"The mine is dead," Sarah said. "The shallows are alive."
"And what’s alive is even more disgusting."
All four Newcomers completed their first attempt at crossing into the shallows.
Captain Field looked at the sky. The Sun had already begun its descent from its highest point.
"Back to the matter at hand," he said. "Today’s sweep will cover the area within two hundred meters of this Summer House."
"Is it safe?" the stable boy asked, a little worried. His face was still pale.
"Relatively safe." Captain Field nodded.
"Today is about showing you the ropes, not getting you killed. The targets for this sweep are mostly the lowest-rank Evil Beings."
"’Mostly?’" Edmund seized on the keyword.
"Mostly." Captain Field nodded.
"This location, the Highland Summer House, is a sacrificial scar left behind by a Midsummer Fire. The Ether concentration isn’t particularly high."
"It’s primarily inhabited by the lowest-rank Evil Beings, though one or two Lower-rank Evil Beings might occasionally pass through."
"Anything stronger than that will find the low-concentration environment here inhospitable."
After diving back in, Richard stood at the easternmost position.
The outline of the Highland Summer House was still there—the fallen lintel, the half-circle of a broken wall, the clump of reeds on the ground... but the color of everything had faded to a grayish-white.
The grassy field was still there, but there were deposits beneath the roots of the grass.
The fear, hatred, love, and resentment of those who had died on this land over thousands of years had settled on this side of the Curtain, slowly churned by the Ether Layer.
And there were indeed some... other things around.
Aside from the afterimage in the basement, this was the first time Richard had seen an Evil Being so clearly.
Their forms were blurry, appearing as nothing more than a mass of grayish-white gas.
The center of the gaseous mass pulsed, much like the bell of a jellyfish.
The thing moved slowly across the ground, stopping every so often to press its "bell" into the soil.
"That’s an Enchanting Lamp, a lowest-rank Evil Being," Maggie introduced in a low voice from nearby.
"What’s it doing?"
"Eating. It’s eating the residual Ether on the ground."
"So it’s the Ether version of a small animal that eats moss?" Theodore offered a comparison.
"Something like that."
"Does it attack people?"
"A typical one won’t actively seek out enemies, but if you stand nearby, it will quickly cover your face and suck out your living soul."
Maggie glanced at Theodore’s face.
"Once it covers you, it’s like having a wet blanket thrown over your head.
And it will continuously drain your stamina, leaving you weak and unable to struggle."
Over the next while, the four Newcomers each got some practice.
Edmund’s method of Casting was much like Richard’s Moon Nail, but his Darts shot out as a small cross.
The cross plunged into the Enchanting Lamp’s bell, and the mist began to dissipate from the point of impact.
Maggie’s skill with her blade was unbefitting of a Scholar.
Before stepping toward an Enchanting Lamp, she held her Oak Short Staff horizontally in front of her, and her entire being transformed into a tree on the Ether Layer.
Her blade flicked upward from below, slicing the bell open. The mist dissipated with a WHOOSH.
"That’s a Hunter’s technique you’re using," Captain Field remarked from the side.
"My family is full of Hunters." Maggie wiped her blade. "I grew up watching them work."
"Then why didn’t you become a Hunter?"
"Hunters risk their necks every day." The freckled girl smiled. "I have five Hunters in my family. My mom said we had to keep one who works with her brain."
Theodore fired three shots.
The third shot was a Lead-Silver Bullet. His reloading speed was so slow it made Sarah frown, but that one shot cleanly dispersed the Enchanting Lamp.
"Do you know why the second shot was useless?" Sarah asked.
"Regular bullets don’t work," Theodore admitted.
"And the first shot?"
"...My hand was shaking."
"Why was it shaking?"
Theodore thought for a few seconds before answering honestly, "Because I was scared."
Sarah nodded. "When you’re scared, don’t pull the trigger. Hold your breath until you’re not scared anymore, then pull. Being a second slower is better than wasting a shot."
"Yes."
Richard took one down with a Moon Nail.
The pale, greenish-white, rice-sized head of the Nail passed through the Enchanting Lamp’s bell, but the creature didn’t dissipate as quickly as the one hit by the Cross Nail.
"The Moon Nail’s specialty is Piercing," Captain Field observed.
"It’s more effective against thick-skinned Evil Beings. Against something like an Enchanting Lamp, which has no skin, it’s less efficient than the Cross Nail."
"Understood."
"As long as you understand the Moon Nail’s strengths, that’s enough. Today is just for you to get a feel for things."
About twenty-five minutes into the sweep, things changed.
Richard’s inspiration was the first to sound the alarm.
In the shallows’ version of the Highland Summer House, a ball of fire appeared in mid-air about five paces from where he stood.
It hung there silently, about a person’s height off the ground.
Richard backed away quickly, keeping an eye on the others.
Captain Field waved for them to retreat quickly, and Sarah raised her hunting rifle.
The stable boy retreated the fastest. His Copper Compass had played a key role, making him one of the first to notice the situation.
Maggie’s face went pale. "...Fall-Inducing Fire."
But the young priest, ignoring it all, was walking toward the ball of orange-yellow light.
Richard shouted.
"Edmund!"
The young priest didn’t turn back, his steps resolute.
"You three, fall back first." Captain Field strode after him.
Edmund was now only a single step away from the Fall-Inducing Fire.
Richard’s right hand went to the revolver at his hip, but after a moment’s thought, he abandoned the idea of firing.
"Don’t shoot, you might hit him by mistake." Captain Field seemed to know what Richard was thinking.
Meanwhile, the Female Hunter had been aiming the entire time.
BANG!
A spark flared from the muzzle, and the sound sent ripples through the grayish-white landscape of the Highland Summer House.
A silvery-white bullet grazed past the young man’s shoulder, less than a finger’s width away.
The bullet hit its mark. With a POP, the Fall-Inducing Fire was punctured like a bubble.
A chaotic cluster of light condensed on the ground into a small pile of powder.
Edmund collapsed onto the grass. The clothes on his upper body were smoking, but his consciousness snapped back into focus.
Captain Field checked him over.
"Some minor burns, but nothing serious."
"Williams, your sharp senses saved you." He glanced back at Richard. "You were the Fall-Inducing Fire’s first target."
He said to the other three Newcomers, "All of you, withdraw to the Material Realm."
Richard, Maggie, and Theodore immediately retreated to the area within the circle of stones and quickly crossed back to the side of the Material Realm.
The colors of the Material Realm flooded back in with a RUSH, stinging Richard’s eyes.
He resisted the urge to rub them.
Meanwhile, Captain Field pulled Edmund back to the real world.
He then dove back in by himself, took a glass bottle from his pack, and used a small silver spoon to sweep the pile of powder into it.
After collecting the spoils, he and Sarah also withdrew to the real world.
"This powder is called ’Dao Residue Ash’," he said, holding up the glass bottle.
"The fear of travelers who died lost in the wilderness congeals, and behind the Curtain, this fear takes on the form of the Fall-Inducing Fire from Highland legends."
"What’s it used for?" Theodore asked.
"It’s ground into ink."
"Words written with ink that has been ground with ’Dao Residue Ash’ have a ’guidance’ function on the Ether Layer. Sealing Masters use it to create guidance symbols."
"Sounds very useful."
"Of course it’s useful." Captain Field nodded. "The remains of one Fall-Inducing Fire typically yield three grams, and the market price is five shillings per gram."
"Three grams from one... fifteen shillings." Theodore was quick with the math.
"As is customary," Captain Field said, "today’s find belongs to Sarah."
But after taking the glass bottle, Sarah casually tossed it to the half-reclining Edmund.
Edmund barely caught it, looking puzzled.
"...For me?"
"You acted as bait," the Female Hunter glanced at him. "Consider this your compensation."
"I wasn’t ’acting as bait’," Edmund’s face grew a little red. "I just took the bait."
"Just take it," Captain Field said, walking over as well.
"The Church sent you here. If you take this bottle of ’Dao Residue Ash’ back, at least you’ll have something to show for it."
Edmund gripped the bottle in his hand.
"...Thank you."
"Don’t thank us." Sarah shouldered her hunting rifle again. "Thank yourself for not getting killed today."
She turned and walked toward the carriage.
Edmund walked at the rear, his left hand holding his burned right shoulder.
After a few steps, he said to Richard, who was beside him, "A moment ago... you called out to me."
"I did."
"I didn’t hear you. In my ears, it was another voice."
"What was it?"
The wind blew down from the top of the Highland slope, sweeping past the young man’s scorched jacket.
He let the gust wash over him and let out a long breath, a sigh of relief after surviving a close call.
"It was my father."
"He was calling me home."

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