"Alright, kid—we're in! That bastard probably won't find us down here... Hm. I was thinking, and I think I know why he's chasing us with so much motivation! Pay close attention: even though stellar masters carry valuable items, someone as weak as you wouldn't normally attract any interest. Sure, we have the World Tree Seed, which is insanely valuable to the elves, but not even someone of that man's caliber would risk offending them by trying to sell it on the black market. Not to mention—he doesn't even know we have it! I think this unknown master is involved in something illegal—maybe slavery, drugs, who knows... So if a random traveler stumbled onto his operations, there'd be a chance of them reporting it!"
"I get it. He wants to kill us to shut us up. The funny part is—we didn't even see jack shit! And I couldn't report anyone in this condition even if I wanted to. Honestly, they'd probably arrest me instead of him! Heh."
"Yeah, we can only blame our rotten luck, kid. So let's just wait for that lunatic to give up."
Both agreed and began to quietly hope the man would simply go away. Up on the surface, however, he was still searching.
"DAMN RAT!!! So he's hiding, huh?!... Alright, based on what I've observed, he didn't go into the sky, and if he were using some concealment skill, I'd know. He couldn't have gone far underground either—unless...!!! Hoho... clever… I have to admit. But I'm smarter! Did you really think I wouldn't check the soil?!"
Unfortunately, the man wasn't a fool. It didn't take long for him to associate their escape with the ground beneath him. He raised his hand and twisted it like a blade, pointing it downward.
"ZRAASH!"
The earth sliced open like pie crust. The ants nearby went berserk and attacked him viciously—but they were no match for someone of his level. One by one, they were sliced up like meat on a chopping board.
Langdon and Ewan were caught off guard by the sudden attack. They had been hoping the man would get tired of slaughtering insects and leave. Now, underground, they had to think fast.
"Shit, kid! That scared the hell outta me! This bastard really won't give up… Let's hope he gets tired soon. Listen! The ant queen is level 5—she'll probably give him a bit of a hard time. When she shows up enraged, you dig nonstop! Got it?!"
"Alright. Let's hope, for our sake, that the ant queen makes this guy lose interest in us!"
But above, the man's rampage against the ants continued.
"VRAASH!"
One by one, they were cut down like they were nothing.
"Oh, this little rat sure knows how to hide... Really talented at burrowing! Actually, it's not fair to call him a rat… Hoho, he's more like a mole!"
After a while, the man ceased his attacks. Floating calmly in the sky, he spoke out loud for the first time. His voice was mature and oddly comforting as he shouted:
"HEY, STRANGER! SHOW YOURSELF! I THINK WE'VE HAD A MISUNDERSTANDING! I'M DRAVOK! I'M ESCORTING MY NOBLE LORDS! SEEING SUSPICIOUS MOVEMENT, I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE A MONSTER OR A THIEF! YOU CAN COME OUT—I WON'T HURT YOU!"
Langdon immediately whispered to Ewan:
"Ha! This old man thinks we're idiots! Obviously, he's gonna kill us the second we show up. That's if something worse doesn't happen, like you said earlier."
"Exactly, kid. He wouldn't go this far if it was just a misunderstanding. We can only hope he gives up."
Realizing his little speech had failed, the man started to grow impatient. But a skilled hunter knows when to wait—and he was one. So instead of forcing things, he waited for hours, summoning creatures to patrol both the sky and the land.
"We're losing way too much time, Ewan. That guy's not leaving for anything! I don't know what the hell he's guarding, but he doesn't want any strangers near it! And I just know—at some point—he's gonna snap from the frustration and unleash some kind of large-scale attack! If he does, I bet at least a whole kilometer will vanish in the blast."
"Kid… If he actually tries that, I have a plan B. But I can't tell you yet. I know you're not gonna like it."
"Now you've got me worried! What do you mean I won't like it?! Explain!"
"Listen, I don't have time to explain right now. I need to be ready and focused to pull this off perfectly!"
Realizing it was pointless to argue, Langdon gave in. There wasn't much he could do in this situation anyway, and pushing for answers would only increase his own anxiety. So the two of them returned to silence, quietly hoping that the master would just leave.
That would be the perfect miracle… Heh.
But the man, defying all expectations, refused to give up. He was truly relentless—almost like a dog that wouldn't let go of a bone.
After a long wait, the man shouted again from above:
"I'LL SAY IT AGAIN! SHOW YOURSELF! I WON'T HURT YOU! BUT IF YOU DON'T COME OUT, DON'T BLAME ME FOR RESPONDING WITH FORCE! REFUSING TO APPEAR MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE AN EVIL VILLAIN! I WON'T HAVE MERCY—IT'S BETTER TO COOPERATE!"
His speech had no effect. Silence returned once more to the night.
Now visibly irritated, the man clenched his teeth as veins popped from his forehead. Then, he growled:
"DON'T BLAME ME FOR BEING RUTHLESS!!!"
With that, he brought his arms together and stretched them toward the sky. He began to chant a powerful spell.
"Shit. Kid… the thing you feared is happening. He's gathering huge amounts of stardust to cast an area-destruction spell. Nothing's gonna survive—neither us nor this entire place."
The man quickly drew in the mana he needed. A massive black sphere formed between his hands—then he hurled it toward the earth.