NOVPUB
Chapter 104: 012: Searching
A few days later, Black Rock Town.
"Whoosh!" The sound of wings cutting through the air arose as several flying pegasi descended onto the town square of Black Rock Town.
The square was already under lockdown, with a team of knights surrounding it strictly.
High-level Apprentice Snow dismounted from the flying pegasus, his feet barely touching the ground before he urgently questioned Mid-level Apprentice Gill Ferguson, who had been waiting in the square for some time, "How’s the situation? Can you confirm whether the young lady appeared here?"
"Yes, sir."
Gill responded immediately, then turned to the soldiers behind him and said, "Bring the man up here."
A blood-soaked man was dragged forward. If Lynch were here, he would instantly recognize this man as Iron Helmet, the person he had a dispute with that day.
Gill pointed at Iron Helmet lying on the ground and said, "That day, more than one person saw this man lead his men to block the young lady. He even attempted to use his filthy hands to touch her. They’ve seen the portrait and confirmed it was indeed the young lady herself."
Snow cast a look of disgust at the man on the ground. "Drag him away and execute him."
The man was dragged off.
Snow continued, "Where’s the young lady?"
Gill hesitated before replying, "Um..."
Snow frowned, "Speak."
Gill said, "The young lady was taken to William Heim’s Undead Castle..."
"What!"
Snow’s expression darkened. "That lunatic from the Haim Family? Is this his territory?"
Gill lowered his head and answered, "Yes..."
Snow’s face grew grim in an instant. After all, that Haim family traitor was infamous for his actions. He was undoubtedly a complete madman, operating recklessly based solely on his twisted inner impulses—a pure lunatic.
If the young lady were in the hands of other Black Wizards, revealing her identity might still cause some hesitation on their part. But if it’s this madman...
Noticing Snow’s deepening grimace, Gill quickly added, "Sir, rest assured, the young lady is safe."
Snow’s eyes lit up. "Has she been found?"
"No..." 𝚗ov𝚙𝚞𝚋.c𝚘m
Gill shook his head and continued, "By the time we arrived, the Undead Castle had already been burned to ruins. We found William Heim’s corpse there..."
Snow paused in surprise. "Huh? William Heim is dead?"
His expression turned peculiar. William Heim might have been crazy, but he did possess considerable strength. He’d advanced to the rank of Mid-level Apprentice years earlier and had created a large number of undead creatures. This was his domain; even High-level Apprentices would struggle against him.
After thinking it through, Snow quickly adjusted his perspective. "Ah, of course—how could I forget—the young lady’s main discipline is Light Element, which has excellent restraint against Necromancy. Haha, how unlucky for that lunatic."
However, Gill quickly interjected, "Uh... Based on our investigation at the scene, it doesn’t seem like the young lady was the one who defeated William Heim."
Snow froze. "Huh? It wasn’t the young lady? Then who could it have been?"
"Wait..."
In surprise, he asked, "Are you saying it was that apprentice who was with the young lady?"
From the intelligence gathered, there was only one apprentice—a stray Outer Ring Apprentice—beside the young lady at the time. This individual’s rank was Low-level Apprentice, although reports suggested he displayed the strength of a Mid-level Apprentice. But to defeat William Heim with that level of power? Impossible.
Despite receiving some information from Adam, who was severely injured, details about Lynch’s capabilities remained unknown because Adam collapsed after roughly describing the Ghost Island incident.
Gill nodded. "Exactly."
"From our investigation into the residual elemental traces at the scene, we were able to reconstruct aspects of the battle. The results indicate that the one who actually fought William Heim was this apprentice traveling with the young lady—it was him who defeated William Heim."
"Moreover..."
Gill hesitated before speaking with a peculiar expression, "The elemental reactions we detected at the site revealed the presence of Fire and Thunder elements."
Snow’s eyes sparkled. "Dual Elements?"
To master two elements at the Mid-level Apprentice rank was exceedingly rare.
But that wasn’t all.
Gill nodded and continued, "Yes, and judging by the battle traces, this Outer Ring Apprentice also appears to possess considerable Body Refinement strength. William Heim’s Bone Shield was forcibly broken by sheer power."
"What!"
This time, Snow was genuinely shocked. Someone who mastered dual elements while simultaneously excelling in Body Refinement—what kind of prodigy was this? Could someone like this really be a mere Outer Ring Apprentice with no family or bloodline background?
Gill’s lips moved; he had more he wanted to say.
During his previous investigation in Gray Town, Gill had detected traces of Earth Element, which, based on the elemental spiritual resonance, matched those found in the Undead Castle and belonged to the same individual.
In other words, this apprentice likely mastered not only Fire and Thunder but also Earth Element.
Triple Element Mastery!
Gill found it hard to believe. Even amongst the geniuses of High-level Wizard Families with abundant resources, few could achieve this. How could a Muggle Outer Ring Apprentice with no mentor manage it through self-study?
After giving it serious thought, Gill ultimately decided to keep this particular information to himself.
’It must have been residual traces from scrolls or magic items,’ he rationalized.
Snow, with a hint of admiration, remarked, "It seems we’ve truly unearthed a remarkable talent among the apprentices. That’s assuming he can help the young lady overcome the current predicament."
Turning serious, he asked, "Where is the young lady now? Any leads?"
...
Ice Sealed Mountain Range.
Starting in the northwest Snow Ridge Forest of Lamos Duchy and extending eastward across the duchy, the mountain range spans over a thousand kilometers, with an average altitude exceeding eight thousand meters.
The region is perpetually snow-covered and frozen for miles. With average temperatures around minus sixty degrees, this area is one of the most inhospitable natural landscapes in the Ancient Ruins—a veritable death zone.
Yet amidst this lifeless expanse, two figures struggled forward along a jagged mountain ridge.
The raging snowstorm howled around them, threatening to bury them alive.
Amid the snow, Lynch pulled his cloak tighter around himself and muttered under his breath, "What a damned place."
While speaking, he cast another Fire Element spell to warm himself.
He had known beforehand how harsh the conditions here would be, but once he arrived, Lynch found he had still underestimated the severity.
The extreme cold was manageable, but it snowed continuously. And not just snow—there was freezing rain mixed in.
Who knows why the rain hadn’t frozen in mid-air under such low temperatures.
In any case, the combination of factors had long surpassed the thermal capacity of his Tower Cloak’s warming technique. Lynch had to routinely cast warming spells on himself to stave off the cold and avoid freezing to death.
"Huff huff—"
As the warming spell activated, waves of warmth spread throughout his body, dispelling some of the cold. His frozen limbs regained a bit of flexibility.
After casting the spell on himself, Lynch turned to cast one on Avery as well.
But upon seeing her condition, he frowned.
Avery was in bad shape. Her face was paler than the snow, completely devoid of blood, her eyes unfocused, and her steps heavy and sluggish.
Lynch hurried to cast a warming spell on her and asked, "Are you alright?"
Avery replied honestly, "I don’t think so."
As she spoke, she stopped walking.
Lynch said, "Stopping now... is not an option."
Hearing his words, Avery tried to lift her leg, but midway through, she staggered and almost fell.
The harsh environment was unbearable even for Lynch, who had the physical resilience of a Mid-level Knight, let alone Avery, who had never undergone Body Refinement. To make matters worse, she was still recovering from her injuries.
She had already reached her physical limit a long time ago, powering through purely on willpower. But willpower is fragile; once momentum breaks, restarting becomes incredibly difficult.
Gazing at the endless snowy plains, Avery sighed weakly, "It seems... I won’t make it out of here..."
Lynch frowned. "Now is not the time for defeatist talk. Keep pushing."
Avery managed a faint smile. "Of course effort matters, but there are times when we must face reality, don’t you think? I know my own body well... I’ve truly hit my limit, really..."
She sighed in resignation. "I’m sorry... but I think I’ll die here..."
As her nerves frayed completely, Avery swayed violently and fell forward.
Lynch quickly caught her.
Avery’s gaze grew blurry, her eyelids heavy and drooping.
Before closing her eyes completely, she struggled to lift her arm and pointed northward toward the slope. "Go... through the ruins... to get out... Don’t..."
"... come back..."
With those words, her arm fell limp, and she shut her eyes fully.
Lynch’s heart sank.
He placed his hand on Avery’s chest to check for a heartbeat, while extending his spiritual field to sense her spiritual power. Thankfully, her life signs were still present, and her spirit hadn’t completely dissipated.
But only just.
Her life signs were faint, her spiritual power flickering—like a flame about to be extinguished at any moment.
"Hang in there!"
For the first time, Lynch felt genuine panic. Avery’s words weren’t a bluff—if she died here, he truly wouldn’t be able to make it back...
