Chapter 260: A Race Against Time

Nevertheless, even though he was somewhat jealous of Blob's luck in finding the Tome of the Four Elements, since it had already been found, there was no point in moping around the hope that he should have found it first anymore. A few seconds later, Argentum went ahead and conjured a tendril of energy before extending it towards the tome. He then looped this tendril around the tome tightly before going ahead and slowly pulling it out of the bookshelf that it was on, making sure to not create a lot of sound from the pulling.

Eventually, he was able to fully pull the tome out of the bookshelf that it was stored in, eliciting both Blob and Argentum to radiate auras of excitement since the item was now in their hands. Fortunately, just as they were about to release this aura even further, both of them realized that they were still in a part of the territory where it would be easy for them to be captured, prompting them to suppress their happiness to the greatest extent. With that being done, Argentum moved the tome to the front of his vision before softly commanding the system, "System, please keep this item inside the inventory."

It had been quite a while since Argentum had used the inventory. The only items in there were the weapons and armor of the Animates he had killed on the way to the Inferno Plains back then, taking up only a bit of the space in the inventory. As for something small like a book being placed inside in the inventory, it was akin to child's play…only that it wasn't at all.

Ding!

As a notification sound resounded throughout Argentum's mind, the tome he held with his tendril gradually became translucent, eventually reaching the point that it was near transparent. Unfortunately, just as it was about to look like it had dissipated into thin air, the tome became opaque again, returning to Argentum's tendril in its original form as a small screen appeared in front of Argentum's field of vision.

"The item cannot be stored because it's not owned by the user?" Argentum read the words that were on the screen out loud in a questioning tone, wondering what kind of conditions an item would need to be considered owned by the user. He knew that the weapons and armor he had retrieved from the Animates were owned by them, but why was it possible for him to hide their items inside his inventory without a problem?

After pondering over it for a bit, he eventually thought that there was no point in trying to find another way to hide it. Of course, he also thought about making the tome his sole possession right now as he mulled over the multiple methods he could use, but he concluded that there was a definite chance that the two of them would be caught by the leader of Verdant Breeze Town and perhaps be used as an item of sorts somewhere. 

The reason as to why that would be the case is that in Aurus's memories, whenever the holder of the Tome of the Four Elements tried to utilize the tome, the aura of the four elements would appear in a certain radius around the holder, being easily perceived even from a few kilometers away from the holder. With that in mind, Argentum could not help but let out a sigh of slight annoyance as he looked at Blob and sent him a strand of energy, forming a mental connection with him.

"Blob, it seems we're going to have to use one of our back-up plans," Argentum said through the connection, to which Blob replied with a question, saying, "Which one?"

"That plan wherein the condition for usage is the fact that I can't hide the item we've just retrieved properly," he replied to Blob's query soon after. In response, Blob radiated an aura of contemplation for a short bit before asking Argentum, "Operation EA-FAP?"

"…" Hearing the name of the operation mentioned by Blob, Argentum was left at a loss for words as he did not expect to hear it come from Blob himself. Although he did tell Blob that he could use the acronym without any worry, it was still slightly jarring to hear it from somewhere that radiated an innocent aura.

Taking in a deep breath to compose himself, he soon uttered, "Although the full name is Operation Escape Area - Fast As Possible, sure. Let's go with that."

After they were finished talking, the two of them went ahead and moved towards a certain part of the library. As they had arrived in front of that certain part, the two of them could not help but let out sighs of relief as they found out that their plan had a good chance of working if no mishaps happened. The certain part of the library they had in mind was none other than…the windows.

Seeing that the window of the library was opened slightly, they focused their senses of vision on each other before establishing another mental connection. This time, it was Blob who took the initiative to start the conversation.

"So…who's gonna through the window first?" he asked as he thought about the order in which they would escape through the window. Unexpectedly, Argentum replied to his question without hesitation as he told him, "You go escape through the window first."

"Me?" Blob could not believe what he was hearing. Back when they were outside the walls of Verdant Breeze Town, the two of them had unanimously agreed that Argentum would be the first one to escape through the window, with Blob coming soon after. Just as Blob was about to ask Argentum why, Argentum answered his question as if he was reading his mind, saying, "With you down there, there'll be a higher chance of the tome landing on the ground safely."

He then added, "Just before you think that it'll be the same if it was me who went down first, remember that your reflexes are now faster than mine after undergoing through your first Power Baptism."

"Ah, right." As he listened to Argentum's explanation, Blob thought that it made sense, inwardly letting out an awkward chuckle as the thought of him passing his first Power Baptism slipped through his mind. While he inwardly thanked Argentum for reminding him that he had undergone a Power Baptism, Blob took one last look at Argentum before saying, "Alright, then. Guess I'm gonna go head out first."

Whoosh!

And just like that, with quick speeds, Blob jumped off of the small opening through the window, gradually descending as he had taken the shape of a leaf. While Blob was on his way to landing on the ground safely, Argentum went ahead and prepared his descent to the ground as well, wondering if he should morph into another form wherein the tome would be safe and sound.

At first, he was against the thought as that would reveal himself to quite a lot of Animates. But then, he remembered that the manor was covered with a lot of tall trees in its perimeter, which the two of them had to cross before actually entering the manor. Calculating the height of the trees, as well as the optimal angle to jump off of the window, his decision was soon changed to that which favored the morphing of his body into a better form.

Swoosh!

With the tendril he had conjured still looped tightly around the tome, Argentum went ahead and transformed into another shape that had an incredibly large surface area but was more or less paper-thin in terms of thickness. Soon after, the shape that Argentum took started to warp inward, forming four corners that gripped tightly onto the corners of the tome.

And just like that, Argentum had transformed into a makeshift parachute in order for the tome's falling speed to be greatly lessened.

Coincidentally, just as Argentum was finished transforming into a makeshift parachute, Blob had finally landed on the grassy grounds that surrounded the manor. With the help of his enhanced senses, Argentum was able to notice that Blob had already landed, prompting him to utilize the movement of the wind that appeared at the floor he was at before starting to fall.

Kwoosh!

In an instant, Argentum's form had warped greatly as large amounts of air were trapped under him, reducing the tome and his falling speed to a level where it was comparable to Blob's falling speed as a leaf. As he gradually descending along with the tome, he utilized his senses to check if any beings noticed him along the way, letting out a sigh of relief soon after as he found out that none had seen him or the tome along the path of his descent.

After a couple of minutes or so, Argentum had finally landed on the ground with the tome, with Blob supporting the tome while Argentum reverted to his previous form of being an inconspicuous pebble.

"With the two of us now out of the manor, you could say that we just have to make sure that we hide from the Animates that we pass along the streets and we'll be safe in no time," Argentum said in a slightly excited tone to Blob through a strand of energy. In response, Blob said in an eager tone, "Then, what are we waiting for? Let's try and leave this place as fast as possible!"

And so, the two of them went ahead and held the tome with tendrils in a manner that did not look conspicuous as all, making sure that the side of the tome that had the four crystals would not face the Animates that they came across. Under the shadow of the night, even though there were a few spots that were well-lit in town, the two of them had high hopes that they were going to escape this town without a problem.

"Make sure to head towards the areas that aren't well-lit, okay?" Argentum reminded Blob with a strand of energy as they prepared to move farther away from the manor through the other exit. Radiating an aura of affirmation, Blob replied, "Don't worry, Argentum! With the route you've given me, how would I not move through the dark areas?"

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Swoosh!

A few seconds later, the two of them started to make their way outside the manor, moving at a speed that was around three-fourths of Argentum's peak as that speed was comfortable enough for them to maneuver the streets that cluttered the town even if they made a split-second decision.

Whoosh!

Passing through a few bushes along the way, Argentum and Blob had eventually gotten out of the manor within the span of a few minutes, both of them radiating suppressed auras of immense excitement as they had finally gotten out of what seemed to be the most dangerous part of the plan.

Naturally, the two of them looked at the route they've taken, making sure that no one was following them as they took the tome farther away from the manor. With every passing minute that they did not see anyone tailing them, the confidence they had in the plan succeeding gradually shot up as their speeds picked up its pace as well. At this moment, the speed at which they were moving made the tome look like a stray cat that was running away from something to the Animates.

"We're getting closer!" Argentum could not help but say in a hushed yet excited voice to Argentum, making sure that they were the only ones who could hear it. Feeling that the excitement radiating from his creator felt more or less solid, Blob could not help but say with glee, "I know! Just a few more minutes and we'll eventually reach the exit!"

Just as their happiness were at their zeniths…

Weenngggg…!

All of a sudden, the tome they were holding tightly radiated a bright red glow, instantly prompting the two to stop in their tracks before instantly making a detour, heading towards a part of the streets that wasn't as populated. As they were heading towards that area, the two of them were filled with immense fear, wondering why the tome started to glow brightly.

Whoosh!

Fortunately, the two of them were about to find out why it had done so, with the bright red glow surrounding the tome eventually heading towards a certain direction. Of course, with such a phenomenon happening, Argentum utilized his abilities to the fullest as his enhanced vision tracked every move and turn the glow made.

Naturally, with his mastery over his enhanced vision, he was able to track where the bright red glow had arrived at the very end, his whole being radiating an immense aura of fear as he said to Blob in a hushed yet afraid voice, "Blob…it seems that we have a problem."

"Eh? What kind of problem?" Blob could not help but ask, feeling afraid himself after being in contact with Argentum's aura. Without delay, Argentum explained in a slightly stammering manner, "The bright red glow…of the tome…d-do you know where it stopped…?"

"Where…?" With the fear in him building up, Blob felt that it was hard for him to speak up, only being able to squeeze out one word from the fear he felt. At the moment Argentum answered his question, the fear brewing within Blob's body had reached a zenith, making him feel like the best choice was to run away as fast as possible.

Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down, Argentum replied… 

"…the manor."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Not long after that, the two of them unhesitatingly reverted to their original forms, not caring whether or not they were seen by the Animates anymore. The most important thing in their minds right now was to escape from the clutches of the manor with the Tome of the Four Elements!

"[Higher Zephyr Magic: Zephyr Magna Acceliaris]!"

"[Higher Ignis Magic: Ignis Fervor Maxima]!"

"[Blessing of the Infernal Aegis]!"

"[Gift of the Divine Flame]!"

Casting all of the spells they had in their arsenal that affected the both of them when it came to increasing their stats within a few seconds, the two of them went ahead and dashed towards the exit of the Verdant Breeze Town at their maximum speeds, bringing along strong winds as Argentum gripped tightly on the Tome of the Four Elements.

Amidst their dash, a loud and smooth yet infuriated voice resounded throughout the slightly dim town, alerting the guards that were on top of the walls, as well as the guards that patrolled through the streets.

"Guards, someone has taken something precious from my manor!" the voice shouted. "Make sure to find them as fast as possible!"

"And if they resist…"

"…kill them!"

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