Into the Fog (6)
Before bed, Paradilan took each of our hands one by one, reciting an incantation as if he were a priest offering a prayer.
"May my will be conveyed unto thee."
⟨ Mana Synchronization ⟩
He explained it only as a spell to prepare for the decisive battle with the dragon.
He said there were circumstances, so he'd explain the details before the final confrontation.
I had no idea what it was, but I had high expectations personally.
Maybe it was something like pooling our comrades' strength for an ultimate finishing move.
Status Window
Mana Synchronization or Mana Granting detected.
The Status Window registered his action as mana synchronization or mana granting.
He was either sharing his mana with us or aligning our wavelengths in some ritual.
That was why I was looking forward to it.
After finishing dinner, cleanup, and preparations for tomorrow, we laid out our cloaks-cum-sleeping bags around the campfire.
Today we had plenty of time, so we even spread straw underneath the cloaks.
Just as I was about to lie down, Chiria settled in right next to me.
"Good night."
Lately, it felt like the distance between Chiria and me was closing bit by bit.
Her soft voice and demure demeanor made her seem unlikely, but she was the type to climb onto the hearth first—like a cat. Or maybe a tiger.
The conversation with Ragi had left me feeling far from peaceful, but I smiled and replied anyway.
On the other side...
"Ragi, you don't have to do that."
"I don't know what shady thoughts the Captain's having, but I think this spot's the safest, so I'm crashing here."
What difference did a meter or less really make in terms of safety?
Well, no—it wasn't entirely wrong, thanks to Pana's bracelet.
But I'd never told Ragi about the bracelet.
There had to be some other reason, but it'd just tire me out to think about it, so I let it go.
Unlike with Chiria, I couldn't read Ragi's sense of distance at all.
She'd push in close one moment, then suddenly put up walls if I approached—totally unpredictable.
Right now, she met my eyes and grinned mischievously. Utterly baffling.
Was this how it felt dealing with a company department head or section chief?
Handling subordinates with different mindsets or generations was exhausting, alright.
Best to just sleep.
Lying on my left or right felt uncomfortable either way, so I'd have to gaze at the stars overhead.
Morning dawned with thick fog.
Those up early reheated and grilled the dishes we'd made the night before.
We planned to eat breakfast and head out at dawn, but the fog made the path too dark.
At first, we thought it was the forest mist formed by morning sunlight beading dew on the leaves, so we delayed departure briefly.
But as time passed, the fog only thickened.
"Parlen, should we stay another day in a situation like this?"
"No, we should hurry. There's a saying in this region: 'Flee the silent fog; linger and vanish into it.'"
"Where's that story from?"
"It's been passed down from my seniors in the previous scouting units."
That made it credible.
I'd heard old proverbs, songs, or fairy tales often contained valuable information from their eras.
Even the seasoned Parlen had only avoided such situations on his seniors' advice without experiencing them firsthand, so he looked deeply uneasy.
"What if we cross the river again and retreat?"
"Forward or back, it'll be the same. Once fog settles in this area, it blankets everything up to Darania.
It shouldn't be fog season yet. Strange."
It was time to leave anyway, and with the unease factor, we hurriedly packed and prepared to depart.
In the meantime, I asked Paradilan,
"Paradilan, is there a powerful flame spell that could clear this fog?"
Paradilan gave me a puzzled look, his eyes tinged with suspicion.
"Kirgil, even just considering the energy conservation theory you and Agnes co-authored, you should know that's no easy feat."
Here it was called a theory, not a law, because it might not be absolute truth in this world.
"Uh, has that gotten proper recognition?"
"My magic, my daughter's magic, and most offensive spells in the academy these days manifest from high altitudes. What do you think the reason is?"
So it factored in potential energy from height!?
It was being fiercely embraced.
That meant dispelling this vast fog's moisture would require even stronger energy—more mana.
"Hmm. As one of its proposers, that's a bit disappointing. I thought magic leaned more toward the realm of imagination."
"Imagination stems more often from reality and experience than from nothing. Since you announced the theory under the name of Agnes, the Star's Guide, it's been recognized as highly practical. That's why your and Agnes's theory has expanded the academy mages' imaginations to the next level."
Its impact was huge! But the conversation kept veering off.
Let me refocus.
"Then, conversely, in this situation, water or ice would be relatively easier to manifest than fire."
"Since we're teaching magic anyway: There are spells that utilize nature's laws, and those that draw on mystical forces beyond them.
We don't strictly separate them, but mainstream magic leans toward the former. Priestly prayers or shamanic rites lean heavily toward the latter, while those in between are called sorcery.
Common folk lump magic, sorcery, rites, and miracles together, but our academy distinguishes them clearly.
Think of me as a mage whose magic heavily utilizes nature's laws."
"Got it. I'll keep that in mind and base my future theory-inspired requests on it."
Talking with Paradilan always netted me trivia to expert knowledge. Time flew before I knew it.
This fog, though—way too thick.
The horses balked at advancing through it, so we had no choice but to lead them on foot.
And it was morning, yet no birdsong.
No sound at all.
"Captain."
I could guess why Parlen called me.
We'd entered the silent fog.
Like when we'd entered the umni leopard territory before, we formed a vigilant formation and proceeded.
With visibility low, we clustered as tightly as possible to avoid separation.
The narrow sightlines were frustrating, and the high humidity made it stifling.
Everyone knew we were in danger territory, so chatter ceased as we focused every nerve on our hearing.
At least there was a small game trail trampled by previous travelers.
Not a proper road, but in this dense fog, even a narrow path was a huge help.
Merchants or adventurers must travel regularly between Darania and Fog Village.
Was Fog Village named for fog like this?
"Everyone, halt."
Parlen, who led with shield raised, stopped.
"Captain, come take a look ahead."
He'd spotted something up front. Though just meters away, the fog obscured it, so I went to see for myself.
There, bags and crates lay scattered haphazardly across the trail.
"Looks like fog victims. Who'd have thought the seniors' tales were true."
We paused to assess and check the surroundings.
Signs of an attack were clear.
We found bloodstains, but no bodies.
Definitely not bandits.
The scattered bags and crates still held their contents: clothes, utensils, ore—valuable goods. Even coin pouches...
In normal circumstances, Ragi would've snatched them up gleefully, but even she was tense and alert.
...Though she still pocketed the coin pouches quick as a flash.
Whatever hit these missing travelers was almost certainly some nameless monster.
I hoped Pana's bracelet would ward off demons like a talisman, but in this thick fog, visibility was low and scent dispersion limited.
No guarantee it'd work on all monsters anyway.
For now, we had no choice but to press on warily.
That said, examining the traces, it wasn't just wariness we needed—it was extreme caution.
Drag marks, bloodstains, dropped weapons—none consistent.
Meaning attacks from all sides, drags in every direction.
They'd been surrounded and overwhelmed in the fog.
Compared to the chaos, there were few trampled grass marks, so the attackers' footprints weren't clear.
Unlikely aerial assaults in fog, but who knew what bizarre creatures lurked.
No corpses was terrifying.
It meant the enemy saw humans as mere prey—no room for surrender or negotiation.
"Parlen, they might be ambushing. We need a route that avoids encirclement. If they're intelligent, they could've lain in wait along the path."
"Understood. I'll guide us off the planned route to higher ground with fewer trees where fog clears faster. It'll be rougher terrain, closer to griffon territory, but right now, griffons feel safer."
We moved swiftly while maintaining vigilance. Danger aside, we wanted out of this spot where an unnamed party had been wiped out fast.