"We need to get out of here before more beasts get here..." Blake said reminding the team of their correct location.
'Only if that butler wasn't watching, I would have been able to defeat the alpha warg and still have enough time to harvest their beast cores.' Blake said with a bleeding heart as they went farther away from the beast's corpses.
What Blake lacked were defensive spells because fire and lightning were very offensive, but If there were no witnesses, Blake wouldn't have had a rough time against the alpha warg.
He would have easily used the space element to parry the alpha warg's attacks, but since he didn't know how people would react especially when they saw someone who had 3 elements and at that, the space element known as the rarest element, so he decided to play it safe and request for help.
With the effects of the concealment potion gone, the group had to rely on themselves to reduce their mana emission. Luckily for them, they only met lone-type beasts which they quickly and easily dispatched.
"Finally, were here…" Brian let out a sigh of relief as the team finally arrived at the foot of a hill.
"Don't let your guards down. Remember we are in the open and can be easily spotted by beasts, so let's get the flowers and get the hell out of here." Blake remaindered the team not to lose focus.
Unlike the forest which had dense vegetation of thick, tall trees that could be used as cover, the Bulian hills had sparse and rocky vegetation leaving them with little or no cover.
"On it…" Tessie said as she began searching and harvesting Dubian flowers scattered all over the area. It was a delicate process that only Tessie was able to perform, so the rest stood on guard to make sure nothing took them by surprise.
"How long do you plan on going?" Blake couldn't help but ask because Tessie had been at it for close to an hour and Tessie didn't look like someone with plans of stopping any time soon.
"Properly harvesting them takes a while, so I will need an hour more to gather enough." Tessie could hear the worry in Blake's tone but there was nothing she could do about it.
This was her first time harvesting the Dubian flowers, but with the theoretical knowledge and her experience with other flowers, she was able to pull it off, and surprisingly her speed and precision were quite impressive for a first-timer.
But the situation didn't let any of them notice her skills, rather it had the opposite effect.
Maaah! Maaah!
After harvesting the Dubian flowers in the area, they moved a little bit uphill to continue the harvest, they began hearing the bleats of a Rugor which were a mountain goat time beast.
Unlike the normal mountain goats of Earth, those in infinite realm were more than 3 times bulkier and strong. They had thick hard skin that could take bullet shots without causing anything more than a little discomfort to them.
They had an average height of 6 feet and had diamond-hard horns that were at least 2 meters tall if they were straightened.
Unlike other races that began at the beast level, Rugors were born as magical beats with their beast cores formed in their mother's womb.
Apart from their monstrous physique, the mountain goats had an innate ability to manipulate the earth element which helped them in fights and most importantly, to balance their large tanky bodies on rough terrains like hills, but since nothing was meant to be perfect except for the mother-stream, the mountain goats had a major flaw and that was their rate of reproduction, thereby controlling their population.
When the 4 heard a familiar but spine-chilling sound, they began sweating as they checked for the direction it originated.
'What the fuck is a Rugor doing at this height of the hill and even if it's by chance, why is it during my turn it decided to show up?!' Blake couldn't help but complain because, from the way things have been going, it seemed lady luck was out to get him.
[There is nothing within my detection range, so you have to move around a little bit.] The system said.
'Have you gone nuts? You are saying I should go in search of a walking disaster?!' Blake was flabbergasted by the system's words. He began having thoughts that the system wanted him dead.
[I have a feeling that something isn't right about the Rugor. If you had listened well, you would have noticed the high pitch in its bleat.] The system said.
'First, who in their right sense would hear the bleats of a Rugor and be checking for the pitch instead of running for their lives.
Second, what if it is their way of giving out a moan of pleasure, meaning there are two?' Blake asked with a raised brow.
[...] The system was speechless by Blake's questions. Although they both made sense he couldn't help but facepalm when he heard the second question.
[I know it might sound risky asking you to check it out, but this might be a clue that could help us know more about what is going on here?] The system replied.
'You are right but is it worth the risk?' On one hand, they could quietly retrace their steps and leave the Bulian hills, but on the other hand, finding out the root of the anomaly in the Bulian hills would help them draft out plans in case they were attacked on their way out of the Bulian hills.
"I will go check out its location..." Blake said to the group.
"Huh?!" The group stared at him as if they were looking at a full-blown retard who just escaped from an asylum.
'Guess that didn't come out right...' Blake said to himself before explaining to the team.
"You guys should wait here, I will go and check it out, but if you guys encounter any danger greater than you guys, please run and forget about me." The first option made him put his trust in fate, but ever since the beginning of the mission, fate hadn't been good to him. So he decided to take matters into his hands.