A few hours passed as we stood there just chit chatting. Well, it was mainly Irene and Nate. I provided only a few comments while the boys didn’t speak at all. Just essentially standing guard.

  The Ash Guard eventually came back.

  None of them looked like they been in any form of battle and only a couple minutes separated each of them coming back, so that was a good sign.

  They looked at me for a few seconds…what did they wa-... oh yeah...

  “Report.”

  I was still getting used to this.

  One by one they all gave reports of whatever it is they did or didn’t find.

  In summary it was pretty much the same across all of them.

  There was an active ecosystem around us. Small birds, various prey appearing animals, then likewise combination of various predator appearing animals. They spotted wolves, something akin to bear tracks, deer, and various other things that showed there was a vast array of life in the area.

  What was interesting though, was that none of these animals they spotted ever came close to this clearing we found ourselves in. I wonder if that was by design.

  Moving on, the only other thing that stood out differently from everything else stated was that the level of the beasts seemed to grow stronger the closer someone got to the massive mountain in the distance.

  I guess it’s only right we have to face a challenge to reach it.

  The question is what should we do now exactly? I wasn’t exactly sure, but it would likely takes a week or two just to reach the base of the mountain, I think. So, do we continue to explore the area behind us? Or press forward towards the mountain?

  There’s a good chance that whatever lives on that mountain is beyond our means so avoiding it wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I kind of already decided that it’s best if we confirm something like that.

  Hmm.

  “Lirian, Firan, both of you felt the scan. How strong do you think whatever did that was?”

  Lirian answered first.

  “It was definitely stronger than me Patriarch, but I think far weaker than Elder Zal.”

  Frian only thought for a short moment before nodding to show he agreed with his brother.

  “I see.”

  Hm, decisions decisions.

  Alright, I don’t want to spend forever in this Dungeon, but I want to cover as much ground as possible. We won’t go all the way to the mountain, but I need to see what type of threats we’ll face when it’s time to eventually make my way there.

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  “Alright, here’s the plan. Irene and Nate you two go with Carlos and the other members of the Ash Guard. Move away from the Mountain and explore and take note of everything in the area.

  “Again, prioritize your safety and don’t try to be a hero. Explore outward for a maximum of five days of you run into a barrier that signifies the end of the Dungeon. If five days pass and you can still go forward, just turn around and come back.

  “Boys you will come with me.”

  “So, you’re planning on going to fight the strange monster by yourself? I know you’re stronger than us, Raz, but is that wise?”

  “I don’t plan on fighting it at all, but I do want to investigate what’s around it. I’m only going with the strongest of us, just in case it does indeed attract the attention of whatever is potentially living in the mountain.

  “We’ll be able back out of an engagement a lot easier with just of the three of us.”

  “Hmmm, fine, but if I hear any loud explosions I’m running over there. I’m sure a few well-placed arrows can you help you in any situation.”

  She of course made a good point, so I told her I’ll hold her to it, to which she nodded with a smile.

  Now I somewhat expected her to say something along those lines but what I didn’t expect was one of the Ash Guard to object as well.

  It was Micky, who was American, I think.

  “Boss, I don’t know if I agree with this decision either. Our primary job is to guard you. I won’t repeat everything we’ve learned recently, but we know how valuable you are to the City. Gotta let us do our job Boss.”

  He too had a good point.

  I wasn’t oblivious to the value I now held for Black Cove City. Apart from the fact that the Government had the funding to get a lot of things up and running without going bankrupt, and essentially building a flowing economy from scratch, we also had the protection and the backing of Infernals.

  A force of power that I still have no actual scope of just how powerful they are.

  If I were to die, or to leave permanently all of that would simply go away, and who knows what would happen to the City I would leave behind.

  So, I understood him, but that wouldn’t change reality much.

  If whatever was on the mountain attacked, I would need to spend energy to protect them, not the other way around.

  “I understand Micky, but this is different. You can definitely do your job against opponents of similar strength, and weaker. But in this case, it would be that would do the protecting, and don’t forget your contracts don’t say anything about sacrificing your lives for me.

  “Again, I don’t plan on fighting it. Get as close as we can, learn more about the area, and leave. That’s it. For now, I’ll trust you to protect Irene instead.”

  He didn’t seem satisfied with that answer, and I think parts of it bothered him instead, but he didn’t offer any verbal reply. Just nodding respectfully.

  Based on the body reactions of the other guys, I think they might’ve had similar thoughts about the situation but probably didn’t have a good rebuttal for the argument I gave Micky.

  Eventually, they left and headed off in a somewhat loose formation in the opposite direction.

  “Ready boys?”

  “Yes Patriarch.”

  “Yes Patriarch.”

  The boys responded how I expected them and before long we left the clearing and moved into the forest. Quickly finding ourselves surrounded by a sea of snow covered trees.

  Thankfully the Great Rabbit coats helped to minimize the just how out of place we looked in the forest.

  It didn’t take very long to find a few different animals, and only a few hours we were already being attacked. Nothing too alarming as of yet and the boys took care of everything.

  Though that changed after roughly a day had passed.

  …Why is it always wolves?

  That’s all I could think to myself as I looked at the group that was baring our path forward.

  Another group of Wolves.

  This is quite literally the third variant of wolves I’ve seen since coming back to Earth. I’m honestly a little tired of it. Just a little.

  The wolves were large as always but also had cliché all white fur that matched the snow around them, and their pupils were a beautiful aqua blue.

  What was interesting though was the power I felt from them.

  Qi.

  All the wolves in the pack of ten had Qi stored in their bodies.

  Ten Qi Refinement Equivalent wolves. Though it will probably be easier to call them Rare Wolves at this point.

  Anyway…I wonder if they had enough Qi to resist Eternal Flames?