Chapter 181: Getting a move on!
If Ark tried to absorb this mana crystal, it would be even easier, as his race was an even more advanced elemental wolf. But at the same time, its uses would also be limited for him. Thufrat, on the other hand, would be pretty strongly rejected by the mana crystal, as the only element he really used was earth. Since he didn\'t have an affinity for the other elements.
Whilst Ephine was busy gathering all the mana in the surroundings, Ark made sure to keep watch for her. Plenty of strong magical beasts were attracted by the surge of mana in their surroundings, so Ark took it upon himself to get rid of them. To his surprise, one of the magical beasts that attacked them was even above level 90!
Unfortunately for the magical beast, it ran into Ark, and there was no chance for it to resist at all.
Since the magical beasts were quite a low level, they didn\'t provide Ark with any sort of challenge. Even though it was nice in a sense, there was also no way for him to gain any levels from such fights. Which made them a waste of time. Ark didn\'t fight them to level up though, so it wasn\'t like he was in a bad mood or anything.
Whilst he was busy getting rid of small fries, Ephine\'s aura was steadily getting bigger and bigger.
Soon, even Ark could feel a little pressure from her aura. This naturally made him very happy, as he felt like it was money well spent. After a while, Ephine\'s aura reached its peak, before it suddenly disappeared. Nearly a second later, her aura appeared once more, but this time it was much more powerful!
The crushing aura rushed out of the cave, and the trees in their vicinity were quickly swept away, destroyed by the pressure.
Ark smiled at the sight, and he even felt a little proud of her. Thufrat had to try his hardest to resist the crushing pressure that surrounded him, but before he could buckle under the pressure, his own draconic aura seemed to awaken, annoyed by this aura that pressured it. His bloodline instantly erupted with power to counteract Ephines.
Atar didn\'t even notice what was going on, and he just kept playing around. He had practised enough for today.
The crushing pressure soon retreated back into the cave again, and this time, it stayed there. Ephine soon came out of the cave, and felt a little surprised by the carnage outside. She almost felt a little ashamed that she had caused such destruction without noticing, but since everyone was fine, she soon stopped caring.
Since she had absorbed the mana crystal, he told her about his plans, and asked what she thought.
Ephine didn\'t really care that much, but if she could get a nicer place to stay, that would be nice. And she was honestly quite fascinated by humans and their cities, so she had no problem with staying in one. She had only been to a human city once, and it did not disappoint! Even if they had only been there for a small visit, the cafe they visited was enough to pique her genuine interest.
They might\'ve met some trouble, but Ephine didn\'t think much of it, they fought with magical beasts and monsters on the daily, what were a few humans in comparison?
Since ephine seemed keen on the idea, Ark was honestly quite relieved. He wasn\'t sure what he would do if she insisted on living in the forest for the rest of her life. Ark didn\'t have too much of a problem with it, but he would much rather stay in a proper home, and he wanted a place he could call his own.
Atar didn\'t need any convincing when it came to the matter, he would just follow his mother wherever she went, and he didn\'t get to explore enough of the city last time either way.
Since setting out immediately seemed a little too abrupt, Ark decided that they would set out the next day. They had a long road ahead of them if they wanted to reach geotopia, and he wanted them all to be well-rested before they left. With that said, time quickly passed, and dawn soon arrived.
The air in the morning was as refreshing as ever, even bordering on cold, but Ark loved the feeling of the cold breeze against his fur.
Thufrat wasn\'t too big of a fan, but he didn\'t really dislike it too much either, whilst Atar and Ephine didn\'t care too much. They didn\'t set out immediately but opted to eat breakfast first, and there was also a slight problem with their hasty planning. How did they intend to travel?
Running in their wolf forms would be the obvious answer, as that was their fastest way of travelling, but there was no way Thufrat was going to keep up with them if that was the case.
Not only were Atar, Ephine and Ark abnormally fast, but the fact that Thufrat was a dwarf that specialised in earth magic also didn\'t help much. Even though he was slightly unwilling, the fastest way was just for Thufrat to ride Ark.
Since he didn\'t want the dwarf to ride on his back for the entire journey, Ark agreed to let him ride on him until they reached a city or a village where Thufrat could buy a suitable mount.
It wasn\'t really appropriate for them all to run on the roads either since they would probably be stopped and interrupted by adventurers all the time if they did that, which would only consume more of their time. Since they were all used to living in the woods, they decided to just run in the woods next to the road instead.
Since Thufrat was most likely going to buy a horse, he would travel on the road, while the rest kept out of sight, running alongside him.
Even though it was a little annoying, there wasn\'t too much they could do, since time was precious after all. Since they were all quite decisive in their decision-making, they left soon after agreeing, and their journey to Geotopia, finally began!