[The Passing Human Mage]

It really was a human.

With Tonatiuh's excellent eyesight, as the figure rapidly drew closer, he confirmed that it was a human mage sitting on a flying carpet—or perhaps a gnome mage, since the figure looked rather small.

"Why would a human mage or gnome mage appear here?!"

Tonatiuh frowned.

This was Kalimdor, not the Eastern Kingdoms. Although there were traces of humans here, most of them were scoundrels and adventurers. Few representatives of any legitimate human factions came this way.

Big shots like mages were probably scarce even among humans. Unless they had a mission, there was no reason for them to come to Kalimdor, much less venture inland into Un'Goro Crater.

Tonatiuh was not the only one.

Several sharp-eyed Voodoo Shooters also noticed the uninvited guest in the sky.

Dezla, who was in charge of the night watch, appeared before Tonatiuh and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, something is approaching from the sky."

"That isn't something."

"It may be a mage," Tonatiuh said.

Dezla was startled.

It was not as though trolls had no mages. There were many troll mages in Zul'Farrak, here in Tanaris. Dezla had never seen a mage herself, but she had heard of them. Legend said they were extraordinarily powerful professionals capable of summoning wind and rain.

"Your Majesty, the enemy is flying too high. Our attacks cannot reach them," Dezla said quietly.

"Wait and see. Tell the Voodoo Shooters to stay alert, and wake the witch doctors as well. Do not disturb the other trolls; let them continue resting."

Tonatiuh issued his orders.

If the mage had truly come from the human lands, setting aside whether they were hostile or not, if they did bear hostile intent and even he, the witch doctors, and the Voodoo Shooters could not handle them, then waking the troll warriors would be of no help. They might as well get some rest.

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

Dezla respectfully departed.

At that moment.

A tall, dark figure stood behind Tonatiuh. It was Kezra, his personal guard, who had been dozing nearby.

"Your Majesty..."

Kezra rubbed his eyes.

"Wait and see," Tonatiuh said with a frown.

They had noticed the mage in the sky, and the mage flying overhead obviously could not have failed to notice the troll camp below. A camp of several hundred trolls occupied a considerable area, not to mention the bonfires that stood out vividly in the darkness.

However, the mage did not stop. Ignoring the trolls below, they flew directly into Fire Plume Ridge.

The observing trolls below stirred briefly before settling down again. Yet before Tonatiuh could conclude that the mage was merely a passing human, another dark figure flew over from afar. It was also riding a magic carpet, and atop it was another human-looking creature.

Like the previous mage, this newcomer decisively flew over the troll camp. However, their eyes remained fixed on the trolls below.

Two magic carpets, two humans, both vanished into the depths of Fire Plume Ridge.

"Your Majesty."

Dezla came to Tonatiuh's side and looked toward where the two humans had disappeared. "They seem to have merely been passing by."

"Do not let your guard down. Remain on alert. If they were merely passing through, that would naturally be for the best. But if anything happens, there is no need to panic," Tonatiuh ordered.

"As you command!"

The minor disturbance in the troll camp caused by the two mages flying overhead finally subsided after the mages disappeared.

However, it also made Tonatiuh decide to introduce mages and magical power to Zutona as soon as possible. Otherwise, if they encountered enemies next time and the enemy launched attacks from the sky, Voodoo Shooters and witch doctors alone would clearly be insufficient for aerial defense.

The best way to deal with mages was with mages.

After all, although he was a mage killer, he could not fly...

Training flying mounts also needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. The pterodactyls in Un'Goro Crater would be the most suitable!

After that.

The rest of the night passed without incident.

The following morning.

The trolls packed up camp, while the Voodoo Shooters and Spirit Warriors entered the primeval rainforest to hunt dinosaurs for food.

The witch doctors remained behind to guard the camp.

Tonatiuh, however, led Kezra and several Voodoo Shooters into Fire Plume Ridge ahead of the others. Since Tonatiuh had effortlessly crushed two fire elementals to death yesterday, Dezla, who was in charge of the hunting party, did not try to dissuade him again.

Fire Plume Ridge was desolate.

Aside from the soil, almost everything was made of crimson-red stone. Even hardy blades of grass could not grow there.

Furthermore, all of these rocks were scorching hot. Stepping on them felt like stepping on stone baked beneath a blazing sun, even though the sun in Un'Goro Crater was not particularly fierce.

Clearly, this heat came from the rocks themselves—from stones that resembled both granite and volcanic rock.

Tonatiuh drew upon the system's power, and this information appeared on his retina:

[Flame Stone: A type of rock that emits faint fire elemental power. Low-grade mineral deposit.]

It was actually a mineral deposit. It contained the power of fire elementals—no wonder it was so hot.

Tonatiuh tried channeling some of the uncontrollable power he had only noticed within himself yesterday into the soles of his feet. In an instant, the rocks beneath him were no longer scorching.

Apparently, the fire elementals where he stood had been driven away by that tyrannical, strange power of his, turning the rocks into ordinary stone.

The other trolls did not have such an ability, but they all wore enormous shoes made from Devilsaur hide. Combined with their astonishing endurance, the scorching stone and soil had little effect on them.

Trolls could wear shoes.

Although trolls in the game were almost universally barefoot, and both male and female trolls had enormous feet, trolls could wear shoes—it was simply that their shoes had to be rather large. The game did not have them because the game company had been too lazy to alter the models, not because trolls in reality did not.

Tonatiuh continued onward.

Along the way, they encountered several low-level fire elementals. These mindless elemental creatures were easily cut down by the Voodoo Shooters and Kezra, leaving behind shattered elemental cores.

Whenever they encountered stronger Living Flames, Tonatiuh leaped forward and charged into the flames like a suicide attacker, seized their elemental cores, and easily captured them.

After traveling only a few kilometers, he had already captured five Living Flames. Together with the one from last night, he now carried six heavy elemental cores in his bag.

These were all living Living Flames—terrifying elemental creatures that could revive the moment they left him and were thrown onto the ground.

After advancing several kilometers, Tonatiuh chose to lead the group back out. There was nothing worth exploring; the scenery was nearly identical everywhere, as were the same frenzied fire elementals. To see the true Fire Plume Ridge, they would likely have to venture deeper inside.

But there was no need for that.

Tonatiuh and the trolls were only there to complete the system's mission. They merely needed to kill enough elementals; there was no reason to risk entering deeper inside.