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Ian gripped his throbbing head and recalled what the mana had told him.

By the looks of it, they saw the sorcerer in a very negative light.

They described him as evil after all.

Mana was the matter that made up the world. It was everywhere in this world... It was similar to the Earth’s concept of a molecule or atom.

Since mana labeled the sorcerer as evil, he certainly couldn't be a good person by any means.

Is he a dark sorcerer?

The mana had said he was, but Ian was unsure. It was because the way mana expressed things wasn’t the same as how humans expressed things.

Ian still judged that the possibility was high and put his hand on his sword. If the sorcerer were right in front of him, he would immediately cut him down with his sword.

Ian saw Gionelle waving at him and greeted her with a smile.

He began to ponder again.

That wasn't the only information the mana gave.

"They said he was in the Demonic Forest."

The Demonic Forest. Inside the belly of a petrified lion.

These were the clues that the mana had provided.

Of course, he knew up to the Demonic Forest part, but he had no idea what they meant by  "inside the belly of a petrified lion.”

In the end, Ian shook his head once and decided to wait for the forest experts to come. It had been three days since Jamie left, so the squad members would be arriving by today.

I’ll probably get some answers if I ask them, Ian thought. He had stopped for a while to review what he knew about the sorcerer, but he continued to work to repair the village. 

The barricades were incredibly strong, so they could block magic attacks a few times. He was also in the process of creating an escape route in case of an emergency. If it was completed, half of the villagers could get away in the worst-case  scenario. Though, of course, he couldn’t guarantee what would happen to them after they fled the village.

It wasn't until after lunch when the Squad 8 members arrived. Ian met them with a warm welcome.

The squad members were covered in dust since they had rushed over here. However, no one showed signs of exhaustion.

Jamie was the only one with weary eyes, but she acted normally.

“Ian, I see you’ve managed to lead the villagers well.”

Hamilton looked at him with a proud expression.

It was only a few days ago when he was called a greenhorn or runt, but now it seemed like he was firmly a part of their squad.

"I just worked hard." Ian gave a short reply. 

In fact, it came natural to him to lead others. In his later years in the military, he had served as a squad leader. Furthermore, he led several hunters of the same rank during his days as a hunter.

Of course, it was his first time guiding almost 200 villagers, but it wasn’t difficult. The villagers did their best to follow Ian's instructions in order to protect their homes. As a result, things proceeded quite smoothly.

"You didn’t just work hard; you did great. What a relief. Just in case, we came as quickly as possible, but you performed well, contrary to my concerns."

"There's still much left to prepare."

"We'll take care of the rest... Go rest up with Jamie."

Ian bobbed his head.

He was going to ask him about the petrified lion, but he was likely very busy as the section commander.

Well, he told me to rest with Jamie, so I can ask her instead.

Ian pondered as he left after greeting Hamilton.

For the time being, he went into the log cabin, which was the Squad 8 members’ accommodation, and entered the room where Jamie was.

Since the villagers had lent them two log cabins, two people had to share a room. He spent more time with Jamie than he did with others, so he felt comfortable with her. He had to ask about the petrified lion.

Jamie was already making her bed, as she was likely heading to sleep.

"You don't mind if I sleep here, right?” Ian looked at her and asked.

Jamie shrugged.

"Of course, I don’t. Will you be fine?"

“With what?”

"I wonder if you can fall asleep with such a pretty Noonim lying next to you."

Ian chuckled at her response.

“As pretty of a Noonim you are, I think your thorns are just as sharp.”

"Don’t you think my abundance of charms is worth the prick?"

"Puhaha. All right, I agree." Ian replied with a laugh.

Jamie also laughed and nestled into the bed.

It was a simple joke; Jamie was well aware that Ian wasn’t the type of person who couldn’t fall asleep with her around.

Ian briefly stared at her and then sat down on his bed next to Jamie's.

“Jamie.”

“What?”

"How long have you been in the Devil Platoon?"

"Hm… Not sure. About two years?"

"You know a lot about the Demonic Forest then, right?"

"Of course. Not many people know as much as we do."

"Then, do you know about the lion that turned to stone?" Ian tossed the question to her.

Jamie opened her eyes and turned her head to face Ian.

"A lion that turned to stone… Why’re you asking?"

"Who knows, maybe it’ll play a significant role."

"Well... I believe it’s referring to the lion’s boulder."

"The lion’s boulder?

"Yeah. Originally, it was a chimera-shaped stone statue, but now it's broken in all sorts of places, so its shape turned into a lion. It's about four meters tall."

"Is it deep within the Demonic Forest?"

"No, not really. It’s within the Orcs’ territory. I haven’t been there many times, but it's not that deep."

“Okay.”

Ian nodded contently when he heard the favorable answer.

Jamie stared at him, not understanding why he reacted like that.

"What's up?"

"About the sorcerer."

"What about him?”

"It would appear that he’s near the lion’s boulder.”

Jamie bounced up. She seemed completely awake now.

"How did you know?"

“…”

Ian stayed silent, wondering how to answer her question. He didn't want to lie, but he couldn't tell the truth either. If he said he had heard it from the mana, it was obvious that Jamie would think he was sick, let alone believe him.

"I heard it."

“From who?”

"I ran into that sorcerer when I saved Gionelle from him. Back there, he mentioned the petrified lion before he disappeared.” Ian swiftly answered.

Ian thought he had come up with a good excuse. He looked at Jamie's grave expression and put on a serious face.

"Did he use cloaking magic?"

“What?”

"It's not like our platoon didn't do anything while we took Gionelle home. They scoured the entire area, but all they found was the rope you cut off."

"So they already searched near the lion's boulder?”

"That’s what they said. I don't know how meticulous they were, but if he was around there, they would have caught him. Considering how they haven’t found him yet, I don’t think he’s there.”

Jamie trusted the Devil Platoon’s capabilities. She believed there was no way they would lose the sorcerer if he had been around when they scouted the area.

Things were uncertain, though, if he did actually use cloaking magic. However, there were only a few people who knew how to cast that magic.

Ian didn’t doubt the Devil Platoon either. However, there was also no reason for the mana to lie.

“Hm… There are no other lion-shaped boulders in the Demonic Forest?”

“None.”

Then what is it?

Ian scrunched up his forehead and recalled again what the mana had said to him.

The sorcerer was in the Demonic Forest, inside the belly of a petrified lion.

Wait a minute, inside the lion's belly...?

According to Jamie, it was four meters high.

In terms of common sense, such a statue couldn’t be inside a belly.

Unless there’s magic involved, Ian thought.

He turned his head and faced Jamie.

"I think we should go anyway."

***

It would take another two days to reach the lion’s boulder on foot. Looking at their remaining time, it could lead to a predicament if the sorcerer wasn’t there.

It didn’t matter if Ian went alone, but because he didn't know the way, he needed at least one other squad member to go with him. In other words, their force would be reduced by two in their fight against the mutant Orcs.

Ian knew that it would be difficult to ask for Hamilton’s permission. To his surprise, Hamilton agreed immediately.

That wasn’t all.

"Go with Jamie and Chris. If that lowlife is there, the villagers he took will be there, too, so you’ll need to rescue them.” He added and provided two squad members to accompany him.

***

"Chris, this is the way, right?” Ian asked the blonde man that was with him as they walked along the forest trail.

"Uh-huh. Keep going straight; you'll find the lion's boulder." Chris replied with an annoyed tone and waved his hand.

Ian stopped for a moment at his rude attitude then continued to walk forward.

It wasn't like Ian didn't understand why he behaved that way. Chris was the one who searched the lion’s boulder. He must not have liked how he had to come all the way here despite finding nothing in his search.

Ian decided that it was his problem to deal with and looked toward the lion’s boulder which was finally starting to appear.

The full boulder came into view. It was broken here and there, even in its jaw.

“Hmm…”

Having expected something cool because of its name, Ian let out a disappointed sigh. He clicked his tongue once and went near the lion’s boulder to examine it.

Chris smirked when he saw Ian scrutinizing the boulder.

You can look for 100 days. Nothing will come out.

The man didn’t like Ian from the start. He did try a little after seeing him rescue Gionelle shortly after his arrival, but now, Ian only looked like a greenhorn to him.

"No matter how much I searched, there's nothing." Chris said, leaning on a nearby tree.

Ian glanced back at him before focusing on the mana around him.

If magic was in effect, there must be a cluster of mana.

He slowly circled around the lion’s boulder, observing the mana that was subtly fluttering little by little. He began to look for anything unusual.

After going around the boulder a couple of times, Chris said something to him about stopping, but Ian didn’t hear him.

After a few moments, Ian halted.

“Found it.”