Nike nodded her head in delight upon finding a clue as to what they should be looking for. But before he could continue his interrogation, one of the warlocks from the other group intercepted him.
"Wait a moment, I just happened to recall something really weird about this place. No matter how much water we drink, it doesn't seem to quench our thirst. Instead, the more we drink the feebler we become."
After some time, the third warlock from the other group speaks what was in his mind.
"Now that you said that, I also realized that it was only when we were resting to alleviate our exhaustion and quench our thirst when that fellow suddenly appeared and attacked us!"
The first warlock who offered a handshake with Nike butted in as recognition dawned on his tired and pale face.
"Does that mean drinking water does not work and instead it attracts the sandman???"
Steve asked to reconfirm the details. So far, their group has not yet dru
"Prepare your wands!!!!"Jace shouted that battle cry as they all prepare with their fighting stance. All this time, Jace was keeping a low profile to avoid getting a direct conversation with Audrey.But at a time like this, he knew that he must step forward. The group of warlocks pushed their feet against the burning sand and dashed towards one of the sandmen to close their distance.The more they got near them, the more they could easily land a successful attack on their opponent.. Also, the impact from their spell combined will increase as well if they managed to cast it in close proximity."Roar!"It seemed like the sandmen also possessed some sentience with them. It appeared to be aware of the disadvantageous position that it was if the group of warlocks will going to successfully land their attacks to them.One of the sandmen raised his fist and a furious sand storm swept across the area. Clouds of sand rose into the air. It seems that
Since she knew that the weakness of the sandmen lies on the water attribute spells, she was intending to use a small amount of water to teach the two sandmen a lesson.However, as soon as the water sword sliced through the two of them, the two sandmen began crumbling apart.Huala!In the blink of an eye, they had been reduced to a pile of yellow sand."Errr???"Audrey's lips twitched when she realized what she has done.She had been planning to emulate her success in controlling the water sword back at Enchanted Garden.She intends to use some torture method to get the two sandmen surrender and have it lead them to the oasis.But she did not expect that the two sandmen would be so brittle that even a casual slice of water sword would actually make it crumble into a pile of sand.Nero, on the other hand, had a sudden urge to tie his unreliable master and keep her inside the storage
While Jace and the others were deep in their thought as to why the spell seemed not to work, the flicker of life in the two sandmen appears to get extinguished for some reason as they stop moving.Then with a crack, the bodies swiftly crumbled back into a pile of yellow sand.Steve stepped forward to take a closer look at the heap of remaining sand. They were indeed only ordinary sand. There was nothing else mixed within it.Following which, he scanned his surroundings and narrowed his eyes.Another hypothesis came up to his mind after witnessing what happened. This time, there was a high chance that it was exactly the reason why all of this was happening in the first place.It could be that those sandmen were not actually a creature or a native race in this desert.The reason why the Servant Spell fails to work on them is probably that they don't have spirits or wills, to begin with.Rather than calling them creatures, it could be mo
Knowing that it was impossible to have any use from the sandmen, Audrey's group did not hesitate to slay them. There is no need for them to go easy on the other party anymore. After which, they continued walking in the direction that the sandmen had appeared from. After traveling for another ten minutes, the group repeated the same ritual once more. Another group of sandmen appeared. But this time, the fighting prowess of the sandmen had risen to another level and their number increased as well!. If before the group was only dealing with two to three sandmen per match, now there were five of them in a single go! "It seemed like the fighting prowess and the number of sandmen will continue to increase the closer we get to the enchanter…" Seeing that there were finally seeing some changes in their circumstances, Steve's eyes lit up in excitement. Just like that, they continued ahead. Whenever Au
"Try to look around you. Do you see those footsteps? Some other group of warlocks should have discovered the secret behind the desert and rushed over to the oasis. Those footsteps around us show that some people have definitely been here before us. Yet, where did those people go?""You're right! There are indeed footsteps leading into the oasis…"Taken aback, Giovanio hurriedly looked around them and noticed some shallow footprints around the perimeter of the oasis.Unfortunately, they had become indistinct after being cloaked by a layer of sand."Amazing, this water really works! Finally, I won't have to suffer anymore…""Indeed! What are you Marco Polo, Giovanio what are you waiting for?? Come drink with us!"The three warlocks who had dashed into the oasis and tested the water cried in excitement. They called out for their friends to joined them.The water that they had brought could not quench their thi
Unlike the rest of the crowd, Audrey and her cat did not back out of the oasis.The group watched in bafflement as their friend along with his cat walked up to the heap of sand remaining of the fallen warlocks just a while ago and pinched a handful of it up.Audrey leaned to it and examined the sand closely before placing it in front of her cat.Nero sniffed the sand in Audrey's hand.After they had finished examining the sand grains, Audrey began walking around the perimeter of the oasis with a tight-knit between her brows.The cold air was emanating from the oasis before her. Standing beside it, Audrey could not feel the slightest hint of heat despite being in the midst of a sweltering desert.At the same time, the lake was also extraordinarily clear. It looked so innocent that it did not seem to have anything to do with the flames that had killed the three warlocks earlier.Following their friend's lead, Allan and the
"That's a relief. It was really a horrifying sight to see a living person being reduced to yellow sand. If not for the fact that I have traveled here together with them, I would have thought that they were sandmen in disguise!"When the group of warlocks finally felt their full strength returning to them, Marco Polo remarked fearfully after some time."Sandman in disguise? Being reduced into yellow sand…"A flash sparked through Steve's mind as a thought surfaced in his head.He quickly turned to Marco Polo and asked,"You said earlier that your group only found a sandman after traveling for four hours. In other words, you didn't encounter any sandmen in the first four hours at all, did you?""Hmm? Yeah, that's right!"Marco Polo was slightly taken aback by Steve's abrupt question, but he still swiftly nodded affirmatively in response.From the moment they were teleported by the portal out from the Plufwart
Just as he was about to give up, a slight breeze suddenly blew through the oasis.The towering Sakura Tree beside the oasis swayed along with the breeze, its leaves rustling noisily.The pink flowers blooming all over the towering Sakura Tree fell into the oasis with a light tug of the breeze, and they floated quietly on the surface of the water.A moment later, they dissolved apart and vanished in the water.[Could that the culprit?]Solving the puzzle in this mystery also caught Nero's interest. As such, he too was curious as to how the warlocks were turned into a pile of yellow and after consuming the water.That is why he went out to test it for himself. Only to find out that there is nothing wrong with the water in the oasis. In fact, it was even effective in quenching one's thirst compared to ordinary water.[Litte lass, can you try picking some flowers over that tree and obse
[Distract them for me.]“Was it not only right for Steffi to get to use to eye whenever she feels like it?? I mean, she is older than the two of you so naturally, she was supposed to have more authority above both of you, no?.”“Ehhh… She’ll be fine. I’m the youngest so they should let me wear it more.” (Meredith)“The kid is right. The eldest should have the eyeball. She is a genius” (Steffi)Steve, on the other hand, seemed to get what Audrey was trying to do, so he said something that would surely add fuel to the fire.“But what about the middle child? I am sure, Ariel wants to have her turn too.&rdqu
“Now, where are we? Right, cooking.”Steffi changed the topic on purpose, before turning to her sisters.“I need the eye to check if it's ready, who has it?”“It’s around here, somewhere,”Meredith replied as she started to rummage through a pile of disorganized drawers. She felt obliged to respond since she was the last one to use the Magus Eye. Unfortunately, she forgot where she left it.“The last time I saw it, you put it in the utensils compartment, Meredith” Steffi insinuated using a lazy tone so the other party rebutted,“Don’t use that tone with my name.”Ariel on the other hand joined in this time to inform them that the eye was nowhere to be seen.“It’s not there this time.”After a while of contemplation, Meredith’s face lit up as she recalled something.“Aha! Steffi always put it in the dish cabinet:”And just like that, she found where her sister was hiding it.Consequently, the group found it interesting to watch how the three sisters could be talkative without having t
“I agree with Ariel. Why don’t we invite them over? This way, we could continue our chat there whilst they take their much-needed rest.” This time, it was Meredith who spoke and she deliberately told her sisters this. Nonetheless, she has spoken the words loud enough to be heard by others. The students, on the other hand, were beyond ecstatic when they overhear the ongoing conversation. But decided that it would be best not to allow their emotion to show on their faces. At this point, Meredith turned to the group and greeted them with a bow. “Let me apologize on my sister’s behalf. The thing is, it has been a while since we had visitors. As such, we are no longer accustomed to receiving guests.” She insinuated before she slowly approached the bunch of bewildered youngsters; careful not to bump her toe as she felt her way through the darkness. Her blindness was made obvious by her action and it made her appear pitiful to any onlooker. Truth be told, the Grae’s current act of displ
“Seriously, when will they stop obsessing over Cercei?”Tsking in annoyance, Steffi stealthily moved her slender fingers next to the Magnus Eye with the full intention of taking it back from her younger sister’s possession.“These people were getting on my nerves!”She purposely added this to appeal to her sisters’ sentiment so that their minds could focus somewhere else and they would not notice it once she started hogging the magic eye all for herself again. Meanwhile, her plan worked, as it always did. Ariel readily agreed to her and with a voice full of despondency, she said,“That’s how the mage community works. They fear what they could not understand and so they are set on destroying anything that they cannot control.”Ariel finished with an exasperated sigh. Meredith, on the other hand, could not help but clenched her fist as she was reminded of their good friend’s plight. Then with her brows knitted together, she roared,“The gal did not deserve all this hatred.”Meanwhile, t
On the flip side, rewinding the clock a tad, just a few minutes before Audrey’s group discovered that they unknowingly fall under a spell, the Graes were already watching them. “The eye! Who has the eye?” Meredith, the youngest, shouted at the top of her lungs. Steffi, on the other hand, stepped away from the giant cauldron before answering. “Over here. I had it with me.” She purposely put a safe distance between her and her two sisters before taking the eye out from her pocket. Afterward, she put the eyeball inside her empty socket. Meanwhile, Ariel, the middle child among the three sisters complained, “You again? You are always snagging our eyes by yourself.” “I know right? Give us a chance as well.” Meredith seconded. But Steffi only rolled her removable eye and mumbled, “Oh, shut up! Stop whining, it's because I have more use of this than the two of you combined.” Ariel no longer argued. But Meredith was different. “Give me that, it is my turn today.” She insinuated and
“But this was done in consideration of what was the lesser evil. News about how the petrifying monster has been terrorizing the Black Forest had already reached the ears of the masses and as a result, was causing mayhem among the people; both non-magic and magic practitioners alike. If it was not for that, the mage community would not make a move.” “Terrorizing, you say.” The Grae mockingly repeated Niccoli’s word that struck her noggin the most. Then with a contemptuous scoff, she added, “What an interesting choice of words considering that it was you, students, who made the first move against her. If you were to ask me, I think it is more accurate to say that it was the other way around. You all are the ones doing the terrorizing. You brought the melee with you and now that she retaliated, you turned her into a villain?” Everyone fell silent afterward but it was not because they were trying to come up with better arguments to refute the other party’s words. Rather, it was due to
Audrey was on her dormitory bed when all that happened, and she was absolutely oblivious to the problem that was headed her way. Meanwhile, the results of the examination were announced on the third day. The students gathered around the square early in the morning and crammed in front of the announcement board to check their results. They also wanted to find out which class they had been allocated to. Niccoli dragged Audrey into the heavily obstructed crowd and finally came before the Herbalist Division’s announcement board. Niccoli immediately found their names, and as expected, both of them had obtained the highest marks for the test. They were also allocated to the Herbalist Division’s violet class for that autumn enrollment. Niccoli was also excited to see the name ‘Andrew’ written on the top of the list. Everyone envied her marks. “Andrew! You are the first! You are the first!” Niccoli was extremely surprised and held onto Audrey’s shoulder. He was very excited, and it was as i
[Alright, I must admit it’s my fault this time. My bad.] “As you should!” Ultimately, Nero acknowledged the part he played in inciting the agitated hut to action. But he also did not forget to let Audrey know that he did not appreciate her tone. [Needless to say, raising your voice is completely unnecessary. Besides, getting mad at me won’t change anything, will it? You’re kind of embarrassing me, just you know.] The cat tried to reason out but with her and her friends’ lives at stake and almost put in danger, Audrey did not back away easily this time. “Oh yeah? Then swear to me that from now on, you will be mindful of your choice of words. We have to be careful with every word we are saying because it was not every time that we got a chance to take it back.” Meanwhile, Nero’s response came shortly. However, it was so brief. Moreover, it did not sound sincere either. [Okay. I promised] So Audrey prompted the cat to state the matter precisely because she did not want him to circ
“What if the Graes already took notice of us as soon as we entered their perimeter and right now, we are under a spell; making our eyes play a trick on us? What if what we are seeing right now is not real?”“Well, if that is the case, then I guess there is only one way to check it.”Audrey insinuated and without wasting another breath, she said the passphrase."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."Slowly, it dawned on the others as well what was possibly happening and so without waiting to be told what to do, they recited the same thing too."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."They whispered into the air one after another and almost immediately, the landscape changed into something else, right before their naked eyes.Everyone watched with an awestruck face as the trees turned into fences. At the same time, just a few feet away from where they were standing, they noticed how an empty lot from moments ago started to morph into what seemed to be an inconspicuou