only in the past three hours.

Aeon received his and started going over what he had. Neatly arranged inside and cushioned with foam were the alchemical substances that were shown to them earlier. There were three of each solution and one of each potion. In total, he had 14 bottles.

After going through his supplies, he examined the fanny pack. He wanted to know what made it special.

It turns out, the packs were made to be durable enough to withstand great impact, though Aeon didn't know about its limit. Well, it was logical since they were carrying dangerous solutions with them.

Of all the remaining staff members of the Academy, only Klaus and Toran Fiore would not be joining the mission. They would be staying in order to protect Sera City in case of any unforeseen events. Merell was also supposed to attend, but because the Academy students he was assigned to take care of had yet to be relocated back to the city, he was laid off.

So the ratio between the soldiers and the Academy staff was one to one. A total of 15 members from each side. They would've increased these numbers if not for the limited supplies that the academy could provide. Aeon realized that when he saw someone complain about not getting enough bottles. According to him, he only had 11 bottles instead of 14. The staff who distributed it apologized and explained to him about the situation in which the person who complained could only reluctantly overlook.

After 10 minutes, everyone was set.

The sad thing about their mission was that they had no horses to use. The poor horses bred by the local horse breeder had all became food to the magical beasts. Not even a single one was left.

Ultimately, they had to run all the way to the mountain. It would approximately take them five hours if they run continuously.

At 9:45 PM, they set out.

….

Aeon ran alone at the back of the group because he was slower than anyone else. However, he did not seem to mind. It was a pace he could match using his own body.

Suddenly a person slowed down and ran alongside him.

"You feeling nervous?" Montis asked.

"Not really. I think I could escape if I wanted to," Aeon responded.

"Assuming that the speed you displayed before when you approached the Gray Lion was your peak, you do realize that you wouldn't be able to outrun some colossal beasts, right?"

"That's why I have these bottles," Aeon said while tapping his pack. Although he was not 100% confident about the mission, he at least had the peace of mind knowing that there are 30 of them to support each other.

Montis was silent for a good few seconds before finally speaking again. "The moment you encounter the King of Grey Forest... flee. Abandon your mission."

Then, Montis left and headed towards the front of the group again to lead them. He was so fast and simply looked like a blur.

Aeon sighed emotionally. It seemed like Montis was really worried about him. Was a relationship between a student and a teacher really that special? He didn't know. Though he did feel the same way with Montis, he couldn't express his worry because he knew that his teacher was strong.

Escaping would be but a trifling matter to him.

….

Time flew and they eventually reached the base of the mountain, though they had yet to enter the area affected by the Eclipse Phenomenon.

As expected, they didn't encounter any magical beasts along the way because those creatures should be inside the mountain right now.

The mage that Montis sent to scout finally returned after 15 minutes and he reported everything that he had discovered.

There was blood splattered everywhere but the majority of it didn't really seem to belong to humans. One could obviously tell based on the volume. The scout concluded that the beasts in the mountain had fought each other after their goal to reach the mountain had been achieved.

"This is good. Then I'll assume we'll encounter fewer magical beasts," Montis responded. He waved his hand indicating for the men to proceed.

After the group reached a certain point, they felt like they had lost a certain part of their body. They looked at their bodies as they felt the weird sensation.

They had already stepped inside the boundary of the Eclipse.

The mages casted their spells out of curiosity, just to test how the phenomenon worked and, every single time, they failed. The Serans even went out of their way to move back and enchant their equipment before they entered the reach of the Eclipse. However, it didn't work as they had expected.

After the enchanted objects entered the boundary, the magic attached to them dissipated after a moment.

Aeon did not know what they were currently feeling because he never had the chance to use magic. In his case, he tested whether or not he could still use his Tenro. If he couldn't he would immediately drop his mission and go back.

He breathed hard and after a split second, his focus had doubled. His eyes took into account the smallest details.

Then, he deactivated it.

Since Tenro worked by utilizing the magical constitution, then shouldn't it be blocked out too?

Was it safe to assume that the Eclipse only works on magic that had already manifested?

Aeon head was filled with questions that he could not answer himself.

Without knowing the exact number of beasts they were up against, the group could only move forward cautiously. After 10 minutes of walking, they had yet to encounter a single beast, so there was a high possibility that they were all staying at a higher altitude.

Montis Leroux was carrying another backpack with him aside from his fanny pack. He paused and opened it wide, revealing the shiny stones inside. Obviously, they were Tracers. Tracers of each surviving Academy Staff member trapped in the mountain.

Aeon eyed Montis as he focused on one.

Earlier, while they were still traveling, they had already determined that the people they were looking for were split into three groups. One group was near the base of the mountain, another was a few kilometers up, and the last one was a single person. That person was at the peak, presumably trapped in the Eclipse Platform's cave.

After Montis confirmed that they were still in the same spot, meaning they haven't successfully escaped by themselves, he urged the people to move forward once more. Their target was the group nearest to the base.

They gradually increased their speed as they found no magical beasts around. This was also the advantage given by the night. Although it was dark and it limited their vision, it also meant that most of the magical beasts were resting.

In no time, they had reached their first destination.

Montis had been to Mt. Eirene before when they were still researching about the phenomenon, but he had not known about the specific place they were currently in. There were fences around and it looked something like a cafeteria if they would consider the broken wood scattered all around to previously be a chair or a table.

Aeon nodded as Montis signal for him to move forward.

The two advanced as the rest of them kept an eye on the surroundings. They inwardly thanked the fact that they were up against large creatures. They would be able to sense their presence based on the shaking of the ground.

Currently, it was peaceful, and that meant that they were still safe.

Montis followed the direction pointed by the Tracer and had finally arrived at the back of the cafeteria.

The Tracer was pointing straight at the wall.

If the two assumed that it was previously a cave, then the only explanation was for there to be a landslide that covered the opening. Since the people inside were still alive then there must be some other sort of way for them to get oxygen.

Montis tested the wall's sturdiness using his dagger.

Whoosh! Ding! Kshhh…

It did seem to be sturdy. It only managed to leave a long scratch. However, Montis was not disappointed. He nodded at Aeon.

Aeon responded with a nod of his own and activated his Tenro. In that short span of two seconds that he had his Tenro activated, Aeon managed to perform four slashes that connected together in a rectangle.

The force behind his swing was so great that it literally sliced a rectangular section on the wall while leaving the rest intact. Aeon pulled the block down from the gap at the top and it fell down. With Montis' assistance, it landed silently.

The light of the moon shone down on the people inside the cave. They were haggard and their clothes were caked with dirt, but the moment they saw that help had finally arrived, they rejoiced. The cave was immediately filled with cheering.

Aeon felt his heart sink. He didn't realize that such a happy moment would cause him to panic. He and Montis desperately gestured for the people to be quiet, but maybe because it was too dark to see, they didn't get the message immediately.

The cheering lasted for a good ten seconds before they finally stopped.

Every single person that had been on the lookout felt tense. They couldn't blame the people who were trapped. They had no idea about the situation outside.

Thankfully, no magical beast came.

The trapped Academy staff members, a mix of Serans and Remorans they were all familiar with came into view as they left the cave.

Now, they had to deliver those people outside the range of the Eclipse so that they could defend themselves while the rescue unit would proceed with their duty.

As they were descending from the mountain, they suddenly felt the ground quake.

Shit!

It turns out that they hadn't been as sneaky as they had thought.

From their ground advantage, they could see the peaking heads of the two colossal beasts that roamed around. Though they were concealed by the trees all around them, they couldn't eliminate the possibility of being discovered through scent. Especially when one of those beasts was a large dog.

In the end, Montis ordered them to find a detour. They didn't really need to take the same path downward. They just had to get out of the Eclipse's coverage.

They avoided the two colossal monsters and went left. Wasting a few bottles on those two was not an option for Montis. They still had a few hours before morning, so they might as well take their time.

Just when they were finally about to reach the base of the mountain, they all saw the few beasts that roamed around the area. They were equally as colossal as the two they had found earlier. The only difference was that now, there were three of them.

The people then inwardly questioned if the only remaining beasts in the mountain were all colossal ones.

….