The trip to the small hunting town lasted a little over an hour and quickly became boring as they left the city. Trees and mountains quickly replaced the houses and stores, as far as the eye could see, and became monotonous.
Alex and Kary were barely talking, as the latter was already lost in her thoughts. She was trying to figure out a good way to contain an attack from a horde of wolves in an undefendable small town.
She also had to consider all the houses between the horde and the town and how they would temporarily get these most likely old-timers to move out of their homes for safety concerns.
Old people were almost always stubborn, and they would need a compelling excuse to have them abandon their houses for the duration of this hunt. If they couldn't convince them, they risked having them die or expose a truth that should stay hidden for a bit longer.
Either option wasn't good for them.
As for Alex, he was lost in thought as well, but in a completely different direction.
In his mind, he was feeling the new addition to his brain. It felt strange to sense something there that hadn't been there before.
Both physically and mentally.
When his mana lobe had formed in New Eden, it had immediately faded away from thought, as if it was always supposed to be there.
But on this side of the veil, he could still feel the growth in his head, like a slight pressure point of a headache forming, but without the pain. It was a mild discomfort, and he hoped it would eventually fade.
lightsΝοvεl ƈοm But the other thing he was trying to wrap his head around, quite literally, was the fact he had to think about using the mana from the freshly formed lobe.
It wasn't an innate thing, like in New Eden. His body was practically fighting against it.
He had been circulating mana in his body, trying to grow accustomed to the motions again, as he had done in his first days of playing New Eden, but it was more complicated.
His body constantly tried taking the mana from the cells instead of circulating all the way to the brain in a complete loop. It was more tiring than he remembered, if only mental exhaustion.
But he knew it was better to figure that out now than wait for it to become a problem later.
Then, there was also the issue of charging the mana lobe up.
His apartment was filled with mana ever since the leak had appeared. Even if he and Kary absorbed a good part of it, there was always more where it came from.
But ever since he had torn it open wider to form his mana lobe, the apartment had become chock full of mana, making it easy for him to cultivate.
The problem lay with his current location.
There was no mana in the area, making it impossible for him to resupply if he ran out. He also hadn't re-learned mana breathing yet.
It was too complicated, with his lack of mana lobe before. And he hadn't stopped to take care of the issue after forming it.
Not that it would matter if there was no mana to absorb in the air, either.
He realized there were so many issues with his actions and sighed inwardly.
'If only I had asked David before doing this. I bet he would have given me some pointers. Now, I have to figure it all by myself.'
Alex only snapped out of his tribulations when he saw a sign on the side of the road, which said, 'Welcome to Lacs-des-Seizes-
Îles.'
He realized they had entered the territory of their mission, and his mind cleared out of any stray thoughts. They had to focus from here on out.
Even the simplest of mistakes could be life-ending.
Kary felt the vehicle slow down, and her mind returned to reality. Looking out the window, everything seemed so peaceful.
"To think this town would have become a graveyard in a day if we did nothing…" she said, her voice heavy with apprehension.
The radio hummed to life in the front of the vehicle, making Alex and Kary turn their heads toward it, wondering what this was about.
"Silver one here. The rented cabin is up ahead. That will be our regrouping point. Once the operatives have been dropped, all soldiers will go into town and stock up for three days' worth of food and supplies. The next task will be given after this one is completed. Silver one, over and out."
"Red one, ten four," the merc replied, hanging back his radio mic to the dash.
"To think we are going to be reduced to glorified guard dogs…" he mumbled, looking in the rear-view mirror.
Alex heard his complaining, but said nothing.
He felt it would insult the man if he told him how useless he would be in a fight against their coming foes. It was better he remained in the dark.
The convoy rolled through town, catching the attention of everyone who saw it, for better or worse, before disappearing northward again.
Jack had rented out a sizeable chalet, a bit north of the main town, where the men could stay and regroup while they hunted the monsters. This way, they didn't have to send the mercs back toward Montreal, saving them costs.
This also gave them a roof to sleep under if the hunt went well enough that they could afford to sleep. But he doubted that part.
As far as he was concerned, this place would be a base for the mercs and a place from where they could control the flow of villagers, as they convinced them to leave town for a while.
As the convoy parked around the chalet, all the vehicles opened up, letting out the drivers and the people they were carrying.
That's when a few of them realized they recognized many of the faces present.
Cory was the first to react, as the others knew what they were getting into.
"Gale?! Violette?! What the hell are you guys doing here?! I thought this was dangerous?" he exclaimed.
Then he noticed the two older people, squinting his eyes a bit, and recognized them as well. He had only briefly met them but had a good memory for faces.
"What the heck is going on?" he asked, bewildered.
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