Julien climbed down from the tree and approached. Although the burns were painful, they didn't stop him. His younger self was already sitting up and wiping dirt off himself. A few meters away, his sword was partially lodged in a tree.
Mana points.
[Mana: 18700/31000]
About 60% left. I hope he's not still controlled. I need to keep saving on mana, in the likely event where there's another fight.
Julien stopped in front of him.
The kid looked up, and had an odd expression on his face. "I didn't mean to do any of that."
"It's fine. I know you were being controlled," Julien said.
Neither of them moved for a second, then Little Julien added sheepishly, "You still burned my foot though."
"You're an S-tier. Can't exactly pull my punches with you, can I? You nearly sliced off my arm," Julien replied.
The boy snorted. "Yeah. Guess that makes us even."
Julien held out his uninjured hand.
Little Julien took it right away and winced as he pulled himself to his feet. He did not ask for assistance, even though his boot was partially melted. He simply walked over to the tree and retrieved his sword.
The others were still on the top of the hill, and they gathered on the edge overlooking the two. Alec opened his mouth, hesitated, then asked, "What happened to you guys?"
"That Named tried to take control of our movements," Julien said. "And it nearly got me. That's why I almost fired at you."
"And I couldn't even resist," Little Julien added. "If Ian didn't stop me… I don't know what would've happened."
"But why?" Karis asked. "When Ian stopped you… it just gave up. Then left without trying anything else."
Julien looked around, realising the Puppeteer really was gone.
He's right. Maybe it knew it wouldn't be able to control me. Thank the gods… I hate to sound arrogant, but nobody in this gate could stop Ian Mooring at full power. Everyone would be dead within the hour.
Little Julien looked thoughtful. "I know if I were a monster, I'd keep attacking until I won."
To relieve the burn on his shoulder, Julien adjusted his weight. It hurt, but not in a life-threatening way.
Pity that Ian doesn't have any pain suppression skills like I did. Just another example of how I need to be more careful in fights. Ian might be immune to fire damage, but light abilities can still burn his body.
Above them, the afternoon sun was sinking lower and lower, though the world didn't get any darker. There was still smoke in the air. Julien surveyed the clearing, assessing the damage he had caused earlier when he had cast a spell away from the children. From where he had stood, a straight line of black ran. He couldn't see where the impact ended because it went so far.
It seems my mental strength from my past life carried over with me, allowing me to resist it.
"Wait, what's that?" Alec pointed past Julien, and he turned around to see.
A beam of purple light shot through the sky, about a mile away.
"It's a signal. There must be survivors over there!" Karis realized.
"Julien, can you walk that far?" the older Julien asked, turning back to face the group.
Little Julien nodded.
Mina, Alec and Karis carefully climbed down the hill slope to meet them, and the group started walking again, following the direction of the fading flare. Meanwhile, the mood had changed from traumatised worry to full-on fear. Even Little Julien--who was still limping slightly--kept his thoughts to himself.
Mina looked up once or twice. "I hope they're all safe," she murmured.
"Me too," Alec said.
Eventually, the trees thinned enough that they spotted movement ahead. A larger group was camped near the edge of a dry creek bed, a fire burning in the center of their circle.
Julien signaled for the others to stop, then stepped out first.
The reaction was almost immediate. Two familiar figures turned toward him, both armed and alert.
Amara lowered her staff a second later. "Huh? Ian?"
Julien nodded. "Yeah, it's me. We finally found you."
Haley was standing beside her, bow still in hand. She relaxed, confirming it really was him, and looking to the first-years behind him. "You're okay! Thank goodness. But… is that all of your group?"
"No, the rest are hiding somewhere," Julien said.
Amara waved them forward. "That's good. I was worried nobody would see our signal."
They walked into the camp. A couple of students looked up from where they were sitting or tending to one another. Some had torn uniforms. One boy's hand was wrapped in a strip of cloth. Another student leaned against a rock, eyes closed.
Haley folded her arms as Julien approached. "You look rough. What happened to your shoulders?"
Little Julien froze, looking guilty, but Julien only shrugged. "We had a fight with a Named."
"You too?" Haley said, surprised. "Both me and Amara's groups were attacked by them. We managed to get away, but…"
"But some people… we couldn't save," Amara finished somberly.
Julien stared into the fire. "Common theme," he said quietly. "Ray's group was attacked too."
"You saw Ray?" Haley asked quickly.
"Yeah. Don't worry, though. He's a bit beat up, but nothing that serious. Same with his first years. But we came across another group on the way here… none of them survived. The monster that they encountered… Well, I'll tell you later. You probably don't want to hear it right now."
Haley and Amara looked at each other questioningly, but they didn't press.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Amara said quietly, with a troubled expression.
Haley started pacing. "Just what the hell is going on? How could such powerful monsters appear in just a D-tier gate? It makes no sense!"
Julien fidgeted with the ripped edge of his sleeve uncomfortably.
Should I tell them about Gate Amplification…? What if they question me?
No, they probably won't. Ian was a smart guy, and from his memories, I know he used to spend hours reading at the library. They need to know, since they're in this mess too.
"I… think I might know what caused this," he began.
Amara and Haley both looked over sharply. A few of the students did too, their attention caught by the tone of his voice.
"It's something called Gate Amplification. I read about it once," Julien went on. "In an old textbook. You know, one of the advanced ones nobody bothers with unless they're planning to become a scholar or professor."
"Of course you'd read those," Haley said, her expression softening. "So, what is it?"
Julien looked at the fire again. "Basically, the gate starts replacing monsters with ones it shouldn't be able to. Powerful ones, the kind you're only supposed to be able to find in A- or S-tier gates. Instead of the usual horde, you get Named-class enemies scattered all over. And worse."
Amara frowned. "Can it affect abilities, too?"
"The textbook didn't say," Julien said. "But I'm pretty sure it does. A girl in my group couldn't heal properly. Ray had trouble controlling his metal shard skill. And one of my spells went in a weird direction, and one of my own skills was weaker than it should've been. It might also be why the mana-communicators aren't working."
"I knew it! I was trying to use my most powerful spells, but they just wouldn't work. And the communicators weren't working…? Mine got smashed up, so I didn't know."
Julien looked at the golden fog still hanging in the air. "There's also got to be another side effect. You know how everything is just too bright? It's mana becoming visible. Mana's not supposed to be visible. When it's this dense, everything starts acting weird."
A few of the students nearby stiffened. Karis looked like he wanted to ask something but didn't speak. Mina lowered her eyes. Even Little Julien was quiet.
"Wait, what about the boss? Haley said suddenly. "If that's been upgraded too, we might not be able to defeat it with a debuff like that."
"And until we kill it, there's no way out for us," Amara finished.
The camp went silent. Then, one by one, the students turned their eyes to Julien.
A familiar feeling washed over him. The kind people gave you when they wanted saving. As a hero, Julien felt it countless times.
They want me to reassure them, and tell them what to do.
They were waiting--not because he'd declared himself the leader. Just because… he was Ian Mooring. Reliable, respected. The kind of person people naturally trusted when things fell apart.
Just like I was, Julien thought. And as always, I can't afford to get it wrong.
"We've got to find the three instructors and the other two fifth-years," he said. "There's no telling how strong the boss is now. We'll need everyone we can get to have a chance of defeating it."
Haley nodded immediately. "Makes sense."
Amara looked thoughtful. "We'll need a plan. Scouting in smaller groups will be risky, since we might get ambushed by monsters we can't see through the shine."
"We can split into two patrol teams, circle out from here, and be ready to signal if we spot anything. I'll lead one group."
"Sounds good," Haley agreed.
She started to walk away to make preparations, but stopped. "Earlier… you said you came across another group. That none of them made it."
"Yeah." Julien's expression darkened.
"Do you know what did it?"
He nodded. "A Named I've never heard of before. The system called it Puppeteer. It has a controlling power. It used it to force their fifth-year to kill the others, then himself."
Amara went pale.
Haley's eyes narrowed. "How'd you find that out?"
"We encountered it while looking for other groups. And it tried to use its power on me twice. I only just managed to stop myself. Then it went after someone else."
"What happened?" Amara asked quietly.
Julien didn't answer immediately. His eyes flicked toward Little Julien, who'd gone quiet again, arms folded tight across his chest.
"We… got through it," he said finally.
That was all he gave them. The details weren't important now. And the kid didn't need more eyes on him than he already had.
I don't want him to go through what happened to me.
"I think the Puppeteer left after that," Julien continued. "Didn't try anyone else. Maybe it decided it couldn't win."
"That's… disturbing," Haley murmured.
"Any chance we'll see it again?" Amara asked.
Julien looked toward the trees. "I don't know. But we need to assume we will. We'll have to watch out for it."
Haley gave a short nod. "Got it."
Another moment passed. Then Julien said, "We'll sort out groups soon. For now, I'm… just going to sit down."