Days passed in the blink of an eye as the wagon soon reached its final destination.
(And all it took was getting beaten to death by a half-orc to do it) Luck thought dryly as he unfolded his legs and deftly swung himself into the wagon, making sure he made enough noise to wake all of them up from their sleep.
"Christ! What the fuck?!" Harry cursed as he opened an eye to glare daggers at the culprit responsible for the ruckus. "We just finished training! Aren't we allowed to sleep? It's not even been fifteen fucking minutes!"
Luck, the culprit in question, just stared at Harry with disinterest, replying with the same tone that they had arrived in Lysarrieth before walking out.
"..."
Harry watched him leave, his annoyance growing by the second, as he slowly stood up, cursing the necromancer under his breath.
"Sometimes, he just pisses me off," Terra muttered as she rubbed her eyes.
Harry eyed her incredulously. "Sometimes?"
"Yeah, that's my brother," Luke added with a chuckle as Luck walked back inside.
"Let's go."
The group left the wagon as they trudged towards the city gates. Looking back, Luck swiped his hand, causing the bone wagon to scatter in a flurry before disappearing.
(Flashy, but effective.)
The city gates resembled a huge steel wall. With a length that rivalled even skyscrapers, the gates to Lysarrieth towered over them, casting a deep shadow over travellers. The walls connected to it were equally gargantuan, allowing no structure of the city to be seen from the outside.
There were other travellers too. Mostly merchants who had come for trade. They had most likely used the more common road networks, which were mostly used by vehicles.
It was understandable, though. Although shorter, the route through the forest was taken less as it was equally dangerous and harder to tread.
Surprisingly, only two guards stood at the entrance of the city, but Luck wasn't surprised in the slightest. The two were powerhouses in their own right, as Luck couldn't even feel their aura, basically meaning they were leagues above his comprehension level.
As if automatic, the gates suddenly opened, but Luck could see as they walked in that it was being controlled by a console protected by several guards.
They were led into a small room within the wall, and surprisingly, there were more guards inside the wall than outside, with trios of guards manning each post.
A white light suddenly passed through them, as the guards observed. Seeing nothing wrong or detrimental to the city, the room opened, leading to a narrow hallway that seemed to be plated with chrome.
Lined on the walls were numerous guns and cameras, ready to identify and neutralize any threat that passed through the previous levels of security.
"What a welcome," Harry muttered dryly, earning a chuckle from the rest of the group.
As they were led through the halls, Luck noticed a particular group of merchants had begun to slow their pace considerably, gradually separating themselves from the main group of visitors.
Saying nothing, he increased the speed of his circulation, allowing his mana to be deployed at a moment's notice.
And the moment did come.
The spike in mana was blatant and rough, notifying everyone that a spell had been cast.
The mana wasn't the only thing that suddenly increased. Luck could feel the heat before he even turned around, and though he had immediately placed up several Shadow Walls and Bone Shields, he knew it still wouldn't be enough.
Hell, even if the guards were quick enough to intercept the attack, they would still die just from the residual force.
Closing his eyes, he braced for impact.
It never came.
Luck opened his eyes to see that a gigantic rock wall had been erected. A wall so big, it blocked the view of the 'merchants' on the other side.
Standing at the forefront of the real travellers was a guard.
His uniform and muscular build set him apart from the rest of the guards, indicating he was a cut above the regular guards. His hair was black and long, cascading in full locks down his back.
"Who the hell is this guy?" Harry muttered, causing them to glare daggers from the entire group.
Luke did them the favour of smacking the back of the ice mage's head.
"What the fuck was that for?!"
"Shut up!"
Before Harry could respond, he was cut off as the man finally glanced towards them, revealing a handsome face.
His eyes were a piercing blue, and those piercing blue eyes were now trained on Luck.
"What's your name, kid?"
His voice was light and friendly. The kind of voice that instantly puts you at ease.
Luck, though, felt anything but comfortable under those eyes.
"Luck."
"Hmmm"
The guard paused for a while until he smiled. "You have good instincts, kid. For you to not only notice they had slowed down but also take measures, no matter how small, to protect yourself... You have talent, kid. I like that."
"Thanks."
His smile widened into a grin as he turned back to face the wall. "Okay, time to take care of the riff-raff."
The wall crumbled to dust, revealing the 'merchants'.
Their previous garb had been tossed away, revealing the combat gear they wore under.
The one at the forefront, presumably the one who fired the spell, stood and glared menacingly at the guard.
"Out of the way. Our business is not with you, so don't try to be a-"
The man swiped his hand, sending a wave of fire that burnt the earth daggers fired at him to a crisp.
The guard cracked his neck as his grin began to widen. "You seem strong. You should be enough to entertain me for a few minutes."
The 'merchant' furrowed their brows, clearly insulted by how he was being underestimated.
"You should watch what you say. You might just end up offending someone you shouldn't."
*Whoosh*
The air howled as, with the slightest of movements, the guard was already behind the merchant.
"I'll remember that when I actually need it!"
The merchant hurriedly ducked, using fire to propel himself away from the guard. The guard followed suit as he dashed towards the merchant.
The merchant raised his hands in retaliation as several of his fingers glowed brightly, getting brighter and brighter until they turned bright blue.
Several balls of fire were created out of the glow, the heat coming off them, enough to burn a mid-awakener to ash in an instant.
The spheres rushed towards their target, but instantly proved to be a disappointment as, with a swipe of his hand, they were immediately swallowed by the metal around them.
The remaining 'merchants' sprang into action. Or tried only to find out their feet had been swallowed by the floor.
The guard had already closed the distance as he cocked his arm back, his fist slowly turning to rock.
Without a change in expression, the merchant did the same, his arm lit ablaze.
*Boom*
To his shock, he was the one who was pushed back.
He managed to hide his surprise well, though, as he eyed the guard in a new light.
"You seem strong, too, I'll give you that. Since you stubbornly seem to wish to continue this fight. I shall grant your wish, but be warned, you might regret not backing out later."
The mage's skin suddenly began to glow red, and within seconds, was wrapped in a cocoon of flames.
The flames soon died down, revealing the man.
His hair, previously wrapped in a scarf, was now loose as it glowed bright orange, dancing like flames.
His hands and face had faint red markings on them, while his eyes, if they were still called that, were now little pillars of flames.
"I did warn you. Nevertheless, it's too late now. Inferno!"
*Boom*
The area around exploded into flames, quickly expanding to the point that the spectators rapidly began to back away.
The mage's group weren't so lucky as shrieks soon filled the area.
The guard in question looked at the fire mage with disinterest. Flames danced around him, and yet they seemed not to affect him. In fact, it seemed they couldn't even approach him.
"Is this all you're capable of?" The guard asked blandly. The smile had faded off his face, replaced by boredom. "It seems coming out here myself was a total waste."
The mage's face twisted in anger. "You'll regre-"
*Boom*
The guard released his aura, extinguishing the flames in an instant and rapidly expanding till it stopped just short of the travellers.
Giant rocks formed behind him, interconnecting to form a giant snake that glared at the mage with yellow eyes.
The mage watched all this, his fear growing by the minute. "W-who are y-"
"Silence!" the guard said caustically. "I'll be the one asking the questions here."