In the last few days, they had come a long way. They had left the storm behind, followed the stony path through the narrow gorge and climbed down most of the slope. A dead, boggy landscape stretched out before them. A landscape Liam had never seen like this before. The few plants that still lived here, clung tightly to the rocks, which shaped the environment. The occasional tree that seemed more dead than alive, contributed to the gloomy atmosphere with its burnt bark.

The dark bog stretched into the horizon, with good eyes one could barely recognize the beginning of the desert, but a two-week walk separated the group from their next stopover.

Cale, who was the last to struggle down the purple-black rocks, paused and let his gaze wander to the northeast. He could clearly see the large mountain, which housed several extremely powerful creatures. But what was even more frightening was the mountain that separated the storm from the plain. His eyes followed the path to the peak, which was partially obscured by clouds. Up there, where the air was so thin and the snow lay. But what was even more dangerous were the dragons that had settled there. They had left the Holy Island of Velence in the west of the continent, crossed the stormy ocean, crossed the creature plain and reached the top of the mountains. They had been the catalyst for the creatures population to increase so enormously that they spread their territory even across the territorial boundaries. For this reason, Cale didn't fear of coming across a strong creature or even a dragon here, but this information did not stop him from being nervous.

The one time he had come so close to a dragon was enough to last him the rest of his life. He fervently hoped that no reason would ever develop to have to face a specimen of the most powerful species in the world ever again. But inwardly, he knew he could not avoid the problem forever. Eventually, the day would come when he would have to face his fears.

"What's that smell?"

Philippa and Aletta held their noses as a gust of wind brought a sickening smell to them. Curious, Liam and Ben also smelled the scent more intensely, only to screw up their faces in disgust. Liam, who had been staring silently at Cale for the past few days, cast his gaze questioningly at him. He was the only one unfazed by the stench, which was probably because he was used to it.

"Smells like a dead Morvosio, if you ask me. Judging by the intensity of the smell, it's pretty big and the decomposition has been going on for a few days."

Elegantly, Cale jumped forward a bit to get a better view of the landscape at his feet. It was hard to identify anything in this ruined area, but his intuition told him, the creature should be around here somewhere. Unobtrusively, he let out a little more mana than usual to get a quick overview of the landscape, but it was surprisingly empty.

"I don't think I really want to know that much. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

Philippa was visibly disinterested in the dead creature and continued to advance, followed by Aletta and Ben. Only Liam remained standing next to Cale, holding the hilt of his sword with one hand and trying to comprehend what Cale was looking for.

"We need to be on alert from now on, we won't be able to avoid a fight or two."

Ben was absolutely right. Due to the constant presence of Anuxer, which were hunting daily in this plain, creatures rarely stayed directly on the paths. Most of those that did live in proximity were mostly just small fish that shouldn't be a problem.

Skeptically, Cale examined the dead soil before briskly following the group along with Liam.

The next few hours passed quietly, while the others dutifully followed the trail, Cale disappeared again and again behind rocks to get an overview of the situation, which unsettled Liam with each additional time. He knew very well that Cale was not stupid and always acted with deliberation, so he must have a very good reason to be constantly on the lookout. And he had noticed the constant leakage of Cale's mana as well, which only confirmed his suspicions.

After dusk fell and the girls began looking for a suitable place to sleep for the night, Liam could no longer contain his nervousness and followed Cale on his expedition. To his amazement, he was merely sitting a few feet away on a high rock, staring off into the distance.

"Want to see it?", asked Cale as the swordsman came up behind him without averting his gaze. Curious, he came to Cale's side, not knowing exactly what awaited him. With a small gesture, Cale pointed into the distance, to a seemingly unnameable spot. It takes Liam a moment to realize that the object he was eyeing was merely the dead monsters head, its actual, huge body blending in with its surroundings.

"Is this the Morvioso you mentioned at noon today?", he softly commented, looking at the creature, which could be a good two meters long and outwardly bore resemblance to a pig, if it weren't for the rock-hard, dark armor.

"I think so, if I had to rely on smell alone, yes."

"I knew what they looked like, but this is the first time I've seen one for real."

"It'll probably be your last time, too. Even encountering a dead Morvioso is very unlikely", Cale explained calmly, using his mana to check for other creatures nearby.

"I recall that Morvioso are masters of camouflage, so good that even other creatures can't detect them."

"Oh, would you look at that. Someone who actually learned about the creatures. It's true, it would be easy to mistake a Morvioso for the rock we're sitting on."

Inevitably, Liam's attention turned to the rock he was sitting on, as if to check if it was even real.

"Now then, prize question for you. If a Morvioso has such perfect camouflage, what killed it?", added Cale quickly, causing Liam to look up and consider the question before casting his gaze back to the dead creature. He couldn't see any obvious injuries and from his position it almost seemed as if the monster had simply fallen asleep. But how old was it? Even if it was a natural death, it still wouldn't present itself that openly.

"Do you think it was an Anuxer?"

"I doubt it", Cale returned without pause. He shifted his gaze to Liam before continuing with his explanation. "Care to guess why I think that way?"

"Because he doesn't have any obvious battle wounds?"

"Yeah, go on? Why not?"

Liam paused. His gaze avoided Cale's dark eyes and tightened on his shoulder as he pondered.

Liam paused, looking into Cale's eyes as a thought flashed through his mind.

"It must have been someone who didn't rely on their eyes, so it couldn't have been a human."

"Nice approach, your trail of thought isn't entirely wrong."

"But it's not right either?"

"Well, people who can use mana properly don't need their eyes to know how to perceive their surroundings. There's even someone who can see wonderfully despite being blind."

"That's possible?"

"Of course it is. When we get to Exarion, I'll introduce you to a friend. Maybe then it will be easier to understand."

"But back to the question at hand. No injury speaks against an Anuxer, his camouflage also partially. But what is the most obvious reason?"

"I have to admit, I have no idea", Liam confessed, visibly confused. What was so obvious that Cale almost completely ruled out an Anuxer without even looking closely at the body?

"It's the body itself."

"I beg your pardon? The corpse itself?", Liam repeated, more confused than he already was.

"Liam, think about it. If an Anuxer killed this creature, why are we seeing its corpse here?"

Liam's knots of illogical reasoning loosened all at once.

"Oh by the gods. Anuxer have to burn the body!"

He was downright pleased to be able to understand why it wasn't an Anuxers, even though Cale had to give him assistance.

"That's right. Anuxers are asked to burn any corpse if it doesn't put them in danger by doing so. We are traveling here in the first plateau and not hundreds of meters lower in the fourth plateau. An Anuxer certainly would have had time to burn the creature here, especially since I can't sense dangers nearby."

Now Liam understood the complete conclusion, which Cale drew within seconds. An Anuxer working alone and being sloppy enough to break the rules was very unlikely. Most people saw it as a kind of final line they drew after hard work - almost like a daily ritual. Liam had never been present at such an act, but he knew that most people would not neglect this work. That still raised the question of what happened.

"And what was it then? A blind creature? What could possibly be the culprit?"

"That's what puzzles me. I currently can't tell what creature can take down such a large prey and has mana based perception", Cale replied, straightening up. He stretched briefly before jumping down from the rock and distancing himself from the trail. "I'm going to take a closer look, what about you. You want to come?"

Liam didn't think twice about the offer, hopping down as well and hurrying after Cale. The swordsman could feel quite clearly that Cale continued to blanket the whole area with his mana, which made him suspect that he was using it to check if there were any living beings nearby.

"Can you sense the others with your mana as well?"

"Do you mean Ben, Aletta and Philippa? Yes, I can, otherwise I wouldn't just walk away from them. mana control and mana-Sensitivity are the first things you learn at the Magistrat", Cale explained without looking behind. He hadn't learned those things at the Magistrat, but Liam didn't need to know that. "You're also capable of wielding mana, quite well in fact. It should be just as possible for you to sense the mana sources of other beings. It's also common practice for good swordsmen."

Liam wasn't sure if he should take that statement as an insult for not being able to do that right now, or as an invitation to learn. He generally only used mana to gain a physical advantage, not to detect hidden opponents. But he understood the potential use of this knowledge.

"Isn't it pretty expensive? I mean, wasting mana in this way?"

"Wasting?", uttered Cale indignantly, giving Liam a stunned look and starting to laugh. It was almost like a teacher trying to teach his student basic knowledge and being amused at why he needed it. "Not at all. The thing I'm doing right now is leaking my mana so I don't miss even the smallest sources of mana. Basically, that's already a step above."

Cale had come to a stop in front of the Morvioso and made a barrier appear around the dead monster, as the smell was also bothering him by now. Liam also held his nose and stepped up next to him as he skeptically exchanged a glance between Cale and the creature.

"So you can sense mana sources without leaking mana yourself?"

"Exactly. You can think of it as looking in complete darkness for someone making sounds with little bells. It's kind of like looking for a strange mana source with your eyes closed. If you want, I can teach you how to do that."

Liam, who was still holding his nose, watched in surprise as Cale stepped fairly close to the creature, picked up a dry branch from the ground and pressed it against its unamored belly. Abruptly Liam looked away, the sight disgusting him even more than the stench, but Cale was suprised by what he found.

And he was surprised. The thick skin broke down, presenting Cale with a sight he had simply not expected. Something had eaten the creature from the inside.