"Does this world have a telescope?" Benjamin suddenly asked himself.
"It is not even something that is high tech, even if this was an ancient world, it has already been invented." The System said matter of factly.
"...Why didn’t you say something sooner."
The System’s attitude was the same as always, "You did not ask."
Benjamin was speechless.
After giving it a lot of thought, he said to the other mages, "We should fly just a little higher, to avoid being noticed by the people below us."
Even though flying higher will increase the use of their magical energy, no one objected. So they moved up another few hundred meters, and felt the temperature around them drop.
Whilst a few hundred meters in the air, they came to the area just above the firelight.
All the mages became more alert, observing the camp below them for any abnormal activities. It was at that moment, Benjamin, who was in the lead, opened his mouth "Watch it, there is something coming from the sky over there."
Using the water sensing method, he felt something dense flying towards them from the darkness ahead.
At first, he thought that he would get a clearer look before making a decision; but very quickly, he realized he didn’t even need to. Because right in front of him, he could see in the darkness ahead countless bat-like magical creatures, so numerous that they were as thick as dark clouds, heading straight for them.
Everyone got a frightened. What was happening?
In the tight situation, Benjamin could only use his magic spheres to create a water curtain to protect everyone. The other mages quickly summoned their magic; using simpler protection magic spells, they gave the veil more support, adding on additional layers of protection.
While everyone was still stunned, the bat-like magical creatures rushed towards them and in seconds, covered them completely.
The crowd was plunged into darkness; a mage came to his senses and immediately summoned a ball of fire to light up the area. But when they looked around and finally understood what was going on, they couldn’t help but gasp.
The number of bat-like magical creatures was more than they could count, moving together, they were like a hurricane. With their fangs and claws they continuously beat against Benjamin’s water shield. In the bat hurricane, the shield that was protecting them would not stop shaking - like a tree branch in the wind, it could break at any time. Seeing this, Benjamin quickly conjured a few more balls of water to make the shield thicker.
"What kind of magical creatures are these?" The thought ran through his head.
"Werebats, aside from flying very fast and their sharp fangs, they don’t have any other special powers. They can be considered one of the weaker magical creatures." The System explained, "But, this kind of magical creature loves to live in groups, their colonies can reach the thousands."
"But, why are they attacking us? I have never heard any stories on this kind of magical creature attacking humans." Benjamin retorted.
"Maybe it was because you were flying too high." The System answered, "Werebats are unique, being unable to survive the low pressure in high altitudes, they will only appear in the skies around the mountainous regions. Since there are hills around this region and you are up a few hundred meters, you must have entered their territory.
"..."
So… they met this preposterous disaster because they wanted to be careful and fly higher. This must be a joke...
But, there was no point in caring about these things, the most important thing now is to think how to overcome it. Right now, they were passing over the border between the two countries, but were surrounded by a huge group of the bat-like magical creatures. If this goes on for a long, even if the people below them were blind, they would definitely sense something was up.
They should try and escape.
"What weaknesses do these creatures have?" Benjamin asked.
"Weaknesses? Their entire body is a weakness." The System replied, "They are very weak, if a normal person were to take a bat to hit it, it would die after just a few hits. What more with magic? So many bats are attacking the water veil at the same time yet they are still unsuccessful in breaking the veil. This is enough to indicate their strength."
Upon hearing this, Benjamin felt relieved.
But because of their sheer numbers, Benjamin and the rest could not fly forward, and were stuck there. So what if they were weak, with this amount, no matter how weak they were, they were still troublesome!
After some thought, Benjamin decided on his plan – they needed to be far away from the border, only then could they can get rid of these bats. If not, even if they kill them all, he was sure the people below would not appreciate being peppered with the dead bodies of the bats.
And so, he started to chant a spell. Countless ice cubes formed, compressed, and changed shape... under the guidance of the other mages, multiple enormous ice cubes combined continuously growing larger.
Just like that, fresh ice cubes were sprouting, with their creator giving them an all new shape. This kind of magical ability stunned those who have yet to encounter it.
Benjamin closed his eyes and focused his energy. It was as though he had become an experienced ice sculptor, copying the river pirate’s ship, the deck, the cabin, the mast... piece by piece, a small ice boat was slowly forming. Before long the ship was formed, the mast was raised, and every single detail of the boat was carved into the ice as though it were the real thing.
Under the light of the fireball, it floated peacefully on the water veil, shimmering slightly.
"Teacher Benjamin, what kind of magic is this?" the other mages saw what was happening, their eyes wide and jaws gaping.
"Nothing much, just an ice breaking spell." Benjamin opened his eyes, nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, adjusted the steam, and showed the other mages onto the ice boat, ‘Come on in, we will use it to fight against the bats."
"Ice breaking spell..." everyone watched Benjamin with completely stupefied faces.
Because it was made in a rush, the ice boat was still a little small. Benjamin used the ice break spell a few more times, and in an instant of change, the ice boat became a size bigger. At this point, the ice veil was starting to change its shape.
Finally, the enlarged ice boat could fit all the mages in it. They stood on the deck that Benjamin had specially made, and with disbelieving expressions on their faces, touched the crystal-clear walls - like country bumpkins walking into a palace for the first time.
Seeing this, Benjamin couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. He never though that he would be successful on the first attempt in using the control given to him by the magic runes,.
Magic had unlimited possibilities, it really was an amazing thing.
Next time, would he be singing as he created an ice palace?
Using the ice’s own floating abilities, the mages’ weight was not a problem. They did not need the extra strength from the flying spell. Of course, to maintain the existence of the ice boat, was something that required a lot of spiritual energy; if it were not for his improvement and that something extra given to him by the different magical instruments, Benjamin would probably not be able to maintain it up till this point.
But... with all said and done, this was excessive even for Benjamin.
He quickly sealed the entrance shut, then removed the water shield that was protecting them from the bats.
Once the shield was removed, the bats went straight for the ice boat. However, the temperature of the ice boat did not sit well with them, and so, the second they landed on it, they immediately left.
These magical creatures must have some internal communicating method, because when the internal circle of bats left, so did the other thousands upon thousands of the bat-like creatures behind them. Thus, the ice boat was quickly left alone in the night sky.
There were plenty of dark clouds that night, but a small ray of light still managed to pierce through - from the reflection of the crystal, it emanated a light halo.
"Didn’t I tell you? The bats are afraid of the cold." The System said innocently.
Benjamin did not care anymore. He was looking through the ice boat’s floors, at the moving firelight at the borderline, his heart thumping out of his chest.
Fuck...this is it.