21 Orb of Guidance - II

"Who are our foes?" Owen asked, his hand already grasping the pommel of his sword.

"They're quite famous." Aventine laughed in reply.

"May I ask how famous?"

There was a moment of silence. Owen didn't know what the young master was doing, however, he made no attempts to rush things. An answer was bound to bless his ears.

Eventually, Aventine's voice delivered the commands he wished to hear.

"Go meet with the adventurers from Heaven's Grasp. Tell them that the <Skulls > are approaching."

Hearing these words, Owen's heart fell. His expression turned grim. Even without meeting Lila and the others, he knew who the <Skulls > were.

"I shall abide by your command at once, Young Master!" With a firm salute, he left hurriedly.

Confused, Owen's subordinates chased after him. Aventine was left alone, thinking about the battle that was to come.

"Is it time I lent a hand?"

[Level: 1]

[Divine Branches Contributed: 1/42]

Was it time to grow in a manner alien to this world? Stay true to his nature as an Earthling?

This thought lingered in his mind.

However, Aventine was somewhat of a perfectionist, wishing to contribute more Divine Branches before beginning his leveling spree. To begin leveling up without contributing all 42 Divine Branches felt like a colossal waste.

Moreover, he could still grow his Physique and Mind without killing powerful beings. All he had to do was pour in hours upon hours of hard work.

To train his Physique would be laborious.

To train his Mind would be stressful.

However...

[Absolute Awareness]

Although Aventine could not pinpoint it exactly despite the growth in his mana pool, he could feel it instinctively.

If he kept his level low, collected all the Divine Branches, and achieved astronomical stats with his hard work alone... Then, the day he began leveling up would be a sight to see, rising into the heavens like a newborn god.

It was a path possible only because he had traveled between worlds.

"It would be such a waste to refuse an apotheosis, no?"

***

The splatter of blood. The waves of force. The undulating mana.

Three omnipresent signs of battle.

The sound of breaking bones. The shrieking war cries. The roars of defiance.

Three omnipresent signs of violence.

Death, friendship, and... tea.

Aventine watched as his surroundings raged, sipping on fragrant jasmine tea like a famous pyromancer back on Earth. His senses poured out all around him, littering the battlefield with phantom eyes.

Nothing could escape his attention to detail.

"Owen, you have my permission to fight to your heart's content. A battle that is won would also dictate my own safety."

Aventine's voice leaked out of his carriage.

"Yes, Young Master,"

And Owen was there to receive his command.

"Guards! To battle!" Owen's roar soon boomed throughout the field, as knights in shining silver armor sprang up. Their blades glistened in the moonlight. "TEAR THEM ASUNDER! FIGHT!"

It was a collective cheer.

"FIGHT!"

***

The <Skulls > were a peculiar group of people. From their name, one might've assumed that they made deals with Death, practicing necromancy and the like.

However, anyone who would see them would think otherwise.

"They're beasts in human skin,"

Looking out the window, Aventine spotted a warrior tearing apart steel with her bare hands. Her movements were like those of a panther, lithe and agile. Yet her strength was like that of a gorilla, hammering the soil with sheer physical prowess.

Skulls decorated her neck as a necklace — trophies of those she had slain. Each deadpan expression seemed to speak to those who gazed into them.

Aventine could feel it.

"In a sense, they're indeed necromancers... If said necromancers were tribalistic."

Spirits dwelled in each skull, augmenting their wearers with unimaginable strength. It was very much likely that they targeted the caravan because of the people within it.

Powerful figures, vulnerable from weeks of the journey's fatigue.

Soon, the battle ended and the <Skulls > were thwarted. However, none of the caravan's defenders wore expressions of relief.

"Their retreat was as quick as their strike." Aventine stepped outside, counting the dead and injured.

Looking at all the blood, he could tell that quite a few on their side had died. As for the <Skulls >, well, only a single corpse could be seen wearing their signature necklaces.

"Out of the dozens of warriors, only one perished."

Aventine looked at Owen, whose bloody sword had only been able to wound and not kill. It was clear that the guard captain was vaguely annoyed. Just when he charged, the skull-wearing warriors fled.

"Sheath your sword, Captain. Prepare your underlings for their next wave."

Such was how the <Skulls > fought. They wore down caravans bit by bit, ambushing them whenever convenient.

The fear of being attacked at any time would slowly drain anyone's energy. The anxiety, the stress, the constant requirement of heightened senses.

The <Skulls > treated the huge caravan as one big beast. 

Slowly but surely, they would harvest their moving prey.

***

"Tch," Ella clicked her tongue. "Tracking magic isn't working. They have some kind of barrier around their bodies. I can't find them when they want to disappear."

Beside Ella, Feura massaged her temples, raging silently in her mind. The moment those brutes disappeared into the veil of darkness, she could no longer sense their movements. Her arrows instantly lost their targets.

Nearby, Quill sighed, his figure flickering. His skin was red after being slammed onto the ground by a <Skulls > warrior. 

"I heard a lot, and I can't believe all those rumors were true. What kind of lunatics are they?" Turning to Lila, Quill cracked his neck, "What should we do now? Do we just let them ambush us whenever they please?"

Hearing her friends' complaints, Lila shook her head. The only reason they were able to respond quickly was because of that guy's timely warning. 

"I'll go to the noble," Lila turned away, leaving her teammates alone to clean their weapons.

"...My shield has a dent," Opheus grumbled. "Did that gorilla have the strength of a damn dragon or what?"

***

Looking at the calm Aventine, Lila couldn't help the twitch of her brow. Until now, that unsettling feeling in her heart had yet to disappear. In fact, it had grown stronger. It felt as if the longer she stayed within range of Aventine, the more that she would be entangled in some twisted scenario she was never supposed to be a part of.

Like she was collateral damage repurposed for other uses, her instincts didn't make sense.

Aventine noticed Lila's presence as she approached. His mischievous gaze seemed to see through her discomfort. With the grace and calm uncharacteristically present for his age, he made a mundane offer she had heard many times throughout her life.

"Would you like some tea?"

However, he said it with a smile that made Lila want to slap him a thousand times. The smell of death wafted through the air, and all this bastard cared for was tea.

With another twitch of her brow, Lila opted to stay standing to avoid any offered beverages.

She trusted Aventine less than that <Archmagus > Daimyuon.

"Do you know when they will attack next?" She asked for what she came here for.

However, in an infuriating fashion akin to that of a cheeky younger brother, Aventine laughed.

"How would I know that?"