[ 45 ] Recovery

Kal ran back and forth, racing through the maze as fast as he could. He had grown frustrated with the maze but still held off from using his core stats. Skidding to the end of a corridor, he wiped sweat from his brow and panted. Come on, you got this. The exit can’t be too much further away.

Shooting off again, he sprinted down the corridor to another fork. It was slower but more efficient to sacrifice a little mana for a stamina boost than powering his core stats, so that was exactly what Kal did every time his breath grew too short.

Swinging around another corner, Kal’s eyes widened as he spotted light curling around the stone wall.

Finally, the exit. 

Kal sighed as he ran out into the light, relief washing over him as warming rays of sunlight graced his skin. 

“I did it. I’m finally out!” Kal looked up to the sky and the fluffy white clouds drifting across it. But his joy was short-lived, and his brow bent back into an angry slant only seconds later.

Scanning his surroundings, Kal searched for Team Ebenshire’s mana signature. 

There!

Kal kicked up dust as he sprinted in their direction, agilely racing through the forest.

The deflated team sat not far from the volcano entrance. Their dejected gazes drifted up to Kal as he ran toward them.

“Kal,” Ellie said, breath catching in her throat.

Vae looked away, his usual expressionless face twisted into one of shame.

“I know,” Kal shot back. “It doesn’t matter. Where did they go?”

“Kal,” Arix stammered. “It’s not tha–”

“Like hell, it isn’t. Now tell me where they went!”

“It’s Team Allseeing… the Astral Prince leads them—he-he–” Vae shook his head.

“They’re strong, Kal. We didn’t stand a chance. That Astral Prince guy is something else. He passed straight through our defenses and reached up the Astral Pouch before he had a chance to react,” Ellie said.

“I said I don’t care!” Kal shouted back, shocking his defeated party out of their depression. “I’m getting that damned pouch back. Now tell me where they went!”

That seemed to wake Vae up, and he straightened from his unusually depressed droop with a fire in his eyes.

“That way,” Vae pointed, strength returning to his voice.

“You got mana?” Kal asked Vae.

“I’ve recovered a little.”

“What are you two thinking?” Ellie said. “We’ll end up losing the lockbox, and then we’ll actually be at the bottom. Do you want to fail this thing? Look, we still have time. Like you said before, we started this thing. Let’s go for the easy targets. There’s no need to go charging after monsters like that Astral Prince.”

“No way. I don’t care,” Kal swung around, his chest heaving rapidly. “I’m getting that damned pouch back.”

“K-Kal–”

“Don’t worry, Ellie, I’ll hold the lockbox for Kal,” Vae said. “While he does the heroics.”

Ellie seemed to soften at that, either because Vae was reassuring or he hadn’t called her Moody—Kal wasn’t certain which.

Kal nodded and handed the lockbox to Vae.

“Stop being such defeatists,” Kal turned to Arix and Ellie. “Vae’s mana was exhausted, and I wasn’t there. And unfortunately, neither you nor Arix have enough versatile spells to deal with defending against somebody like that. But this will be different. I’m different. You’ll see.”

“He’s right,” Arix said, climbing to his feet. “I couldn’t even use my spell against that guy, and your shield is only good for protecting yourself. Without Vae or Kal, we were practically defenseless.”

“B-but–”

“It’s fine, Ellie. We’re not going to lose the lockbox. We’re going to win this thing.”

***

Kal worried they wouldn’t find their mark without a tracker among them, but within an hour, they managed to find obvious signs of passage—broken branches and food scraps.

Once they were within range, Kal caught the scent of the botflies' demonic mana, and there was no escape for Team Allseeing. 

With their targets locked onto, there was no need to rush, and Kal could devise a plan to recover their stolen objectives.

“Let’s think how we’re going to do this. How’s your mana going?” Kal asked.

The day had been long, and all of them were increasingly exhausted.

“Almost fully recovered,” Vae said.

As Kal was about to reply, he realized that Team Allseeing wasn’t moving. “It seems they’ve stopped.”

“Oh, have they now?”

“Perhaps we should call Ellie and Arix over? If they’re resting, it might be a good opportunity to do the same.”

Since neither of them had spells designed for night, Kal figured they might as well wait for morning and strike fully recovered. If anything, Vae’s Farsight spell would be debuffed at night.

It didn’t take long for Arix and Ellie to catch up, and they set up a small camp between the forest trees after Kal cut away a section of bush.

“At least we’re not much of a target tonight,” Arix said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, great,” Ellie rolled her eyes. “That’s exactly what we wanted.”

“Do we have anything to eat?” Kal said, stomach growling. 

“Nothing,” Arix moaned.

Storing all their food and camping supplies in the Astral Pouch had seemed like a great idea at the time. Now, though? Not so much. 

Suddenly, Kal wasn’t sure he had made the right decision to wait until morning.

“This is going to suck,” Kal leaned back against a tree trunk.

“Give me a moment,” Vae said, walking away from their camp illuminated by a small fire and disappearing into the surrounding darkness.

“Huh?” Kal raised a brow but was too exhausted to bother following after him.

An hour passed, and Kal surrendered to the thought of falling asleep on an empty stomach. It was far from ideal, but rest was still needed, and he could pay those thieves back in the morning.

“I’m back,” Vae hummed as he strolled back into camp, holding up a dirty brown hare by its legs.

“Where’d you get that?” Arix said.

“It’s called being resourceful,” Vae said.

“What?” Kal groaned, rubbing at half-asleep eyes.

“You killed a rabbit? Gross,” Ellie grimaced.

“Be grateful, it’s dinner. If you were a noble lady, I’d understand, but…” Vae flashed a disconcerting smile.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ellie snorted.

“How did you catch a hare?” Kal murmured.

“It’s not hard with the right spells. Farsight makes finding prey rather easy, and my Puppet Hand spell can turn a harmless vine into a deadly trap.”

“Okay, that’s pretty cool,” Kal said, climbing up from the flattened vegetation he had turned into a bed.

“It’s still gross,” Ellie held up her nose. “No way I’m eating that.”

“Suit yourself,” Vae said, pulling out a knife as he took a seat on a rock. “Arix and Kal, dinner will be about an hour away.”

“I’m starving,” Arix licked his lips and started grabbing sticks to build up the fire that had burned down to a few small embering chunks.

“Is not wanting to eat it because–you know,” Kal said, glancing toward the rabbit and then Ellie.

“Maybe,” Ellie said, shying away as Vae began to skin his catch.

“You look like you’ve done that before,” Arix nodded enthusiastically as he watched.

“My father loves hunting. He’s close friends with the Baron of Gailbrooke, and we used to go on hunting trips regularly. Been a couple of years, though. Once I turned twelve my father had me focus just about all my energy on my spellcasting. There’s a certain standard expected of House Draken mages, and it doesn’t provide much time leftover for extracurricular activities.”

“It’s okay, Ellie,” Kal reassured. “We’re going to need our strength for tomorrow. Besides, hares aren’t bunnies.”

Ellie glared back.

“Sorry. But think about your future. Who knows what’ll happen tomorrow? You’ll be kicking yourself if we miss out on a top spot because you’re too fatigued and refused to eat the day before.”

“Fine,” Ellie huffed and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I’ll try a little.”

Ellie had never said a whole lot about that day when they were little. But Kal had always known that killing the white rabbit had been at least a little realized traumatising, even if she didn’t mention it. She had, after all, lost all interest in the forest for several years following the incident.

Once he was finished skinning the animal, Vae shoved a couple of sharpened sticks through the hare and propped it up against the fire by burying them in their exploded ends in the ground. There were several inches between the flames and the hare’s flesh, darkening the meat within minutes and filling the air with the scent of barbeque.

Flipping the hare over several times, Vae worked it to get an even grill. Soon, a soft sizzling sound emanated from it, and a line of oil trickled out as the fat cooked within.

“It’s almost ready,” Vae said, turning the hare again.

“My goodness,” Arix groaned, holding his stomach as he watched the meat drooling.

Kal heard a groan from Ellie’s stomach and smiled. She turned away from the meal, but it was obvious she was as hungry as they were. He wasn’t happy out of some kind of cruelty but thought it best she overcame her fear. He wanted Ellie and Arix by his side, and adventuring in this strange and dangerous world would need inner and outer strength—the kind childhood fears got in the way of.

Taking the hare off the heat, Vae waited a few minutes and then cut it into portions with his knife. Each portion contained bones for them to hold the meat as they ate. To make it easier, he cut a piece of cloth from a scarf and wrapped it around the bone.

Even though there were no seasonings or spices, the charcoal hare tasted delicious. A smoky, crisp, and partially blackened shell kept in the moisture, and the natural meatiness exploded with each bite.

“Wow, you’re a great cook,” Arix commented as he furiously tore at the flesh.

“Oh, behave. I didn’t do anything particularly exquisite,” Vae smiled and delicately bit into the meat.

“It’s good,” Kal agreed, nodding as he took a bite.

“It’s fine, I guess,” Ellie said as she sheepishly took a nibble. But the moment she swallowed, her stomach rumbled in excitement. 

“Your stomach seems to disagree,” Arix teased.

Ellie eyes lit up and she took another small bite, but her hunger weighed on her with each mouthful, and soon she was digging into it like a starved animal.

“Just alright, huh?” Arix questioned.

“Shut up, Arix,” Ellie growled and continued to devour.

“Thanks for the meal, Vae.”

“You’re quite welcome, Kal Jakari.”

***

The next morning, Ellie stomped out the dying embers as the rest of Team Ebenshire awoke, rising from their sleeping spots on the soft grass and rubbing at their eyes.

“Alright, up everyone,” Ellie clapped. “Big day ahead of us.”

A good meal and solid rest had done wonders, and Kal was feeling as rejuvenated as he had since starting the Magic Hunt.

It was time to win back their Astral pouch, and the thought had Kal leaping up the moment he reminded himself of his goal.

It took only seconds for Kal to focus on the demonic mana of the botflies, and swung around and pointed through the forest. They hadn’t begun to move it. When demonic mana was involved, his senses reached a new level and a remarkably accurate understanding of the distance between them.

“Everyone ready?” Kal said, expression twisting with determination.

“Getting there,” Vae brushed himself down.

“Just about,” Arix replied.

“Ready and waiting,” Ellie cracked her knuckles.

“Alright. So, here’s the plan. Ellie and Arix, you two are on guard duty. Whatever happens, stop anybody from getting close to Vae. He has our only remaining exam objective, and it is absolutely paramount that no teams reach him. But that suits us just fine. Due to the nature of Vae’s spells, he is the perfect sniper to assist me from afar. I’ve got the speed and utility needed to snatch our things back. And ultimately, without anything on me, there’s nothing to lose. You just need to worry about yourselves and keep the lockbox safe, okay?”

“Got it,” Arix nodded.

“Yeah,” Ellie said. “Sounds simple enough.”

“Sounds like a plan, Kal Jakari.”

“Great. Then let’s move. We’ve got a pouch to recover.”

NEXT CHAPTER