Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu

It was possible to block the portal to enter and exit the Domain!?

What was blocking it? Why was it blocked? Many questions arose in everyone’s minds. However, they didn’t have the free time to think about this, because the large monsters all attacked in unison by spitting out tremendous Mana Bullets!

Defensive spell, “Ice Wall”!

Defensive spell, “Tortoise Shell”!

Shika and Seiji cast defensive spells at almost the exact same time. A thick ice wall and an overlapping barrier managed to block this wave of attacks!!

Shika then charged forward and speedily counterattacked. Meanwhile, Seiji stayed in his original position and maintained the barrier to protect his friends.

Hisashi cast Thunderboom as quickly as he could, while Mika also started casting her Dimension Shattering Jade spell. They attacked the monsters with all they had.

However, Hoshi still stood still and didn’t move one bit. He simply stared at the red-leafed tree, as if he couldn’t see the monsters at all.

Just what could be there!? Seiji almost wanted to send a Mana Bullet in the direction that Hoshi was looking at, but he restrained himself.

If he really hit some existence there and angered it, perhaps things here would become even worse.

It was a bit dangerous to be surrounded and attacked by so many large monsters, but it was actually still manageable. However, things would become incredibly difficult if there were even more monsters.

“Kazuko-san!” He communicated nonverbally with his eyes, inquiring about the portal.

“I still can’t…” Kazuko was furrowing her eyebrows deeply and was holding her hands up high as she trembled slightly. “I can’t open it…”

“Is it… possible to communicate with the existence that’s blocking your portal?” Seiji asked.

“I don’t know… I can try.”

“I’ll be counting on you.”

The powerful monsters attacked only to find themselves blocked by Seiji’s powerful barrier!

Shika speedily used a succession of continuous skills as she produced an explosive amount of burst damage!

Hisashi and Mika attacked with full force, acting as stationery artillery under the protection of Seiji’s barrier!

Shika’s sword flashed, Hisashi’s thunder boomed, and Mika’s Mana Bullets rang out…

Some minutes later, all the large monsters had completely died.

No new spiritual creatures were appearing, so Seiji stopped maintaining his barrier.

Kazuko had her eyes closed and seemed to be doing something.

Hoshi remained standing still as if time had stopped for him.

Seiji and the others exchanged awkward glances, not knowing what to do.

“Could it be that there’s a problem with that tree?” Hisashi indicated towards the red-leafed tree as he adjusted his eyeglasses. “How about we try destroying that tree?”

“That’s an idea we can keep in mind. But before that, let’s have a closer look at it first.” Seiji slowly walked over to the tree.

The moment that he got closer to it, he felt an invisible force attempting to repel him!

Getting any closer would be dangerous… Seiji had such a feeling.

No matter what type of existence was blocking Kazuko’s portal, it was highly likely that this existence was on the red-leafed tree and invisible. Or, it was also possible that just like Hisashi said, perhaps this tree itself was the cause of the problem.

*Rumble rumble rumble…* The ground suddenly started shaking!

Seiji almost tripped and fell over. He managed to react quick enough to steady himself. However, the next instant, his vision darkened and he heard loud sounds as the ground itself flipped over and he fell downwards!

Seiji reflexively adjusted his posture. Several seconds later, he landed with a loud thump on something solid, and his vision returned to normal.

“Everyone! Are you alright!?” His first reaction was to ascertain how his friends were.

“Seiji… I’m fine.” Mika was the first to reply.

“I’m fine as well… I just had a slight fall,” Hisashi answered.

Both of them were close by to Seiji.

What about the others?

“Shika-chan! Hoshi! Kazuko-san!” Seiji looked all around him. “Where are you? Answer me!!”

There was no reply.

Three people were missing! Seiji became extremely worried. However, he then forced himself to calm down.

He tried using a special Yin-Yang Master

/Spirit-branded Retainer spell to contact Shika who was now his Spirit-branded Retainer. However, this spell failed to work.

The environment around him had completely changed. Although he was still in the Forest Palace, it was obvious that they were now in a different area. The best evidence was that the red tree from earlier was now nowhere to be seen!

“The Domain itself suddenly changed… or perhaps we were teleported to a different location,” Seiji surmised out loud as he walked towards Mika and Hisashi.

“I think that the prior is more likely, and that the others not here with us were scattered to different places,” Hisashi analyzed calmly.

“We need to hurry and find them.” Mika had a worried expression.

“Of course. I have a spell that can help me locate them. The question is whom to locate first as I can only use the spell on one person at a time.” Seiji had a serious expression as he looked at all the paths around him.

One, two, three, four, five, six. There were a total of six different paths at this intersection!

This dungeon had originally been a place with very straightforward districts that all had singular paths. Had it suddenly changed into a maze?

Fortunately, Seiji knew the Interdimensional Locator Spell which was capable of locating any of his friends. However, he needed to first decide on whom to locate first.

This wouldn’t be a problem if Shika, Hoshi, and Kazuko were all together. However, it was impossible to ascertain if they were together, so the order of whom to locate with this spell first was critically important.

‘Shika has the strongest abilities. Logically speaking, I probably don’t need to look for her first, as she’s more than capable of protecting herself. But, if I meet up with her first, that’ll make any trouble down the road easier to deal with.

‘Hoshi… I don’t know if he’s still in that condition he was in. He’s probably in a great deal of danger if he’s still standing still like a block of wood. And even if he isn’t, he has the weakest abilities out of everyone to defend himself.

‘Kazuko. She’s the one I probably needed to worry least about as she’s the controller of the Domain. However, I don’t know what the current situation is. Maybe she’s the one that I should be looking for first.’

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

“Let’s find Hoshi first.” Seiji swiftly came to a decision after weighing all his choices. “He’s the one that’s most likely to be in danger.”

He then immediately cast his Interdimensional Locator Spell. Target: Hoshi Amami!

Seiji’s vision darkened as his consciousness became hazy. In this haziness, Seiji saw a faint red glow and heard staticky sounds as if a radio had been adjusted to the wrong channel.

In this strange and mystical realm, Seiji’s consciousness was sent in a certain direction by an invisible force. The sounds he heard gradually became clearer and clearer.

“Team Leader… Uehara-senpai… Juumonji-san… Kagura-san… Ooike-san… Why did you all suddenly disappear…”

“Who are you…?”

“Wait for me…”

Along with these sounds, Seiji also saw a hazy scene filled with green, gold, and white colors that seemed to be a figure.

“Monsters… I can’t deal with them…”

“I must… hide…”

“I have to… find Team Leader…”

Seiji sensed Hoshi’s tension and fear along with hope and self-encouragement.

Seiji opened his eyes.

“Hoshi’s currently alone by himself. He’s not with Shika-chan and Kazuko-san! It seems like he’s met a mysterious character… I don’t know what exactly he’s met. Currently, he’s doing his best to survive and find us.”

After saying this, Seiji looked towards the back of his right hand. A white locator spell array had appeared there.

“Let’s go! We’re going to find him.”

Seiji, Mika, and Hisashi followed the direction that the locator spell pointed at, taking the right path.

*Smack!!*

Hoshi looked in front of him after he used his shield to forcefully smash away a black wolf that jumped at him.

Left or right?

There were two corridors in front of him. Which path should he take?

Hoshi had no idea which path he should take to meet up with the others, so the paths made no difference to him.

But he suddenly seemed to see a gold-haired, green-dressed figure down the left path, so he chose that one.

*Whoosh!* His spiritual eagle arced in the sky as it carried him in the air. This managed to help him dodge a bear monster that was following him!

Before the eagle tired and landed on the ground, Hoshi had his second spiritual eagle carry him. And then, he used the third spiritual eagle when the second tired. The three eagles working in turns helped to carry Hoshi far away from the large bear monster!!

As long as he escaped into the corridor, the monsters wouldn’t chase after him… More accurately, if he escaped into the next district, the spiritual creatures from the previous district would no longer chase after him.

Hoshi didn’t know why this was. But if the spiritual creatures endlessly hunted him down, he would probably be dead already.

After jumping down from the third eagle and running into the corridor, Hoshi gradually started slowing himself down. However, he accidentally tripped over a vine.

“Ow…”

Hoshi had adventured by himself to this current place. Although he was lucky enough not to die or be seriously injured as of yet, light injuries and pain were accumulating on his body.

“Team Leader… Everyone…”

He really wanted to see his companions again. Tears welled up in his eyes.

Hoshi did his best to bear with the pain as he climbed back up again. After wiping his eyes, he suddenly saw the mysterious girl standing about seven or eight meters away.

She was standing there quietly with bare feet in the corridor of this ancient palace. Her beautiful golden hair glimmered in the light, giving her an ethereal aura. She appeared just like an elf that had wandered into the mortal realm.