[You have created your second Sword Skill. Please set a name.]
Ignoring the same notification telling me to name the new Sword Skill, I continued my weakened act as I replied to Irja's continued incitement about me being special.
"Can't you see I used up all my energy on doing that? I thought I already cleared this up." I sighed and showed her a somewhat frustrated face as I slowly stood up from where I landed.
With her hand still on my shoulder and that smirk pasted on her lips, Irja replied. "Or you're intentionally acting low-key. True, you got me confused two days ago. But that hadn't cleared anything. The way you dodged it was magnificent though."
Although her voice was still too loud, I noticed that she sent it via telepathy. Even if she's still suspecting me, she wouldn't say it out loud where everywhere would hear about it.
"You know, it's not as if I'm going to use it against you if ever you admitted to it. I admit. I came off too suspecting of you but that's just how it is. I noticed I was being watched after all." She continued.
Ah. She's right. I guess the surveillance put on them made her like this. But that's not really my decision. Perhaps upon seeing that broken Chain and all the coincidences that happened, the idea of me being special has already been planted in their mind. They even told me not to worry back then but when they felt someone watching them, they instantly drew a guess that it's because of me which led Irja to come and see me for that matter.
"You're a stubborn woman, don't you think so? No matter what I say, you'll keep suspecting me, am I right?"
"Maybe I'm stubborn but I'm suspecting you with reasonable grounds. And it's not just a suspicion. After telling you not to worry, someone still started watching my every move. That alone confirmed it." As her face relaxed, the voice entering my mind dropped the playful tone. "Anyway, we're both stuck in this place along with them. You have the lowest strength but what you just showed us most likely changed the other's impression of you. That guy who arrived here with you probably didn't know all your capabilities. And like I said before, you don't have to worry. I'm just doing this for the peace of my mind. You're a clever guy so it's easy to guess that you have considered everything already."
"I'm a Rank 1 Transcendent. I'm weak and need someone to fight for me. I am with Udann for that purpose. I'll stop denying so believe what you want but let me rest first, alright?"
After sending that to her mind, I turned around and looked for a place to sit. Rest is the excuse and the truth is I'm going to regulate the gathered energy on top of my head so that it could steadily pour into me without anything going to waste.
I get where she's coming from but if it's just a simple secret, I can easily give her that peace of mind she's asking. For now, she can keep believing what she wants to believe as long as she keeps it to herself or only among the three of them.
I haven't seen Klement yet but he's surely at the frontlines like Alwyn. Yatapa's silence is quite concerning but he's not doing or acting suspiciously according to Alwyn so there's that. In any case, at this point, I'm not special enough to warrant this kind of attention.
"Ember. We were locked up in that Irreverent Dungeon for many years without any foreseeable future. If the reason for our release was what I suspected then you have my utmost gratitude. Not only mine but also Yatapa and that old rug. Despite how they act, they're more than happy to be released than continuing to be locked up in there. Even if it's the Great One who made the decree, your existence made it possible. Okay, I finally said my piece. Take your rest."
Ending it with that, Irja stepped forward and joined the hubbub the others were making as they tried to pick apart the golden statue's body.
Judging from that tone of her voice, if she's not acting then it's heartfelt gratitude coming from her. Even so, I can't openly accept that. Maybe I'll look for them when I come back to this world in the future but for now, I have to draw a line.
Once I finished regulating the gathered Energy using my Energy Manipulation, I looked up at the still visible map. Because the golden statue in this place is already destroyed, one of the small golden circles has disappeared but apart from that, there's still only the red and blue circles moving about. Like us, there's a group of red circles encircling a golden circle near them. But judging on how they moved, they wouldn't be able to take that down anytime soon.
"Two large stones! This is great!" One of the Transcendents shouted as he raised his arm to show everyone gathered here what they got from the interior of the golden statue.
As the others exclaimed in joy, they started arguing about who will take it. Irja argued that one should be given to me as the one who ultimately dealt the last hit and the other one should be decided for later.
However, apart from Irja, Udann and the silent Yatapa, the other 3 Transcendents rejected it. They couldn't accept giving something that precious to a Rank 1 Transcendent like me and one of them even tried to remind everyone that Grenol sent us here, whatever the result we have to report it to him.
After sending a telepathic message to both Udann and Irja, I rejected that stone and suggested letting Irja hold it for us. After thinking for a while, they all reluctantly agreed after weighing the current options.
Once that's decided, we started moving onto the next golden statue. I stayed behind, still acting weakened. Irja walked beside me and Udann was at the front. That guy was already used to my weakened state so he's convinced that I really used up most of my energy by using that Sword Skill.
While we were moving, the loud noise once again entered our ears as soon as Grenol's group and the group of red circles reached the respective bigger circles located at opposite ends of the map.
When the noise ended, we all looked up at the hovering map and saw the change in it. If every circle was clearly visible earlier, now the red circles which indicated the enemy Transcendent disappeared. Apart from the blue circles that were still shining on it, the map darkened considerably and it was reflected on the space we were standing on as well.
Although it appears on the map that we're all still nearby each other, apart from Irja that was beside me, Udann and the others that were slightly ahead of us became obscured by the darkness.
After extending our Transcendent Senses, it could only reach a hundred meters around us.
Upon seeing this, another mechanic of a game once again clicked on my mind.
Fog of war…
"Where are they?" Irja asked with a hint of panic in her voice.
"Relax, they're still ahead. Let's go and move."
To confirm that notion, I urged the girl to move forward.
"Huh? What's this? The darkness parted in front of us but behind us…"
"I guess this is a mechanism of this space. We can only see a certain distance around us. We can guess what's inside that darkness but unless we're near it, we will not be able to see what's in there."
Or maybe we can if we send an illumination skill in there. And I'm guessing that if we separated, as long as we didn't reach more than 100 meters away from each other, our vision would still be connected. Perhaps, the mechanics of this space also included the higher or lower ground.
"Why are you so sure?"
"It's just the result of a simple observation. Watch."
I sent a single Energy Explosion Projectile to our side and once it landed on the darkness and the explosion ensued, the darkness parted revealing what's in it for a few seconds before reforming.
Unconvinced with that example, Irja tried to do it as well and sent numerous skills in all directions except the front.
Upon confirming that it's true, her eyes brightened like a child with a wide grin on her face as she continued to experiment more.
Since the others were probably cautious at this sudden darkness, I pulled the girl by her arm, stopping her from what she's doing and moved forward, reuniting with Udann and the others.
After telling her to explain it to them, Irja enthusiastically did it, enlightening the other about this 'fog of war' that suddenly covered the whole space.
It doesn't matter now if her suspicion about me grows from that. It won't be lifted no matter how many times I denied it anyway. I'll let her get all the credit for everything I will discover in the future.
"I suggest we go back and regroup with Grenol and the others first. The possibility of being ambushed in here is high."
Ending her explanation with that, the others readily agreed this time.
It's something I didn't tell her so that's her own judgement of the current situation. The reds will surely understand this darkness soon and with our location broadcasted earlier, there's no way they didn't take note of it. With only 7 of us here, although the possibility is low, if all of them come down to hunt us, we'll be lambs up for the slaughter.
Halfway through our way to regroup with the others, another change happened at the hovering screen above us. A huge text appeared on top of the map with two highlighted words.
"Destroy the 'Red Core' to win."
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