Chapter 163: Vistruk Swamp

"This is a serious problem..."

Alaric spoke with a hint of seriousness as his gaze settled on the swamp veiled in black miasma a few kilometers away.

Killian looked at the group of griffins that were flying back in the direction of Falkor Valley.

"Can’t we just ride them until we get to our destination?" he said with a tinge of sadness.

Aurelia glanced at him and smiled, "You know they can’t do that. They still have their own lives, after all."

"I know, but riding them was fun."

It was obvious to his companions that Killian really loved flying on the back of the griffins— after all, it was far more convenient compared to travelling on foot.

At this moment, their group was standing on the savanna between Falkor Valley and Vistruk Swamp.

Looking at the Vistruk Swamp about twenty or so kilometers away from them, Regis said, "We should set up camp here and let the night pass before continuing our journey."

"I agree." Alaric replied, "It will be too dangerous considering our current state."

His words made Killian, Pandora, and Aurelia nod in agreement.

After all, it had only been a few hours since their fight with the demonized griffins ended.

Thus, they were all still tired and out of both mana and aura.

Since they had already decided, the group did not waste any more time and took action.

They found a relatively large tree before setting up their tents and sleeping bags.

***

An hour or two later...

The grass and the leaves of the trees were gently showered with the silvery illumination of the moonlight.

It was calm and serene to say the least— if it were not for the black miasma that was faintly visible in the area, then the atmosphere would have been better.

"Being attacked by the demonized griffin turned out to be a blessing in disguise."

Regis said as he took a bite of the bread that he had just dipped into his tomato soup.

"You’re right. Who would have thought that we would be able to save around two weeks of travelling because we were able to ride them out of the valley?"

Hearing Regis and Aurelia talking about the griffins, Killian interjected.

"Can you guys stop talking about them already? I’m missing Birdy again..."

"Birdy?" Regis asked in interest.

Aurelia giggled, "It’s the name of the griffin he rode on earlier. Well, at least that’s what he named it."

"What? You really became that attached to the griffin?" Pandora couldn’t help but giggle as well.

"N-No..."

Laughter echoed in the area as Killian tried to explain himself.

At this moment, their group was eating together while talking about the things they had experienced in the valley.

They were able to enjoy various delicacies because the food that was placed inside their storage pouches remained hot and fresh.

Due to this, they were able to avoid igniting a bonfire to cook their food.

A few minutes later, Alaric sat beside Regis and asked with a smile, "What are you kids laughing about now?"

"It’s just Killian being silly." Regis replied as he passed a wooden bowl to Alaric.

Their group had become used to Alaric reciting his nightly prayers a little distance away from them.

Soon enough, they resumed eating their meals while being bathed in the cool touch of the moonlight, while planning what their next course of action would be.

***

Meanwhile, in the center of the Vistruk Swamp...

"Is he the one who angered you, Master?" a grating voice could be heard within the darkness.

A skeletal hand caressed a crystal ball that showed a video.

In it was Regis and his companions who were eating their meals together under a big tree.

"Indeed."

A deep, demonic voice replied.

The skeletal hand took the crystal ball that was placed on the table, "Don’t worry, Master. I will surely make him suffer."

Blue flames burned brightly inside the skeleton’s eye sockets as he spoke.

He stared intently at the boy with eyes of blood and snow white hair for a few seconds before placing the crystal ball back on the table again.

The skeleton fixed his black robe as he turned his head towards the rift in the air just behind him.

If Alaric or Regis were here, they would have been alerted because of the large amounts of black miasma that the rift was spewing.

It was at this moment that the demonic voice sounded again.

"You have offered your soul to become a lich— a demon who has eternal life. I will reward you even more if you’re able to sacrifice that boy and his friends to me."

Hearing this, the skeleton– the lich hurriedly knelt towards the rift.

"You can consider it done, Master!!"

The excited voice of the lich echoed in the darkness.

***

The next day...

Regis and the others had been walking for four hours since the sun rose earlier.

The shade of the grass became darker as they neared the swamp, wearing serious expressions as they all knew that what might happen might be worse than their encounter with the demonized griffins.

Still, the group felt more confident due to their gains from the battle.

Pandora was able to advance from the Late Stage of One Star Realm directly to the Early Stage of Two Star Realm, skipping the Peak Stage of One Star Realm.

Meanwhile, Killian was able to advance from the Peak Stage of One Star Realm to the Early Stage of Two Star Realm like Pandora.

Finally, Regis skipped three bottlenecks in the path of aura, advancing from the Middle Stage of One Star Realm to the Early Stage of Two Star Realm.

While in the path of mana, he was able to reach the Peak Stage of One Star Realm after crossing three bottlenecks as well.

’No matter what’s in there, we’ll all survive.’ Regis thought to himself.

Last night, Pandora and Killian needed to consolidate their stars as they didn’t have the chance to do so since they were too tired from the battle.

However, Regis did not have the same problem due to his Perfect Adaptation.

Therefore, he chose to examine his limits instead.

’Now, my magic field has reached a radius of five meters with me at the center...’

Regis initially felt dumbfounded since in the One Star Realm of mana, his magic field only had a one meter radius.

Each minor breakthrough provided him with a twenty centimeter increase.

He did not expect the radius of his magic field to increase directly to five meters by just adding one mana star.

’I wonder just how much my magic spells have improved...’

Regis couldn’t help but become curious. After all, a mage’s magic field helps in both increasing power and drastically reducing the mana consumption of magic spells.

While he was lost in thought, their group had already entered the Vistruk Swamp.

Their formation was as follows:

Regis, being the strongest, was at the vanguard of the group.

Behind him was Pandora, whose eyes remained alert, maintaining a certain trace of mana around them for detection.

Since it wasn’t really a magic spell, her magic field reduced the consumption of mana to about 90%.

This meant that there was almost no expenditure of mana.

Of course, she was still expending her mental strength, which meant that she could not maintain it for eternity.

Still, it was enough to somewhat ensure their safety.

The next in their lineup was Aurelia with both of her hands in the pocket of her black dress, ready to pull out artifacts at any given time.

Behind her was Alaric with the brass incense, which had chains spiralling around his arm, producing a faint smoke as it burned with holy flames.

Finally, Killian was at the rearguard to prevent them from being ambushed from behind.

They continued walking with serious expressions on their faces since they entered the Vistruk Swamp.

The black miasma not only made it difficult for them to see ahead, it also made them feel uncomfortable throughout their body— as if something was weighing down on them.

This made the group, with the sole exception of Regis and Alaric, feel sluggish.

"Should I cast a holy miracle to nullify the effects of the demonic power?" Alaric whispered.

"Don’t. We’re not sure if there’s a demon ahead, so we need you to conserve your blessed mana." Regis replied without looking back.

After a few more moments of walking, he stopped, prompting his companions behind him to stop as well.

"Did you sense something, Brother?" Pandora asked silently, her face tensed.

Regis furrowed his brows as he shook his head.

"Something isn’t right..."

Alaric also added, "The Vistruk Swamp should be filled with wild beasts— insects, snakes, frogs, and many more. However..."

Not once did they encounter a wild beast since they entered the swamp about an hour ago.

No, it was more accurate that they hadn’t encountered a single life form, as even the trees and plants had withered due to the corruption of demonic power.