Chapter 296: The Line

"Cough— Cough—"

Regis covered his mouth as he was assaulted by the dust that still had not settled due to all the chaos earlier.

"If only my Perfect Adaptation worked against dust as well~."

He joked aloud while mentally reviewing his earlier battle with the wyverns.

"Hmmm, earlier when I used Lux Aeterna, I also used Weakpoint Creation so that my augmented attacks would pierce through the wyverns’ defenses... Although I believe I can kill them without it, it would take more energy and more aura for me..."

Regis kicked some rubble out of the way as his expression turned strange, "However, there’s something strange about those wyverns...

Normally, draconic creatures either show high power or high intelligence, and wyverns are one of the rare ones that exhibit both. Moreover, according to the books, they can always judge the situation and flee whenever they see that the enemy is too dangerous."

"But what’s strange was that, even when I killed most of them, the remaining ones did not run away. Instead, they used their bodies to cover the holes on the mountain..."

Regis’s voice echoed inside the cave entrance as he spoke to himself wantonly.

"It’s too dark..."

He muttered under his breath with a frown as he snapped his fingers.

Tik— Wuv!

A small spherical flame lit up in front of him and multiplied rapidly before floating to various parts of the cave, effectively illuminating everything.

"This cave..."

Regis’s frown became deeper as he walked along the path.

No matter how he looked at it, this cave did not seem like something that had been dug out recently.

The walls were worn smooth in places and jagged in others, darkened by age and faint moisture.

Thin roots hung from cracks above, and the ground beneath his feet was packed firm, as though countless steps had passed through it long before him.

"No, this looks like it had formed years ago..." He added, unconsciously quieting his breathing.

After a few minutes of following the cave path, Regis saw a shimmering iridescent light around a corner.

"Light? Strangely, it looks somewhat familiar..."

He squinted his eyes before taking slow, careful steps.

’Using magic is risky, since I don’t know what’s causing that light...’

Regis thought for a moment as a smile appeared on his face, ’I didn’t think I’d still use this aura art...’

[Clandestine]

It was the stealth-type two-star aura art he learned years ago that was able to decrease his presence by regulating the normal aspects of his body, like breathing, smell, and the like.

He still remembered using it when scouting the griffins way back in Falkor Valley.

’This is making me nostalgic... I’d better focus.’

Since becoming stronger, Regis had not felt the need to be covert during his quests.

He shook his head, chasing away the distracting thoughts as he carefully approached the corner, using his hands to steady himself against the rough cave walls.

As Regis peeked around the corner, what greeted his sight made his eyes widen.

"W-What..."

He stammered, his pupils constricting.

***

While Regis was exploring the strange cave at Sagrada Dragona...

The caravan led by Aurelia continued their journey.

Since it was only Regis who was left behind, the positions of the squads did not change much aside from the one missing person in the center.

Marzana, who was behind the Equilla squad and was near the center, gave a knowing look to Aurelia.

Seeing the elven girl’s gaze, she reminded her siblings and the others, "We’re close."

After more than twenty hours of nonstop travelling, they reached a strange place.

They had travelled past the mostly snowy mountains of Sagrada Dragona and the seemingly endless plains after it.

However, right at this moment, their attentions were caught by the strange, yet beautiful scenery before them.

"It’s like the world’s split into two..." Killian could not help but comment with wide eyes.

Everyone else, though silent, clearly agreed, their faces blank and dazed.

Meanwhile, Marzana had a look of longing on her face as she muttered, "I’m finally home..."

Although a few years were not that long to an elf, she still deeply missed her hometown.

Before the caravan stood a wall of trees.

What made it strange was not their number, but the way they began.

Against the vast stretch of snowy plains, the forest did not gradually take root—it simply started.

A sharp, unnatural boundary cut across the land, as if two different worlds had been pressed together.

On one side, white snow stretched endlessly under the cold air.

On the other hand, a dense sea of green surged with life, trees packed so tightly their canopies merged into a single, rippling mass.

There was no blending between the two—no scattered trees, no fading of frost.

Just a clean, surreal divide, like a line drawn by an unseen hand, separating winter from vibrant life.

Marzana extended her hand in front of her, towards the sea of trees.

However, despite there only being empty space without any obstacles, her hand was met with resistance.

Everyone in the caravan was in awe as they saw the transparent fluctuations that originated from the area that Marzana touched.

"So this is the magic of the elves..."

Aeola could not help but speak out loud, only for her to cover her mouth right after.

Marzana glanced at her with a smile before nodding, "Indeed."

"How can we get past this?" Auryn tilted her head curiously.

"They should already know." The elven girl replied.

Just as everyone was feeling curious, something shot out of the "barrier".

Swoosh— Thud!

It was none other than a beautiful arrow that lodged itself on the ground— half a meter from where Marzana was standing.

The elven girl looked at it with a strange gaze before kneeling to pull it from the ground.

Thereafter, she walked towards Aurelia and handed it over to her with both hands, her face emanating respect.

"Speak into it," Marzana whispered.

Aurelia felt a little nervous, but maintained her calm expression as she respectfully accepted the elven arrow with both hands.

"I am Aurelia Midas, official herald of the Midas Merchant Organization. I stand here under the authority of the Midas–Edenelia Concord. I request passage and the opening of the barrier for my caravan."