"Huh? It's over already?"
"It appears so."
Mikoto and Noah watched from atop the spine.
Below them, the two fighters had already ceased their sparring, now standing at a distance and seemingly engaged in conversation. From such a height, however, their voices were lost to the wind.
"What a shame. It stopped just when things were getting interesting. Who do you think would have won?"
"Who would have won?" Noah echoed, pausing briefly before giving a small shrug. "Naturally, Miss Jasmine would have come out on top. While Hunter Kevin is strong, he lacks experience in actual combat. That much is evident."
"Oh? And how could you tell?"
"Though there is evident power in his movements, it's sloppy and rather easy to predict. Such is the problem of lack of continuity."
Mikoto tilted her head. "Continuity?"
"Simply put, each of Kevin's action is decided in the moment, rather than being part of a larger sequence. It's as if he's thinking through every step instead of letting instinct take over."
"I don't understand. Isn't that normal?"
"For beginners, yes. But against someone like Miss Jasmine, it becomes a fatal flaw. There should be a balance between instinct and planning or else there would be chaos and disorder. This is the exact root of his problem. He simply lacks the instincts of a fighter."
Below, the faint outline of the two figures shifted slightly as their conversation continued.
"Though that's the only problem he lacks. His physicals should be around the level of a Vanguard but his reinforcement is astonishing. In terms of output, he even surpasses Miss Jasmine and his mana control is far more refined than one would expect at his level, even more so than most professional Hunters. It's not just raw output either. The efficiency is ridiculously high, so is the recovering time. There's very little waste."
"In other words, he's holding himself back."
"No. That's precisely the issue. He isn't holding back, he simply doesn't know how to fully utilize what he has. His body and mana are not yet in harmony. Could it be that he just awakened recently?" Noah considered it for a moment then shook his head as if in doubt. "Anyway, if he fixes that 'continuity' problem I mentioned, he'll become dangerous. How curious. Is this the birth of a new powerhouse? I have to record everything at once!"
His eyes lit up.
For some reason, Noah seemed unusually enthusiastic.
Mikoto stared at him, a faint crease forming between her brows. What a weirdo, she thought. Still, she more or less understood what he was getting at.
Jasmine was a Hunter who had reached the rank of Lancer at the remarkably young age of twenty-two. Even now, at twenty-four years old, she was already showing signs of manifesting her Domain, a territory reserved for those who would one day step into the ranks of Saints.
And then there was Kevin Pierce.
An anomaly who had appeared out of nowhere, possessing greater output, wider range, and far more refined control over his mystic energy. Yet despite all that, his performance made it painfully clear that he lacked experience.
Which meant only one thing.
The young man had Awakened recently. Most likely… a month or two ago.
'Damn monster.'
She couldn't comprehend how someone with such terrifying talent could appear out of nowhere.
Then again, Mikoto wasn't exactly normal either.
Beneath the silver mask, her lips slowly curved into a dark smile.
'Thank you for showing me such valuable data.'
It wasn't long before Kevin and Jasmine made their way up the spine.
† †
"Our next course of action is to continue moving west."
Jasmine spoke with furrowed brows before continuing,
"It might be worthwhile to head north and south to map the terrain, but we simply don't have the time for that. This mission has already grown far beyond our expectations. Our opponent is the Forgotten Lands, so we'll need a much larger exploration team."
Noah nodded, then added his input with his usual analystical tone:
"A larger team alone may not suffice. If the environment itself is unstable, then increasing our numbers will only amplify the risks. I suggest an alternative option."
"Go on."
"Once we get back to the Guild, we'll deliver our findings and suggest to Manager Ryōshi that she recruit the aid of a group of experienced Slayers with great temperament, each led by at least one high-ranking Lancer. That way, even if something goes wrong, the damage remains contained. At the same time, we establish anchor points we can fall back to if the terrain shifts or something… unexpected occurs."
"You're assuming things will get worse."
"From what I've seen so far, things are bound to get worse."
A brief silence settled over the group.
Kevin, who had been quiet until now and remembered his conversation with a certain succubus, finally spoke.
"Then what about the core? If this place is the 'Forgotten Lands,' there has to be a center, right? Something like a source."
Jasmine studied him for a moment before nodding.
"That's the most logical conclusion. But locating it without proper mapping would be reckless."
Noah interjected.
"Not necessarily. If there is a core, then there should be things like mana flow, environmental distortions, anomalies in density. If we track those, we might be able to narrow down its location without fully mapping the entire region."
"So instead of wandering blindly, we follow the abnormalities."
"That's correct."
Jasmine exhaled slowly, her brows still knit in thought.
"Then our priority remains the same. We move west, for now. As we advance, we gather as much data as possible and look for any signs that point toward a central point."
She paused, then added,
"And if the situation worsens… we withdraw and request reinforcements."
Everyone nodded.
They couldn't have said it better themselves. Such was a prudent approach considering the Forgotten Lands was quite vast and filled with all kinds of unknown variables such as the unpredictable terrain, shifting mana currents, and creatures of darkness yet to be classified.
It was the kind of place where a single misstep could spiral into catastrophe.
So far, they had only experienced just a fraction of the strange history. Could barely be called a taste.