Chapter 55: Signals
In the end, it was indeed the best idea to keep only Linfel up while the others rested. As soon as they finished eating, each one found a corner to lie down and closed their eyes. It wasn't hard to sleep, even in these conditions. The strain on their bodies and magic energy was enormous during the day.
It wasn't very relaxing to lie on the floor or the walls, but it didn't seem to be a problem this time.
The Familiars quickly deactivated themselves, giving their masters the opportunity to sleep, too, leaving only Linfel awake in the cave.
Linfel floated outside, knowing everyone was sleeping. 'Hum... This feels just like when Horan threw me into the Kalature Birds' territory. Just thinking about it makes me angry, that fucking guy! Those bitches were highly sensitive to Primordial Energy, probably no less than the airship equipment.'
Linfel's anger boiled for a moment, but he ended up sighing mentally. 'Where the hell did you go? Did you travel to this future, too? Forget it...'
Following that, Linfel entered the cave again and took a look at every one. Linfel was supposed to wake them up in four hours. That way, they would still have five to six hours of dark to move undetected. The problem was that four hours of rest after such a day definitely wouldn't recover everyone's Magic Energy. Not that they couldn't, but that this place's Magic Energy was indeed too sparse.
Not everyone was like Linfel.
'Oh well, guess it is time to start...'
***
Four hours passed in a flash for those deep asleep. Not even the small sounds of explosions from the distance were enough to disturb their sleep... Well, Linfel made sure they would wake up before the time was up anyway.
Finally, the time was there. "Everyone, wake up!"
Linfel used his Magic Energy to shake everyone's bodies, forcing them to open their eyes. Nayal was the first one to raise her guard, quickly circulating her Magic Energy to deal with anything. Her experience was obviously on full display.
The others soon followed suit, but everyone noticed that there was nothing wrong in the cave. Only Linfel floated there, seeming unperturbed. "Four hours have passed. If we want to make use of the darkness, we should start moving."
Nayala sighed in relief and nodded. "Well done, Linfel. Four hours, just as we agreed. Everyone, I know we aren't fully recov-"
However, her words instantly stopped as she checked her Core, which was brimming with Magic Energy. "This..."
Alvin, Connor, and Kafril were no different. They also noticed that their Cores had completely recovered. If not because their bodies were still a little sore, they would think the previous day didn't happen at all.
"So weird... I seem to have made a full recovery while I was asleep," Kafril mentioned, puzzled.
Kafril nodded. "Indeed. With so little Magic Energy, it is hard to believe I got my Core full again."
Nayala was the one who felt the most puzzled. As a Level Two Magus, the environment affected her the most. She had to gather the little Magic Energy of the surroundings and convert it into Red Magic Energy to fill her Core. Simply put, she should have taken much, much longer to recover than Alvin and the others. And yet, her Core was also full of Red Magic Energy.
Alvin and Felia looked at each other, their Cores also full. They knew very well why that was the case. Linfel no doubt connected to them like he usually does, giving them his own Magic Energy. He also told them that the sparse Magic Energy wasn't much of an issue to him because of his race's advantages, so the reasons for everyone's recovery were obvious.
"Linfel, did something happen while we were asleep?" Nayala couldn't help but ask.
"Hum... other than the sounds of explosions now and then, nothing else happened. Is something wrong?" Linfel asked with an innocent expression.
"Not wrong..." Nayala felt hard to believe. "Forget it. Perhaps we are near a Magic Energy Vein and didn't notice. It matters not, though. Let's depart. Now that we are full, our chances of survival are much better."
Kafril, Connor, Alvin, and their Familiars were obviously happy to hear that, so they all stepped out of the cave with Nayala and her Familiar.
As Nayala guided their group, Alvin had to ask Linfel the truth while using his Magic Energy so that only Linfel and Felia could hear. 'Linfel, what did you do?'
'Isn't that obvious?' Linfel asked back. 'I simply matched their Soul Waves frequency while they were asleep or deactivated and passed my Magic Energy to them. That includes you and Felia.'
'I already understand that much,' Alvin spoke back. 'However, even if it is you and you can recover Magic Energy faster than us, there are four Maguses and Familiars here, not counting you. With so little Magic Energy around, it is impossible for you to gather enough from the surroundings to fill all our cores on your own in just four hours.'
Linfel looked back at Alvin, seeming a little surprised. 'My Alvin is growing up...'
Felia nodded, seeming to be on the verge of tears. 'Yes, he is. Old master will be so happy...'
'Fuck you!' Alvin immediately cursed the two. 'First of all, you two are younger than me! No, forget it. Just tell us already.'
'Hahaha!' Linfel laughed and got closer to Alvin. 'Have you forgotten what I created inside my Core back in your room in the academy?'
'Ah!' Alvin instantly understood. 'Your Spatial Storage!'
Linfel nodded. 'That's the one. I obviously have quite a few Magic Stones with me, including Red Magic ones. That's how I helped you all recover. The only sad thing is that I won't be able to charge them back for the services. Such a downer...' No one was supposed to bring Magic Stones, so Linfel wasn't supposed to have them either.
Naturally, he couldn't tell anyone. Well, he couldn't tell anyone about his Spatial Storage either.
'Hum?' Suddenly, Linfel noticed something in his Spatial Storage. 'Alvin, we have a signal in the MCOMs.'
Alvin's eyes opened wide, and he quickly took his MCOM out. "Senior Nayala, we have a signal!"
Nayala was taken aback, and everyone quickly took their MCOMs out. Sure enough, the Signal was back up.
"Shit!" However, Nayala wasn't the least bit happy. "Throw your MCOMs away, now!" She said as she instantly smashed her MCOM.
"What?!" Everyone thought to have heard wrong.
However...
*Swish, swish, swish...*
Three Wind Blades instantly sliced Kafril, Connor, and Alvin's MCOMs. The moment Nayala spoke, Linfel acted, already understanding the situation. "We are being tracked..."