Chương 81: The Days Xia En Disappeared

This side of the canyon.

After Shane disappeared.

Frilian picked up the treasure map from the [Red Mirror Dragon]'s lair that had fallen to the ground.

Staring at the clothes and equipment left behind by Xia En on the ground, he fell into deep thought.

Felene, standing beside him, was visibly anxious, her speech quickening.

"Lady Frilian, has Mr. Shane disappeared? Why is he only left with his clothes? What happened...?"

Frillie did not answer her immediately.

She crouched down, reached out and picked up the linen shirt on the ground, which was still warm from her body. She brought it to her nose and smelled it. Besides the slight soapy smell from Shane's daily baths, there was also a trace of magic residue.

"It must have triggered a teleportation spell."

"Teleportation magic?"

Philon was puzzled.

To her recollection, she had never read any books that recorded this kind of magic.

"It's a very rare [ancient magic]. I've only seen it recorded in some magic books. The entrance to this treasure map should have a [teleportation magic] array. Shaen may have done something to trigger the array." As she spoke, she threw away Shaen's clothes, stood up, and smoothed her hands. She continued, "But it only teleported a human body, without any clothes or weapons... which means the result should be [teleportation failure]."

After saying that, Frilian summoned her staff, levitated a pile of things on the ground, and threw them directly into Shutark's arms.

"There's no other way. It seems we'll have to wait here for a while."

Shutark stood there, stunned.

Philon was full of resentment: "Lady Frilian, how long do you mean by 'wait a while'?"

"It's hard to say, maybe a few days, maybe a few years."

"..."

"Why are you staring at me like that? The teleportation failed. I can only wait for the magic to stop and correct itself. There's nothing I can do."

"You can imagine it like a bean stuck in the middle of a bamboo tube. Either you poke it with a stick to let the bean pass through, or you let the bamboo tube sit and let the bean come back in."

"We can't poke at it now, so we can only wait for the magic to settle and for it to return on its own."

After explaining, Frillian turned around and walked towards the village on her own, waving to the two people behind her as she went.

"Alright, dismissed now."

On her way back, Frillie's lips curled into a subtle smile as she muttered to herself, "It's been so long since I've had the chance to settle down and study magic books. Now I can finally relax for a while..."

Of course, the muttering was too loud.

Philen and Shutark behind him heard it all clearly.

Shutark watched Frilian walk away, then looked at Shane's clothes in his arms, a question mark slowly appearing above his head: What's going on? The team disbanded on my first day...

"Shall we go too?" he asked Philon.

Philon slowly turned his head and gave him a kind look.

"Okay, I understand."

Shutark immediately grabbed the pile of clothes and silently retreated to a safe distance.

Philen ignored him.

The little girl walked to the spot where Xia En had disappeared, staring at the ground with a furrowed brow.

Frillie's words made her feel uneasy.

For those waiting outside, a few days or a few years are just a matter of time.

But for Shane, who is trapped in spatial magic, every minute and every second is an unknown test.

Magic is no joke.

In an instant, all the memories of spending time with Xia En flooded back to him.

Those earnest jokes, those meticulous protections, that reliable figure standing in front of me every time danger struck... they have all been deeply imprinted in my mind without me even realizing it.

"Mr. Shane, you must come back safely."

She prayed silently in her heart.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The first day since Shane went missing.

Frillie stayed in her hotel room all day, clutching a magic book, and didn't go out.

Shutark wandered around the village, helping children retrieve their kites and carrying elderly women across the road, doing everything big and small.

Philon went to the place where Shane disappeared and waited there for a whole day.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

It's the third day since Shane went missing.

Frillie remained holed up in her room like a mushroom.

Xiutark began helping the villagers build houses, dig wells, and repair pig, cattle, and sheep pens, readily accepting all the dirty and tiring work.

Philon tidied up the magic books that Frilian had scattered all over the floor, then went out and waited all day at the place where Shane had disappeared.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

It has been ten days since Shane went missing.

Frillie still didn't go out.

Shutark joined in, following Philon, and the two waited together at the place where Shane disappeared.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The fifteenth day since Xia En went missing.

Frilian also joined in, and the three of them waited together at the place where Shane disappeared.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

It's the twentieth day since Shane went missing.

For convenience, they left the village and set up a tent nearby as a temporary camp.

at this time.

Shutark sat on the rock, wiping the battle axe in his hand, glancing every now and then at the empty space where Shane had disappeared, hesitant to speak.

"Mr. Shutark, is there something you'd like to say?"

"No..." Shutark quickly averted his gaze.

A few minutes later.

The boy's gaze involuntarily drifted back to that spot, this time his expression looking even more conflicted.

Philon had reached her limit.

She stopped stirring the soup with her spoon, her tone somewhat unfriendly, "Mr. Shutark, if you keep doing this, I'm going to add something to your soup."

Upon hearing this, Shutark immediately backed down.

"Hey Philon... do you think Shaun will come out with an extra leg or a missing one?"

"..."

"Or, will its head grow onto its butt?"

"Mr. Shutark, please don't say such terrible things," Philon said, clearly displeased.

"Theoretically speaking, it is possible."

Freya, who was standing nearby, overheard their conversation. She casually flipped through a page of her grimoire and interjected, "If a teleportation spell fails to activate and leaves clothes behind, the same thing can happen when it stops. It's entirely possible that something else might be misplaced or left behind."

Philon stopped stirring the soup pot completely, his expression blank, looking as if he was about to break.

Seeing this, Shutark on the opposite side started frantically giving Frillie meaningful glances, his eyes practically twitching.

As a result, Frillie couldn't sense anything at all.

"?"

Just then, a huge magic circle suddenly appeared in front of them, where Xiaen had disappeared.

A pale blue light rose from the ground, slowly rotating and gradually accelerating.

The three people stopped talking, stopped what they were doing, and looked in that direction.

A smooth, naked shadow seemed to be faintly appearing within the magic circle...

puff.

The moment the shadow appeared, the magic circle that had just begun to ignite abruptly went out.

The ground has returned to normal.

Frillie's calm expression gradually faded, and she closed the grimoire in her hand.

"There really is a problem..."