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nNula wasn’t a ranger or a thief; she was a magus.

nWhile she had a deep understanding of spells, her capabilities were limited beyond that realm.

nFrowning in thought for a few seconds, Nula decided to try using her mana sensing.

nMana sensing is always reciprocal; releasing one’s sensory perception means other magi have the opportunity to capture your mana sensing, thereby potentially pinpointing your location.

nAlthough Nula was here for a confrontation, unnecessary battles were best avoided if possible.

nShe mobilized her mana, slowly expanding her mana sensing.

nHer expansion was deliberate, aimed at sidestepping any potential traps.

nMana sensing isn’t as direct as visual observation, but its advantage lies in detecting what can’t be seen by the naked eye, much like radar, easily uncovering secrets hidden in the details.

nThe first floor was covered without result; Nula continued to extend her sensing, maintaining the area of each floor constant while increasing the height.

nThe second floor was quickly encompassed entirely, yielding nothing.

nThough the expansion hadn’t reached Nula’s limits yet, she started feeling a tad weary, wondering if the intelligence agents had made a mistake.

nMoving upwards, the third floor was also completely within Nula’s perception, still without any findings.

nNula sighed.

nIt wasn’t the first time her efforts had come to naught, but if things continued this way, she would have to start considering how to leave with Howard.

nThe guy with a few screws loose in his head probably wouldn’t be content to just walk away.

nOn the fourth floor.

nJust as Nula was about to give up, a piece of her mana sensing suddenly vanished! Nula was startled, realizing she might have discovered something extraordinary.

nEssentially, mana sensing is akin to using mana for perception, somewhat similar to how bats use sonar for navigation.

nMagi have a clear sense of each portion of their mana.

nThrough this connection, mana can serve as a novel means of perception.

nNormally, mana acts like an all-penetrating film.

nHowever, within Nula’s current mana sensing, there emerged an undetectable void!

nSomething had absorbed the mana in that area.

nNula looked up, pinpointing the location where mana was absorbed and started moving. 𝑖𝘳.𝒸ℴ𝑚

nTwo minutes later, Nula stood in front of a wall that appeared utterly ordinary.

nThe wall had aged, with moss beginning to spread, looking just like any other stone wall.

nBut.

nNula placed her hand against the wall, pushing her mana deeper.

nA structure capable of absorbing mana was hidden beneath the surface.

nIt appeared to be a spell matrix, its function unknown, but likely non-aggressive since Nula didn’t sense any conversion of mana.

nAs mana continued to be fed into it, a ring of text gradually became visible.

nNula glanced over it, her pupils narrowing – she had found it!

nThe inscriptions on the wall were not in any human language but were once used by elves.

nThis ancient script inherently possesses mana and can become a substitute for runes through specific evolution, employed in spell construction.

nHence, the earliest magi were actually elves who used transformed elvish incantations to construct and wield spells.

nHowever, due to the extreme difficulty in learning this transformed script, humans, after acquiring the knowledge, embarked on simplifying it, leading to the evolution of the current rune system.

nYet, due to some of its ancient characteristics, in spell matrices that demand stability and long-term operation, elvish script is predominantly used as the foundation.

nSuch was the case at hand.

nNula deciphered the ring of text, realizing it formed a transportation spell matrix.

nOnce activated, this matrix could direct the user to an unknown location, with the transportation distance varying from several hundred meters to hundreds of kilometers, depending on the mana requirements.

nOf course, a teleportation spell matrix capable of transporting someone hundreds of kilometers wouldn’t fit on a single wall.

nJudging by the size of this spell matrix, the transportation distance wouldn’t exceed ten kilometers, and it might even be within five kilometers – essentially, in the surrounding area of Rodel City.

nIt was likely the den of those people, or if not the den, then certainly a significant node.

nOtherwise, there would be no need to go through such trouble to set up this teleportation array with such intricacy.

nAfter checking her equipment, Nula decisively… applied over a dozen buffs to herself.

nVision enhancement…

nStamina enhancement…

nPerception enhancement…

nMana shield…

nRapid recovery spell…

nFortune’s favor…

nShe even utilized the seldom-used Great Strength Spell.

nIf mana was insufficient, she would consume potions.

nAfter applying this array of buffs, Nula felt like she had transformed into a warrior bearing a spell shield.

nFully prepared, Nula finally activated the spell matrix.

nWith continuous mana input, the circle of elvish characters that formed the matrix’s core lit up one by one, emitting a soft white glow.

nA delicate humming sound followed, and a white vortex unfolded before Nula.

nThis was a phenomenon entirely composed of mana, with the distinct properties of mana vividly manifesting in the grey-

nwhite swirl.

nNula’s gaze lingered on the vortex for a few seconds, she sighed, stepped forward, and entered the vortex.

nWith a flash of white light, Nula’s figure vanished into the vortex.

n…

nAfter a moment of dizziness lasting a second or two, Nula appeared in a dimly lit cave, where torches inserted into small holes in the cave walls burned silently, emitting a faint glow.

nUpon landing, Nula quickly assessed her surroundings.

nYears of training allowed her to swiftly transition into a state of combat readiness.

nThe air circulated slightly, free of toxins or foreign substances, and there were no enemy ambushes or mana traps in sight.

nIt appeared to be an ordinary, developed cave with only one path forward, seemingly a natural hollow formed within the mountain.

nThis made Nula curious about how the first magus had entered this place.

nOr perhaps it wasn’t a magus who first entered, but something else that had exited?

nWith this question in mind, Nula cautiously proceeded.

nHer steps were light, each movement careful.

nThis place could very well be the enemy’s stronghold.

nAlthough she carried many valuable items and her own strength was sufficient to ensure she could make good use of those items, saving resources whenever possible was a principle every magus understood.

nIn the dimly lit cave, Nula moved forward with caution.

nEven though she hadn’t encountered a single enemy so far, this didn’t mean she could afford to be careless.

nAccording to intelligence passed by the intelligence corps, those hiding in the shadows of Rodel City belonged to a cult known as “Eternal Flame.”

nNula had never encountered this sect before, but she had heard rumors about it.

nOriginally, the Eternal Flame was a natural phenomenon in the northern territories of the Avala Continent.

nFlames would appear out of nowhere, burning slowly without igniting anything else or emitting heat, as if they were pure illusions.

nThese illusions always emerged at the transition between spring and summer, and the more vibrant the life in a place, the more frequently they appeared.

nNobody knew how these illusions came into being, nor did anyone understand what their appearance signified.

nOver time, a theory began to circulate among the nations of the north.

nThe phantom flame was thought to be an incarnation of the god of life, descending to visit the creatures of the earth.

nWhere this theory originated is now lost to history, but it gained widespread acceptance.

nTo the people of the north, if the divine was eternal, then the flame must be more than just an illusion.

nHence, the phantom flame acquired a new name—Eternal Flame.

nThe period of spring and summer, when the Eternal Flame appeared most frequently, became a festival in the north.

nThe God of Life Festival, a week-long celebration of exuberance.

nNula didn’t know what connection there was, if any, between this Eternal Flame and the one in the north.

nWhile the northern Eternal Flame also represented a belief, it was based on the real presence of the phantom flames and hadn’t developed into a religion but remained a collection of folk customs.

nHowever, the Eternal Flame she was dealing with now was entirely different.

nIt was an outright cult.

nBelieving they had penetrated the essence of the world, but in reality, they were nothing but madmen’s ramblings.

nThe identity of the cult’s leader was shrouded in layers of darkness, and under the name “Eternal Flame,” they had amassed considerable benefits.

nAccording to intelligence from the information corps, there were four instances where human sacrifices on the scale of hundreds could be confirmed as the work of the Eternal Flame cult!

nNot to mention those small villages that vanished without a single survivor, deemed to have been wiped out by natural disasters.

nUpdated from .𝒎

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