The Cost

"Good question." Nick nodded approvingly. "As the only person left alive who has ever come face-to-face with Haierbo, I naturally know how to recognize him."

With that, magic suddenly surged around Nick. A dangerous wave of magical energy radiated outward from him, directly affecting and interfering with the nervous systems of the creatures nearby, filling them with an involuntary sense of panic.

"You should recognize this spell, shouldn't you?" Nick smiled at Anduin as the magic continued to spread.

"It's the Fear Spell."

Anduin recognized Nick's spell at a glance. He knew the Fear Spell himself, and had even used it to cover a wide area in the Despair Town dungeon.

"Looks like you're familiar with it. Good." Nick was satisfied as he drew in his magic. "Since you know the spell, you should also know that Haierbo created it."

Anduin nodded. This was no secret to wizards familiar with history and Ancient Runes. Haierbo had invented countless Dark Magic spells, and the Fear Spell was practically his signature.

"Based on what we learned back then, a huge area around wherever Haierbo was active would be shrouded in an extremely powerful Fear Spell. Even Muggles could sense that something was wrong in places like that."

"Over the past few centuries, we've heard plenty of rumors about people stumbling into mysterious places that inspired terror."

"But by the time we followed those rumors, we still couldn't catch so much as a glimpse of Haierbo. Occasionally, though, we could sense traces of where he'd been. Unfortunately, the information was always too old, and we often missed our chance."

"So, if we find an area affected by a Fear Spell, it could be one of Haierbo's hideouts. Searching for places like that should make things much easier."

Nick then took a piece of