Summoner Sovereign

In case you"ve forgotten, even after accepting healing magic, I still had to lie in bed for several more hours before I was finally discharged. That wasn"t just because the healing mage was monitoring me. It was because the body still needed some time to rest and pull itself together, to recover from the wounds. It was"t some instant heal and the patient being back to full health like a game (I swear, some readers just treated everything like a game). Speaking of which, it made me laugh whenever readers whined that I should get a healing spirit – no, that"s not how healing works. You don"t heal someone in the middle of battle, and have him suddenly stand right back up and fight. Healing was not instant, "health" was not some numerical stat that you could measure like Hit Points in a game. Reality did not work like a game, as much as some readers would have you believe.

Anyway, the mission was to locate Ling Dan and bring him back to concoct a serum or medicine for Anastasia to bring her rampaging powers under control. Even though Doctor Dorden succeeded in preserving her life, he was unable to suppress her rampaging powers, and she went from a ticking time bomb to…a leaking reactor, I guess. There was no longer any danger of her blowing up and dying, but she still posed a threat to any living thing in her vicinity. Hopefully, like Xiao Yan from Battle through the Heavens, Ling Dan would be able to develop a spirit pill or miracle medicine that would cure her…though like I said, reality was never that convenient.

However, any chance was better than nothing. It was a huge gamble, but since there were no other alternatives, we decided to stake everything on this.

Unfortunately, it was looking less and less likely that this mythical doctor even existed…and even if he did, he most probably wasn"t idling around the mountains. I didn"t know where Teacher Mary Cure heard that rumor, but apparently she heard wrong. Also, now that I thought about it, how did Teacher Cure hear of that rumor? And if such a rumor existed, then wouldn"t someone else have gone to the Yao Cai Mountains and looked for him? The more I thought about it, the more suspicious the rumor seemed, and my doubts grew correspondingly.

At this rate, we might as well give up and head home, instead of wasting time on a wild goose chase.

Fortunately, Feng Hai was a lot more patient than me. He was right to be patient – one did not explore and cover an entire mountain range in a matter of days. Usually, such search and "rescue" (it wasn"t as if we were rescuing Ling Dan from any crisis, so that might not be an appropriate word) missions would take a week or two, sometimes even months. Longer when the area in question was as vast as a mountain range.

"Hmm, so nothing so far?"

The great mercenary leader was seated atop a boulder, silently contemplating after receiving news from the various scouts and reconnaissance units that he had sent out earlier. I was included among them, thanks to my ability to summon a flock of Corvus. The lot of good that did us, considering our fruitless search so far.

"Yeah, we haven"t seen anything resembling any human habitation, or any sign of humans being in here. Not even a glimpse of a human. It"s been nothing but monsters."

The head of the reconnaissance unit was a lady named Brown. Nessa Brown, I believe. So we had Redfield in charge of combat (well, technically Brent was, but Redfield was pretty much his Company Sergeant Major), and Brown in charge of reconnaissance. All we were missing was Green and Blue, who probably be in charge of logistics and transport respectively.

Feng Hai let out a sigh and leaned back atop the boulder, thinking deeply. Closing his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose and furrowed his brow.

"Perhaps we"ve been looking at this from the wrong angle."

"Sir?" Brown raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by wrong angle?"

"We"ve been searching for Ling Dan in the forest. We"ve a.s.sumed that he would be hiding in the forest, but what if that premise was flawed to begin with?"

"Then where would this Ling Dan be?" Brown asked, perplexed. Feng Hai allowed a smile to slowly spread across his weary but still handsome face.

"What other areas of the mountains have we not explored yet?"

"The valleys?" Glacia asked, having taken a seat on a rock right next to Feng Hai"s boulder. She frowned. "So we might have to backtrack and climb back down the mountain…"

"The valleys are clear and don"t have cover, so I can send a flock of Corvus down and do a sweep," I offered, raising my hand. Feng Hai nodded.

"You do that. But what other locations are there? Anything else we missed?"

"Hmm…" Dorden had been pondering this entire time, and he apprehensively raised a hand as well. "If I may…"

"Please, Doctor." Feng Hai inclined his head respectfully at the elderly doctor. Even though Dorden was not combat personnel, his years of wisdom and experience made him a highly valued staff in the mercenary guild. Feng Hai in particular appreciated the huge amount of insight and advice the doctor had to offer. "Don"t hold back. You don"t need my permission to speak up."

"Very well then. I"ll take you up on that." Dorden cleared his throat and leaned forward, resting his bearded chin on a hand and his elbow on his knees. "I was thinking…this is Yao Cai Mountains, a place very well known for its medicinal herbs and plants, as well as wildlife."

"That"s true," Redfield agreed with a nod. "That"s probably why this Ling Dan fella chose to hide out in a place like this. He"s a receptarier, right?"

"Yeah," Brent confirmed.

"Then…wouldn"t it be natural for Ling Dan to spend more time in areas where these medicinal herbs grow?"

For a moment, there was some silence. Then Redfield tilted his head in confusion.

"You mean there are no medicinal herbs or plants in the forest?"

"I mean, there might be…but it seems to me that we"ve been wandering around blindly, searching area by area instead of prioritizing specific spots. Even among a forest, there are uneven distributions. It"s not as if the entire forest is carpeted by medicinal plants. Many of them grow better under specific locations or conditions than other places."

"That"s a brilliant point." Feng Hai"s eyes lit up. "Doctor, do you know what medicinal plants there are, and where they are found? In a place like Yao Cai Mounains, specifically?"

"Well…I do, sort of. For example…" Doctor Dorden considered for a few moments. "The Belfrost Flower is known for alleviating pain and strengthening one"s circulation, and it"s usually found in mountains. However, it grows in places with plenty of sunlight, and thus wouldn"t normally be found in a forest."

"So in a valley?" Redfield asked, glancing at me. "Keep an eye out for that Belfrost Flower when you do a sweep of the valley, Richie."

"Perhaps providing Richard with a picture might be helpful," Brent suggested.

"Yes, it would, but before you search the valleys, I might want to add that they are not normally found on the valleys but on the mountains themselves. In elevated areas, especially."

"Brown." Feng Hai"s voice was sharp. "Give me a map, and let me know if there are unforested areas on the mountain."

"There are plenty," Brown informed him. "There"s a plains right outside this forest, a couple of miles northwest, and higher up. We"ll have to climb up a steep incline, but I recall that my scouts mentioned a plains full of flowers just beyond the edge of this forest."

"That might be it." Dorden snapped his fingers and smiled. "Are they a light blue, with high, green stalks? Growing in huge swathes?"

Brown hesitated and glanced toward one of her subordinates, a guy named Shen Cha. He nodded in confirmation.

"The flowers I saw were definitely blue. And they were cl.u.s.tered together."

"Good, they must be it." Dorden was searching up his data pad and conjuring up a holographic picture. After sweeping his fingers and scrolling through several screens, he found what he was looking for and projected it in Shen Cha"s direction. "Like this?"

Shen Cha hesitated for a moment, studying the delicate-looking flower for a few moments, and then nodded. He didn"t pay much attention to the details of the flowers – he had no reason to – but from afar they looked similar enough, so he decided to go for it.

"I think so."

"We should give it a try." Dorden turned back to Feng Hai. "I am aware that it"s a long shot, but if there are signs of that place being picked or harvested for its Belfrost Flowers, then we could perhaps trace them back to whoever is living here. And if the rumors are true, then it"s most likely Ling Dan, or someone in a similar vocation."

Like his a.s.sistants or something. It would make sense that the legendary receptarier wouldn"t be living alone in a place like this.

"You are right. We should give it a shot." Feng Hai glanced around at the people gathered in this place and hardened his gaze. "We move out in ten. Tell your men, and get everyone ready. We"ll head to the plains and check out the flowers. But be careful – I don"t want to draw the attention of any monster that might be lurking nearby."

"Yes, sir!"

We dispersed and I returned to where Adrian and Melina were waiting for me.

"What"s the plan?" Adrian asked eagerly, hopping off the huge root that he was using as a makes.h.i.+ft chair and approaching me. Melina"s movements were less vigorous, but her enthusiasm was similar.

"Have you found this legendary receptarier yet?" she asked.

I studied the both of them for a moment. Even though it had already been two days, their energy level remained high and they were still bright and springy as ever. To the both of them, this trip to Yao Cai Mountain was like an adventure, and they were having the time of their lives – mostly because they hadn"t encountered any real danger yet. It was only natural, since the mercenaries did a great job of protecting them and avoiding the monsters.

"Unfortunately, not yet." I shook my head warily. "We"re still looking for clues, but we haven"t found any. Speaking of which, Doctor Dorden suggested we try searching the plains where there are medicinal plants and flowers, and we are about to head there now. You guys have to be really careful because we"re leaving cover and will be in the open. It might get a little dangerous, especially if there are monsters lurking about."

"Don"t worry about us!" Adrian boasted. "We can take care of ourselves!"

Somehow I doubted that, but I kept a straight face and nodded. Inwardly I knew I had to look out for them. Their lack of experience in the field might lead to quite a few undesirable circ.u.mstances, such as panicking or hesitation, either of which would prove to be deadly. Then again, it was my job to keep them alive. Additionally, I remembered seeing Adrian out in the field before. Wasn"t he in a similar situation before, when I first met him?

Yeah, I first encountered Adrian when he was attacked by Ravagers and Phantoms, and he actually coped pretty well under the crisis. I didn"t have to worry about him freezing up or panicking. He knew how to handle himself, even if he didn"t have the strength to beat the monsters. Strength wasn"t everything – the smartest and most adaptable survived, not through brute strength and raw power like those stupid cultivation and xianxia novels would have you believe, but through a variety of tactics. There was nothing wrong with admitting that you were weaker than your opponents and retreating or escaping. Not obsess over some stupid "face" thing or pride or whatever it was that those ruthless, overpowered Mary Sue protagonists espoused (that whole ridiculous "strong eat the weak" bulls.h.i.+t again).

Even though he wasn"t strong, I was certain that Adrian would find a way to survive against all odds, and that was what make him intelligent.

"We"ll try our best to not be a burden!"

I glanced at Melina and nodded apprehensively. She was more of an unknown quant.i.ty. I didn"t know enough about her to judge, so I didn"t. I would just a.s.sume the worst and hope for the best – her lack of combat experience meant that she needed extra looking after. Never a bad thing to over-prepare and realize that you didn"t have to worry, than to let your guard down and then regret when everything went to h.e.l.l.

"All right, you two. Just remember to stick close to me and watch out. The most important thing is to stay safe!"

"Yeah!"

Smiling, I turned to glance at the rest of the mercenaries as they went about their preparations. I didn"t know what was going to happen, but I hoped to G.o.d that nothing untoward would happen.

And that we would finally find that G.o.dd.a.m.ned Ling Dan sooner rather than later.