Most Blue Rose members remained oblivious, but Finn and Amelia stared at Kael, the former's jaw slack with astonishment. "Teleportation's a seventh-tier spell!" Finn blurted.
Kael nodded. "Modified by this chamber's creator through lifelong research. Usable at fifth-tier, but staggeringly mana-intensive and less potent." True Teleportation spanned hundreds of meters; Kael's current limit barely reached fifty. Yet even this granted formidable tactical advantage.
A weighted silence fell. Any mage capable of altering spells' fundamental tiers commanded respect. Finn and Amelia silently acknowledged the chamber's long-deceased occupant as a peerless genius.
Kael's focus shifted to the second spell: Infernal Cage, a fifth-tier fire magic specializing in battlefield control. Though less revolutionary than Teleportation, its rarity filled a critical gap in his arsenal. These discoveries weren't mere upgrades – they transformed his combat capabilities entirely.
Satisfaction warmed him. Had the chamber belonged to a warrior, Finn and Amelia would've reaped its treasures instead. The thought sharpened his gratitude for fortune's favor.
Finn's restless eyes betrayed his envy as he scanned the cavern once more. Adventuring's unpredictable rewards mocked institutional learning's structured paths. His fruitless second search ended in defeated sighs. "Let's move," he grumbled.
The narrow stone passage offered their exit. Hours trudging through claustrophobic darkness culminated in a sliver of daylight. "An exit!" Relief surged through the group, their pace quickening toward freedom.
Emerging into dense foliage, they found the passage's mouth cunningly concealed by tangled undergrowth – invisible to casual observers. The wilderness stretched endlessly beyond, its ordinary greenery now framing their extraordinary survival.
"We're near Mistwood Forest's northern reaches," Samuel assessed, scanning the terrain with practiced eyes. "About three miles from our basecamp." Dawn's pale light etched lines of fatigue around his eyes, but his grin held glacial sharpness as he recalled the night's carnage. Blue Rose had lost over twenty seasoned fighters - a debt demanding immediate repayment in White Bear Mercenary blood.
Kael's expression mirrored the mercenary leader's cold resolve. Mercy had no place in this calculus. "They'll remember this lesson," he stated, Damien's murderous intent during their clash still fresh in memory.
Samuel's knuckles cracked as he flexed his hands. "My thoughts exactly. We'll strategize at camp." Retreating unavenged would destroy his reputation, but White Bear's numerical advantage gave pause - until he remembered Kael's trio. "Though mind you, White Bear fields 150 well-armed fighters. Their captain..." He hesitated. "Damien's father is a sixth-tier warrior."
"Leave him to me." Amelia's blade sang from its sheath, frost crystallizing the air between heartbeats. The tent's temperature plunged as azure energy rippled across her sword - Frost Aura's unmistakable signature.
The mercenary leader's eyes widened. This unassuming girl radiated power matching legendary champions. His reassessment of the trio's capabilities crystallized into savage anticipation. "Owen!" he barked. "Take ten scouts. Find their position!"
As the subordinate hurried out, camp veterans crowded closer, battle-hardened faces alight with fury. "Just say the word, Captain! We'll carve through those White Bear bastards!"
"Patience," Samuel cautioned, though his own voice trembled with contained violence. "We strike when shadows lengthen." His gaze swept over Amelia's glacial blade and Kael's staff. For the first time since dawn, the odds felt balanced.
Samuel barked a laugh, his earlier reservations dissolved. "With your capabilities, further discussion's pointless. Once Owen returns, we strike hard!"
Near midday, the scout reappeared, his uniform torn but eyes blazing. "Located their camp, Captain!"
"Good." Samuel's joviality vanished as tactical calculations began. By dusk, plans solidified – a classic pincer maneuver exploiting White Bear's complacency.
Midnight approached, constellations glittering above the silent forest. Clad in shadow-weave cloaks, Kael's trio crouched in a bramble thicket observing White Bear's fortified camp. Torchlight revealed armored sentries patrolling concentric perimeters – disciplined, but yawning.
Blue Rose forces fanned through surrounding woods. Samuel crept forward, his whisper barely audible: "Draw their focus. We strike from flank once chaos erupts."
Nods exchanged. Kael melted into shadows, Finn's daggers gleaming faintly as Amelia's frost-rimed blade condensed morning dew.
Two patrol guards rounded a watchtower, their spears clanking. Kael froze mid-crawl, fingertips already tracing teleportation runes. The night held its breath.
"Can't believe they doubled the night watch," grumbled a yawning sentry, his helmet tilted askew. "Young Master's paranoia's killing us."
His companion scanned empty torchlit paths before whispering, "Heard the ambush failed. Blue Rose escaped with some mage." The man shivered despite his armor. "Five thousand gold for that spellcaster's head. Two thousand just for their camp's location..."
Kael's grip tightened on his staff. Moonlight glinted on frost forming at its tip. Twin ice shards pierced chainmail before either guard could blink. The sentries crumpled soundlessly, shock凝固在 their faces as crimson bloomed across ice-encrusted wounds.
A shadowed gesture summoned Amelia and Finn. Steel whispered against leather as the trio dispatched remaining patrols with lethal precision - slit throats here, snapped vertebrae there. No alarm raised.
Regrouping near supply tents, Kael relayed the overheard bounty. "They're alert. Tightened security."
Finn wiped his dagger on a fallen mercenary's cloak. "Then we move faster."
The camp's inner defenses proved more challenging - concealed archers in watchtowers, roving hounds sniffing for intruders. Yet Kael's magic smothered barks in frozen muzzles, Amelia's blade severed bowstrings before alarms could sound. By the time they reached the command tent's perimeter, seventeen White Bear mercenaries lay dead without ever knowing their killers' presence.