Ultimately, the group decided to rest after they heard Vaan’s question.
A new cave was quickly set up, and everyone went to rest without indulging in further activities. They had learned from the lesson and avoided the dual practice.
Five hours later, everyone was ready to climb the mountain and enter the upper regions.
“Everyone got enough rest?” Vaan casually asked before turning to Hester. “Especially you, Lady Hester? Are you good to go now?”
“Yes, Sir Vahn. Five hours gave me ample rest,” Hester replied.
“Then, let’s move,” Vaan urged.
After the three ladies acknowledged his words, they quickly left the cave and returned to the surface.
Within several breaths, everyone faced the ninth mountain, ready to climb it.
Nevertheless, Vaan didn’t move immediately. Instead, Astoria and the other two ladies saw him scanning the surroundings.
Nothing could be found besides the thick fog obscuring most of the environment.
“Did you notice something, Teacher Raphna?” Astoria inquired.
“Not right now,” Vaan replied before adding, “Earlier, during our rest, there were some movements in the area and disturbances further up the mountain. It may have been a battle.”
“Could it be the Fallen Witches?” Aeliana’s gaze sharpened before she furrowed her brows. “But the Fallen Witches have a spatial-attribute High Witch among them. Would they still be around here?”
“Possibly,” Astoria uttered before mentioning, “The upper regions isn’t a place anyone can enter, even for High Witches.”
“Perhaps, the Thousand Fog Illusion Dragon is giving them a hard time,” she guessed shortly after.
Nevertheless, she was surprised by the extent of Vaan’s senses. She did not notice anything during their five hours of rest underground.
It seemed Furhengir’s blood had also greatly enhanced his senses – Astoria thought.
“Anyway, if you noticed the disturbance, why didn’t you inform us earlier, Teacher Raphna?” Astoria shifted the attention back to him. “We could have been in trouble if the Fallen Witches ambushed us.”
“If we had been their targets, I would have naturally alerted everyone ahead of time,” Vaan calmly said.
“Since we weren’t their targets, there was no need to disturb everyone’s rest again. It would only be more advantageous to us if everyone is rested and in peak conditions while our enemies are exhausted from attacking the upper regions.”
“That makes sense. You already had everything thought out, right?” Astoria wondered with a casual glance.
Vaan slightly smiled in response before urging the group, “Let’s move without light. We don’t want to attract unwanted attention.”
“Alright.”
Shortly after getting everyone’s agreement, the group followed his lead as they tread into the thick fog and up the mountain slope.
Along the way, Astoria glanced at Hester and signaled her to come closer with a hand gesture. “Lady Hester, a word, please. There’s something I wish to talk about with you.”
“What’s the matter, Headmaster Astoria?” Hester raised an eyebrow in bewilderment, not expecting Astoria to take the initiative to start a conversation with her. “What do you need from me?”
“I can see that you have already reached the utmost limit of Peak-stage Senior Witch,” Astoria mentioned before asking her question, “When do you plan to advance?”
“Given the natural abundance of mana in the depths of Thousand Fog Mountains, you won’t find a better place than here to attempt the formation of your third circle. I believe you have a high chance of succeeding.”
“I also feel like I have a high chance of succeeding if I attempt to form my third circle, Headmaster Astoria.” Hester acknowledged before adding, “Especially if the surrounding mana reached the same concentration level as during Sir Vahn and Lord Aeliana’s dual-practice session.”
“However, I agreed to accompany Sir Vahn on this trip to assist him in completing his objectives here, not mine. I can’t selfishly hold everyone back for my own benefit. Furthermore, the process of forming the third circle would also likely draw attention,” Hester reasonably added.
“You have a point, Lady Hester.” Astoria nodded in agreement before glancing at Vaan. “Only Teacher Raphna can decide.”
She had also accompanied Vaan to assist him. She couldn’t possibly ask him to delay their main objective for Hester’s sake.
That said, an additional High Witch would improve the strength of their party.
“With everything said and recorded about the upper regions, I don’t expect us to reach the mountain peak without obstacles or setbacks. We’ll first scout the upper regions and search for the Fallen Witches’ traces,” Vaan impassively mentioned.
“If there’s an opportunity after that, we can wait for Lady Hester to attempt her advancement to the High Witch rank.”
“Thank you, Sir Vahn,” Hester expressed her gratitude for his consideration.
Nevertheless, Vaan suddenly narrowed his eyes before he made a slight turn towards a slightly open area devoid of trees—or rather, the trees had been removed.
There were traces of a camp destroyed by a battle in the area and carried the stench of blood.
Several large beast carcasses lay scattered around the destroyed camp, including a few Magma Wyrm. The blood was still somewhat fresh, indicating the events had occurred recently, at least within the last several hours.
Astoria and Hester didn’t notice the destroyed camp until they grew closer and cleared the fog from the area.
“This is…” Astoria inspected the destroyed camp with focus.
“Most likely the Fallen Witches’ camp. Looking at the traces left behind, they seemed to have been attacked during their rest around the same time as us,” Vaan determined.
“Look at all these carcasses. The Fallen Witches are not weak for them to be able to take this many Fog Beasts and Magma Wyrms,” Aeliana guessed before wondering, “Did Magma Wyrms attack them due to us?”
“That’s a possibility,” Vaan replied before focusing on the footsteps leading up the mountain. “Let us follow their tracks. We’re near the midway point. They have stopped here to study a way past the upper regions.”
“But they have a spatial-attribute High Witch among them. Why would they need to do that?” Hester wondered.
“Perhaps, they don’t have a choice,” Vaan uttered as they approached the midway point dividing the middle and upper regions. “The space ahead appears to be locked.”
“A spatial lock?” Astoria’s eyes quickly widened with surprise.