After a while, Erik noticed that the sky was getting darker, so he got out of the river and put on his armor after casting a simple cleaning spell on it. But first, he had to cast a drying spell on Tiberius, who, as usual, didn't understand the concept of privacy and had followed him into the river. When Erik returned to the camp, he saw Zoe, Frank, and Elara gathered around a campfire. The group of young people seed to be talking about various topics.
"Welco back, Erik."
Zoe was the first to notice Erik's arrival, so she quickly freshened up and greeted him with a warm smile. The beautiful girl felt more confident now that she had asked Elara to cast a cleaning spell on her.
"Hello, everyone."
As he petted Kaiser's head—who was 'whining' for attention while nudging him—Erik replied with a calm smile. But when he noticed that the young people only had bamboo cups with water in their hands, he couldn't help but comnt a bit curiously as he glanced at the campfire where the at was roasting.
"I was expecting to find you all eating."
"We decided to wait for you so we could all eat together." Elara said with a smile similar to Zoe's. Frank, for his part, didn't want to bother the direct disciples, so he stayed silent and bowed respectfully toward Erik.
"Then let's eat. I'm starving." Erik said with a smile, nodding his head toward Frank.
Quickly, Zoe went over to the at and took several pieces, at which point Frank ca to her side to help. anwhile, Elara stayed next to Erik and looked him up and down, almost as if searching for sothing. Noticing Elara's gaze, Erik turned to look at her and asked in a casual tone.
"Is sothing wrong?"
"No..." Elara shook her head, then looked Erik in the eyes again and comnted, sounding a bit unsure.
"It's just that you seem a bit… I don't know how to put it… distracted, maybe?"
"It's probably because I had a lot on my mind while I was bathing." Erik replied as he lifted his gaze to watch the ground darkening.
"I see…" Elara nodded, then bit her lip, looking a little uncertain.
For his part, Erik gave Elara one more smile before heading over to one of the logs the others had arranged around the campfire to sit on, leaving the wolves at his sides and Ebonique in his lap. After a few seconds, Elara sat down next to Erik and said.
"You know, Erik, when my father is stressed or worried, my mother always gives him a head massage, and she taught how to do them. I've even done it a couple of tis for my master." Elara pressed her lips together a bit, but quickly gathered her courage and continued.
"If you want, as a thank you for last night, I can do it for you."
"You don't need to worry about last night." Erik replied with a calm smile. But when he saw the beautiful green-eyed girl's shoulders drop and her expression turn a little sour, he added in a casual tone.
"But I am curious to know what that massage feels like, so I'll leave myself in your care."
Hearing this, Elara looked at Erik with a small sparkle in her eyes, and as a subtle yet beautiful smile ford on her lips, she replied in a sing-song voice.
"Leave it to ."
Elara quickly got up from her spot and moved behind Erik, and at that mont, a small, gentle reddish fla appeared at the tip of each of her fingers. Then, the beautiful girl spoke in a cheerful voice.
"I'm going to start. You'll feel a bit of warmth, but it's part of the massage."
"Go ahead."
Erik said with a calm expression. Elara quickly nodded and placed her fingers on Erik's forehead, then began to massage him with great delicacy. The flas on her fingertips, instead of burning him, simply left faint trails as they moved across Erik's skin without causing the slightest harm.
On Erik's lap, Ebonique watched the massage with equal parts annoyance and curiosity. That technique was sothing the little dragoness didn't know, so she figured it wouldn't hurt to learn it for the future. At that mont, Zoe returned with Frank, carrying the at, and couldn't help but comnt with a smile.
"Oh, the famous relaxing massage from Elara. I want one too!"
"I'll give you a simple one later."
Elara replied in a calm voice, fully focused on the massage. Zoe nodded, and after placing the at—still on the sticks—in front of the campfire, she sat on a log across from them. At that mont, Erik comnted, his eyes closed, enjoying Elara's unusual massage.
"Since the river was near the waterfall, I took the opportunity to take a look at the basilisk and the cave."
Upon hearing Erik's words, the group of young people froze for a mont, and even the flas on Elara's fingers disappeared. In a relaxed tone, Erik began to explain everything he had found in the strange cave, sothing the young people listened to in complete silence. Once Erik finished his story, Zoe looked at him reproachfully and spoke in a serious tone.
"You shouldn't have taken such a risk, Erik."
"It was necessary. I don't have to worry about mana, and with Tiberius I have plenty of freedom to move around." Erik replied calmly as he took a piece of at from one of the sticks and gave it to the wolves, then added.
"But putting that aside, has anyone heard anything about a bio-mystic technique called 'Gaze of Arkhé'?"
"Gaze of Arkhé? Doesn't ring a bell."
Frank said thoughtfully, searching his mories for anything similar. For her part, Zoe sighed a little and looked at the katana at her waist with a thoughtful expression, then looked at Erik and spoke in a serious tone.
"Erik, I can understand that you might not trust us very much yet, but we're a team. Risks like that are sothing we should at least discuss and decide on together."
"I understand, my apologies." Erik nodded his head in apology. "I'm still not used to working as part of a team."
Seeing that Zoe was about to reply with a less-than-pleased expression, Elara quickly reignited the flas at her fingertips and began gently massaging Erik's temples, comnting.
"That's sothing we'll have to work on together, but what's done is done. What's more important now is what we do with the information Erik was able to recover. Do we investigate the cabin and what looks like an exit more thoroughly, or do we focus only on the basilisk?"
Hearing Elara, Zoe let out a long sigh, almost as if she wanted to release all her emotions with it, then replied in a serious tone.
"You're right, there's no point dwelling on it." Zoe said, looking at Erik and asking sowhat confusedly as she took a piece of at.
"Is 'Gaze of Arkhé' the bio-mystic technique you found in the cabin?"
"Yes." Erik replied thoughtfully. "But there's sothing about that technique that keeps bothering …"
"What's so strange about it?" Elara asked curiously as she carefully massaged Erik's forehead.
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"In the notes I saw, there was a formula for an eye potion necessary for practicing the technique." Erik said in a reflective tone. Zoe, still a bit confused, asked back.
"What's strange about that? It's pretty common for bio-mystic techniques to depend on certain potions, herbal baths, or even specific environnts—especially with the techniques knights use."
"The strange thing isn't the potion itself, but its active ingredient." Erik said seriously, looking down at Ebonique on his lap. He asked.
"Ebonique, could you write down all the information about that technique? I don't trust my mory, and I don't want to draw any conclusions without confirmation."
"Sure, where do you want to do it?" Ebonique replied calmly as she floated into the air. Erik responded in a relaxed tone.
"On a wooden tablet is fine. There are several left over from last night in the 'storage cabin'."
"I'll be right back."
Ebonique said before flying off. anwhile, Zoe, Elara, and Frank looked at each other, sowhat confused expressions on their faces. After a few seconds, Elara asked while she began to massage Erik's ears.
"What's so strange about the active ingredient, Erik?"
"It's that it's implied to be a plant, but I don't know it." Erik replied as he grabbed a piece of at with a phantom hand. Seeing that his words only confused the others even more, Erik explained in a asured tone.
"As you all know, my master, Sigrún Eldurdóttir, is one of the best alchemists in the galaxy. And while I can't say I've read every book in her personal library, there aren't many left for to read.
"Plus, as a prize in the selection tournant, I won a special license that lets access so pretty advanced and confidential books on alchemy in the university library. Even so, I've never seen a single ntion of the herb that appears in those notes."
"Couldn't it just be that they used a different na, or maybe it's an herb that was lost over ti?" Zoe asked calmly, taking a big piece of at. Erik took a bite of his at and, after a few seconds, explained,
"I originally thought the sa thing, so I didn't pay much attention to it. But thinking it over again, I realized that's not the case, since I recognize all the other ingredients. They all have old nas, but they're still recognizable to anyone who knows the runic language—except for the active ingredient."
"That is strange…"
Frank comnted quietly, which made Zoe and Elara nod in agreent. At that mont, Ebonique returned with so wooden tablets and handed them to Erik. Looking over the tablets, Erik realized that they were practically photocopies of the notes from the cabin, which made him ask curiously as he looked at Ebonique.
"How did you do this?"
"Well, my mory is excellent when I want it to be, so I just used a few lightning sparks to etch what I rembered down to the finest detail." Ebonique replied in a pleased voice as she let herself fall back onto Kai's lap. Erik reached out a hand to pet Ebonique's head and praised her with a smile.
"You're amazing."
"It's nothing."
Ebonique replied, visibly pleased, which made the other young people look at her for a few seconds—especially Zoe, who couldn't help but glance at her fox spirit resting a few ters away, not far from the furnaces Erik had prepared, since now she was in charge of the fire.
While Zoe reflected on the vast difference between the dragon's behavior and the fox's, Erik began reviewing the tablets with a serious expression. Seeing that Erik was completely focused, Elara stopped the massage and sat beside him, then took a piece of at and started eating quietly.
"Ljósmyrkra… I really didn't rember it wrong." Not long after, Erik murmured quietly, catching the attention of the others.
"Is that the na of the active ingredient?" Hearing his murmur, Elara quickly turned to look at Erik and asked. The star-haired boy nodded and explained.
"Yes, it can be translated as 'Light in the darkness' or 'Light born from the shadows.' Either way, it's a na I don't recognize."
"If this place is a 'collection'…" At that mont, Frank murmured to himself, but inevitably ended up catching the others' attention—especially Erik's, who looked at him with shining eyes and said.
"You're a genius."
"I-it's not that much…" Frank replied, visibly embarrassed by Erik's sincere praise. The star-haired boy shook his head and said with shining eyes.
"No. You really are a genius, and you're absolutely right. If this place is a 'collection,' and if the ingredient is truly a plant, the chances of it being here are pretty high. Plus, everything here is organized by its properties. So, all I have to do is deduce its properties based on the other ingredients and then assign probable locations for you to search."
Hearing Erik's words, Frank couldn't help but smile a bit bitterly. Although he did think that if it was a plant, it might be sowhere in the 'collection,' he hadn't thought so deeply about it. In fact, he didn't even know Erik could deduce its properties from the other ingredients, so the title of 'genius' felt way too big for him—so much so that it was uncomfortable.
"That's actually a great idea…" Elara comnted in a contemplative tone, looking at Frank with a hint of recognition in her eyes, which only deepened the bitterness in the young man's smile.
"Is it really that important to look for this plant? What direct benefits would it bring to our situation?"
Seeing the spark in Erik's eyes, Zoe couldn't help but ask in a serious tone, wanting to keep him focused on what was important—sothing a leader should never lose sight of, especially in their current situation. Hearing her, Erik turned to look at her and replied in a calr tone. anwhile, Ebonique glanced at Zoe with annoyance.
"Well, it's almost like a gamble. It could be a key clue to understanding this place and the basilisk, or it could turn out to be a complete waste of ti. In any case, now that we don't even know what we don't know, any clue is valuable and worth following."
"I get that. But right now, there are things that are much more important." Zoe said in a serious, almost pointed tone as she looked Erik directly in the eyes. eting Zoe's gaze, Erik smiled calmly and replied.
"Of course. That's why tomorrow we're going to split up a little differently." He pointed at Zoe and Frank with the stick of skewered at in his hand and added.
"Tomorrow, the three of us will head out before sunrise to look for sleeping magical creatures and collect data on them. After that, we'll go to the basilisk's cave to do the sa." Erik turned to look at Elara beside him and continued.
"In the anti, Elara, you'll be in charge of the camp with Hiyori and you'll keep an eye on the furnace." Seeing Elara nod with a serious expression, Erik smiled and continued, looking at Zoe and Frank.
"After we collect the data on the basilisk, I'll get to work at the cauldron, and in the afternoon we'll check on the basilisk again—although this ti you two will do it, since I'll be focusing on the potions and the equipnt, so that task will fall to you. The ingredient search will be carried out in between."
Hearing the plan, Zoe couldn't help but nod in agreent, realizing her concerns had been a bit unfounded. With a serious expression, Zoe stood up and, bowing in apology to Erik, spoke earnestly.
"Forgive for my impertinence, Erik. It was out of line."
"Don't worry about it." Erik said, waving his right hand lightly to brush it off, and added. "Let's eat."
Returning to her seat, Zoe looked at Erik for a few seconds, and soon a small smile ford on her lips. anwhile, Elara looked at her friend with a relieved smile and quickly handed out a skewer of at to each person, including Frank, leading to a peaceful dinner.
…
By the ti dinner was over, Erik stretched a little and then looked toward the furnaces in the distance before getting up and speaking in a calm tone,
"It should be ti for the falamite."
"Do you need any help?" Elara asked, looking at Erik. The star-haired boy replied in a calm tone.
"Not really. You can rest for a while, take the chance to go to the river before it gets completely dark, or do sothing else." Erik said, then pointed at the wolves by his side and added.
"But if you do go out, make sure one of the wolves goes with you."
"I'd like to watch so I can learn and help you later…" Elara said in a sowhat uncertain tone. Erik turned to look at her and replied.
"Then co with ; let's try out the freshly made chalk."
"I'd like to watch too, if it's not too much trouble." Zoe said at that mont in a calm voice. Erik turned to look at the young woman, a little surprised, but quickly smiled and said.
"It's nothing special; if you want to watch, you're welco."
"Thanks."
Zoe stood up with a smile as she walked over to Elara. For his part, Frank picked up the sleeping Lirio from his head, then looked at Erik and said in a slightly embarrassed tone.
"Boss, I'd like to sleep until my watch. I didn't get much rest last night, and I'm feeling a bit worn out."
"Go ahead. Get so rest. We'll stick to the sa watch schedule tonight, and we've got a lot to do tomorrow." Erik said with a smile, looking at Frank, who quickly bowed respectfully before heading off to the 'storage cabin.'
"What do we do now?" After Frank left, Elara looked at Erik and asked curiously.
"What we need to do is pretty simple. We're just going to collect the falamite slag. It's a fairly straightforward process." Erik replied, then turned to receive one of the chalk molds that Ebonique had brought him without him even having to ask.
"Thank you, Ebonique."
"It's nothing."
Ebonique responded calmly and soon made herself comfortable on Erik's head. After taking one of the dry pieces of chalk from the mold, Erik broke it in half and said as he looked at the two beautiful girls.
"The first thing we have to do is draw the runic-geomantic refinent circle for the final stage of refining the falamite, which will allow us to collect the slag that will be floating on the surface."
Hearing Erik, Zoe and Elara nodded seriously, then followed him to one of the stone tables, where Erik quickly drew the runic-geomantic circle. Once the circle was ready, Erik turned to Zoe and, picking up a pair of bamboo tongs from the table, said with a smile.
"Zoe, could you bring the crucible from the second furnace? We need to do this manually, without using mana."
"Of course." Zoe quickly took the tongs and walked over to the second oven to get the crucible. At that mont, Erik looked at Elara and said.
"Elara, could you prepare a barrel of water? We need to cool the slag quickly."
"Leave it to ." Elara replied enthusiastically and went to prepare the water.
For his part, Erik watched the two beautiful young won for a mont, then turned to look at the newly drawn magic circle. After double-checking that there were no problems with the circle, Erik sent a bit of mana into it. Noticing that the circle worked without any issues, Erik couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. At that mont, Zoe arrived carrying the crucible with the bamboo tongs.
***
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