Chapter 438: The Trail of the Missing Mages
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Although there were various questions in Benjamin’s heart, he was afraid that the huge commotion would draw other uninvited guests to them. Because of this, they speedily left the area after dealing with the carcass.
The bear’s carcass was gigantic, they had never met a magical beast of that size. Therefore, they could only collect some blood and fur - everything else was too difficult to remove. Benjamin could only give up and leave them there.
While walking on the diverted path.
"Where did this crystal ball come from?"
Varys’s voice sounded helpless, "Teacher, I’ve already told you. Some people donated it to us, they too did not know what it was."
Hearing this, Benjamin could only hold the crystal ball and take in a deep breath.
Although he still did not really understand how it worked, he was sure of its powerful destructive capabilities. The giant bear’s hide, meat and bones were very solid and hard — they knew this because of their difficulty when cutting up the carcass. But to the small little crystal ball, it was as soft and fragile as tofu.
What was its use? Was it purely for physical impact, or was it accompanied by some abnormal elemental effect?
The hole in the chest of the giant bear was also examined - it looked as though somebody had shot a bullet clean through it. The powerful impact had pierced through both the lung and the heart; Benjamin couldn’t believe his luck and whistled when he inspected the damage. This solid ball was thrown with such strange accuracy.
From their examination, they determined that it must be purely physical damage. But Benjamin still felt that something was not right.
He could not get over it.
"Teacher, that... Don’t keep holding onto the crystal ball." Suddenly, Varys walked up to him. He was quivering while speaking, "Everybody feels a bit scared seeing you hold this thing. We’re scared that you’ll accidentally toss it out again."
Benjamin came to his senses and turned around to look at the trembling mages behind him. He broke into hearty laughter.
Fair enough, this thing was indeed rather dangerous.
With no other choice, he could only put the crystal ball into a special box, the inside of which was lined with thick cotton; otherwise, it would be bouncing along the way and the mages under him would be anxious. Benjamin didn’t want his men to get a nervous breakdown.
Benjamin quickly put his thoughts on hold. He should be focusing his attention on the situation in these mountains.
They had only walked for a few hours and were still on the outskirts of the mountains range but had already met with a magical beast of this calibre? Benjamin could not help but hesitate on whether or not to continue.
It was not because he was scared that something might happen. It was just that if the Cadela Mountains were this dangerous, there would be little chance of mages hiding inside.
If there were no mages, then there was no point in Benjamin being here.
"Teacher, look over there!"
He was just thinking about this when Frank suddenly exclaimed while pointing at some small mounds in the thickets ahead.
The few sudden protrusions on the sides of the zig-zagging mountain path were extremely eye-catching and looked to have been created recently. On the mounds were a bunch of picked wildflowers, which, by now had completely wilted. They could not tell how long it had been put out for.
Benjamin’s heart jumped.
He did not go over to dig open the mounds but used water element to scan through it. He saw a few sets of white bones along with some torn up clothing, probably the clothes of the deceased.
This was a grave.
Judging from the freshness of the mounds, they had probably been buried within the past few months.
... could it be the mages who had hid in the mountains?
Benjamin was hesitant. He was suspicious of the fact that clues had suddenly appeared in front of him just as he was feeling doubtful and was thinking of heading back. It was as though there was someone, or something, that wanted him to go deeper into the mountains.
There was no question about it, these new graves proved that there were people passing through the mountain, and they were civilized enough to know how to bury their dead and offer flowers. The chances of them being mages were very high. Even if they were not mages, they had to be pretty exceptional to survive in the mountains.
After thinking for a while, Benjamin asked the System to begin to take note of the footprints around them. The System soon discovered a clue. Pieces of cloth ripped off by tree branches, the remains of camps, rubbish thrown into the bushes, and even some traces of fights with magic... Without question, people had been through this area,
These clues continued into a path that winded deep into the mountains.
Benjamin came to a silent conclusion.
After leaving the main areas of Carretas, some mages had ventured into the Candela Mountains. There were not many of them and they had fought with magical beasts on the way, causing their numbers to dwindle further. But even so, they had continued into the deep parts of the mountains.
How would one put it...? The determination of these people to isolate themselves from the world and to live in solitude was really strong!
Benjamin did not doubt his hypothesis anymore. Why was he afraid of magical beasts? He did not bring his men out only to go back halfway. He enthusiastically followed these traces, his eyes glued to the road.
For the next few days, they had a few other encounters with magical beasts. However, none were of the level of the giant beast they had met previously. Benjamin could not help but suspect that the giant bear was the lord of the magical beasts in this region, and it was unlikely that they would encounter another like him again.
Benjamin was not worried about magical beasts; on the contrary, it was good to have powerful magical beast so that he could practice using the small crystal ball.
A few days later, they entered the depths of Candela Mountains.
"The trail ends up ahead."
The System suddenly made a sound, alerting Benjamin of the situation.
Hearing this, Benjamin stopped and scanned his surroundings. The environment around them was not special and there were not many magical beasts, but as the System had said, the traces they had been following thus far had suddenly vanished.
Then where had those mages gone?
It was nearly night time, so Benjamin decided to set up camp for the night and hunt for clues nearby, continuing their expedition the next day.
Therefore, the team of a hundred mages stopped here. Benjamin alone went towards the area where the trail ended.
It was a huge rock, and on the ground next to it were some traces of a bonfire. The traces seem to have faded; it must have been there for at least a month.
Benjamin walked to the side of the rock and examined his surroundings.
The forest was very quiet. The soft wind blew and rustled the leaves; there were no signs of magical beasts’ activity. The nearby elements were exceptionally jumpy, a perfect place for one to practice magic.
Suddenly, he spotted a strange shard near his legs.
"What is this?" He picked the shard up.
It was a grey and white shard, no bigger than a fingernail, with extremely sharp sides. It looked like it had been shaven off something. Benjamin looked at it for a moment and suddenly felt that it closely resembled a piece of bone.
A shard of bone...
Had there been a battle here?
Chills suddenly ran up Benjamin’s spine. The traces had disappeared here... Don’t tell him that it was because those mages had been massacred here.
As for there being no signs of a battle, it was not impossible that the attacking magical beast had special tricks or was some strange mirage-type creature. The mages would have been caught off guard and slaughtered without being able to retaliate.
Benjamin suddenly felt a bit worried.
"Everything I am seeing is real and not an illusion, right?" He asked in his heart.
"It is real." The System answered nonchalantly. "However... Who knows? If there is something that is powerful enough to trick even me, I would have no way of knowing anyway."
"Then, activate the intangible form once again."
The last time he had gotten caught in a dangerous illusion, he had activated intangibility to escape. From his perspective, the intangible form might be related to the Inner World and the elemental planes. It would not be tricked by a petty illusion.
The System did not say anything and activated intangibility for a second. After the intangibility, everything was still the way it was before; Benjamin sighed in relief when confirmed that he had not been trapped in an illusion again.
Maybe he was overthinking. Perhaps the Candela Mountains were not that dangerous, and he was just looking to scare himself.
After some thought, Benjamin kept the bone shard and lifted his head once again, looking around the place.
Nonetheless, right as he raised his head, not far in front of him, Benjamin saw a very pale, white face.