Fire Mage

Chapter 669: Hatching

On a fine day under the scorching sun, a young kid, around 16 years old, walked on the dry land with a tired look.

He was around 160 cm tall, with short blonde hair, emerald eyes, and a hawk nose. At that moment, he wore a black robe over his casual dress and held a long sword at his waist.

He also carried a leather bag in his other hand and even looked at the bag from time to time.

Unlike pure desert sand, the ground around him appeared harder and even had some plants like cactus, vines, and even grasses. Some desert trees would appear in his sight from time to time, but he had no time to stay in one place to rest.

"It's been more than two days since I started continuing my journey. But I still haven't met anyone from Edhen World yet. Are they still in the Second Layer?" Charles couldn't help but frown.

What worried him most was the sudden attack of occasionally bloodsucking sandworms from the ground.

'They seem to be tracking my movement all the time.' He muttered inwardly and looked up at the clear blue sky.

'My other worry is the Falcon-type magical beasts circling in the sky. A falcon beast caught a Legend Rank six-legged insect just a few minutes ago and took it like it was nothing. From that moment onwards, more falcons started circling above my head and seemed to be keeping a close eye on me.'

While pondering what to do next, he suddenly heard an egg-cracking sound from his leather bag and widened his eyes.

'It's finally time for her to wake up, huh?' With a hint of excitement, he hurriedly glanced around and soon found an Acacia tree a few hundred meters away.

Without delay, he walked towards the tree and sat under the tree's shadow.

After that, he waved his hand and cast the [Ignis Sancturm] spell around him to protect himself from an unexpected attack.

Then, he took the palm-sized snake egg from the leather bag and noticed a small crack on the top.

As the crack on the egg widened, a faint bluish light emitted from within. Charles watched in curiosity as the tiny creature inside the egg pushed its way out, revealing itself as a small snake with shimmering bluish-black scales. At that moment, its size was around 50 cm long and looked very thin.

The baby snake stretched its neck and let out a soft chirp as it shook off the remnants of the eggshell. Its eyes, a brilliant shade of emerald blue, blinked open and fixed on him.

Charles also noticed the strange blue embedded in its consciousness form had appeared, giving a unique beauty.

"Can you talk, Snake Princess?" He asked.

On the other hand, she tilted her head and opened her mouth to say something, but only a hissing sound came.

Then, she shook her head, slowly coined around his hand, and started slithering towards his neck.

Before long, she coiled around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Charles gently tapped her forehead and checked her status.

...

[Name: Shadow Princess

Health Status: Normal

Race: Shadow Basilisk (Vessel of Naga)

Rank: 1 (?)

Class: Nightmare Snake (?)

Sub-Class: Shadow Weaver

Health Points: 10/10
Attributes:

Strength- 1

Dexterity- 1.2

Constitution- 1.1

Wisdom-?

Charisma- 25

Class skills:

Dream Hiss

Memory Steal

Nightmare Poison

Dream Walk

Recall of Dreams

Dream Control

Subclass skills:

Shadowmeld

Illusionary Mirage

Eclipse Gaze

Unique Skills:

Life Steal.]

...

'Even after her power regressed, she is very powerful.' Charles quietly looked at the status and decided to continue the journey.

But just as he took a few steps, he noticed a group of people was coming his way from the north. Even though they were a kilometer away, he saw their every movement.

At that moment, the group leader also noticed his presence and made an invisible forcefield structure around their group to block his wisdom power to stop his scan!

'I sense a bit of divine power. He is more powerful than Order Church Holy Son.' Charles paused in surprise and quietly waited for them to arrive.

After waiting a few minutes, he finally saw a group of eight members walking with a tired look.

The one leading the group was a 40 years-old-looking man with a stern gaze and authoritative aura. He appeared muscular, with a long sword, short blue hair, hazel eyes, and broad shoulder. He wore a cotton cloth, like a robe, and even covered his face with a white scarf to protect himself from the sand and dust. Charles also glanced at others and noticed most wore abaya-type black gowns and looked tense and vigilant.

As they arrived closer, all of them stopped their footsteps and looked at Charles with vigilant.

After a short pause, the leading man bowed his head.

Then, he took a deep breath and spoke in a completely strange language.

"%($u% #*o$ #&$o$y# #y$u $&>>/."

'This is not a language of Edhen World. Did they mistake me for a man from another world?' Charles pondered for a moment and decided to play with them.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He decided to speak in English to confuse them even more.

A silence descended.

But Charles didn't stop there as he thought of something and spoke in a broken Rune Language.

"I mean no harm. I got lost exploring the Dungeon and ended up in a completely different layer."

At that moment, a black-haired man from that group noticed he was talking in an ancient Rune Language and informed the leader.

eyebrows and asked in Blen Tongue.

"He seems to have been lost in the dungeon and ended up in a "True Lord Alistair, he is speaking in Ancient Rune Language. Although it's hard to understand the accent, I can barely understand what he is saying."

"Oh? What did he say, Rowan?" The man named Alistair raised his eyebrows and asked in Blen Tongue.

"He seems to have been lost in the dungeon and ended up in a different layer." The black-haired man named Rowan answered politely and soon added with a smile.

"From the looks of it, he is just an amateur, My Lord. Why not capture him and get something from him?"

"Don't act stupid. He might look like a kid but is as strong as me. Don't provoke some random person without knowing their true background." Alistair warned the other person sternly and continued.

"Tell him that we will help him to reach up to the fourth Layer."

"Isn't that too much of a burden for us, Alistair?" This time, another person with blonde hair intervened.

"You know nothing, Nyx. This type of person must have come from a large background, possibly from Elder Plane or a very large Higher Plane. We should never be narrow-minded during this time and try to forge friendships with them." He said with a trace of disappointment and turned his attention towards Charles.

Meanwhile, Rowan went closer to Charles, said what Alistair told him earlier, and even gave him a book.

"What is this?" Charles asked.

"This was the book I used to study Rune Language when I was younger. You can use it to learn our language." Rowan said.

On the other hand, Charles flipped through the book and noticed it was actually in Blen Tongue.

"I'll learn it during my free time," Charles said with a smile and introduced himself politely.

"I'm Charles, came from a High Plane called Earth. And I will not be a burden during our journey."

As Rowan translated what he said, Alistair couldn't help but laugh loudly.

"He is indeed a good man. Rowan, stay with him until we reach the Fourth Layer and help him learn the Blen Language. Also, ask more about his background when you get closer." Saying so, he slowly shifted his attention toward the small baby snake on his neck and raised his eyebrows.

"Why is he putting a baby snake around his neck? A pet?"

"That seems to have been born only a day ago," Nyx nodded.

"Whatever. As long as this kid stays with us, the chance of us reaching the fourth layer will become an easy task." Alistair added.

"You said the same thing last time. But we couldn't even beat the Fallen Jinn and ended up retreating." Nyx snorted coldly.

"Unlike before, I came here well-prepared. Last time, we couldn't even discover the Jinn's abilities and were forced to retreat by its single spell. But thanks to the gift from Nightwind Family Elder, I have a high chance of clearing this layer." A proud look appeared on Alistair's face.

At that moment, Charles also overheard their conversation and got a good understanding of who they were.

'So, they belong to 'True Lords,' huh?'

After learning their origin, he decided to take care of them later.

On the other hand, Alistair took the lead again and continued walking towards where Charles came from and even looked at a strange ancient map from time to time.

Charles also put a hold on his plan and continued to follow them.

As they traveled, Alistair and others didn't confront any group of Legendary Magical Beasts and moved more cautiously.

Even with such cautiousness, some Magical Beasts sensed their presence and attacked them. But thanks to Alistair's strange 'Divine Spell,' they faced no life-threatening situation.

After a day-long travel with this group, Charles finally discovered the secret behind Alistair's divine abilities.

'He isn't borrowing the divine power from his god. I'm sensing a powerful divine energy within his body. Is he walking on the path of Divines?' He wondered.