Fire Mage

Chapter 175: Delay

'There are too many restrictions to use this formula. The first thing I need to learn about is the number of constellations visible in the night sky. Then, I need to search for the exact Space-Time stars among the constellations and then make a perfect map. After that, I also have to study them separately and then compare with one another to see the most possible future.'

While he was in muse, he suddenly straightened his back and opened the curtain.

Simultaneously, Titus shouted in a nervous tone.

"Teacher!"

"Bring her to the carriage," Charles said with a serious look on his face.

At that moment, all of the kids' faces and Ashley's faces went pale.

In a few seconds, Titus arrived near the curtain and gestured the invisible person to enter.

But unlike others, Noel also saw her appearance clearly and shuddered.

It was the same deep-blue-haired girl from before!

Once the young girl entered the carriage, she sat on the empty seat and nodded at Noel.

At that moment, Charles gestured Titus to continue his work and closed the red curtain.

After that, he turned his gaze towards the empty seat, then towards Noel, and spoke.

"Talk to her. Ask her name, age, or anything."

Noel nodded his head with a stiff smile on his face and asked while looking at the young girl.

"H-How may I address you?"

A surprise flashed on her face.

"I'm Chloe." Her sweet melodic voice echoed in Noel's ears.

Upon hearing her reply, Noel got some courage and was about to spoke, but suddenly stopped.

At that moment, he saw her figure turned foggy all of a sudden and soon disappeared in front of his eyes.

A heavy sigh leaked out of Charles's mouth as he saw that scene.

'I have a bad feeling about this.' He muttered inwardly and leaned his back against the leather seat.

Half an hour later, Titus's anxious voice came out from the driver's seat once again.

"It's here, Teacher!"

"I'm starting to get chilly here," Rhea said with an anxious tone and hugged her knees.

Meanwhile, others also felt a sudden drop in temperature.

Without any delay, Charles opened the curtain and told Titus to bring her in.

A few seconds later, Titus led the same young girl towards the entrance door, opened the red curtain, and gestured to go in.

But this time, the young girl disappeared just after she sat down on the empty seat!

"It's not even giving us some time to ask questions," Jessie said in a gloomy voice.

'Something is not right.' Charles narrowed his eyes for a moment and once again gestured Titus to continue driving.

Then, he opened the red curtain and peered into the dark trees and bushes.

One hour later, Titus shouted from the driver's seat and told them about the young girl's arrival.

His tone was filled with anxiety and fear!

Meanwhile, Charles finally retracted his gaze from the gloomy dark trees and muttered.

"We are going in a loop."

"Loop?" Jessie tilted her head in confusion.

"Space seemed to be bending weirdly, causing our carriage to go on the same path. Unless we find out the origin of the bending space, we will be circling inside this forest forever." Charles explained calmly.

In the meantime, the Holem's Crown also started to speak in his mind.

'It's not a normal one, lad.'

'I know.' Charles let out a chuckle and told Titus to proceed.

Like before, Titus brought the white-dressed young girl and gestured her to get in.

Meanwhile, Charles suddenly conjured ten balls of greenish-blue flames, weaved into a spider net, and threw it on the invisible young girl.

A moment later, weaved spider net directly enveloped her and imprisoned it!

The next second, everyone saw the young girl's appearance clearly.

Even though she was imprisoned, she showed a polite smile on her face and walked into the carriage.

Soon, she sat on the opposite seat and maintained her calm look.

"Who are you?" This time, Charles asked her directly.

"I'm Chloe." An instant response came out from her mouth, followed by a puzzled look.

Then, she tilted her head for a moment and soon furrowed her brows.

At the exact moment, her soft skin suddenly started to turn rougher and soon changed into a wrinkled one.

Then, her eyes darted around suddenly and disappeared, leaving two hollow spaces behind!

Black blood also started gushing out of the sockets, mouth, and nostrils and draped the white dress in dark color.

A chill went up to everyone's spine!

Her appearance suddenly turned into a creepy woman from a horror movie!

A second later, a rotten smell assaulted everyone's nose.

Following that, an eerie black chain turned visible from her chest and seemed to be connected to some void.

The only one who showed calm expression was Charles.

Upon seeing the black chain, he curled his lips upward and smiled.

"I'm waiting for this."

Saying so, he conjured another ball of greenish-blue fire, shaped it into a sharp blade, and swung it towards the black chain!

A clanging noise echoed inside the carriage, followed by a creaking noise.

A moment later, Charles's greenish-blue flame sword cut the chain into two!

"Next is healing." Charles stood up, touched the zombie-like woman's chest, and cast his [Soul Heal] spell continuously.

Balls of greenish-blue flames came out from his palm and started spreading all over her rotten body.

As the greenish-blue flame enveloped the woman, her rotten skin, withered hair, and dress started to evaporate, leaving only a humanoid foggy thing behind.

The fog soon turned to reshape and showed an illusionary figure of the young girl's appearance!

"Can you talk now?" Charles nodded his head and asked while checking the soul's condition.

'I can only hold this soul for more than thirty seconds.'

"Yes." The deep-blue-haired young girl nodded.

"Did you get abducted by skeletons and turned into a ghost by Necromancer?" He asked in curious.

At that moment, the illusionary young girl shuddered for a moment and soon said in a trembling voice.

"T-They are after spirits."

"Ancient Spirits?" A surprise flashed on Rhea's face.

"Yes." The deep-blue-haired girl nodded her head and added.

"Then, they are scared of you."

"Who are 'They'?" This time, it was Jessie who asked that question.

"They?" The illusionary young girl strangely tilted her head and continued with a stiff smile.

"They are 'Children.' They are planning to delay-." At that moment, the illusionary form suddenly started to distort and then disappeared from there, leaving the greenish-blue net to fell on the seat!

"They are planning to delay our journey." Charles finished the soul's last sentence and turned his gaze towards the outside.

'Something is wrong, lad. Are they planning to delay us using this space loop? No…We are missing something… Wait a sec… I think this surrounding forest might be a part of the pocket dimension! Unlike normal planes, the time flow would always vary to an unimaginable level in these pocket dimensions… One year outside might be one day in this space or vice versa…What if they used the pocket dimension to delay our arrival to Royal Capital?' The Holem's Crown asked.

Upon hearing those absurd words, Charles's mind went blank for a moment.

'Is that even possible?' A shocked expression appeared on his face.

'Why not? I owned a total of seventeen pocket dimensions when I was an ancient mage and used such tricks to fool many mages. In Edhen, each magic tower has two or three pocket dimensions, so the possibility of the Iron Tower mages using such method to delay us is very high.'

'There is such a thing?' Charles went speechless for a second.

Shaking his head, he hurriedly took out a gem-shaped leaf from his space ring and attached it to the wooden door.

At the same time, he let out a deep sigh and spoke to Titus.

"Untie the horses and shoo them into the woods, lad."

"Are we going to the gloomy cave again, Teacher?" Jessie instantly sensed something was off and asked.

Meanwhile, Charles smiled lightly and nodded.

"Get ready."

Saying so, he once again erased the chant from the Twin Leaf and replaced it with the old one.

On the other hand, Titus hurriedly ran towards the front area, untied the two horses, and shooed them into the woods.

…

A few minutes later, Charles was the only one who stood near the empty carriage and held a red gem-embedded bracelet in his hand.

A moment later, two reddish-black eerie wings appeared behind him and flapped all of a sudden.

Then, his figure shot up towards the sky and flew in the northern direction.

As he flew, he glanced at the surroundings and soon frowned as he saw no anomaly in the surroundings.

"Strange… We are not in a pocket dimension…" The Holem's Crown also spoke in confusion.

"But we can't act carelessly," Charles said gravely and flapped his wings faster.

Like a hawk, he rose once again and flew towards the direction of Royal City.

For the next seven hours, Charles flew continuously and finally saw a fortified city with a single tower at the northern edge.

As he moved closer, the darkness started to fade and revealed a brilliant orange light from the eastern sky.

"The city of Iron." A smile crept on Charles's face.

He then circled the sky for a moment and soon chose an isolated place near the woods to land.