Elemental Cats

The enslaved wild beasts either didn't notice them or didn't care about them. Toz and the cats left the tunnel without causing a disturbance. But after leaving the tunnel, they didn't know what to do. Even if they found the place where they had entered the barrier, they still wouldn't be able to leave the fog.

Since that was the case, they could only hide. Sticking close to the barrier as they had done before entering it could be one option, but they would still be exposed to the fog at all times. Knowing that demons were behind it, doing that seemed risky.

Instead, they decided to take advantage of the large mounds of dirt and rocks and create a place to hide. And then, hopefully, before they run out of food, the fog barrier is removed, and Toz and the cats can leave and try to find someplace safe.

Toz had only planned to be in the forest for a while before they filled up his pockets and spatial rings with harvested materials, so they didn't have much food left after already having spent several days idling around in the fog.

Though from what Toz could tell, the tunnel stretched for quite a while, and if it was in the direction of Dormant Thunder, Toz wouldn't be surprised if it was getting close to the city. Most likely, the demons wouldn't delay their attack for too long after arriving below the city in case they were discovered.

Toz didn't know what to think about the city's eventual doom being his chance to get to safety. But there was nothing he could do about it anyway, and instead of twisting and turning at night, he decided to make sure he would survive and get as far away from the high level demon he had seen in the tunnel.

Time passed, and Toz was beginning to wonder if anyone would notice the disappearance of one or two enslaved wild beasts. He didn't know if the collar could detect the difference between being killed by a human or by exhaustion and trampling.

Toz still had food left in his pockets, but if they had to hide for much longer, those reserves wouldn't be enough. And if they had to flee or run at the first opportunity they get, they won't have time to stop and fill their bellies and will have to escape while feeling the pangs of hunger assaulting them.

Even if they conserve a lot of energy by not moving, they would still grow hungry if they kept training or reading grimoires to pass the time while waiting for something to happen.

Since they were hiding, breaking through would attract a lot more attention than what hiding entailed, so Toz had pulled his attributes to the limit of their current level. Though, not metal since getting close to the fifth level would take a lot more time than what they had spent hiding.

But his fire and darkness attributes had reached the limits of the third level, and his lightning attribute was standing on the edge of the third level. As soon as they got somewhere safe enough for Toz to break through, he would be in for an incredible spike in his power.

With two more attributes reaching the fourth level, Toz would be able to refine his body and mana pool and make them even stronger than before. He would also have more means of attack viable against medium level enemies.

However, all of those hopes and dreams would be meaningless if they were caught and killed by a demon before they could get anywhere.

But they still needed to rest and eat properly to stay in their prime and ensure as great a chance of successfully escaping alive as possible.

In order to secure their food supply for a few days, Toz and the cats had planned to grab one of the beasts on the verge of dying from exhaustion and bring it back to their hideout. Although the meat wouldn't be the greatest considering the treatment of the enslaved beasts, Toz and the cats didn't have the leeway to be picky about their food. And they had discovered that making patties were an excellent way to make delicious food from subpar ingredients.

However, right when they were about to make sure the coast was clear and leave their hideout and go look for a suitable beast, an ominous air spread from the tunnel. All the beasts affected by the dreadful atmosphere trembled and found it difficult to continue moving. It was only the glowing collars that kept them from collapsing to the ground.

Toz and the cats had hidden several heaps of dirt away from the tunnel entrance, but they could still see what happened to the beasts and instantly retreated into their hideout, making sure to hide their presence as much as possible. Nil, Mindle, and Scrael did that by stealthily entering Toz's familiar space, leaving Lucy and Toz in the tiny cave they had made.

Toz and Lucy were the only ones with the darkness attribute, and they both had an affinity for concealing themselves. Though, Toz's darkness attribute was still at the third level, which wouldn't have been enough to hide him from the senses of a high level being. But with Lucy's help and the fact that they were inside a hole in one of the piles of dirt and rock where no light entered, Toz and Lucy were hidden perfectly. Even looking directly at them wouldn't be enough to tell they were hiding there.

But even if Lucy's skills at wielding the darkness attribute were amazing, and the two were next to impossible to find, they didn't dare to breathe or open their eyes for fear of alerting the demon who had appeared on the surface after leaving the tunnel.

With how focused they were on concealing themselves, Toz and Lucy had no idea about what was going on outside their hideout, but even if they didn't sense the demon they didn't open their eyes or relax for more than several hours. Only when they were absolutely certain that the demon hadn't found them or wasn't looking for them and had left the area of the barrier did Toz and Lucy open their eyes and look at each other, breathing out a sigh of relief.