Tbate: Resurgence

-Chapter 5 : Interrogation-

Arthur Leywin

It's been a while since I fought that corrupted hell hound. Since then, I've been combing through the Beast Glades, searching for any clues that might lead me to the source of these corrupted mana beasts. While I've yet to find anything concrete, I've encountered several more of these creatures, all twisted by some foreign power.

The deeper I go, the more the signs become evident-people have been here recently. Not adventurers. Not Dicathians. Their tracks were subtle, but the lingering traces of mana and other factors gave them away. I couldn't shake the growing suspicion that this was more than a random anomaly. Everything was pointing toward a single conclusion: Dicathen has been invaded by people from another continent.

Right now, I'm closer to the border of the Kingdom of Darv and the Beast Glades. The forest here thins out, gradually giving way to the vast, rocky terrain of Darv's desert. The trails I'd been following had led me here, and it's only a matter of time before I find something.

"Papa, there are people ahead. You should hide your presence," Sylvie's voice echoed in my mind. She had curled up inside my cloak, appearing as a small fox, keeping watch on our surroundings.

I paused, focusing my senses. At the edge of the forest, I could detect several mana signatures gathered nearby. They were faint, but definitely present. Before approaching any closer, I activated my mana rotation technique, passively absorbing mana from the atmosphere to prepare myself. Then, I used a new skill I had honed during my time in the Glades. By carefully balancing the input and output of my mana, I could effectively cloak my presence, making my mana signature nearly undetectable. It wasn't perfected yet, but it would be more than enough for now.

Still, caution was paramount.

I whispered a quick incantation under my breath, casting [Veil of Silence], a sound-dampening spell I had developed to mask my movements after unlocking the deviant attribute of sound recently. Every footstep became noiseless as I crept forward, drawing closer to the gathering of signatures, weaving between the trees as the forest thinned near the border of Darv. From my vantage point, I could make out the clearing where they stood, and not far from them was an old, weathered teleportation gate. Its surface was covered in vines and moss, clearly unused for decades. Yet, the faint traces of mana emanating from it suggested it had been reactivated recently.

Through my mana-enhanced eyes, I could see a small group of dwarves. One of them, dressed in elegant robes, stood out as a high-ranking noble. The others, clad in simpler armor, were undoubtedly his guards. Beside them were humans wearing military-like uniforms. These uniforms were unlike any I'd seen in Dicathen-sturdy, inscribed with intricate runes and even on their back that pulsed with faint mana.

People from the other continent, I realized, my jaw tightening. I directed my mana to my ears, enhancing my hearing to pick up on their conversation.

The man at the forefront of the human group, evidently their leader, stepped forward. His voice carried a sharp edge as he addressed the dwarf noble. "We had high hopes for you, Lord Dwalor, but it seems you haven't kept your end of the deal."

The dwarf, whose name appeared to be Lord Dwalor, swallowed hard. "What are you talking about, sir? I've done everything you asked for-allowed your people to pass through the old teleportation gate on the border. I even showed you the best routes into the Beast Glades to control those filthy creatures!"

The human leader's eyes narrowed, his tone growing colder. "If that's true, then explain why the number of beasts under our control is decreasing when it should be increasing. I've been sent here by Lady Jagrette to get to the bottom of this-or to confirm if you've betrayed us."