As Kyran suspected, some people followed his tracks as soon as he was a few hundred meters away from Tarrin Town. However, after following his tracks for almost two kilometers, they suddenly lost his trace and failed to locate any clue on which direction he went.
That location where they lost his track was where Kyran warped out to shake them off. They followed him way too obvious that he could sense them even if there were at least half a hundred-meter gap between them.
What made Kyran notice that he was being followed was their movements. They might think they concealed their movements and presence well. But with the activated Regis Body Tempering Technique, Kyran’s sense of hearing was heightened to its peak.
Kyran was unsure why these people were following him and whether those men in grey suits sent them. But if they were, he felt hopeless for them.
He did not even care what they were doing in Tarrin.
Would a person who had designs on their plans openly reveal themselves? Not to mention, retaliate against them? Or was it because of what he had done that he appeared more suspiciously?
They were overthinking!
Kyran sighed in resignation. Some people really loved to look for trouble. Since he could not be bothered to deal with them, he decided to shake them off his track by warping.
Still, because of this, he wasted a good hour of his time.
Looking at Kyran’s schedule to meet the deadline he set during his meeting with the Conclave High Council, he had more than a day’s worth of spare time.
It was because he got used to his warp ability in less than two days. Even the three-day preparation he calculated he would need before leaving the Tower was completed in two days.
It was all thanks to Sigma’s help. Since Sigma taught Kyran the concept of transmuting, he also managed to understand better how to mold his magic.
Still, even with all that adjustments, he knew it might not be enough. Not because he was not confident that he could follow his schedule while hunting the forest beasts, but because the Conclave was still gathering information on the location of the rare stone of Shaiha.
It just happened that an unknown group broke into the Shaiha Ruins recently, and thus the Templar Code had doubled their security. If the Conclave failed to gather the information Kyran needed after hunting the Theihorns, he would most likely end up gathering information on the stone’s location himself.
He just hoped that the spare time he got was enough.
After almost three hours of travelling, Kyran finally reached the outskirts of the forest leading to the Chaos Palace.
This forest was called Misty Forest. It was named this way because of the miasma that made this forest looked ‘misty’.
Kyran stood at the clearing just before the Misty Forest. He surveyed the miasma in front of him with a thoughtful expression.
True to the information the Conclave gave him, the miasma at this time was so thick that the visibility inside the forest was close to zero. If the miasma were not deadly, a person who dared wander in this forest would get lost even if he came prepared.
Kyran did not immediately enter the forest. He first examined the plants and trees at the periphery. The miasma was active in this area for many years, yet they were not withered.
As Noir said, the Duali Tree grew around the deepest part of the forest for a thousand years. Meaning this miasma had no fatal effect on them.
It made Kyran wonder whether the array that produces this miasma targeted forest beasts and humans only. If so, why and how was the array able to do that all these years? And why would it produce more miasma during this time of the year?
From what he learned from Noir about Arrays, arrays could be calculated to have specific targets. However, creating the calculation for such an array was too complex and required rare materials that cost many spirit stones. Aside from this, activating the array would require a significant amount of energy.
Kyran looked at the forest and felt a sense of excitement. He believed an array produced this miasma, and he wanted to learn more about it. For a person to create such a complex array, that person was sure to have high array attainments.
So far, Kyran had doubts that the Dark Sage created the array because Noir explained that most Array Masters were mages who aimed to become an Abjurer or a Transmuter, and neither was the Dark Sage.
At least Kyran was 100% sure that just like him, the Dark Sage could not practice creation magic because of the nature of their magic. As for being an Abjurer, this was also unlikely. As to why Kyran was convinced about this thought, he just had a feeling that the Dark Sage was not an Abjurer. He could not understand it; he just knew.
It was the same how he sometimes knew how to use his magic in specific ways.
Kyran shook his head and sighed. As much as he wanted to satisfy his curiosity about the miasma, he had to wait for another time.
‘Alright, first, find a thousand year old Duali tree and get its bark, then find a good location to remember for my next visit,’ Kyran decided and took out a round magic item.
This magic item would be his source of light. It was also made of materials that could resist the miasma for a few hours.
He inserted his magic energy into the magic item, and soon it gave a faint bluish light.
When Kyran was sure that there were no other people nearby, he entered the forest.
As he expected, the miasma did not affect him. He did not need to urge his magic to protect himself against it. He was not complaining. At least he did not have to waste a lot of his magic energy.
He walked deeper into the forest and noticed that rare herbs were growing everywhere. He guessed that since most people believed the miasma was poison, they probably thought these herbs were already poisoned and could not be used anymore. But since he knew the miasma was not poison, he made a mental note to take some of the herbs. Maybe he could ask Avrum or even Malia to teach him alchemy before he leaves the Tower.
‘Right, since I also need to give them a sample of this Miasma for Hugh. Might as well take some of the herbs when I do that,’ he decided.
After walking for almost an hour, Kyran noticed that the trunks of the trees around him had gotten thicker.
‘Vaness said the Duali Trees are found two thousand kilometers from where the trees with thick trunks are located,’ Kyran remembered.
Vaness taught him what he needed to know about the Duali Tree and how to collect the bark the same day he finished his training with Sigma. He was glad his memory was good because if not, with all the cramming he did these past few days, he was afraid all those information would get jumbled up in his head.
‘I have to pick up my pace if I want to finish before lunch,’ Kyran thought.
However, the moment he walked past the tree he was looking at, his magic instinctively circulated inside him. Then he felt a thin veil-like material passing through him. This occurrence was not included in the information the Conclave gave him.
Kyran immediately activated his Void Scales.
He did not like how that veil-like material felt. As if it was ‘scanning’ his body.
But as soon as he let out the Void Scales, something unexpected happened.
The thick miasma around him suddenly dispersed as if creating a clear path for him.
‘This is…?’ Kyran looked around him in confusion.
He cautiously reached out his hand to touch the miasma on his side. Instantly, the miasma moved out of his reach as if to avoid his touch.
‘Why..?’
Inaudible sounds suddenly resounded all around him.
He turned around and tried to follow the sound but failed.
‘What..?’
[It has been a while…]
[It is him…]
[He is back…]
[How long was it…]
[Sshhh…]
[Doesn’t he look different…?]
[Does it matter…?]
Kyran managed to hear some of the words the voices around him were saying.
Still, it did not make any sense to him. However, he noticed that the voices around him were a mixture of old and young voices.
Gritting his teeth, Kyran shouted, “Who are you people? Show yourselves!”
The voices immediately stopped.
The only sound left was Kyran’s words echoing around.
Kyran clenched his fist. He wandered his eyes and strained his ears for any other sounds. However, the forest remained silent. It was not a deafening silence, but he realized how quiet the forest was after the voices vanished.
‘What was that about?’ He wondered with a frown.
Although the voices vanished, the miasma around him still seemed to avoid him.
When a minute passed, and nothing else happened, Kyran steeled himself and continued to walk deeper into the forest.