"A whole army is a huge exaggeration, it was more like a small herd..." Liana objected. She felt like this bitch was trying to ruin her credibility in front of Lian.
She never puts others in danger, okay? Maybe she would be willing to put their glorious vice head of the student council in danger though...
Seraphina pointed at the Glassmaw corpses with her hand.
"These were only part of that same group."
"Well, maybe a small army." Liana said in a very low voice, like a mosquito’s buzz.
Seraphina explained that when Liana had reached her shelter, the Glassmaws had also seen her.
The chase quickly spread to both of them. They had fought for a while, but the enemies’ numbers did not end.
In the end, they had taken refuge in the hollow tree.
Seraphina had blocked the entrance with a Barrier, and Liana had sent Shadow Wolf to create false trails.
For a few hours, they had imagined they had escaped the pursuit.
But the Glassmaws were sensitive to sound and Mana. They had found the Barrier’s trace and started the siege.
"From then until now, you saw what happened."
Seraphina pointed at the remaining cracks on the trunk.
"Every time they attacked, the Barrier got weaker. When we realized the next attack would probably break it, we activated the Beacon."
"And fortunately, our favorite hero was nearby." Liana gave a faint smile.
Seraphina looked at her with displeasure, but before she could answer, her attention was drawn to Seris.
Until that moment, the danger, exhaustion, and conversation about past events hadn’t given her a chance to examine the silver-haired girl closely.
Seris was standing a little further away, had cleaned her sword, and no sign of exhaustion could be seen in her posture.
The Mana pressure around her was calm, but Seraphina, as a Mage, could clearly feel its unusual density.
Every movement of Seris was controlled. No energy was wasted from her body.
"Who is she?"
"Seris Pendragon. From the Pendragon clan."
The clan name made both girls’ expressions change slightly.
The Pendragon clan was not one that could be easily ignored.
Even among the great clans, their name was completely known.
Lian then pointed at the two girls.
"Seraphina and Liana. Members of my group."
Seris gave them a brief look.
"Seris."
Seraphina answered with a more formal tone.
"Seraphina."
Liana raised her hand slightly, and her mischievous smile returned.
"Liana. Pleased to meet the girl who appeared out of nowhere with Lian."
Seris showed no reaction to her emphasis on the words, only nodded.
Her complete indifference made Seraphina’s frown deepen slightly. She had seen Seris’s power, appearance, and calmness.
And without wanting to, she felt she had found a new rival.
Liana saw her change in expression. Her smile widened a little, but this time she said nothing.
"Have you found any trace of the other group members?" Lian asked.
"No. At least we haven’t seen any of them so far."
Liana looked at the forest with dissatisfaction.
"We didn’t even know where we were. Whatever this damn forest is, it’s very annoying."
She pointed at the multiple reflections on the trunks.
"Neither the right path is clear, nor are the sounds reliable, nor do we know where to go or what to look for." She then added with a frown.
"No one said this Special Area was going to be this stupid."
Lian involuntarily laughed.
Now he just remembered that these two had almost no information about this world.
They had only appeared in a part of Glassthorn Forest and had been fighting to survive from the start.
Seraphina looked at him suspiciously.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Nothing."
"That laugh was not a ’nothing’ laugh." Liana narrowed her eyes.
Lian decided to explain.
"We are currently in the northeastern part of Glassthorn Forest."
Liana looked at the transparent trees around.
"Glassthorn? The name suits it."
"How do you know?" Seraphina immediately asked.
He gave a short smile and nodded toward Seris.
"Because she and I didn’t appear here. We just entered this forest."
Then he briefly explained the events.
He talked about the Forest of Giants, the massive monsters of that area, the Giants’ Graveyard, and the deadly path between the two forests.
About the three main parts of this world.
The Forest of Giants.
Glassthorn Forest.
And Emberroot Forest.
Lian explained that according to the map and information, the largest remaining civilization in this world should be in Emberroot.
A large city or a collection of settlements, and there they should be able to find many interesting things.
Seraphina and Liana listened without interrupting. Both were clearly surprised. They had barely managed to advance a few kilometers in this forest.
But Lian and Seris had passed through several areas, found a map, and understood the world’s overall structure.
"I think I’ve found the key’s location." Lian continued.
Seraphina became more serious. The key was their way out of this world, and it was very important.
"Where?"
"The deepest point of this world. A place called the Forgotten Tree."
"You understood everything in this short time? What exactly were you doing?" Liana asked in disbelief, feeling a little embarrassed.
While those two had been running from monsters all this time, their classmate had already gathered years’ worth of information.
"I’ll explain later. For now, we have more important things to do."
He took out the map and spread it on the ground. He placed his finger on their approximate location and then moved it southeast.
"Tomorrow, we move toward the border between Glassthorn and Emberroot."
"You want to leave this forest?" Seraphina asked.
"Yeah. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything here worth staying long for."
Then he placed his finger on the mark that was just before the border.
"But before that, there’s something I want to check. It’s exactly on our path. Whoever made this map marked this place without explanation. Maybe there’s a good opportunity inside."
Liana and Seraphina looked at the mark for a few moments and then nodded.
"Okay." Their goal was also to become stronger, and they had no problem with exploring.
Now that Lian was with them, they no longer needed to worry about the monsters.
They spent the night in that same hollow tree.
Lian naturally took all the monster corpses for himself, and none of them had any problem with it.
Seraphina and Seris didn’t need the money, and Liana felt she hadn’t made any effort to deserve a share.
After that, they checked the area around the tree.
The two girls needed more rest due to their injuries and exhaustion.
Shadow Wolf lay down next to Liana, but even when its summoner closed her eyes, its red eyes remained open.
One also stationed itself at the tree’s entrance.
Its massive body blocked almost half of the crack.
In the middle of the night, Seraphina woke up for a moment to drink some water. It was a nightly habit she had since childhood. She saw Lian standing outside the tree, looking into the forest’s darkness.
Seris was at a distance, on one of the roots.
Neither was talking to the other, but every time Lian changed his gaze’s direction, Seris would check the opposite side.
Both had covered the entire environment without needing orders or explanation.
Their coordination was not just the result of a few hours together. They knew each other’s rhythm.
Seraphina watched for a few more seconds and then closed her eyes again with a slight frown... it was unclear what she had been thinking about before falling asleep.
With the arrival of daylight, Lian woke everyone up.
After a light meal and checking their wounds, they decided to ride on One to increase their speed.
For the first time, the two girls examined the ant’s body up close.
But Liana’s reaction was stronger. As a Summoner, she was not only looking at One’s appearance.
She felt the flow of Mana between the creature and Lian. She circled One several times.
"Where did you get this?"
"I found it."
"That’s not an answer."
She placed her hand on One’s head, and her eyes became serious for a moment.
"It doesn’t have a summoning contract. There’s no enslavement mark on its body either. Even your Mana bond is not like normal Taming."
This time even Seris looked at Lian. She too had never asked how this man had managed to tame and control such a monster.
"It’s a secret." Lian said briefly.
He naturally had no intention of explaining where he had obtained the S-rank Link Talent.
Liana pursed her lips.
"Is it that hard to say?"
"Yeah."
She let out her breath with feigned dissatisfaction, but stroked One again.
The ant remained still at first, then moved its antennae toward her and pressed its head slightly into Liana’s palm.
Through Hive Link, a wave of calm and satisfaction reached Lian’s mind.
One had liked her touch.
"At least it likes me." Liana gave a triumphant smile.
"It’s an ant." Seraphina said mockingly.
"And it has good taste." Liana answered without being upset.
All four sat on One’s back, and the journey began.
The first few hours passed without any major conflict.
But near noon, a strange change was detected in the ground’s vibration. The transparent roots around the path were too calm.
Dark spots were moving inside some of them.
Lian had not yet given the stop command when several roots came out of the ground.
Like glass snakes, they wrapped around One’s legs.
The panels appeared.
[Glassvine Hunter]
[Level: 18]
[Rank: Normal]
Seraphina placed her hand on her sword. Liana also prepared to form Shadow Wolf’s summoning circle.
But before either of them could enter the battle, Lian disappeared from One’s back. He didn’t need help to deal with such weaklings...