After two days of nothing noteworthy had happened, we heard the sound of teleportations from below, just in front of the watchtower.

It was late morning and I was teaching Katarinova on how to cast a spell from Eomancy of Red. It was a physical enhancement spell of the basic type but it was perfect for someone like her.

She hasn’t fully grasped the spell yet but she was there.

We both looked up.

“They came back?”

We stopped the training as Katarinova instantly sprinted into the watchtower as I followed her from behind.

When we reached at the top of the tower, we saw four figures in front of the bewildered Krolve.

Three of them were ragged and dirtied as though they had traversed a in a sandstorm while the other one was something like a huge, eyeless leech that was obsidian in colour. Just above the slug, there was a barely visible dark cloud the size of a sedan car. I felt the Wind of Eomancy was fluctuating but it was not enough to chase it away.

It wriggled incessantly on the ground like a fish that had landed out of the water.

The two-Kiefy and Vassil walked towards me with exhaustion on their faces.

“That was crazy. I honestly thought we were gonna die.”

Vassil breathed in and out repeatedly.

“Ruigne, ask someone from the village the carry this guy.”

Kiefy pointed at the collapsed Rucrik who seems to have endured until now. He was breathing heavily and his entire being was shaking.

I nodded and started to go walked down.

The report and the experiment can begin on this afternoon.

--

“It was hell.”

That was the words that Kiefy had uttered as he sat in front of me. We were inside the writing room.

Kiefy was giving a briefing on their report on their three days outside the Border.

“On the first day, everything around there was quiet in the morning. Thanks to Rucrik’s pathfinding, we managed to covered considerable distance and avoided many Mal’eur on the way but it was getting harder at that point. There were Mal’eur that we had to engage and some path had radically changed. We managed to find some hideout on night for rest but there was always this sense of danger lurking about. On the second day, the path was ever more treacherous as we encountered Mal’eur: The high-level we avoided and the mid-level we just fended off. On the evening, we reached near the Black Clouds.”

He paused momentarily.

“We didn’t approach at first and kept a safe distance from it as everything near the clouds was packed with smaller Mal’eur’s and from there, we sensed that whatever we perceived with our senses was… wrong, it’s hard to put in words but you’ll know when you see it. From what I can describe, under the clouds, there was a sea of those leeches slithering on the ground and covered for hundreds of metres. Alongside them were hundreds of different Mal’eur of sizes and shapes. Also, our Eomancy enchanted items were dimming even when near the Cloud. We retreated for a while and we didn’t actually sleep for the entire night as we can track of the movement. On this morning, there was an opening and I jumped right in and quickly imprinted one of the leeches.”

Reading from the written and detailed report, it was roughly the same as how Kiefy had described.

“Well, you guys had achieved objectives and returned safely but once again…”

I stood up and bowed deeply towards Kiefy. I had sent them to what could be called a suicide mission and in actuality, as a fellow summoned, I don’t have the authority to order them and they could have refused it but they didn’t. This much isn’t enough but it’s the least I can.

“It’s alright, we all understand how important this is that the fact you needed it. We need every chance we can get.”

He got up and saluted.

Now it’s time to check on our specimen.

--

Right just behind the watchtower, we had made a hastily built pen to keep our pet leech. I stood quite distance from it for a safe observation.

I had left it alone for two hours and the result was that it was still wriggling but it was even with more violent now as though it was deprived of something. If I have to speculate, it probably cannot function properly in a place saturated with Winds of Eomancy.

Aside from that it had quite a glossy and mucous-like skin; it had the look of any normal, invertebrate leech except that it’s monstrously huge.

After the physical examination, I tested to see how it reacts to an Eomancy-connected being. The test subject would be myself.

As I began walking towards it, it turned its attention towards the approaching me.

It let out a low-hiss that sounded like two iron rubbing with each other.

I stopped immediately. I took a rope and a knife outside of the bag that I had carried with me. I threw the rope until it reached the leech. It showed no reaction upon being touched by the rope.

I used the knife to cut at the part of the rope where I was holding. With this, I have a physical data of the distance of point where it would detect us.

(‘Eo, Igrum, Alsy, Actus’)

I cast a ‘paralysis shot’ and rendered it motionless.

Afterwards, in a minute, I tried several basic methodology of harming living beings by stabbing it, slashing it, and bludgeoning it.

Stabbing and slashing works fine while bludgeoning had lesser effect. I had some of its blood on me.

After it regained its motion, I backed away in a distance.

I then tried attacking them using several Eomancy spells that I know. Even though it was hard to cast due to the solitary cloud but it was only slightly difficult.

(‘Eo, Altruer, Igni, Actus’)

(‘Eo, Altaer, Elu, Actus’)

The first one was a red-coloured shot the size of a fist and the second one was dark blue coloured shot also of the same size.

The former which was shot on its left side was the Eomancy of Deep Red had burned it skin while the latter which was shot at its right side was the Eomancy of Deep Blue had frozen it to the point it became hard.

When I got close to the leech earlier, it felt a little bit dry. It seems as this creature is absorbing the moisture around it.

Since it has the characteristic of normal leech, I wanted to try something.

So I’d told Vassil to get some bags of salt earlier and he then gave it to me while telling me about how he wooed the girls in the village of his exploits outside the border.

I walked near the base of the watchtower where there were several bags of salt lying there.

I took one and walked back to the leech. Then I poured all the salt in the bag on top of it.

As soon as it was covered in salt, it almost halted in its movement to the point it became lethargic and slowly, black coloured blood was spilling out from its wounds where I had just inflicted.

I remembered this was caused by a process called Osmosis. With this confirmed, I have more option to include in my plan on how to deal with them in case they breach the Leylines.

Afterward, it’s time to experiment with its dead body. After it had died, the cloud was dissipating.

--

After a whole day of experimenting, I was inside the writing room as I jogged down all necessary information’s about the Mal’eur slug and compiled them into a book. In the future, this would serve as reference on how to handle this creature.

It was already late at night and since I had shut myself inside the room since this evening, I had foregone cooking, eating and showering. I also forgot to get rid of the blood that had stained my clothes and subtly came in contact with my body.

I smelt myself and my body odour was like the thousand flowers breezing through the summer wind which was absolutely breath-taking if I were a dung beetle. The immediate action now is to take shower.

Just as I got up, the door opened and Katarinova walked inside. She steadily took a seat in front of me and gestured me to sit down.

I cocked my head as I stared at her.

“… I have to take a shower or at least change my clothes.”

“There’s no need to rush, I have something to talk to you about.”

“… I smell rancid.”

“Really? Well, I did notice something but it’s not that bad you know?”

As she insisted that, I sat down again and sighed. She may not mind but I guess I am quite conscious about this.

“Well, what is it that you want to talk about?”

“All the captains had worrying reports that the Mal’eurs- The upper class than low are converging near the borders as though they were preparing to invade.”

“I see… have you received any report on the reinforcement?”

“Aside from August, we had sent out messengers to other outposts requesting reinforcement. Only a few of them had enough to spare.”

She reported.

We both were silent for a while and then I-

“It’s good enough. Have to keep an optimistic outlook. Is that all there is?”

“There is something that I wanted to say… it’s a personal matter.”

She hesitantly muttered and was keeping her eyes staring below, avoiding eye contact.

This was new to me. The image of a violent and tough woman was instantly replaced by a shy and demure girl that currently projected in front of me.

I couldn’t help but to fake a cough at this unexpected cuteness.

“I did vent my anger on you but nonetheless you still taught me how to properly cast Eomancy with patience and diligence. So this is both an apology and appreciation.”

She formally bowed her head towards me and then-

“Although, this might be rude to ask but what reasons compelled you to give help to such extend?”

She looked at me with a profound gaze.

Why did I decide to help with the instruction? It’s normal that after doing a task, you get rewarded right? So she’s asking what do I gain from helping her or do I have an ulterior motive perhaps?

“I supposed I don’t but I have this principle that ‘if I started something, I’ll also be the one to finish it’ so it was mostly because of that and maybe it’s also because getting close to a beauty was a reward too.”

I teased as such and I chuckled but after I finishing chuckling, she was looking at me profoundly as though it was perplexing. She sighed softly.

“Anyway, that’s all there is. I had cooked something for all of us. We left some of the portion for you. Don’t forget to keep your appetite.”

“You can cook?”

This is new.

“Are you under the impression that I can’t? I guess I can see why you think that way but since I was always alone since I was 12, I had to learn how to cook. Have a good night.”

Rather than being openly offended, she was puzzled at what I had said and smiled slightly as she told of that fact.

She then left the room.

The entire time, I can’t believe I was holding my own breath because I can actually smell my own body odour or maybe this smell is actually from the dead slug…