Chapter 82: Goblin Mountains
A spider!
This was the creature reflected in Selene’s dark eyes and the source of her terror.
Like most animals, spiders could also become monsters once they came into contact with Mana and awakened their ancient bloodlines.
Even among monsters, they were considered a particularly dangerous species.
Every Awakener would feel apprehensive against them.
Yet when Aurelius looked at the spider, he felt anything but fear.
The reason?
The creature was tiny, barely the size of a human fingernail.
More importantly, it was currently lying with its abdomen facing the sky, its legs motionless.
In a single word, it was dead.
In more words, it had been dead for a very long time.
Aurelius suspected he had been mistaken at first.
There had to be another reason behind Selene’s fear. Perhaps he had missed something.
But after checking several times only to find nothing else, he arrived at a certain absurd yet possible conclusion:
Selene’s fear stemmed from this dead spiderling.
Subconsciously, Aurelius reached out and picked the dead insectoid up, wanting to examine it closer and see if there was anything strange about it.
But before he could do so, a horrified yelp rang out.
Selene, who had not moved for several seconds, suddenly took action. With her full strength, she slapped his hand away, inevitably sending the spider flying through the air.
She didn’t immediately snap back. She stared at the place it had supposedly landed for several seconds, as though afraid that the slumbering "beast" would awaken again.
Aurelius suffered from second-hand embarrassment when he saw her reaction.
Especially recalling how she had previously been brave, diving into the Goblin Mountains confidently and thus convincing him to take a risk, he began wondering whether he had made a mistake.
Should he really trust her about their trip?
While he was deep in thought, doubting her trustworthiness, Selene was allowed to take some much-needed time for herself.
She slowly recovered.
The terror in her eyes gradually disappeared. Soon, it was replaced by chilling killing intent as she stared straight into Aurelius’ eyes.
"If you dare say a single word about what happened today to anyone else, I will kill you with my own two hands! Then, I will kill myself!" she hissed through clenched teeth.
Her voice was dripping with bloodlust.
Her strength was only at Rank 1, and it should have been impossible to pose him any threat, but Aurelius felt a chill run down his spine.
He subconsciously looked at the necklace on her neck, which was shining brightly under the silver moon.
He recognized it. It was the parting gift Selene’s mother, a powerful Awakener, had left for her.
In the past, he had examined it through the Player Panel and found little special about it.
But since then, some kind of change must have taken place.
At the very least, Aurelius sensed that the Moonlight Necklace was the primary reason behind the danger he was currently sensing. This item appeared to have been upgraded!
Many thoughts raced through Aurelius’ mind, and he had several questions. However, he asked none of them.
Faced with Selene’s cold-hearted threat, he simply nodded.
The moment she confirmed his agreement, the killing intent in her eyes faded away, as did the invisible momentum accompanying her.
Her face regained its indifferent countenance. Then, she coldly surveyed her surroundings.
Aurelius chose to do the same, his impulse to tease her long gone from his mind.
His gaze swept through the forest.
Most of his vision was covered in lush vegetation.
Towering trees. Bushes. High grass.
This came as no surprise to him.
He had learned from Andrea that the Goblin Mountains were not really a mountain.
More precisely, part of this monster habitat was not really a mountain.
Most was a forest.
It was only its central area, where the most powerful monsters resided, that hills and the mountain it took its name from could be located.
While such information surfaced in his mind, Aurelius never stopped observing his surroundings.
Aside from the chilling temperature, the first thing that became clear to him was the absolute silence.
It was as though the forest was empty.
Let alone footsteps or animal growls, even the buzzing of insects could not be heard. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought they had come to a cemetery.
"This is probably the effect of the Epic Relic I told you about," Selene’s whispered voice echoed in his ears as she leaned closer.
"Monsters and animals possess senses far more keen than humans. Even Awakeners."
"Although you and I can’t sense anything, the aura of an Epic Relic naturally permeates its surroundings."
"These beings can sense it. They will naturally be driven away, knowing that danger is imminent. In a sense, it’s similar to a powerful individual being born among them." She explained.
"I suspect this is another major reason behind the goblins’ sudden riot."
Aurelius nodded.
Though he had never heard of this characteristic of Epic Relics before, he chose to trust the erudite Selene. Everything had shown that she was far more knowledgeable than him.
Just as he was wondering what their next destination would be and was about to ask, he noticed Selene moving.
Her right hand reached into her clothes and into an inner pocket, retrieving an item hidden inside.
It was an azure compass. Painted in the same color as the sea, it looked beautiful under the moon’s brilliance.
Its appearance was only secondary, though.
From his experience as an Alchemist, Aurelius quickly judged this item was a Relic.
Selene gave him no chance to ask questions. Her Mana flowed into the compass, and it was activated.
Under her command, its needle began to move.
Unlike an ordinary compass, it didn’t point toward the north. Instead, it fidgeted for several seconds before its tip finally landed pointed into the Goblin Mountains.
"It’s here!" Aurelius heard Selene whisper, and while holding the compass tightly, she headed toward the direction it pointed to.
He immediately followed behind her.