Supreme Magus novel Chapter 1006

Chapter 1006 Talent and Experience Part 2

Worst case scenario, he would have pinned the blame on her and taken credit for saving the mission. Phloria, however, had cut off all of his safe routes. As second in command, she had to step in only in the case he wasn’t up to the task.

On top of that, Phloria had yet to give a single order, she only provided intel and suggestions, letting Kortus make all decisions. Yet with absolute power came the full responsibility.

Friya’s mercenaries only made Kortus’s situation worse by offering a benchmark. The more successful they would be, the more incompetent he would appear.

Before he could find a proper retort, Phloria and Friya walked out of the command tent and joined Quylla around the campfire.

"Do you really think there are undead here?" Friya cast Hush so often that no one glared at her anymore.

"Honestly? No. But checking the area just takes a bit of time whereas if I’m wrong, things could get out of hand quickly. I’m okay with this being my last mission as a Captain, not with it being the last thing I do." Phloria said.

The following day, Captain Kortus stuck to his plan and tasked the Prospectors with expanding the caves in the hope to be done with the mission as soon as possible.

If they kept not finding anything, the expedition could leave while if they located the crystal veins, the High Command would send reinforcements to secure the area, making Kortus’s job foolproof.

Friya, instead, followed Phloria’s advice and ordered the members of the Crystal Shield guild to report every five minutes, no matter if they found something or not. Undead attacked as fast and silently as magical beasts.

If someone disappeared, knowing their last known position would be of crucial importance.

Quylla had still a long way to go before becoming capable of fighting hand to hand, so she helped the Prospectors with her limited knowledge of arrays and her keen mana perception.

"There’s something behind this wall." She said to Tlea Ormann, a plump woman in her late fifties with red hair and green eyes, who was the Prospector Foreman.

"Are you sure?" Tlea had spent more time inside crystal mines than at her own home, which gave her plenty of experience in the field. "I’m sorry, but according to my arrays, there is just more rock behind that rock."

"Do me a favor and humor me, please." Quylla was certain that the eerie feeling she had sensed since the day of their arrival came from there, along with a mana pressure so intense that made her eyes water.

’Whatever this is, I’m going to face it head-on.’ She thought, tired of living in fear and second-guessing herself. ’All successful mages are confident, like Manohar. Scratch that, he’s not confident, more like insane.’

"Everything for an Ernas." Tlea chuckled and gave Quylla a curtsy. "Just tell your father I’m still waiting for my staff."

Quylla felt embarrassed at the idea of having exploited her family name and was still stuttering an apology when the wall opened, revealing a second network of caves that went deeper underground.

"I take back everything I just said." Tlea used her communication amulet to call her colleagues. "You’re wasted as a Healer. Are you sure you’re not interested in becoming a Royal Prospector?"

Quylla stuttered some more until the pressure coming from the new caves was overshadowed by something worse. The ground in front of the two women rippled as if someone had thrown a pebble on the surface of a lake and a handsome man came out of it.