Chapter 246 Home Sweet Home? [3]
Silas, Nymira, and Alex walked silently, their eyes alert, and their senses heightened. They were seasoned enough to know that danger could emerge at any moment in a place like Uladia Forest. Nymira's earlier agitation gave way to a cautious resolve as she focused on the task.
It seemed like the only thing that had agitated her before was the presence of Ivy, but now that Ivy was back at the hotel, that agitation had turned into thin air.
The teachers, including Aka and the cat-eared woman, led the way. Their demeanor remained composed, but their eyes scanned the surroundings vigilantly. They were the guardians of this expedition, responsible for ensuring the safety of the students under their charge.
"Hm?" Silas raised a brow and looked around momentarily.
He could have sworn he felt someone move within the forest, but now that he looked around, he couldn't feel anyone except the elf following behind them.
'I'm certain Mr. Fladro didn't come with us...' Silas thought, his eyes narrowing slightly as a cold glint shone within them.
Looking in front of him, he quickly stretched out his arms and pulled Alex and Nymira back.
Alice, Gigi, and Blanka who were walking beside them could not help but look back for a moment. Their eyes locked upon Silas who had a deadly serious expression on his face.
However, within the trio, only one of them can hear what Silas was about to say.
"We're being followed." He muttered under his breath.
"Yeah... Isn't the Azakeel guy following us to ensure we're okay and there aren't any dangers nearby?" Nymira asked with a raised brow.
"Teacher Aka also said that the royal military have blocked off the entire place to make sure that there are no dangers nearby. We have 3 layers of defense. I doubt anything bad is going to happen." Alex added from the side, his eyes quickly scanning his whereabouts to make sure.
"Maybe it's the military you felt nearby." Nymira shrugged and walked ahead.
However, as she paced forward, She could see Gigi slowing down significantly.
"Gigi?" Nymira asked questionably
"He's right. There's something wrong... I can feel it." Gigi commented while glancing at Alice and Blanka, both of whom had stopped to see what was wrong.
They didn't have any fancy armor or items that would help them listen in, but they had Gigi, so they hoped she would take on that role.
Silas, on the other hand, could not help but look at her weirdly before scanning her up and down once more.
"I am used to these kinds of environments." She explained, knowing what kind of questions were popping up in his mind just from the way he looked at her.
'Her senses are sharp... A lot sharper than her strength would imply. Maybe she's hiding her power? Or maybe she had a technique... No, I would have definitely felt that.' Silas thought before coming to a sudden conclusion.
'She's aware of how strong I am...'
He could see it in her eyes and even her posture. She was standing straight and only looked Silas in the eye when she found it suitable. Yet, despite her straightened posture and broad shoulders that seem to have been formed out of years of extensive training, she kept her hands in front of her at all times and looked like she was trying to make herself as small as possible every time Silas looked at her.
She was also keeping her distance and was even speaking in a sensible tone that one would reserve for elders or people of that kind.
"If you've felt it, then..." Silas looked away from her and stared at the beast woman and Aka, both of whom were walking in front of them without looking back.
Their life forces showed calmness, and their postures were relaxed. Staring back, Silas looked directly at the elf who had kept himself hidden within the trees throughout their entire expedition.
The elf felt a chill go through his entire body the moment Silas' gaze landed upon him, but from the serious expression, the green-haired man looking at him held, he knew that something was wrong.
Azakeel quickly looked around with confusion. He couldn't feel anything wrong nearby, but since Silas was stronger than him, he would rather take Silas' gaze as the truth.
Disappearing from where he stood, Azakeel turned into a gust of wind and appeared before Silas in what felt like an instant.
"What's wrong," Azakeel asked.
"Can you not feel it?" Silas raised a brow.
"N-" Azakeel suddenly paused as a scowl appeared on his face. A feeling had suddenly fallen upon him... No. To be more accurate, a feeling disappeared the moment he got into close proximity to Silas, before something else washed over him.
"A seal." Silas thought aloud, instantly explaining what Azakeel just felt.
"Someone placed a seal on me? I didn't even feel it." Azakeel felt something crawling under his skin when he heard Silas' words. If a seal had been placed onto him without his knowledge, what did that say of his abilities? No... What did it say about the enemy they would have to face?
"Oh!" Silas suddenly widened his eyes and let out an awkward smile.
Putting his hand into his pouch, he felt the gazes on him strengthen slightly, every single one of them looking at what he would take out.
"I forgot to give you this." Silas suddenly took out a dagger... An ordinary dagger without anything on it. It was pristine in quality, but it wasn't made out of anything fancy. It was just an ordinary dagger without anything else on it.
Azakeel couldn't help but look at him weirdly as if asking, 'What the hell is this?'
"Man. Sorry for not giving it to you earlier." Silas chuckled, and within an instant, the gazes that had been placed upon him faded.
The gazes had only been directed at him, and Gigi walked back to him with a serious expression. They had always considered her a person of interest, which was why the gazes were stronger on her than on others.
Silas could also feel the gazes being placed on both Alex and Nymira, but it seemed that they both had seals on them that were hard to see, even with his mystic eyes.
'They put a seal on Nymira and Alex, but not Gigi... Why?' Silas inwardly asked, trying to find a reason for the current situation.
'He affected the fluctuations of the seal on me and made it so it didn't affect me nearly as much, but just enough to allow me to see without any problems.' The elf smiled and took the knife.
"Thank you for holding it for me for so long." The elf smiled before he discretely scanned his surroundings. Alice and Blanka looked at him with shock, while Nymira and Alex simply stared at him with raised brows.
"I must leave now." Azakeel bowed and disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing but a gust of wind behind him.
Silas then stared at Alex and Nymira with a gaze that told them to act like nothing happened. He then smiled at Gigi, giving her the same message but in a way that she would understand.
She nodded slightly and also smirked.
They continued walking without any problems. Aka and the beast woman hadn't even felt the presence of Azakeel, and that was something that Silas had expected.
He and the 299 other students were quickly stopped by the teachers and told where to place their tents.
Azakeel quickly informed the teachers about what he found when their tent was set up. He was almost certain that the enemy wouldn't be able to see through the protective runes they had placed on their tents.
After telling them, they planned to have someone scouting the area around them for the rest of the night to ensure the students weren't hurt in any way.
They weren't in a dangerous part of the forest anyway, so beasts were the least of their concerns since their aura and numbers alone would make most beasts leave without looking back. They had barely entered the forest.
The deeper they'd get, the stronger the monsters and beasts would be, but right now, the strongest beasts they would have to face would be in the low topaz core, something that most of the students could deal with without many problems.
In Silas' tent, one could see a green-haired young man sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. His hands were lightly placed on his knees, while his eyes were closed and covered with his emerald-green hair that fell loosely on his face.
However, there was one thing that would catch the eyes of anyone around. It seemed like he was gathering mana at such a tremendous rate that one could quite literally see the particles as they entered his body.
Yet, to the trained eye, something else was obvious. The mana wasn't going to his solar plexus but was going straight into his eyes.
His eyelids could be seen glowing with a faint green light, while the veins around his eyes bulged, also glowing with an emerald light that one would see after casting a healing spell.
His eyelids flung open, and in that very instant, a wheel-like symbol shone deep within his eyes. Simultaneously, a pair of enormous, illusory emerald eyes appeared in the sky above him, encapsulating the student's entire section of the forest.
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