The Ascension Of The Celestial Priest

It still took three days of travelling for them to finally arrive within the vicinity of the Caldera Mountain. They had to take several stops along the way to maintain their strength and within that time, Lukas got to learn a lot more about his would-be teammates.

Unsurprising though Moira was far the quietest out of all them. Most of the time when they conversed around the bonfire or discussed viable stratagems on how to deal with beast; she only sought her own company, meditating and only saying a word when she had something to say. Apart from that she kept to herself, and with her bearing, it wasn't that surprising.

The one whom Lukas talked with most of the time was Mira. Now that they had the time to actually familiarize with each other, Lukas found that beneath the proud front was a powerful girl who longed for an adventure and may have more burdens than she let on. She was very guarded about her family and Lukas was smart enough to veer off the topics she didn't d.e.s.i.r.e to discuss.

Geoff was the only one whom Lukas was disappointed with. The whole time during the journey, the number of times Geoff said a word to him could be counted with one's hands. It made Lukas feel a little despondent, not knowing if there was something he ever did anything wrong or the connection they made during the midnight of that said day was nothing more but smoke and mirrors.

But in the end, Lukas was very objective. When he found out that he couldn't understand what was happening between them, he didn't give an extra thought towards his strange habits. The whole time they were travelling, apart from amassing as much information as he could, he spent the rest of his time meditating and reaffirming what he had mastered during the last few weeks. Steeling his mind even further and looking forward to what was coming next.

It was during their resting stops that Lukas became aware of the enchanted storage rings that both Mira and Moira possessed. Apparently they were very advanced from his normal bag of holding, that he was taken by surprise when he found out just how much could their rings ring contain. It also explained the reason why both of them didn't have their staffs in their hands, and the peculiar habit of Mira materializing whatever she needed from seemingly nowhere.

Fully knowing how nifty those things are, Lukas made a silent goal to obtain one for his self and his sister if possible, no longer taken by surprise by how much magic has advanced in this new world of his.

"We are finally here." Mira whispered. After days of sitting cramped in the carriage, he could officially stretch his legs. But the moment he got out of his ride, he was hit with sea of red and green as far as his eyes could see. All around him, from the surrounding trees and shrubs, everything was dipped in fiery red color that seemingly blended to form a very beautiful canopy.

Witnessing the stunned look on Lukas's face Mira chuckled. In the faraway distance, Lukas could only gape at the huge looming mountain that shot straight into the sky. Redder than even their immediate habit, the mountain gleamed under the direct sun, with its peak hidden behind a haze of crimson clouds. But even with such a distance between, Lukas could feel its ancient power and majesty radiating of it as it stood above the world, overlooking all of them like a pillar of heaven.

"That's The Caldera," Mira proudly said. "Also known as the Fire Mountain though most of the locals call it the Red Mountain, since everything within its vicinity gets touched in the hues of reds and brown. All of this is due to the overpowering nature of the Volcanic Flames found deep within."

He could only agree. After letting their carriage go, Lukas double check everything before he asked. "Where to now?"

Mira glanced around before she led a beeline to the Red forest. "Follow me" she beckoned. When they got closer she added. "I had the carriage drop us off on the very outskirts of the mountain. There are usually no travelers around these parts so we can afford some privacy as we enter. We would have to travel through the red forest before we finally reach the Burnt Woods."

Under her lead, they swiftly entered the foliage of trees. But they only walked for a short while before Mira suddenly stopped them. She manifested a small golden needle in her arms. After pouring some mana into it, it floated into the air, twitching and jerking for a short second before pointing in a certain direction beyond the ancient trees.

"What is that?" Lukas curiously asked.

"It's a tracking needle." Moira answered. "An Artifact, probably her master's; very rare and very hard to come by. You prepared well Sister"

Mira gave a mischievous smile in return. "Of course I did. I wouldn't have pulled you guys all the way here for wild races through these woods. With this we won't have to waste time blindly searching."

"It has been a few days." Geoff noted. "Would it still be alive by now?"

Mira shook her head. "The Compass just told me the beast is very much alive. And besides, it won't be that easy to hunt it down. After all the strength of a Tier 2 beast is not that easy to handle especially you're not fully prepared." She said as her eyes lightly glanced towards her twin sister.

It was then that Lukas clearly perceived the roles Mira had in mind when she assembled her team. Geoff was the warrior (an obvious choice) while he was the meant to be the support. His defensive spells would come in handy during upcoming battle and most probably their survival would have to depend on him. Mira spells were probably halved in efficiency which was why she sought her twin's sister help. Moira was meant to be their secret weapon, her ice spells perfectly countering the fire attributed beast and only time will tell if what they had set out to do would be a success of not.

Sheathing her needle into some kind of an assortment in her hand, she added.

"Let's go. The beast is probably more than further away from us, we have to hurry up before another group beat us to it."

With that they entered the forest without hesitation, their feet crunching in the dead leaves and their robes fluttering under filtered sunlight. Mira 's steps were very light, her legs covered in vague crimson glow that allowed her to be able to lightly step off the ground every time she alighted. Moira's steps were even more graceful and abstruse while Geoff was actually the heaviest out of them all. But all 3 of them were silently surprised to find Lukas easily keeping up with them. His white robe rippled like wind and his steps flowed like water. With his initial mastery of his profound skill Radiant Feathersteps, it allowed Lukas's general speed to increase by quite a notch although he was performing a very simplified version of Flowing Light which barely any mana at all.

They broke into small run, passing through trees and deep roots as they made for a certain direction with Mira on the lead. They were all in rhythm, taking long strides, and keeping their mana in check in case of any surprises the forest might hide.

After a traversing for a while, it soon became clear that Mira was cutting a safe path through the dangerous forest. They hadn't met any kind of beasts on their way as she was almost like seer, able to steer them away from any potential trouble. Lukas could only attribute this to the compass artifact in her hands though he was a little disappointed by it. He wanted for them to fight a few wild beasts along the way so they can at least familiarize with each other and cement their teamwork but ultimately the beast was a prize too important for Mira to take any short detours.

On their way here Lukas was smart enough to ask about all of the recorded details on the beast they were hunting and Mira was more than happy to oblige. But he took all that information with a grain of salt, making sure to remind himself that this was the real world where a lot of variables were at play. It wouldn't do him good if he was fairly over dependent on the small info he got and who knows what the Fire Streaked Raven had experienced in these short few days of being trapped within the forest.

After covering a few more miles, Mira suddenly slowed.

"We are near." she said and the rest could finally see why. All around them were burnt stumps and a lingering smell of soot marked the very air they were breathing. With the assurance of the golden needle, they all took a short rest, acc.u.mulating their lost mana before they got ready in a heartbeat.

"Now let's hunt this beast."

This time Mira had the golden needle continuously shivering above her, pinpointing the exact location of where it could be found leading them to what would be the second battle Lukas will experience in this world.