Chapter 132: A Good Amount
As they got deeper to the forest, the more they found Magic Beasts. In the end, Linfel had to intervene twice to save Milia and Nori. Alvin, as someone further into Linfel's training, managed to hold on his own. The day passed like that, and after they dealt with 13 Magic Beasts, Linfel finally gave them time to rest. "Alright, this is enough for today.
Even though I can heal your bodies, I can't get rid of the fatigue. Any more than this, and it will have a detrimental effect on your body, including Nori's core."
Alvin immediately went to a tree and sat down, laying his back against it. "What a day..."
Milia nodded and sat beside Alvin. "So this is the type of training Linfel had made you go through during these various months. It basically brute forces the concepts of magic Energy Control into your brain."
Nori landed on Milia's lap, his Magic Energy feeble. "It's just too hard... Milia, I'm turning myself off. Even my soul is feeling strained after all of this," And so Nori's ethereal body disappeared, leaving only the core behind. He didn't even have the will to warn Alvin to not do anything anymore.
Linfel got close to those two. "So... are you going to sleep here in the open?"
Alvin shook his head and got up once again. "Of course not! I just needed a few seconds."
Milia was just about to get up, but Alvin stopped her. "You stay here. I'm already used to this, as Linfel brought me into Magic Beast territories before. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Milia didn't have time to answer before seeing Alvin shot into the distance. "How does he have so much energy still?"
Linfel shrugged. "I didn't train only his Magic Control but also his physic. Or could it be you didn't notice the difference? He definitely got a few extra muscles since we separated from you."
Milia looked away, pretending she didn't know anything. "If you say so..." Well, she definitely noticed it, but she didn't comment, that was all.
A few minutes later, Alvin returned. On his hands, two beds made of leaves could be seen. They weren't anything like real beds, but they were definitely better than the ground. "Here, one for you. I'll use the other one. Also, come with me.
I found a nice corner for us to sleep."
Milia and Linfel nodded and moved to another location. It was s small cliff of just a few meters. It couldn't be considered an obstacle for any Magic Beast, Magus, and Familiar at all. Nonetheless, it offered a place to take over. As Alvin put his bed of leaves on the ground, he spoke with a smile.
"One thing I noticed during my training sessions with Linfel is that a human truly doesn't feel at ease if they try to sleep in an open space. We need something nearby, some kind of wall or similar."
Milia put her own bed down and laid down while holding Nori's core. "Indeed... I just couldn't feel safe laying on that tree."
"Alright, that's enough, you two," Linfel intervened. "Just eat this and go to sleep." He then took some of the food they prepared before coming from his Spatial Storage.
Milia didn't complain and quickly filled themselves. The fatigue kicked in almost instantly as their bodies relaxed. "But... will we be safe here as well?"
Linfel assured that. "Don't worry, I'm here. I have done pretty much nothing other than watch your training today, so I'm completely fine. Besides, wisps don't sleep to start with. I will keep watch during the night while I train to control this Soul Power thing."
Milia and Alvin wanted to ask more about it, but Linfel didn't seem willing to talk. In the end, they just laid down and went to sleep... which happened pretty fast. In less than five minutes, those two were already in the land of dreams.
Linfel looked at that and faintly smiled. Then, his humanoid ethereal form disappeared, and he returned to his core enveloped in Magic Energy form instead. That was his real form, and he just kept his humanoid ethereal body in case he bumped in some Magus or Familiar on the way.
*Bzzz...*
Linfel summoned the same Blade of Lightning as he used against the body of the Centipede, looking at it with interest. 'This Soul Power is truly something else. Normally, my Lightning Blade wouldn't have cut through that Centipede's body that easily. Yet, the Soul Power seems to boost the Magic Energy. It is still not as strong as Primordial Energy, but it should be around 10% comparable now.'
*Zush!*
The Lightning Blade then shot into the distance, piercing a tree not far away.
*Roar!*
Then, a Leopard-like Magic beast with a spiked tail fell down from behind it, a hole in its head. It was moving silently, trying to ambush their group. Too bad that it could never escape Linfel's Magic Energy sense. Just like that, a Level Four Magic Beast died. Alvin, Milia, and Nori didn't hear anything. Linfel had covered their surroundings with his Magic Energy, so no sound reached them.
'Still, this Soul Power is truly difficult to control. Primordial was also difficult, but soul power is difficult in another way. It requires a very delicate control, and even I am struggling a bit to get it right. Primordial was basically extremely powerful and chaotic. I guess to go from one end of the spectrum to another is a challenge even for wisps...'
Following that, Linfel took out his MCOM. The entire planet was covered in the Ventis Sect Network, so it had signal even in this place. He took his time to learn more about the Ventis Sect and especially the fastest way to become a High Elder.
Night gave way to the first rays of light. Behind Linfel, Milia felt those rays of light hit her eyes, which succeeded in waking her up. She opened her eyes, and it was then that her body froze. At that very moment, Milia was hugging Alvin very closely. She looked more like an octopus tangled around him. "Eh?"
Alvin faintly smiled at her. He obviously ended up waking up a lot earlier due to that situation. "Hello... did you sleep well?"
"Ah!" She immediately jumped back, letting go of Alvin. "It, it, it wasn't on purpose!"
Alvin nodded. "Don't worry, I know. I just woke up a few minutes back anyway. It's just that I didn't want to wake you up. Of course, didn't do anything! You can ask Linfel."
Milia, red as a tomato, just nodded. "I trust you..."
She then looked to the side, and her body froze once again. Alvin did the same, and his reaction was just as spectacular.
Finally, Nori's Core burst with Magic Energy, and his ethereal body appeared again. He floated up, looking at Alvin and Milia's expression. "Hey, did someth-" Yet, his words stopped when he looked in the same direction.
There, Linfel floated with his MCOM open. Yet, that wasn't the problem. The problem was the terrain around him. At least thirty corpses of Magic Beasts were fallen all over the place! Did he kill all of that? On his own?!
And the answer was yes! After killing the first one, the smell of blood attracted the next. Then the next came, and the next, and the next, and the next... The more blood in the surroundings, the more Magic Beasts came. At some point, all the Magic Beasts in the surrounding area came to this place... just to die.
Linfel closed his MCOM, looking back. "Oh! You three are awake. Good. Let's continue. If we move fast, we should reach the settlement where we need to deliver the packages in the next three days."
Alvin, Milia, and Nori didn't even know what to say. He killed all those Magic Beasts, and yet, he didn't seem the least bit tired. Was Linfel really so powerful like that?
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Linfel got confused. "Oh! Right, right! Don't worry, I removed all their cores. Now, we have 44 Level Four Cores to bring back to the contractors later. I also got the Materials that could be traded with other contractors as well.
It should provide us quite a good amount of Ventis Credit."