Under the scorching rays of the high noon sun, two youngsters—a black-haired young man and a tan-skinned, white-haired young woman—trod down a rocky natural dirt slope that led to the massive crater, a wolf cub now the size of a mundane dog trailing behind them.
After killing the Hellfla Cat, it wasn’t difficult for the two to reunite.
They were now making their way down the slope.
However, there was a problem Hal had long postponed dealing with: how they would get off without being hunted.
He was sure so predators had learned by now that staying near the base of the slope could earn them an easy al.
Hal needed to co up with a solution before they got too close to the bottom.
As long as they remained on the slope itself, it shouldn’t be a problem, as any battle that occurred there would mostly favor them.
But once they stepped off it, they would be far too exposed.
There might even be multiple predators lying in wait below.
’I have to sohow distract them and give Liora and Loki ti to get away, find a safe spot, and figure out a way to regroup later...’
The question was: how?
Loki’s senses would most likely ensure their safety, and it would be Hal who would be in more danger...but how would they reunite?
After a few more minutes, Hal suddenly pald his face, catching Liora off guard.
"H-Hal?"
"Aihh... right... how could I be so stupid? Isn’t the solution really easy?"
anwhile, Liora was flabbergasted.
What was going on with her comrade?!
"W-Wha..."
Hal didn’t explain anything.
He simply stopped, retrieved his bag from the system inventory, and pulled out the expedition marking and tracking device.
He then picked up a pebble of appropriate size from the ground, adjusted the marking size in the device’s settings, and marked the pebble.
The mont the marking appeared, Hal smiled.
He turned to Liora and gave her the marked pebble.
"We’ll likely be ambushed once we get to the bottom, so I’ll be the distraction. You escape and find an appropriate hiding spot with Loki. I’ll reunite with you using this pebble," Hal explained.
"Also, make it seem like you’re heading back to the surface at first, once I start distracting them. That way, they’ll all chase . Listen to Loki’s senses, and only move once it’s safe."
Liora realized then that Hal had been mulling over the sa potential problem as she had.
Of course, she also knew that it would be better for him to act as the bait, but how could she be the one to suggest such a plan?
The white-haired maiden agreed without ceremony, though a bit embarrassed.
She would have taken the role herself, had she been capable.
Another half an hour later, the trio arrived near the bottom of the slope, the atmosphere growing more and more tense.
This was also due to Little Loki repeatedly glancing in multiple directions and even trying to pull them back at one point.
It was only after Hal explained to the pup that they had to take this path that the little guy stopped and didn’t do it again.
One warning was enough for them to know that multiple creatures were lurking, though.
Taking a deep breath, Hal made eye contact with Liora and said in an almost whisper,
"Don’t hesitate, alright? Just focus on finding a safe hiding spot for us and wait for there. I’ll find you as soon as I can."
The maiden nodded with a decisive look.
Soon, it was ti to begin. Hal took another deep breath before saying:
"Well then, I’m off. Take care."
Casting [Swift] and [Enduring] on himself, swapping them for [Glide] and [Knockback] shortly after.
Hal then jumped off the slope, gliding in the opposite direction from where the bottom was leading, giving Liora and Loki ample ti to escape.
The smart maiden and the pup then pretended to go back to the surface as planned.
Watching their prey go their separate ways and slowly slip out of reach, the lurkers felt compelled to act.
The rather slim young woman didn’t seem all that appetizing, and she appeared to be heading back toward the surface, on a slope that was sowhat difficult to traverse.
As for the larger and atier young man...
The choice was obvious, and it was the one slowly gliding through the air.
If they reached him quickly enough, they might even be able to simply wait for him to fall right into their clutches.
The predators swiftly left their hiding places and went after Hal.
Despite his past experiences of escaping death’s clutches multiple tis, Hal couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous, not for his safety, but for Liora and Loki’s.
The leaves of the trees and the thick bushes were rustling violently in at least three slightly different locations, which ant the plan had worked.
But who could say whether there were others that had refrained from moving, patiently waiting for the two?
Would Loki’s senses remain reliable against higher-ranked monsters?
In any case, the plan was already in motion, so all they could do now was pray for luck to smile upon them.
The re act of daring to descend into the crater as re E-ranked wizards was already utterly bonkers, anyway.
This level of danger was to be expected.
Soon, the lurkers revealed themselves: two beasts and one monster.
He was familiar with one of the beasts, as it was another Hellfla Cat, while the other was a two-ter-tall creature with features resembling a lizard.
It had two sowhat short hands ending in lethal claws and two hind legs, which it used to sprint at a horrifying pace.
Its long tail swayed left and right as it ran, and its massive jaws filled with sharp teeth were drooling.
It was sowhat similar to a Reptilian but still different, as it wasn’t a humanoid creature.
As for the last monster, it appeared to be from one of the three camps, from the race Hal wasn’t familiar with.
It was even larger than the Orc Captain, standing a little over two and a half ters tall, with light blue skin, a mohawk-type mane that extended to its waist, and it wielded dual battle axes.
Had Liora been around, she would’ve recognized the C-ranked Forest Troll.
Hal’s gliding speed was very slow.
So, the creatures swiftly caught up, sprinting a few dozen ters apart from each other right below him.
They were waiting for him to fall to a low enough altitude so they could snatch him from the others.
Of course, the three warily glanced at each other from ti to ti, making sure the target hadn’t shifted to themselves.
Anyone in Hal’s situation would have lost hope, as it felt like simply waiting for death.
But then, just before he entered the predators’ attack range, he turned around, faced the direction he had co from, pointed two fingers at himself...and blasted off with a sudden burst of speed, soaring through the air, though backward.
Before the three creatures even realized, he was already gone.
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