“No need,” Alnea said, staring at the river, observing its rhythm, its breath. “Do you know how far up the stream the battle is going on? Or if the parties involved will stay next to the river after finishing their battle? No, we do not even know if the ones battling are Oren Beasts or Wanderers. It would have been fine if we came across them, but searching for them will only be a waste of our time. Not to mention the risk of falling into their ambush.”

  “Then…”

  “We continue with our exploration.”

  “…Exploration it is. Let us secure this place then, and—

  “Why do we have to secure this place?”

  “Are we not going to wait for the waves to subside?”

  “…Without knowing the cause of the river’s turbulence, who knows when it will calm down?”

  “Then are we going to detour around the river?”

  “Why would we do something so stupid?” Vestia said, glancing at Ralph in confusion. “This is not a small lake or swamp we are talking about, but a whole river. If we want to explore its other side, we will have to cross it some point, and then come back to cover the area we missed. Even waiting here for the waves to subside would be a better option than detouring around the river.”

  “What other options are there then? Other than crossing the river, of course. But that is not possible…”

  Ralph trailed off towards the end, glancing towards the river, before turning back to Vestia with wide eyes.

  “You want us to cross the river!”

  “Do not look at me like that,” Vestia said, raising her hands. “I am not the one making decisions here.”

  “…Are you sure we will be able to cross the river?”

  “You do not have to worry about that,” Alnea said to Karl, as he turned towards Zain. And following his gaze, so did everyone else.

  “…Why are you all looking at me like that?” Zain said, taking a step back, glancing at the river raging next to them. “You do not want me to stop this river, do you?”

  “…If it is this lunatic…”

  “Who are you calling a lunatic?” Zain snapped back at Karl, before pointing towards the river. “Do you see how wide the river is? At least ten to fifteen metres. And these waves? Can you even imagine how fast the river must be flowing for these waves to reach so high? Just how much force do you think I will have to face if I wish to stop the river?”

  “You do not have to stop the river,” Alnea said, following Zain’s finger to glance at the river. “Just create a passage for us to cross over to the other side.”

  “That’s still impossible!” Zain said, shaking his head. “If we had been at the source of its turbulence, I might still have had a chance. But with its current momentum, even a Second or Third Stage True Wanderer might not be able to create a passage through these waters.”

  “…Why would True Wanderers need to create passage? They can just fly over…”

  “…I was just giving an analogy to make you understand how difficult a task you are asking me to do.”

  “…I think I heard you say that you were even more talented than Alnea. That if you wished, not even True Wanderers would be your opponent.”

  “…I never said that last part. And no matter how talented I am, I am still just a Peak Stage Wanderer! How can you expect me to do something that even True Wanderers cannot?”

  “What if you add me?” Vestia said, bringing everyone’s attention to herself.

  “You? Do you think you are a My—

  “I will control the flow of the river to slow down to at least half its current speed,” Vestia said, glancing at the river, before turning back to Zain. “You should be able to create a passage through these waves then, right? Or have you been bragging to us until now about your endless repertoire of Arcanas, and your invincible talent?”

  “…Are you trying to provoke me into accepting the task?” Zain said, gnashing his teeth, with fire shining in his eyes. “If so, then congratulations, because you have succeeded in provoking me!”

  “…Are you going to—

  “How long can you slow down the river?” Zain said, turning towards the river with a solemn face.

  “…About a couple of moments. In more precise terms, about three to five seconds.”

  “Three seconds are enough,” Zain said, clapping his hands in front of his chest, and overlapping them with each other, before closing his eyes. “Release your Arcana when I ask you to.”

  “…Good.”

  Exhaling a heavy breath, Zain began murmuring under his breath, summoning the Mysteries of the Origin Sea, calling for their aid. Moments later, silverish blue light trickled out of his chest like water slowly overflowing from a cup, spreading around his body, covering it in a thin layer of its hue, just as waves after waves of strange fluctuations spread around the forest with him as their centre, creating a ripple of sorts in the still grey fog.

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  It was not just the fog though, which was affected by the fluctuations of the Mysteries. The ground under his feet, the patches of grass around them, and even the trees, with their roots, both under and above the ground, for some reason, began to sway around with the rhythm of the Mysteries. Only the Star Seekers remained still, watching their White Arcanist in silence. All except for Vestia.

  Unlike Zain, who had adopted a strange pose to cast his Arcana, Vestia did not even raise a finger, let alone a hand. She just turned towards the river, and began chanting under her breath. And just like her, the Mysteries she summoned were also very restrained. Though it was not as if they did not show any signs.

  Her eyes, for instance, gained a bluish golden edge, just as the tips of her fingers began glowing in a blue light. Even the water, flowing near the edge of river closer to her, began showing signs of breaking away from the restrictions of the forest, and come to her call. Unfortunately for those waters, the flow of the river was too strong for them to break away from its pull. Not that she intended to summon those waters around her in the first place.

  “Now!” Zain yelled, to which, Vestia responded by raising her right hand, and pointing towards the river, before closing her fist. In the next moment, the Mysteries she had summoned descended on the river, forcefully calming its waves, and slowing down its flow. Not of the whole river, of course. Just of the part in front of them. But that was enough.

  In the moment Vestia released her Arcana, so did Zain, opening his eyes, and separating his palms, revealing a small silverish sphere, roughly an inch in diameter, floating in front of his chest, rotating on a slightly tilted axis, actively sucking away all the light covering his body. A process that took barely a fraction of a moment, after which, the sphere tore through the fog, both grey and blue, and rushed towards the river’s centre to hover nearly seven to eight metres above the slightly tame waves.

  The waves, of course, no matter how tame, could not be restrained. Ignoring the silverish sphere, they—

  Before the waves could ignore the sphere, it collapsed in on itself, turning into a small black dot, barely a tenth of its original size, only to expand into a gigantic black sphere, large enough to cover the entirety of the river’s breadth at its diameter, right in the very next moment. The sphere was not yet done though, for before anyone could react, it created a hollow passage at its centre, connecting the two banks of the river.

  “Hurry up! I cannot maintain it for long!” Zain said, gritting his teeth, doing his best to hold on against the waves crashing against the black sphere, that only increased in intensity with each passing moment.

  “I knew you had it in you,” Norren laughed, rushing into the passage, with the other Star Seekers following behind him, praising their White Arcanist while they were at it.

  “…You are not half bad…”

  “…A true Enhall…”

  “…A genius indeed…”

  “Bastards! Take me with you!”

  “Huh? Can you not move?”

  “Do I look like I can move?”

  “…Tsk. Is this all that your invincible talent amounts to?”

  “…You ungrateful bastards! Just wait, I will—

  “Calm down, Zain,” Alnea said, pulling Zain’s arms around his shoulders, as he glanced at the channel connecting the two banks. “Focus on maintaining your Arcana.”

  “Those bastards—

  “They were just teasing you. See? They are all beckoning you to hurry over from the other side.”

  “…I will see how they laugh when they beg me to save their skin,” Zain grumbled. “What are we waiting for? Hurry up. I really cannot maintain the channel for long.”

  “…I was just making sure that you would not lose control after we stepped into the channel,” Alnea said with a wry smile, before rushing into the black channel. No, not entirely black. The inner walls of the channel had silverish hue, like the sphere that Zain had summoned. Mysteries of Day and Night? No, the floor of the channel did not have the solid feel of the Mysteries of Day…

  The silverish walls wavered, almost as if they were about to break down, bringing Alnea back to his senses. Subduing all his unnecessary thoughts, he shifted his attention back to the other side of the channel, and further increased his pace, even using his Aspects in the process. A decision, which may have saved him from countless unnecessary troubles, he noted, as he saw the channel collapse behind him just as he stepped onto the other bank.

  “…That was too close,” Zain mumbled, glancing back at the raging river with a pale face, before glaring at the rest of the Star Seekers. “You bastards! I will remember this.”

  “There is no need for you to be so grateful just because we waited for you, right?”

  “Grateful my ass! I almost died back there!”

  “It was not that bad, was it?”

  “You made it safely anyway.”

  “That is only because of Alnea! If I had left my life up to you bastards…”

  “…Look at the bright side. At least you got to enjoy a thrill…”

  “To…”

  While Zain was giving a piece of his mind to the people who had left him on the other side, the girls were giving a piece of their mind to Alnea.

  “Why did you take so much time?”

  “…I could have hauled that idiot with you…”

  “…What if something happened…”

  “…You promised that you will be careful.”

  “…I was. That is why I made sure that Zain was calm, before rushing into the channel. And that is also the reason why my Roots are not acting against me right now. It was just that the waves were stronger than we had thought…”

  “…Do not forget that I am keeping my eyes on you.”

  “Don’t worry. I am also looking forward to your punishment,” Alnea said, flashing a grin at Yuri. Unfortunately for him, his grin made Vestia and Cecilia feel that he was not paying attention to their words, earning him a snort and a cold smile, which sent chills down his back. Restraining his grin, he hurriedly stepped towards the girls, and began coaxing them. Yet, even with his experience, it was not until they resumed their exploration that the girls finally chose to forgive him.

  Still, to earn their forgiveness in just a few minutes… After all the time he had spent coaxing the girls, Alnea reckoned that he had become a master in the art. Even if he was asked to coax a stranger, he had the confidence to gain their trust in just a few minutes. Or so he used to think, until they stopped for rest a couple of hours later.

  After allotting everyone’s watch, Alnea walked next to the girls, and chose a comfortable spot before taking his seat. Closing his eyes, he then began meditating to reflect on his gains, and Clear his Heart, when he felt a strange sensation from the mesh of roots he was sitting on. A soft, and warm sensation, that almost made him feel as if someone was gently patting on his buttocks, trying to get his attention.

  Curious, Alnea stretched the senses of his Spirit to the mesh of roots, hoping to observe the sensation in detail. Yet, contrary to his expectations, the warm sensation did not just pat his rear ends. Instead, latching on to the senses of his Spirit, the sensation seeped into his body, almost scaring him into a jump. But before he could react, the sensation had already reached out to his Spirit, sending him an invitation, calling him to world where the tree he was sitting on could have a talk with him.