Second World-Novel

Jack continued pummeling Saakir with his claws while she was helpless on the ground. She was unable to cast a spell. Jack's attacks filled with mana manipulation produced powerful impacts that caused her difficulty in concentrating. She was also panicking since she was unable to think of a solution to get out of her predicament.

Suddenly, Jack stopped when her HP was critical.

"Does Mammon know that I'm here?" Jack asked.

Saakir didn't answer.

Jack grabbed her neck and lifted her. "You won't get the chance to talk anymore if you refuse to answer."

"Will… Will you let me go if I talk?" Saakir asked.

Jack paused for a moment before answering, "I will."

"Do you promise?"

"Stop wasting time!" Jack tightened his hold, causing Saakir difficulty in speaking. He then loosened it.

"Do not think of stalling," Jack said. "Are there any other demons nearby?"

"No… No. It's just the two of us," Saakir answered.

"What about my first question?"

"Mammon knows that we are searching for you and the satyrs who were involved. He sent a lot of his followers on this task, but he doesn't know exactly where they all go to search… He doesn't know I am here…"

"The other demon said that you found I was here by detecting my lingering aura. How do you do that? Is it something unique only to you or other mages can do that as well?"

"How can you hear that? You are in stasis… How do you break out of the stasis field?"

"I am the one asking the questions here!" Jack again tightened his hold.

Saakir coughed when Jack loosened his grip. "Answer my question!" Jack yelled.

"I found where you used to be by using a spell. Although not many have this spell, there are mages other than me who do. When the spell is cast, it detects a creature's lingering aura in the vicinity. The longer the creature stays in a location, the stronger the aura is," Saakir answered.

"Creature…? So, the spell is not specifically targeting me?"

"… You are the only human in this plane. You might as well be the only target."

"I see. Thank you for your information," Jack said.

"…. Are you going to let me go now?" Saakir asked

Jack released his grip.

Saakir dropped to the ground. "You… You are truly letting me go…?"

"A promise is a promise," Jack shrugged.

Saakir couldn't believe it, but she also didn't want to waste it. She turned around and ran but then found herself blocked by Therras.

Therras made a powerful stomp, stamping out the remaining HP Saakir had.

"I said I let you go, but I never said anything about my pet," Jack said.

"That is so pointless, just kill her if you don't want to let her go," Peniel reprimanded.

"Hey, a man's promise means something!" Jack returned. He then asked her, "Did she tell the truth about the detection spell?"

"There is more than one type of detection spell, but I think the most likely one used to find us is the one she told us just now."

"Is there a spell that can be used to track a particular individual?" Jack asked.

"There is. I told you before about the Track Person skill that can be learned by the ranger's branches, didn't I? There is a spell with a similar effect, but the caster needs to be close to the target to cast the spell. After hitting the target with the spell, the caster will know about the whereabouts of the target at all times. But same as the Track Person skill, the effect lasted only one day at the first level. The spell at its max level allowed the caster to track the target for three days."

"So, I don't need to worry about someone tracking me. I didn't have contact with any demon within the last three days."

Jack was picking up the loot dropped by Saakir and Buzz while talking. He then summoned Pandora and left the place. Saakir might have said that there were no demons around and Mammon didn't know about her being in this place, but he couldn't trust her completely. It was safer to just leave.

He was sad though. This meant he could no longer farm the amphipterelets here.

"Are there any other spots in this underworld that have amphipterelets or amphipteres?" Jack asked.

"There are, but the areas are rather spread out. Do you want to farm draconic essences?" Peniel asked back.

"That's the plan," Jack answered.

"There are other draconic monsters in an area not far away. They are stronger than amphiptere but you should be able to handle them at your current level. The farming rate might not be faster than when you hunt amphipterelets, though. Do you want to try hunting this other monster or go directly to the area that has amphipterelets?"

"Let's go to the nearest one first," Jack said.

So, they traveled to the place Peniel mentioned. Jack hunted the draconic monsters there. Jack didn't stay for long though. He only hunted in the area for one day before moving to a different area the next day.

After what had happened with Saakir, he could no longer afford to stay in one area for long or return to the same grinding spot. He was grinding while on the move.

Luckily, he had Pandora. With her excellent speed, he didn't waste too much time going from one grinding spot to another. He still farmed draconic essences like he originally planned. But because of the constant traveling and not all the targets were amphipterelets, his gain was less. After one week, he collected less than 2,000 draconic essences.

He was only a tiny bit away from bloodline level 8, but he couldn't afford to spend more time in the underworld. He had received a message from John telling him that they had received a reply from Hydrurond's queen. Liguritudum and Aurebor's armies were also nearing Hydrurond's territory.

Jack marked all the places he had hunted before in this one week. When he returned to the underworld, he would have to avoid these places. Otherwise, mages similar to Saakir might place another trap for him at those places.

With Pandora, Jack returned to the upworld.