Chapter 247: Last Steps.

Rania looked as annoyed as before, but Lee knew the storm had passed.Since the simplest answer was probably the correct one, she assumed he was trying to get into her pants by conceding the spatial artifacts to her. Trying to convince her that he didn’t need them or that she had earned the reward was likely a fruitless endeavor. Therefore Lee had to come up with a legitimate reason for his generosity.

He thought for a bit, and said, "I’m interested in the move you used. Except if it’s a family technique or something secret, of course. I can explain mine in return."

"Yours? No way!" Rania’s countenance softened now that she thought she knew what Lee actually was after, "I would die from blood loss if I was in your stead, anyone would. In fact, why didn’t you?"

"You really want me to die so much? I thought we were friends!" Lee joked in return.

His so called Assassination Thrust technique was based on something he learned in the Nethermoon sect and later adjusted to acquire an incredible burst of speed. It was based on expenditure of large amounts of wind energy, which, in turn resulted in his body suffering a backlash.

"Hmph! Smartass!" She snorted, "Alright, I’ll show you! It’s a complex footwork I was taught by one of the old hunters few years ago. It’s an escape technique called Last Steps. It’s subtle and quick, mostly suited for people of a smaller stature like me, but maybe you can find it useful as well."

"Thank you?" Lee said, not being certain whether he wanted to learn how to take his last steps, to not speak of actually taking them.

"Unfortunately I can’t figure out how to add a proper attack move." Rania said, not noticing Lee’s awkward reaction, "You’ll have to promise you’ll share if you think of something."

"Sure!"

From that moment on the travel wasn’t as tedious, at least not for Lee. While occasionally battling insects, he learned the new footwork technique, obviously without using the wind element. Regarding the last part Rania was confused, but Lee came up with an excuse that he intended to learn how to properly do basics first.

***

The camp the group arrived to was similar to theirs, except was located between a slope of a larger mountain and a river. These guys didn’t have insect colonies nearby and didn’t have to deal with daily attacks. That allowed them to leave only a handful of people behind while the rest separated in two larger expeditions and went hunting at the same time.

The arrival of twenty one people was out of norm, but after hearing that these were pitiful remains of the previously grand hunting expedition, they were heartily welcomed. Most were ready to leave Skalara for good, and only waited for the next rift to be opened, except for two – Elred and Lee.

Elred carried Vaerin’s remains in his spatial treasure, intending to pass them on to the guy’s brother who had remained in the other camp.

Lee, on the other hand, was set on looking for more old gods. His attempt to investigate the disappearance of the white spark while the group was on the way failed, and he gave up on the idea. The best option was to start over, especially considering Skalara’s nature.

Even though all the creatures here were insects, they were growing faster than weeds after a storm. If there was one bug that had hibernated for who knows how long, there had to be others as well. The only problem Lee had was that he couldn’t hunt it alone, so staying with a larger hunter squad only made sense.

While the camp’s hunting parties were away, Lee spent time practicing Rania’s technique and balancing the elemental forces within his Dantian. The first part was for fun and potential future encounters, but the second – a necessity to get rid of discomfort he constantly felt.

The two local groups of hunters returned six days later, most tired, few injured, but with wide smiles – the hunt had gone well. Their mood worsened when they found out they had guests, but not because of the guests, but hearing what they had been through.

For the second time Lee was surprised by the friendly attitude. Instead of condescension and ridicule that would’ve been a norm in any other world, the twenty one survivors were met with understanding and compassion.

Lee couldn’t remember when was the last time he saw such camaraderie. Of course, everyone here was a hunter, but they weren’t friends or relatives.

After the formal introductions, Elred met with the two local leaders, Alwin and Dain. There were a few more experienced hunters present, but from Elred’s group there was only Lee.

After the Seren’s incident, Elred’s attitude towards Lee changed, and the matter of him being an elemental warrior was never brought up. Since Lee expressed intention to stay in Skalara, Elred kind of made Lee part of his group, except it consisted only of two of them, at least for now.

They sat half-naked around one of the bonfires, roasted bugs for dinner while listening to Elred’s report in detail.

"I’m positive this is the spark the thing had." Elred showed the bright yellow spark to the rest, "I know that there’s no logical explanation why it became like this, but I trust my people didn’t steal or replace it. Besides, we all checked everyone’s belongings together and didn’t find anything."

"It is a bit peculiar." Dain said, taking the spark from Elred, and closely inspecting it.

"Mhm. I haven’t seen an earth spark that’s not shaped like a cube." Alwin agreed.

"Was it like this when you held it?" Elred asked Lee.

Dain passed him the spark, Lee played with it, and said, pretending to be deep in thoughts, "If not for the color, I’d say it’s the same thing. I wonder if it has something to do with the dragon veins."

"Dragon veins?" Dain asked.

"Mhm." Lee nodded.

This was something Overlord Seris suggested to look for to locate the old gods. According to her, dragon veins were underground oddities with concentrated elemental energy. Her guess was that beasts, and old gods in particular, could benefit from hibernating next to one.

"I wonder whether it had impacted the shape and the color." Lee said, "We can never know how long those monsters have absorbed the power of dragon veins."

He prayed to heavens he didn’t need to come up with a more detailed explanation to not raise suspicions. Fortunately, the experienced hunters were knowledgeable. Guessing Lee’s idea, Alwin said, "I think our young friend is trying to say that a creature at the level of an old god is likely to be found at places with intense elemental energy. How it could impact the shape their spark, none of us has a clue, but we could try to find out."

Everyone looked at him, expecting more, but the man fell in thoughts. He picked the spark from Lee’s hands and carefully inspected, as if he was capable of seeing more than the rest.

"Spill it! Old man!" Dain asked, and elbowed him, "You can’t leave people in suspense!"

"What do you mean, old?" Alwin snorted in return, "You’re two years older than me!"

"Then be a nice boy, and out with it!" Dain laughed, feeling he had won the exchange.

"I’m scared to think that in a couple of years I could become as muddleheaded as you." Alwin said with a shake of his head, faking a deep sigh. But after getting another annoyed elbow to the ribs, he added, "Remember the Scorpion King?"