n

n

n'There goes my cover,' Eldrian thought as his nose thanked whoever arrived and turned the horde into ash, while his heart raced worrying that he might be targeted again.

nStaring wearily at everyone, Eldrian wished he could use mana sense to confirm everyone was who they seemed to be. He had yet to ever find anything strange with it, so he didn't even know what to look for. Still, it would have calmed his nerves.

nHe could naturally use the Observe part still, getting their names, Tier, stats. However, Eldrian felt that part could easily be cheated through special items or abilities. Recalling how it seemed even the dwarves couldn't keep track of the assassin after him, Eldrian stayed where he was.

n

"Haru!?

" Came a confused voice.

n'Thesolis... But, are you who you appear to be?' Eldrian questioned as he looked at the centaurette. Unlike most people in the fight, she had no scars. New or old.

nEven her clothing was clean, though that was to be expected from someone whose focus was a craft profession and not a combat one.

n

"Thesolis, what are you doing here?

" Eldrian asked.

nFrowning at the lack of respect Eldrian showed her before all these soldiers, she countered and indicated for him to follow him.

"That is my question.

"

nIt took Eldrian a few seconds and nearly half the distance to realize his blunder.

"Sorry, I was just shocked at the undead all turning to ash. That was so amazing!

"

nHis praise brought a smile to the centaurette's face and too many of the centaurs and demi-humans who were busy treating their wounds.

nOne of them even took it upon themselves to add more praise, probably in the hopes to be noticed by a formation master.

n

"Never underestimate a formation master, they'll always surprise you!

"

n'Ah, that is probably what someone who makes arrays are called.' Eldrian though, realizing that while he had asked plenty of questions about arrays way back. He had never asked what someone who created them was called.

nEldrian followed Thesolis for a bit, hoping that she was not the assassin and also curious why they would call someone who makes arrays a formation master instead of an array master or arrayist.

nWhen he brought up this question Thesolis was left speechless.

"That is your question? Not how I managed to kill all the undead? Besides, how did you end up here?

"

nEldrian shrugged and explained how he had set out the day before to try and figure something out about the corruption. When he casually mentioned that he pissed off the undead because he did find something, Thesolis was simply left without words to respond with.

n'Is he really just Tier 3?' She asked herself and started doubting if she was truly Tier 6. Finally, she couldn't contain herself.

n

"What did you find!

" She asked it in a massive rush that the words mushed and came out as a jumbled mess. Blushing, Thesolis took a step back and asked her question properly.

n

"That it is all a massive network. Like an array, so why aren't you called an arrayist or array master?

"

n'This again?' Thesolis couldn't help it as she got an irritating twitch, taking a deep breath to calm down she said,

"Because arrays are just part of what we can do. A collection of arrays can be made into a larger array, however, it is more often made into a formation.

"

n

"That is when you ensure the arrays work well with each other. Needing to perfectly time their activation and power output. What I actually did was activating a formation I have been installing across the entire wall.

"

n'Which is why she is here,' Eldrian nodded and felt more comfortable. While there was still a chance that the assassin would take the time to explain this to him, they had also moved far enough away from the battle for the mana in the surroundings to be stable.

nAs such Eldrian immediately used mana sense to confirm this even more. When he saw the two static pools, one below her chest and the other in her horse half, Eldrian finally fully relaxed.

n

"So what spell was that?

" Eldrian asked.

n

"It wasn't a spell, it was a formation.

" She clarified before starting her explanation.

"What I did was activate the arrays in the walls while using myself as the range limiter. Between me and the walls all the mana was gathered and activated to perform a spell similar to Thora, which I saw you using by the way.

"

nThesolis mentioned this because she had her own questions. Not only was the effect of Eldrian's Thora insane, he had also cast the spell so quickly and so many times that she had lost count. Even though she had just observed him for half a minute or so.

nShe had also seen his escape from an assassin who could seemingly teleport and she was not going to let that stay something unspoken. The danger such an assassin could present to the king was unprecedented, how Eldrian had known of the danger was also unknown.

nThe dwarves' appearance had also shocked her, but they seemed to be no threat. Though not having noticed them still worried her.

n

"While using holy magic would be more effective, it requires far too many resources for such a large area.

"

nNodding Eldrian wanted to ask more questions, however, Thesolis instead pressed him on how the corruption worked.

n

"Wait, let's go back to the camp first,

" Eldrian said,

"I don't want to have to explain it again and again.

"

nNodding, the two set off for the camp after Thesolis performed a hasty fix for the wall's arrays. What she did simply stabilized them so they wouldn't degrade further and possibly affect the other arrays and thus the formation.

n...

n

"How far do you think you can enter?

" A centaur with a dark green coat asked, frustrated at how hard it was to get the catkin to help them. Just finding her had taken nearly an entire day, wasting plenty of resources and time.

nEldrian's entrance had caused the conversation to still. Looking around he noticed two people inside outside of the five. One he had only seen once before when he had returned the crystals that had been given to him. The other was Kydone.

nShe was silently sitting on a high chair allowing her to also look at the map. When Eldrian entered her eyes lit up though she stayed where she was. She had been reprimanded repeatedly and if she continued to act up then Evale was the one who was going to lose her reputation.

nNot because those in the tent were threatening her, but rather because everyone knew that the two were close. Kydone not helping naturally made them then wonder about Evale's intentions.

n

"Sorry, did I interrupt?

" Eldrian asked just before Thesolis could push him down.

"Hey, wha-

"

n

"Insolence! How dare you act-

"

nRaising his hand, the centaur with a dark green coat indicated for his commander to step back, turning to the two new arrivals he asked,

"Thesolis, why did you come?

"

n

"Section 13 of the wall was attacked, the wall was breached but it has been contained.

"

n

"That is hardly important enough for you to leave your post!

" The commander shouted, shutting up when the king again indicated for him to stop. The scowl he received causing the commander to nervously swallow.

n

"Then, is it because of the elf?

"

nNodding, the centaurette finally allowed Eldrian to stand back up. Eldrian did just take, stretching his back in blatant disregard of the company around him. Heck, he still had no idea who those in the tent were.

n