Elemental Cats

Braxton told Toz and the others about the plan in more detail. But it wasn't an overly complicated plan, and it didn't take long before he finished explaining. However, from what he told them, they would be walking in the tunnel for quite a while. And with only the lantern in the elderly gentleman's hands to light up the tunnel, it wouldn't be weird for someone to get claustrophobic.

"How about introductions? Right! Seich, did you remember the cloaks?"

Thankfully, Braxton spoke up again before the flickering shadows could begin haunting them. Not that anyone seemed especially susceptible to fear. But one could never be too sure.

Switch sighed and shook his head. He didn't say anything, but he reached into a spatial storage pouch attached to his waist and pulled out six matte black cloaks that blended into the shadows on the tunnel walls.

The cloaks themselves almost looked like shadows sewn together in the shape of cloaks.

For curiosity's sake, Toz looked at them with mana vision and noticed that they redirected the mana around them. If he had only used his mana sense, Toz wouldn't have been able to tell the cloaks were there. It would have, at most, felt like a weird current that wasn't even worth a second look.

The cloaks stretched and fitted their wearers, and the colorful group of Toz, Braxton, Seich, and the three people the general had recruited turned into six shadows moving through Braxton's tunnel.

The lantern hadn't lost its light or gotten any weaker, but it couldn't even reveal the faces of anyone in the group after they wore the cloaks.

After he took on the cloak, Toz noticed all the enchantments lining its insides, and he also noticed that some of them could be activated if he inserted some of his mana into them. He was curious about what they did and wanted to try it out.

"Stop!"

But Braxton's voice stopped him. Toz looked up, confused at how Braxton had noticed what he was thinking about it. But then he saw the young woman standing with her cloak wide open and her hand against the enchantments, ready to activate them.

When the young woman noticed Braxton looking back at her with slight admonition in his gaze, she closed the cloak and pulled up the hood so that no one could see her face momentarily blush red.

She pulled down her hood a few moments later, the same stalwart look on her face, and she began speaking as if nothing had happened.

"Introductions, was it? My name is Wyrie, and I can amplify the effects of magic and spells, including the stealth effects of these cloaks. So just let me know when we get close, and I'll do that."

"Great. Nice to meet you, Wyrie. As the general said, I'm Braxton, and I'm in charge of leading you all to the Fortress. As you might have noticed, I'm an earth mage. I'll also be responsible for evacuation if things go awry, so keep a close eye on me at all times if you want to get out alive."

Braxton smiled as he said the last few words. He then directed his gaze at Seich. Thankfully, he pulled down his hood so that Seich and the others could see his face.

Seich sighed before talking as if he felt like it was a bother.

"If you aren't complete idiots, you should know my name by now. I will be in charge of firepower and frontal combat. Don't get in my way."

After Wyrie, Braxton, and Seich, only Toz, the elderly gentleman, and the shrouded individual, who put up their hood as soon as they got the cloak, remained. But Seich's words put a damper on the atmosphere, and none of them seemed really intent on talking.

Toz considered giving a light introduction to get the other two to speak, but Seich's rude attitude made him stubbornly reluctant to speak up for some reason. And the shrouded individual seemed reticent, so there wasn't much hope of him introducing himself, either.

Thankfully, the elderly gentleman seemed jovial enough to talk in their place.

"I guess I'm next, then. My name is Hal, and I can control sound waves. I started doing it as soon as we entered the tunnel, actually. So, you guys can go ahead and be as loud as you want. The enemies will never hear it."

Toz wasn't surprised since he had kept his mana vision active since he left the tent, so he had seen Hal use his magic. But the others were taken aback since they hadn't noticed Hal doing anything at all. They couldn't sense his magic, even after they were made aware of it.

"That's also the reason why this guy isn't speaking. I could tell his voice was going to be annoying, so I muted him."

Everyone looked at Hal in shock at that, especially the shrouded person, who seemed to be quite offended by his words.

"Did you-"

However, the person spoke, and the others heard his voice without a problem.

Seeing the stunned faces on most of them had Hal bending over as he let out a burst of guffawing laughter.

The elderly gentleman's hearty laughter was infectious, and Wyrie also began giggling. Braxton held back laughter. Or at least he tried to, but he failed and tried to cover it up with a cough.

Toz only smiled, and he used the opportunity to get rid of the shrouded person's magic with some of his void magic. He also grabbed the hood with some space magic so that when they turned their head and continued walking, the hood fell down and revealed their face.

Since the others were too busy enjoying Hal's success at lightening the mood, Seich was the only one who caught a whim of Toz's actions. But he didn't let it show on his face, and he just looked at the young man who was almost too handsome to be called just a man. Even the anger filling his face did nothing to lower the impression of his beauty.