?


    Ss and the rest of the group walked leisurely through the in fields. The beast they were after was some kind of python capable of secretingrge amounts of poison mist, capable of killing everything around him in less than a minute.


    From the books he read as a child, Ss knew that before these "modern times", people would tame these snakes rather than kill them and take their poison.


    They were extremely useful in battle; however, after a treaty between all the powerhouses in the continent of Edore, they decided that using them was a horrific war crime.


    "Jessica." Ss called for the woman at the front.


    "Yes, Mr. Evergreen?" She asked with an annoyed voice.


    "What''s the habitat of this creature?" He asked with a curious glint in his eyes that could not help but pull at the heartstrings of the rest of the group.


    Of course, despite the glint of curiosity being genuine, Jessica didn''t buy it since she saw the other side of Ss.


    The moment he killed that man, she saw nothing but merciless bloodlust in his eyes, and ever since then, she could not shake the feeling that the 9-year-old-looking boy before her might be keeping more secrets than all of thembined.


    To reach that level of bloodlust, one would have had to kill thousands, if not tens of thousands. Of course, Ss had killed much more than that measly amount, but he was being held back by his mana core, physical strength, and body age.


    After all, despite the maturity of his life force, the killing intent was stilling out of the body of a 6-year-old that happened to look three years older than he actually was.


    "They can live anywhere, however, the one we''re going to lives in a misty forst." She exined with a sigh.


    "That''s not good..." Ss looked down with a small scowl.


    "What''s wrong." One of the male members of the other 5 individuals asked with a worried tone.


    "Does the python have a distinct color of poison?" Ss asked.


    "I wouldn''t say it''s distinct, but it has a slightly pink hue." A girl with a staff replied while tapping on her chin.


    "This fight might be a little more difficult than I thought it would be." Ss thought aloud, though he wasn''t talking about himself.


    He was not only a mage, but he also had a strong resistance toward poison. They had ced him on porter duty, yet he was now their most prized teammate, and they didn''t even know it.


    The mage girl was clearly a water mage, and the core was only at the solid-topaz stage. What they really needed for this mission would have been someone with an air affinity capable of blowing the mist and the poison away with a single spell.


    "Stop stressing out my subordinates with your incoherent rambles." Jessica snorted while ncing at Ss in disdain.


    ''What''s her problem? I''m trying to save you for your demise you stupid... Nevermind. Not worth it.'' Ss sighed and looked forward without a care in the world.


    They''d be begging him to save them in a few days, and Ss was very patient about these things.


    And so, the journey continued. Ss and the rest walked for hours through grass ins and random towns, stopping in some to stay over the night before continuing on their journey.


    Darkless was located in the northern county, and they were all moving toward the misty forest that bordered the northern and western counties.


    "I think that''s it." one of the menughed in joy while the rest sighed in relief. They had been walking for almost 3 days now and were all tired. Well, everyone except Ss, of course.


    "All of you, get your weapons out and equip and essories or pieces of armor you have." Jessicamanded, and everyone did as she ordered.


    "All of you." She narrowed her eyes at Ss, who didn''t move a muscle.


    "Oh. I''ve already got all my things on." Ss raised a finger with a ring on it before smiling wryly.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Where''s your armor?" She narrowed her eyes further.


    ''Earth fusion is my armor.'' Ss inwardly thought before answering-


    "I don''t have armor."


    "Then how did you block my attack in the mercenary hall?" She began to sweat.


    "With my hand?" Ss was now utterly confused.


    ''Maybe she knows that I''m a mage, therefore thought that my physical strength came from my armor rather than my muscles?''


    "N-Nevermind. We have more important things to take care of." She blushed in embarrassment while the rest of the time shrugged after seeing how she was acting.


    It didn''t take much longer for them to enter the forest.


    It was quiet, and the mist so far was almost none existent. However, when looking into the distance, Ss saw some evidence of fog since, after a while, it seemed to bepletely grey from his perspective.


    His mystic eyes told the same story with a different lens.


    One would think that you''d be capable of seeing right through the fog with mana-seeing eyes, but that was simply not the case in this forest.


    The environment was too wrong. How can an area be foggy all the time, especially with the current conditions?


    The permanent fog was nearly impossible, especially considering where the forest was located.


    The fog was made out of mana, and Ss only knew one creature capable of doing such a thing...


    Though, if it is capable of covering an entire forest with its mist, it also means that it would be extremely powerful.


    As they all stepped into the forest, they could not help but feel the booming silence creep down their spines.


    Everyone''s hearts began to beat faster and faster. Quicker and quicker. Every beat felt like the beat of a drum, mming into their chests as the silence grew more deafening by the second.


    Ss was used to this kind of silence. He was locked in a white room once for over a month, and even though it temporarily made him go mad, this was nothing like that hellish month.


    They were now a few hundred meters in, and the fog had be heavy. Ss could only see about 10 meters in front of him before it all faded into obscurity, while the rest could probably see a little less since they didn''t have mystic eyes.


    *Swoosh*


    Ss'' rxed figure tensed for a moment before he lowered his head, allowing the attacker to pass right over him,pletely evading the attack without much effort.


    ''I wonder how you''ll deal with this..." Ss thought, his eyes wondering toward Jessica, who seemed to have just realized they were now surrounded.


    "Misthowlers..." Jessica mutter while the rest froze.


    Everyone knew what a misthowler was, and even though they weren''t nearly as terrifying as mistwalkers, they came in packs which made them almost as dangerous.


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