The Celestial Land

Chapter 12: The Danger

"Markus Ivankov?" Elleste was surprised to find the swordsman that had escorted her to test her talent here. "You are here?"

She thought that this place was only for mages, but it was clearly for all professions to train. She looked at Markus, but didn't get too close. After all, she only knew the other party for a short time.

However, she was slightly surprised by Markus' question. "What are you doing here?"

His burly figure was tall, like a giant that it made Elleste looked up in order to see his face clearly. Hearing his question, Elleste gave him a look of bafflement. "Why are you asking that? Shouldn't all those who had ascended to first stage to be given a spot here to train?"

Markus seemed to be taken aback by her words, he looked at her strangely. "You have just ascended the to the first stage?"

Elleste just nodded at his question. She thought that he may hadn't guessed that she would ascend into the next stage that quickly. However, she immediately noticed that there seemed to be something wrong after seeing Markus' expression; he was frowing as if deep in thought.

"Ascending from zero to the first stage in a mere year was indeed rare. You can be considered a genius among mages. However, still, even though your progress is fast, you still shouldn't have been here." Markus told her with a grave expression.

Hearing Markus' explanation, Elleste was alarmed. If she shouldn't be here, then where was this place currently?

"What do you mean?" Elleste asked. She had also noticed that something was wrong the moment that second stage bull had attacked her, but there was none to confirm her of her suspicion.

"This place isn't Nine Illusions World where some lower mages should be training right now. This is a real world." Markus said.

Elleste suddenly felt her heart jumped slightly at that, of the possibility that if she really believed this world to be illusions, she was sure that she would've died if she was under the thoughts of unable to die inside an illusion.

She suddenly sense a great foreboding caused by all of this. She looked at Markus and braced herself to ask. "Then, where are we now?"

"This is the real territory of creatures from the Dark Side."

Elleste's heart lurched at the answer.

"I don't know what's wrong with you that you got transferred here. Those who are allowed to come here are people at third stages and above."

Elleste winced, feeling slightly depressed. Just what was wrong with the transfer rune, then? She stepped on the same rune with those mages, yet, instead of going to Nine Illusions World designed for newbie, she was being sent here instead.

"But, you are quite lucky that the transfer rune didn't sent you to deeper place. This area are mostly occupied by creatures with the strength equal to two and third stages. If you went just a bit deeper, there would be some king of outer place at four stages."

Elleste just sighed at that. To hell with being lucky. In this place, all the lucks seemed to avoid her like plague that she seemed to always being dragged into the deadly situation.

"If you don't mind me asking, what stage are you now?" Elleste asked him after she took the note of all his explanation earlier.

"Me?" Markus didn't seem to be offended by her question, instead he just chuckled and took the pose with his sword sheath proudly. "After hundreds years of training, I have now reached the fourth stage, one step away from ascending to the fifth."

Elleste didn't seem suprised. After all those who had come out alive from Dark Side's territory were not ordinary people and couldn't be underestimated. She looked at Markus and just nodded.

"Don't worry. I will inform the one in charge of that transfer rune to confirm if there really was a trouble." Markus assured her. "Now, you are not gonna end up well if you go on your own way. Let me accompany you until the trial ends then."

Elleste could see that this burly figure  was rather honest and righteous person. She could see his sincerity. If she hadn't meet him in this place, she would probably end up with dead body in no time. Her weak strength was nothing before those powerful beings.

"Thank you. I will trouble you then." Elleste gave him a look of gratitude, smiling softly. Perhaps, making him as a true friend wasn't bad after all.

Markus looked at her and just nodded. "It's naturally the duty of someone from the same side to protect each other."

Markus' gaze then moved towards the  huge body of the bull and the fire that she had just lit up not too far away. "Are you hungry? It's also been a while since the last time I tasted some real food."

Elleste nodded and went to the fire to lit it up to be bigger. She picked some dry branches and began to do her job. As for Markus, with his strength? He could easily lifted the bull's budy with a hand.

Markus slammed the body of the bull to the ground, making a thud sound as he did so. Then, he pulled his sword that had embedded itself on the bull's half severed throat. He began to cut down the meat into smaller pieces.

Elleste looked at Markus strangely. Did he not feel uncomfortable that his sword that could be said to be the second life of a swordsman was jsed to cut b****y meat like that. However, Elleste just looked at him and didn't voice her thoughts.

"It's done." Markus said after some time, making Elleste glanced back at him. She was surprised that he had cut the meat rather neatly. The size of them was about the same, with the portion of a normal human could eat, though they seemed lacking if someone like Markus just take one piece of them.

Elleste also noticed that Markus seemed to be used to do all this things by himself. She was rather suspicious whether he did come here to train or just to get some meals from hunting those dark creatures. Markus looked quite happy with himself as he took the meat wrapped in some wide leaves over to the place where Elleste had prepared for the fire.

"If this still isn't enough, we still have some more." Markus said, gesturing to the huge body of the bull that had some its flesh cut off. He put the meat down and began to prepare to roast it.

"Let me do it, you will be the one to keep the fire and to roast it." Markus told her after he noticed that she had some difficulties in pricking the meat with the branches she had found earlier. Elleste looked rather embarassed as she handed the job to Markus.

Truthfully, as someone from 21st century, she had never done something like this. Although she did struggle to stay alive, it was in a city and not a forest like this. Elleste moved to near the fire and Markus also brought the meat near it, both began to do their own job.

"Is something like the problem with the transfer rune happened a lot?" Elleste asked him as she roasted the meat. She just felt that something wasn't right. She knew that a mere rune couldn't bring so many people in short period of time due to the spent of nature energy that needed time to recharge, so they must've also place some formation. Most people also didn't know how the world they would be transferred into looked like, so the formation was greatly needed.

Elleste had a lack of understanding of formation, but she knew that there was some type of formation that needed to be controlled by external force, in this case maybe human's control.

To use transfer rune, one needed the memory of the place. If one does not, they need someone to bring them in. So, it was clear that the transfer rune to Nine Illusion World was controlled by others.

"Some 'accidents' may happened occasionally. Did you offend someone lately?" Markus glanced at her.

Elleste was stunned hearing that. Offending someone? She recalled of what happened from the past year. Some little incidents of clashing slightly with others also happened, but who was so petty as to plan kill her due to some small words?

"I have just been here for a year... " Elleste muttered, feeling slightly dazed at the newfound reality. The fact that not only the creatures from the Dark Side wanted to kill her since they were enemies, but also someone from their camp.

"You don't remember doing anything lately?" Markus raised his eyebrow. Elleste gave him a strange look. She didn't overlook the fact that he seemed to be someone who was too casual for one to talk about the murder attempt.

"Things like this happened a lot though." Markus shrugged, now the way he looked now seemed to be different that Elleste almost stared at him with bafflement. The aura of that honest and simple person was gone, replaced by the sense of calmness and shrewdness. "You should just be careful. People here like to scheme. If you are too naive and easy to read, you'll find it hart to survive."

Elleste gulped inwardly. she looked at the distance after listening to Markus' words as if she had just gained the understanding of something. After some time, she looked back at Markus and put on a pondering look. Both were silent, as none talked.

Gradually, with the two began to eat the result of their work in silence. Elleste looked at Markus wth the gaze full of gratitude and sighed softly.