Bear School Astartes

The communication efficiency of the cone-shaped crystal truly lives up to its designation as a ’prototype’.

Lann did establish contact with the Magic World, but it wasn’t like a phone call, rather more like leaving a message on an answering machine.

Who knows when a reply will come through.

Perhaps it’s due to the issue of time flow between worlds.

”...Whizz~ Whizz, hello? Can you hear me?”

After sending this message, Lann waited for over three hours to receive a reply.

It was Margaret’s delighted voice, though in the cone-shaped crystal’s communication, it was transformed into an old-fashioned phone-like, noise-ridden female voice.

”Ha! I did it! This communication magic works! I told you the magic array I deduced couldn’t be wrong!”

”Lann, let’s be concise next. The magic power consumption on our end is enormous.”

Even though it was expected, the fact that cross-world communication succeeded on the first try left Lann feeling a bit surreal.

He held the cone-shaped crystal, looked it over from every angle, and finally shrugged.

This field of ’scientific research’ was not his forte; no matter how he looked, he couldn’t discern more from it.

Thus, Lann could only concentrate on his current affairs.

”I have some trouble here, and I need the technical support of a magic expert.”

Lann then explained the situation of a deer-headed spirit appearing in the other world to Margaret.

He clarified that this deer-headed spirit was entirely different from the usual sort, having grown too powerful to deal with easily.

However, the hardest part at the moment is trying to find a few small clues over a vast area; otherwise, there’s not even a chance to face off with the deer-headed spirit.

”A deer-headed spirit?” Margaret’s tone revealed surprise upon hearing this.

”Wait a minute; if it’s a monster issue, then perhaps I’m not too familiar. I need to consult Belengar.”

Then came another long wait.

Later, it seemed Margaret had brought in Tishaya to take over the cone-shaped crystal communication.

Margaret’s talent in spells is top-notch, but when handling affairs and sudden situations, she habitually seeks advice from her teacher.

Tishaya’s calm, smooth, and efficient voice transmitted from the cone-shaped crystal into Lann’s mind.

”According to Wolf Demon Hunter records, the exceedingly rare ancient deer-headed spirit among the deer-headed spirits does indeed possess the talent to open undirected portals. The one you’ve encountered likely opened a portal itself and wandered over by coincidence.”

”But as you mentioned, the biggest challenge you face now is finding the individuals cursed by the deer-headed spirit. If Rita or I were by your side, it would be quite simple. Entrails or shard divination could easily pinpoint a region.”

”However, considering the spellcasting capability of demon hunters...”

Tishaya didn’t finish her sentence, but the unspoken implication already let Lann understand the headache from their side.

To female warlocks, spellcasting is the primary choice for solving problems. However, they’re not by Lann’s side now, and Lann’s spellcasting abilities fall short, leaving even remote guidance impossible.

The situation is somewhat stuck; magic from distant worlds doesn’t seem to be of help at this moment.

Lann furrowed his brows but then seemed to have thought of something after a moment.

He reactivated the cone-shaped crystal after a long silence.

”Let’s not mention target locking for now.” Lann carefully chose his words, striving not to cause any misunderstanding in this precious cross-world communication time.

”Tishaya, do you and Margaret still remember the Yakxi Rune of the demon hunter?”

”I need you to help me refine it so it can produce a spell effect similar to ’two-way telepathy’ under a demon hunter’s spellcasting ability. Can you manage that?”

After another long wait, a slightly speechless voice from Margaret came from the Magic World.

”You’re asking two Airetusa deans to refine a demon hunter’s trick.”

She paused slightly, seemingly pursing her lips.

”And then you ask us ’can we do it’?”

”...You do realize whom you’re talking to, right, dear?”

The Demon Hunter couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

It’s assured.

”By the way, I also need your help; I need to contact the Lady of the Lake... No, nothing, I just thought it could serve as a contingency plan.”

-----------------

Subsequently, Lann and the Grand Commander stayed another two days at the third expedition’s research base.

During these two days, under the guidance of the two Airetusa deans using the cone-shaped crystal, Lann developed an alternative casting method for his Yakxi Rune.

Tishaya and Margaret actually took only half a day to refine the Yakxi Rune to a satisfactory state.

After all, the ability of ’telepathy’ is a basic, passive skill for any formally trained wizard or witch.

Even the most proficient spellcasters of the Griffin School demon hunters just never focused their research here.

In the end, they’re mainly warriors who double as scholars, and the development direction of the Yakxi Rune in their hands still leans more towards mind control and thought confusion.

Otherwise, they could have developed it quickly too.

And these two days were mainly consumed by cross-world communication.

Teaching is something that speeds up with two-way communication; the Magic World provided Lann with ’textbooks’ and Lann needed to identify and relay any points of discomfort during learning.

Then Tishaya and Margaret would further emphasize explanations in these areas.

Between sending and receiving, this form of communication, resembling phone messages at present, dragged out the procedure by two days.

This was thanks to the ’interstellar civilization-level learning device’ Mentos exerting its power; otherwise, if an ordinary demon hunter were to learn a new magic seal variant, even with face-to-face teaching, it would take over a week.

And once Lann could steadily use this new Yakxi Rune, he called the Grand Commander in the morning and set out from the research base.

”Do you have a solution?” The Grand Commander asked in surprise. ”But the Thief Adventurer’s Group hasn’t returned yet.”

”Waiting passively is too disadvantageous,” Lann said as they stepped out of the research base, and the demon hunter looked up, seemed to confirm a direction, then unhesitatingly set off on his way.

”I’ve found a more proactive way... but I need to find a helper.”

”A helper?”

The Grand Commander scratched his golden buzz-cut. He couldn’t figure it out; there are no more than a few thousand humans in this new continent.

The Land Coral Plateau is still unexplored territory; what help could they find?

”Just follow and you’ll see.”

Lann had a demeanor of ’too lazy to explain, just keep up with me’.

As they continued advancing across the Land Coral Plateau, traversing the vividly colored terrestrial corals.

The Grand Commander looked at the increasingly heavy black thunderclouds in the sky, seeming to finally understand something.

He looked at Lann leading the way in astonishment.