"So...what am I looking at?" Annabelle asked, resting her hands on her hips as she stared at the bare hills ahead.
There was no greenery, no landscape—just a stretch of dry land and a few tall mounds.
"It’s an ancient creature, according to the readings," Jean said after checking the report from the excavation team. "But what worries us is that it’s moving."
Annabelle frowned. "Wait, I thought these hills were scales on its back. Are you saying the creature isn’t here anymore?"
Jean shook her head. "No, its life signature is gone. But wherever it stops, formations like these appear."
Annabelle exhaled through her nose. "What a strange being." She stepped closer, crouched, and rubbed a bit of dry soil between her fingers.
She could faintly sense traces of Mana in it.
"What else did you find?" she asked, eyes still fixed on the ground.
"This creature is massive—about fifteen ters long. It can move underground." Jean showed her a map of the barren lands east of the academy and continued, "It traveled from here... to this point... and now, it’s heading here."
Annabelle squinted at the map. "Hold on, isn’t that where it started?" She looked up at Jean. "You’re saying this thing is moving in circles? Why?"
Jean shrugged. "We still have no clue what it’s after."
Annabelle humd softly. "Who was part of the excavation team?"
Jean turned and called out, "Luke!"
A dark-skinned man with bright yellow-platinum hair ran over, almost bouncing with excitent. His eyes lit up the mont he saw Annabelle.
Annabelle leaned back slightly. "You... I don’t rember you."
The boy chuckled. "I know, My Queen. This is our first eting."
Annabelle blinked, then nodded as he continued, "But I’ve heard so much about you from Senior Eros. It’s an honor to finally et you."
Annabelle smiled faintly, brushing off the complint as she got to the point.
"Alright then, Luke. You’ve been studying this creature. Tell —can we kill it before it shows itself?"
Luke glanced nervously at Jean before answering, "We’ve collected so of the scales it left behind. From what we found, the creature’s outer skin is tougher than any tal we currently have."
Annabelle’s eyes narrowed. "So... our spells won’t be effective against it?"
Luke nodded. "That too. And since it’s moving underground, we can’t hit it with our strongest attacks either."
Annabelle humd, thinking. "How deep is it right now?"
"About thirty feet below the surface," Luke replied quickly.
Annabelle lowered her gaze, scanning the ground. "Have you noticed anything strange about this place?"
Luke followed her gaze. He stayed quiet for a mont before speaking. "I think... it’s absorbing mana from the ground."
"Oh?" Annabelle’s lips curved faintly. "You felt it too."
Jean looked concerned. "My Lady, do you think it’s gathering energy to end its hibernation?"
Annabelle bit her lower lip, her eyes fixed on the map. "If that were true, it should’ve moved farther south-east by now. The barren lands stretch all the way to the shore of the great ocean."
She paused, then looked down again and lightly tapped her foot on the dry soil. "Maybe the reason it’s not moving away... is because it’s protecting sothing."
Jean’s eyes widened as she followed Annabelle’s gaze toward the ground, realization dawning on her face.
Luke fidgeted, glancing between the two won as he waited for orders.
Jean finally broke the silence. "Should we try digging at the core to see what it’s protecting?"
Annabelle folded her arms loosely over her stomach and shook her head. "I thought about that too, but doing so would only alert the creature. If it senses intrusion, it might charge straight at your team. Sending anyone underground would be far too risky."
Luke shuddered at the thought of being trapped twenty feet below while that thing stirred around him.
Jean hesitated before asking, "Then if we can’t send people in, how are we supposed to find out what it’s guarding?"
Annabelle paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "We’ll discuss this with Darling."
Jean blinked. "Where is he? Didn’t he co with you?"
Annabelle’s expression froze for a second before she puffed her cheeks slightly, pouting.
"Hmph! Don’t ask ."
°°°°°°
Adrian sat quietly inside the carriage as it rumbled down the dirt road leading to the plantation on the outskirts of town.
Across from him, Raven sat with her long legs crossed, gazing at him with a soft, almost nostalgic smile.
Her stare made him uneasy. Adrian shifted in his seat and decided to break the silence.
"Have you ever visited another world before?" he asked.
Raven let out a light chuckle. "Unlike you, the system barely allows others to travel between worlds."
Adrian raised his brows. "Really? I didn’t know that."
She nodded. "We have a one-month cooldown before we can hop again. That’s why we think very carefully before using it."
Adrian’s eyes widened slightly. "A whole month?"
"Yes," Raven replied calmly. "And since I never felt the need to visit anyone—what with cross-world trade already helping us enough—I never used it."
Adrian nodded, understanding her logic. If he also had such a long restriction, he’d probably save it for ergencies too.
After a mont of silence, he looked up again, his tone more hesitant.
"Can you tell about myself?" he asked softly. "I an... my past self. How was I?"
Raven humd, surprised by that question but she still answered, "Cold, an and distant. You never replied to anyone on the chat unless it was an ergency. Every single person had to think twice before ntioning you in the chat."
Adrian winced, "Ouch...clearly, I wasn’t the best person to be around."
Raven chuckled, "Well, you always remained wary of us...but there was a ti when we were together and I saw the real you behind the mask you wear all the ti."
Adrian had heard about it from her before too, that there was a ti when they spent a few months together.
He was about to ask her about it when the carriage ca to a pause and she said,
"We are here. Let’s go."
°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading.
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