"Hey, you thugs!

Just as Gwen was considering the merits of restricting Yue to avoid a diplomatic incident, she was interrupted by a rattling sound that quieted the whispering crowd.

This group of people has blazed a trail. From the crowd, an indigenous woman with the temperament of a fertility goddess emerged. She was twice as wide as the most girly of men, with a bushy ** hanging low on a fat belly, naked, but without a shawl. However, when a person sees a woman with three chins, there is no feeling of obesity. On the contrary, the woman has an indescribable vitality. The most incredible thing is that the woman's body is covered with ochre markings and white lines.

Gwen guessed that the woman was Tommy's soul walker, the dreamer of the tribe, Old Guragon.

"Ma'am. Gwen put her hand on Yue's shoulder, please allow me to apologize. I didn't realize what trouble our invasion would bring. ”

"Ignore them, Pakkomans of the Migru tribe. "Thankfully, Gulagon is fluent in English.

"They are young, bored, restless, and have little to do here except hunting and foraging, which means that the mob tends to become greedy and hungry for thrills. ”

Guragon turned to her people.

"Go home, don't embarrass our guests anymore!"

The tribesmen grunted and dispersed.

"Allow me to introduce myself. Gwen bowed politely, this is the way a junior mage bows to the master I am Gwen Song, a summoned student. This is Yue, also an awakener, Deborah, a shapeshifter, and finally, this is Avia, our healer. ”

"A thug costs five, doesn't it?" asked the old man, looking around, and besides, Tommy wasn't a magician. ”

"Ah, we're here to broaden our horizons, not to pursue them. ”

Ghostrunner glared at Jura, looking guilty. "What a mistake! We've had trouble with Milo Magician with Mish before. That's why you'll have eyes. ”

Old Guragon came closer, and from her markings, the girls could smell wildflowers and loam.

"They said you wanted to talk to me. If you're not in trouble, what can old Gulagon do for you?"

"Okay. Gwen plucked up her courage. She couldn't tell her about her relationship with Almuji, but Yass didn't stop her from asking about the myth from a completely different perspective. "I am very interested in the history of this area, especially about the history of the Rainbow Serpent. ”

Of these girls, Avia is the most eloquent. She was quick to explain what they had seen on the day of the field trip, about the rampage of the Rainbow Serpent in the Royal National Park.

"I see, I see. The woman said with a smile.

Her gaze swept over the students and stopped at Deborah. The shapeshifters seemed to notice, hiding behind the others. Gu Lagang had little interest in Yue or Avia, and left most of his attention to Gwen.

"Do you know Almuji?" said Gulagun, I think your dream is strong. ”

Gwen's blood immediately turned cold. Gwen felt goosebumps all over her body, grinned awkwardly, and shook her head in disbelief.

"Only stories, ma'am," Elvia replied to Gwen, wondering why her talkative friend had suddenly shut up.

"It doesn't matter. We talked in the shade of the trees. Guragon motioned for the girls to walk towards her hunchback.

"I'd love to," Gwen replied.

The evening party followed, except for one.

"I'll stay here," Deborah replied, barely hiding her unhappiness on her face as I felt uncomfortable. ”

"Are you alright, Debe, is it what we're eating?" Sickness?" asked Elvia, confused. Gwen was also confused. Along the way, Deborah was the toughest of them all. "Maybe—heat stroke? I'll stay with Debbie. ”

"Okay. Gwen nodded at Elvia, Debbie, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. "Deborah shot the gulag with an unfriendly gaze, I just had to lie down for a while. There you go. I'll be fine here Eve here. ”

Gwen looked at Yue, and he shrugged. Xiao Yue was not close enough to Deborah to roll the dice. What intrigued Yue even more was the round woman, who had an exotic story.

"Okay. "We'll be back soon," Gwen replied softly, giving Deborah a quick hug. ”

Old Gulagon sat under the canopy of a hump barely as high as she sat and looked like a female Tubudai.

"Please forgive the mob's suspicions. "Gulagon tilted his head and said they don't want to hurt us, they just hope you don't hurt us. ”

"It was my fault for not announcing our arrival," Gwen said if there is anything we can do to correct our intrusion. ”

Gulagon opened his mouth, revealing rows of yellowed teeth.

"Let's hear why you came here in the first place. Jura told me that you and Tommy came to see me directly. Do you want to know about Mother Snake, Almuji?"

Gwen asked her question very carefully. "Yes, especially, if there are any stories about snakes being able to communicate with people. It's like a dream. ”

"Oh?" Guragon's eyes did for two and a half months. "Why would a Migru girl want to know the mother of an unformed land, especially a magician with European magic?"

"Academic reasons," Gwen lied, pondering the sensibilities of the GEA company she was embedded in.

"What do you know so far?" said Guragon, asking rhetorically, how did you know Almuji?

Gwen grunted. Now, she felt the oppressive force of Hea visibly pressing down on her heart, tugging at her.

"Yue, I want you to hit me with a fiery hand, just a small hand. ”

Yue looked at Gwen with a puzzled expression.

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing. I'm going to show something to the elderly. ”

"Gwen, are you crazy?" Yue's expression showed that she was questioning her own sanity.

"Please, please," Gwen affirmed her request.

"Well, I hope you've got a healthy pot ready. Xiao Yue raised a burning hand!

A flame erupted from Yue's hand, enveloping Gwen like the tongue of a vicious salamander.

But just as the flames reached their target and began to scorch Gwen's clothes, a faint light enveloped Gwen's body, revealing a few millimeters above her skin. Flames rushed past their intended target, but there were no screams of pain, only a stench of carbon monoxide.

"Your sleeve is on fire," Yue said coldly.

Gwen quickly extinguished the yellow flames. Her arm was unscathed, but her blouse was ruined.

A message spell rang in Gwen's ears.

"Are you alright? What's that!" it was Elvia, who made direct contact with the other end of the camp through sight.

"We're fine, Eve, just testing something. Gwen terminated the spell after comforting her friend.

"Did you see that?" asked Gwen.

"I saw it," Guragon said.

"What did she see, what did I see?" Mr. Yue asked, puzzled, that it was a repressor, right? What's strange?

At this time, Xiao Yue's mind seemed to have caught up with her gaze.

"Wait, have you recited a spell?" Xiao Yue looked at her friend, but it was impossible. Are you a confessor, too? Gwen - what the hell happened?"

Gwen turned her head and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Yue and Guragon both stared at a gleaming scale around her neck.

"Magic item?What does it do?Absorb elements?Why do you want to fire specifically?" Yue shouted, Did you do it for you from Opa? Damn, if I had a wizard as a grandfather......

However, old Gulagon's face had turned pale, and her swarthy face had turned gray as blood flowed from her face.

"You've seen ...... Almuji?"

Gwen didn't say anything.

"Now I understand why you want to dream. You want to talk to Almuji. Good, Migru Magician Gwen. ”

"Yes. ”

"That's good. But first, I'm going to ask you a task. If you do this for us, then I will share this dream with you, and from your dream, you can talk to Almuji. ”

Gwen nodded.

"One mission!" Xiao Yue immediately perked up, I like to explore. What does this entail?"

"A monster hunt," Guragon carefully chanted, I was afraid of a dark beast

"We want it!" Yue smiled from ear to ear. "Point us in the right direction!"

Old Guragon looked at Gwen and made sure she agreed, probably not understanding how Migru was so eager to help. Gwen knew, of course, Yue's intentions were pure, as they came. She wanted to fight, that's all.

"A dark beast," Guragon continued, we are haunted by Vanka, a great spider that lives on a salt lake, whose bark echoes in the night, and whose children come to hunt us when we feel tired and lonely. ”

"Wait a minute. "Xiao Yue's face is pale, do you mean the giant spider king?"

Gwen felt the same way. Spider. She's not very good at spiders, but Xiaoyue is on a different level entirely. For a while, they were at Yue's house and saw an ordinary hunter standing on her roof, and Yue raised his cup to it and showed them both tea and ceramics. The hunters escaped unharmed and disappeared into the rooftops. Xiaoyue was always scared, and she insisted that her father drive her to Gwen's apartment for the night.

"Vanka, a barking spider......"

"It's calling?!" Yue's voice became even higher. "Like Wangwang!"

"More like this......" Guragon made a terrible sound, like an angry wombat with a jungle turkey on its back.

Xiao Yue fainted.

"Is Xiaoyue alright?" Gwen held her friend straight.

"Of course. Xiao Yue calmed down, and her voice trembled What are one or two spiders? ”

"So. "Gwen turned around and went back to Guragon to do a favor?"

"For Almuji, yes. "Guragon met Gwen's own people, and I'm also interested in your relationship. A Miglu girl and Almuji - how strange and what does that mean?"

"Can't I offer anything else?" Gwen turned, already staring at the middle distance. "Crystal currency?"

"Do you see a magician nearby?" said Old Gulagon, "Do you want an old lady to fight a big spider that screams?" Do you think I can outrun its sixteen legs?"

"S-16!" Yueya's gaze glazed over.

"No, no, we'll take care of it," Gwen said. She believes that in the Green Zone, even a giant spider will not exceed level 5 due to its excessive strength. What's more, she's optimistic that the Vanka creature isn't a match for Kaliban and Ariel.

"When do you want it to be done?"

"If you come back, we can start the ceremony tonight. It's only two hours to get to the salt lake by horse. ”

Gwen nodded. She begged for more details about the arachnids, but the old elven walker didn't see it himself. Her people only know its whereabouts and some legends. Judging by the information Gwen gathered, it was supposed to be a giant tarantula.

"We needed a tour guide to go to the salt lake. ”

"Tommy should know the way. Old Gulagon pointed to the little jackal who was brushing his horse.

The girls retreated to a remote area of the camp. Deborah says she feels better, and Gwen tells them about her progress, giving everyone the option to stay with her.

Before Gwen could finish speaking, Elvia agreed.

Unsurprisingly, Deborah wasn't excited.

"That's not right," she said, she said, and we shouldn't be helping these people. ”

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked, her voice more curious than critical.

"They are not part of our society. These barbarians rejected our path decades ago. They need to live with the consequences. ”

"Isn't it a bit harsh?" Gwen was really surprised. Is Deborah racist? It's unexpected. Then Gwen remembered their youth again. Deborah has been joking about Yue's English since she was in junior high school. When anti-refugee sentiment was in vogue, she also referred to Yue as a boat dweller. A quintessential Australian, Deborah lives on the South Coast, where people are particular about their beaches, churches, and suburbs.

"Not to mention. "Deborah bit her lip, I heard they were practicing witchcraft. ”

Elvia's eyes widened, revealing her bright blue iris.

"That's spiritual magic. "Gwen and her master did their homework together and it wasn't resurrecting the dead or anything, it was more like ancestor worship, storing memories in containers, magic circles, animalism, things like that. ”

Deborah's expression told Gwen that she didn't believe a word.

"Debbie. Gwen felt guilty for saying this, but she didn't want to accept the prejudice that came with Deborah's misunderstanding, and you could stay here if you wanted. ”

"No," she said quickly, I'm with you, you need tanks, right? We're a team now. ”

Yue and Avia had no objections. It was Gwen who announced that they were now a team, and Gwen must have rejected the ambivalent Deborah.

"Agreed. Gwen reached out and patted Deborah's knee, relaxing her jaw and imagining it like a monster hunt and nothing else. ”

"Okay, then let's go?" Yue asked impatiently. She would love to see the spiders cooked. Just knowing that there was a barking spider nearby made her creep.

Gwen brings the girl's belt to life, organizing two healing potions and two mana potions for each witch, as well as a bottle of antidote. Yue goes to pick up Tommy, and Tommy is finally relieved that he can finally ride out of the camp and get the details of the girls away from the "thugs" who keep besieging him.

As they traveled, the girls gathered notes on the nature of the magical creatures of the Arachnids. Gwen surprises the girls with her knowledge, explaining that a barking spider, even one named Vanka, could be a web dweller.

"Either ambush predators, like tarantulas, or trap doors," Gwen said expertly, using her otherworldly knowledge or, in the worst case, a jumping spider. They move fast. My advice is to concentrate on restricting its movement once it appears. ”

Deborah declares that her soul has a tremor, which she can achieve by channeling a small stone shape within a radius of a few meters around.

As for Gwen, she can discreetly cast spell detection spells and detect traps somewhere along the way.

About two hours later, the group arrived at the salt lake.

While the girls focus on scrubbing, Gwen updates her B-cream and takes the opportunity to summon Ariel. Once her companion is distracted by the runway mink, she activates the detection spell.

Gwen scanned the blazing white horizon with her mana-filled eyes, yet to see anything of note.

"Let's leave the horses to Tommy. ”

"No problem, ma'am, I'll take care of the water pipes. ”

Since it was the dry season, the entire lake was covered with salt, creating a flat white plain, a desolate place with nothing. Gwen is now more convinced that the barking spider is a greedy hunter. If a spider lives in a place where there is no prey, then it must be an active hunter. No wonder it feeds on indigenous tribes.

It took another half an hour to wander through the salt marshes before I found a barely visible trail.

"This is going this way," Yue said of the medium-sized prey, possibly a kangaroo. It looks fresh. The salt here was quickly removed. ”

The group walked along the path. With the exception of Deborah, whose body is reinforced by both Earth and Transfiguration Lovers, the girls all feel the loss of moisture due to the action of salt and sunlight.

"Stop. Gwen held up a hand as the girls were drinking water from the cafeteria. She felt the sting of divination, and she scanned their surroundings. Not far away, she felt the magic of magical creatures.

"Can monsters use magic?" asked Gwen. She is not very confident if the monster uses spells or just directly manifests the phenomenon.

"They can," Elvia interjected, saying that some monsters have innate magical powers. ”

Gwen felt another tingling pain. She poured more magic into her eyes, feeling the tension in her eyeballs. There are distorted particles everywhere, as well as particles of vague elemental mana.

"Air elemental!" Gwen suddenly shouted, that's why it's good to live in saline!

Whining!

As if answering her call, suddenly a stream of silk exploded around them.

A huge net had been buried beneath the girls, tearing through the cracked surface of the salt pan and wrapping them around like a wrap.

"Little stone shape!" Deborah slammed into the ground and immediately summoned a huge sand dome around the girls, creating a barrier overhead.

Xiao Yue made a circular gesture with both hands.

"Wall of Fire!"

A ring of fire burned the place around the girls. When the film of the enclosure came into contact with the flames, it was immediately ignited, leaving behind ashes and unpleasant smoke.

"Bang!"

A front leg in the shape of a sickle passed through the sandbar and stopped a few centimeters in front of Gwen.

"Oh my God!" Gwen screamed, how sturdy is this thing?

A whirlwind of salt began to envelop the girls, suffocating the wall of fire with salt crystals. Before Deborah could react, the branch came out of the wall.

Gwen tasted the magic in the air, and the dust was full of transmutation.

"I feel too rushed!" she warned the others. "Everyone, round Eve in a triangle. Yue, shrink the ring of fire!Debbie, I need your tremor!Focus on defense!Avia, blessing and help!Give me a healing shock in ten seconds!"

When the whirlwind of salt obscured all vision, the girls went to their proper positions.

"Ariel, shoot casually. Caliban, go underground Gwen ordered. As her empty demon shrouded herself in the ground with secreted slime, coiling around her body like a spring, she felt her vitality dry up.

A few seconds later, Avia's energy filled her pipes.

"Are we waiting for it to come?" Deborah shouted as the salt storm roared.

"yes!" Gwen shouted too fast, and if we didn't attack it, it might run away. ”

"I'm going to take the bait! I'm sure I'll be able to handle one or two blows. ”

"Wait and see," Gwen suggested.

"What about me?" Yue asked this bastard too quickly!

"Vanka," Gwen corrected her friend by shining a scorching light on its legs. Aim as many as you can!

Her constant spells attack targets indiscriminately, but hopefully they will be triggered fast enough to slow down the barking spiders.

Outside the sand barrier, the salt storm began to subside. The girls knew that if the monster was going to strike, it would have to be fast. The question is, where does it come from?

"Ggnak!"

There was a roar—a rough, inhumane bark—a spider that vibrated the air with chitin, emitting an indescribable laryngeal roar.

"It's coming!" Deborah announced the tremor from afar. "Four o'clock!"

There was a sand explosion about 15 meters away, and then a huge white mass, too fast for the eyes to follow, fell on the ranks of the Black Acacia trees.