The Magician of Sound

As soon as the morning came, Kai and the group began their preparation for this day that Kai deemed to be dangerous.

Luckily, when they met before setting off, Kai could see their complexion, which didn't seem that bad, especially for Nicholas. In fact, he appeared to be pumped up today as if he just got a good night's sleep and hyped for this adventure, even though everyone worried about him yesterday.

He might also fake it because he didn't want the others to worry. Nevertheless, they would abort the mission whenever Kai decided, so the group felt a bit safe.

Finally, the person that Carissa brought was a middle-aged woman who appeared to be in her late thirties.

She had long purple hair tied into a ponytail to avoid the strong wind. There seemed to be wilderness and a bit of killing intent reflected in her eyes, telling them that she had killed many magical beasts. She wore a normal white military suit and brought a spear on her back.

"I am Lexa. I have heard everything from the leader, and I will surely tell you if I feel something different."

"Nice to meet you. I am the leader of this group, Kai Carter. I hope we won't get into something dangerous." Kai nodded and shook her hand. "As much as I want to talk about our mission, let's come inside the car first. I will brief you about our mission here."

"Should I drive?" Lexa asked while glancing at Kai and Carissa.

"No. I am driving the car. You can enjoy the ride since there are a few things you need to know." Carissa shook her head and sat on the driver's seat. As usual, Kai also sat beside her.

The vehicle itself was close to a mini-bus, so it didn't lack space even with twelve people on board.

After that, the group headed to the western part of the island before making their way to the north, where they left yesterday.

Just like how they usually discovered the statue one by one, Kai found a few more words.

After the first statue where Kai's found another word, he stopped the journey for a moment to ask the two.

"Nicholas. How are you doing?"

"I am fine, Captain. I do feel that this statue is trying to make me do something, but there is no abnormality in the movement. In fact, the control seems to be weaker than yesterday. Yesterday, I can only gain my body back after two seconds, but I can gain it back after one second." Nicholas reported.

"Hmm?! What does this mean?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows and fell into deep thought.

"I don't know. Maybe I have gained a resistance for this type of thing?" Nicholas tilted his head in confusion.

"Or maybe you have gained another insight after our discussion yesterday…" Kai mumbled.

"Yes. I think it's like what you said." Sofia added. "When I saw his fire, it's nothing like yesterday. Maybe it's due to his mind. After settling down with his mind, he has grown some resistance to this."

"I see… If that is the case, I am less worried. Even so, tell me if you notice something different since we still have a hundred statues to go." Kai nodded and patted Nicholas's shoulder.

"I understand." Nicholas nodded.

"How about you, Miss Lexa?"

"I don't feel anything wrong. It's not like I am possessed or something, so I don't know his feelings." Lexa shook her head and pointed her finger at Nicholas.

"So, Nicholas is different?" Kai frowned and looked at Isabelle.

"I don't know. I recruit him to my group because he is always alone. Saying he is different doesn't justify anything about this matter. As for his family, I don't think there is anything extraordinary…" Isabelle shook her head.

"Yes. My family is somehow wealthy, but I never did something suspicious or supernatural in my childhood." Nicholas nodded. "Even if I am different from the rest, I won't be aware of it. The government also can't check something like this."

"Fair enough. Do you want to proceed?" Kai asked his last question.

"Yes. I believe I can continue." Nicholas nodded.

Kai then gave a signal to Carissa, and she drove them across the western edge.

When they went back to the last spot after observing every statue, Kai sighed as he sat down on the car.

"I have gotten a few words." Kai sighed and passed the paper of his note to the rest, including Carissa. They read the five words on the paper.

Miola

Fure

Geszu

Rira

Nisa

"With this, we have gotten ten words. The problem is whether there are more words from those shattered statues. When I look at this, the words seem to come out every twenty statues we have found… In other words, five words per one hundred statues.

"This island has nearly one thousand statues, so I guess there should be fifty words about this…" Kai sighed. "It seems no matter what we do won't matter at this point."

"It's alright. If this is the case, I can't complain since you have done everything you could. I will report back to the president until you finish your one week on this island as promised."

"But I want to say something important to you for tomorrow. There are only a few statues in the center of the island, but I think those statues are more interesting than those statues on the edge of this island," Carissa said.

"How so?"

"The usual group is there where you can see another statue when you visit one statue, but there is one isolated from the rest. It is standing alone, and you won't be able to see other statues when you check this statue."

"..." Kai furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why do I hear boss music?" Michelle suddenly interjected with a joke. However, not a single of them could laugh about this. They were wondering if this statue would be something like the boss of this island, but they still needed to check it.

"Nicholas. How are you doing right now?" Kai asked.

"It's the same as yesterday, but I don't feel any threat behind this." Nicholas shook his head.

"How about you, Miss Lexa?"

"Nothing extraordinary. In fact, I don't feel anything wrong with my body."

"Hmm…" Kai looked down, falling into deep thought. After a few minutes, he decided. "Alright. We will visit the statue tomorrow. It might be because of the shattered statues that we won't get all the clues, so I think there is nothing wrong with going there. I just want to warn all of you to be careful."

"Yes."

"Alright. Dismissed." Kai nodded and returned to his tent.

The next day. They finally ventured to the center of this island. As scheduled, they checked every statue there before going to the last one, which was located in the body of the mountain.

The moment they found the statue, Kai checked everyone's condition and heightened his hearing to see if something was wrong.

Luckily, he found nothing suspicious. Even Sofia shook her head after checking everyone's 'blaze'.

"Alright. Let's proceed." Kai nodded and walked carefully toward the statue.

It stood tall in the middle of a small plain surrounded by tall grass, making it look eerier.

Michelle wanted to lighten the mood again, but it seemed to be not the time to throw such a thing. Hence, she silently took out her blade as she would start attacking the moment she spotted something wrong.

However, the group, especially Kai, was surprised when they arrived in front of the statue without anything happening. Nonetheless, it sparked joy and relief in everyone's heart.

Kai took a deep breath.

"My feeling is wrong, and I am glad that nothing happened. We will proceed with this and check the entire island tomorrow before going to the volcanoes." Kai smiled at the group and gave a thumb up.

"Then, do you hear something from this statue?" Carissa asked with a mixed feeling. On one hand, she wanted to find the mystery behind these statues. On the other hand, she also felt relieved when the mission ended without any casualties.

Kai didn't answer her immediately and closed his eyes, listening to the sound coming from the statue. "Ieka… I think that's what it is saying. Ieka."

"Ieka…" The group muttered as they couldn't find anything behind these words.

"Now we have a total of eleven words… Well, it's twelve if you include the 'Center', but I don't know whether this is a clue for this strange language or not." Carissa let out a long sigh.

"Yes." Kai nodded and glanced at his group. "Since we have finished this mission, I think it's the best for us to leave here with this and leave everything about these words to the researchers. Maybe they can resolve this word combination."

"I agree."

"How about you, Nicholas? Do you feel any discomfort?" Kai asked.

"Nothing. It is true that I feel a reaction when you hear the word, but I am fine. Should we check the statue first? Or should we leave immediately?"

"I think we can stay for a few minutes." Kai nodded. Since nothing happened to Nicholas, Kai gave permission to check the statue.

The group then came closer and checked the statue in the usual way. However, the moment Nicholas touched the statue, he stopped moving as if his soul was taken away.

"Nicholas?!" Sofia was the first one to notice as she was watching him from the beginning. The blaze representing him suddenly grew twice of its original size.

"Stop him and bring him away!" Kai commanded as soon as he heard Sofia's voice.

Unfortunately, before everyone could react, Nicholas chanted all those eleven words.

"Rapa triua moig asure dawn, Miola fure geszu rira nisa." He clapped his hand and said his last word. Even when Tasha, Michelle, Carissa, and Sofia arrived, they couldn't stop him because he needed to say one more word. "Ieka!"

*Rumble!*

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