Chapter 184: Isthmia Great Forest

Giliath demands your power stones!

*

The morning sun of the next day signaled the start of the second week of September S1199. It slowly rose high up into the sky, allowing the rays of the sun to pierce Ebel Lake. Fog worked both ways, letting it thicken early in the morning and early evening. The suns' rays warmed up the dew that was spread around Legram from the night before, and fog began to spread out.

Yet the fog was a normal occurrence for Legram and no one became startled from seeing it appear first thing in the morning. Most lazily got out of their bed to ready for their daily work.

As did a certain group of four people after enjoying a bath and a large meal the night before, a violet haired boy, a blue haired girl, a butler and the head of the Arseid school soon left the mansion, making their way down the hillside, only to find themselves in front of a large dojo.

Yet as Naoto and his group soon arrived in front of the dojo only to be greeted by surprised looks of a few students who were already starting their day inside of the dojo, some movement could be seen in another part of Erebonia...

Somewhere deep within the dense forests of western Erebonia, it almost appeared surreal as monsters lurked about. It was eerily serene. The air around was quite dense as well, almost appearing a same consistency of fog, but it wasn't fog. If one was sensitive to what was actually floating around this place, one could tell this place was very packed with mana. That was what made this forest a lot more ethereal than other normal forests within Erebonia.

And deep within this singular forest, no monster dared to approach a certain area of it. And for a good reason. Any time a monster tried to wander close enough, they would just make their way further away from the forest, almost as if monsters would become enchanted in a way. The heart of this forest was a safe place, as it was surrounded by a barrier that was invisible to the naked eye. And a very powerful one.

That was because it was a nexus point for a certain clan of witches, allowing a witch to go to and fro using the guidance of the spirit veins buried within Zemuria's grounds. And right now, its teleportation stone suddenly activated, allowing figures clad in a white light to emerge into the forest.

It wasn't just one figure. Two figures soon emerged out of nothing, but that was the beauty of teleportation. The clan of witches used stones to warp around, but they also knew spells to move around as well. Yet one needed to be quite adept to be able to warp a very long distance. Even Naoto wasn't sure if he could warp from Leiston Fortress to Grancel Castle after he had his fun in Roer, but he found that he had enough mana to do so.

Yet teleporting two or more figures at once took even more effort and a larger amount of mana. Having these hidden teleportation stones eased that, making it easier on the people who used them. These two figures were also accompanied by a third but much smaller figure. They appeared to be the same witch and knight who had started training in Languedoc Canyon some months earlier which was directly north to this forest.

It was a plum haired girl dressed in a long robe holding onto a staff of sorts, as well as a brown haired girl dressed in knightly armor with a sword at her waist. The smaller figure was much smaller than the two, and appeared to be a black cat with a blue ribbon tied over their tail. Seeing the three safely arrive into the forest, the plum haired girl let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew. It looks like we made it back on the outside, at least. Are you alright, Duvalie? Teleportation is pretty rough for those who aren't used to it.", The plum haired girl asked the knight. She was of course Emma, who has been travelling around with with Duvalie, who was a member of the Stahlritter that operated in the shadow organization, Ouroboros. As a result of Naoto's Instance Dungeon during the tragedy that struck Hamel, Arianrhod allowed her newest child to train with the child who was raised by the elder of the witch's clan, who was at this time, Emma. Arianrhod did not give a definite time frame of when their training is to end, but with Roselia mentioning the Vermillion Trials, Arianrhod presumed that Duvalie would be staying alongside Emma until then.

Yet enough progress has passed for the two's training that it no longer required Arianrhod's supervision. The two could now be seen on their own inside of Isthmia Great Forest. And after Emma said that, Duvalie scoffed a bit.

"Hmph, this much is nothing. It's not like this is the first time I've used one of these stones since we've used them before to go around. Still, I had no idea that you witches held such a private trial ground in your village.", Duvalie mused to herself, not feeling much side effects any longer after getting used to teleporting around. Seeing this, Emma smiled.

"That is good. Saint-Gral serves a single purpose, to nurture future witches should they desire to see the outside world. But If one is not familiar with its structure, it serves as a good proving ground for those who wish to attempt it. Grandmother also approved of us going inside of it.", Emma said, nodding her head with a smile as she looked at Duvalie.

"Indeed. Those mirrors were especially tricky. Looking back on it now, one misstep and we could have found ourselves rather lost in there.", Duvalie responded. recalling the dangers the three of them spent inside of there.

"Emma and I already completed it once, since we're travelling around now without Rose's guidance, but that stupid Rose changed the structure on it to make it more challenging. Still a cinch though.", Celine retorted, also recalling how the three of them spent inside that large labyrinth back in Eryn Village during the last couple months they have been inside Eryn after finishing their initial training in Languedoc Canyon.

"Yes. For that, I am grateful. It is not often I find people who can keep up with my pace, so it is pretty refreshing on my part, witch or not.", Duvalie responded, cracking a rare smile over her lips. She was not wearing her helmet right now, one could see her brown hair tied into two loops.

"Hehe, I have made my own resolution a year ago, so I can only follow through with it. I didn't think we'd get to meet a new friend on the way though since we came from that canyon.", Emma said, revealing another smile, which distracted Duvalie. Duvalie then saw Emma turn her gaze toward a specific area of the forest to where some trees could be seen nearby.

"Damn, already spotted, huh?", A fourth voice suddenly said, only to have a quick blur of a shadow enter their vision. Celine's eyes darted quickly, and saw a shadowy blur hop down from one of the trees not too far away. It seemed this figure was hiding away in one of the tree's branches. Upon a closer look, this figure was a girl who seemed to be of similar age to Emma, but she was two years younger. She also had a very slim yet muscular body, letting it mostly be revealed with the outfit she was wearing, allowing her to be quick and nimble. A pair of daggers could be seen equipped at their waist.

"You've already entered the barrier, so it was quite easy to sense your presence, Fie. Though I do welcome you.", Emma simply answered seeing the younger white haired girl approach the three, a bit lazily as well.

"I didn't think you'd be acquainted with a Jaeger, Emma.", Duvalie said, looking back at the witch before her.

"We spent a bit of time together a year prior in North Ambria before our training started. I didn't think Zephyr would be having some fun in that canyon while we were in it though.", Emma said, ignoring the fact that she too had participated in that battle as a Jaeger herself. She didn't feel it was a need to tell Duvalie that part, for now, at least. Emma was only carrying around her staff for the present, and not her orbal rifle that was gifted to her.

"Still, it's nice to see you again, Emma. The Boss allowed me to partake in combat training with 'em, but it was a surprise to see you two there. The canyon's terrain is tough to traverse, making it hard to kill the monsters there.", Fie said, who could now be seen standing beside them after the three welcomed Fie.

"Mmm. That land was pretty tricky, but I think those mirrors still had another level to them.", Duvalie mused to herself, thinking back on her time spent in the Saint-Gral Labyrinth.

"Mirrors?", Fie asked, wondering what the two were talking about before she arrived here.

"It's nothing. It's nice to have you, Fie. Zephyr allowed you to join us in our next training exercise?", Emma asked Fie.

"Boss sure did. He didn't think he'd get to see you two in that canyon either. For now, I'll be sticking with you guys.", Fie simply answered.

"As long as you don't slow us down, I'm all for it.", Duvalie responded, nodding her head.

"Good. And more importantly...", Emma said, welcoming Fie as she shifted her eyes down to Celine before continuing to speak. "Were you able to confirm it, Celine?", Emma decided to ask, only to see the black cat nod her head.

"Yeah. No doubt about it. I picked up that stupid fox's mana signature quite easily. It's not exactly they're trying to hide.", Celine retorted after letting her figure turn toward a certain direction. If one looked closely, she was staring eastward, but the distance was unknown.

Yet seeing the cat turn toward a direction Duvalie was familiar with, she revealed a frown.

"Over there...", Duvalie uttered to herself. "That's the direction of Lake Ebel and Legram.", Duvalie continued to say which drew their interest.

"Legram huh? Isn't it that super foggy place all year around?", Fie wondered as she started to see a clear picture of where their next destination was going to be set.

"It is. I see Legram as a second home, so I didn't think we would get to stop by that place. I am assuming that is where we will be going next.", Duvalie wondered to herself. Yet as she said that, Emma simply nodded her head confirming the two but decided to stay quiet, only to go into her own thoughts.

'Naoto...Are you really in Legram right now?', Emma inwardly said, wondering to herself as the four of them found out where they are set to head to next.