Reaching the other side of the mountain, the clearing it was in was much larger on the back side of the enormous mountain, which appeared to be more on one side of the clearing rather than in the middle of it.

The twin suns beat down on them, spreading their heat as Ruby ran past the clearing. Drake sensed horned worms on this side of the clearing as well. His glowing gaze peered down beneath the dirt. These horned worms were also allies. It appeared the entire clearing filled with horned worms was an ally.

This was a good thing. It made things safer for him and his cohort.

Ruby continued to run, making it past the large clearing. The trees flew by rapidly as she got farther away from the clearing and Dragon Head Mountain, which got smaller the farther she ran.

Drake and his friends took in the sights as she continued down the long road. It was all the same: dense trees, shrubs, and rocks. Using his magical vision, he could see magical beasts in the trees, but none of them came out to chase them. They stayed in their area, ignoring those on the road.

Wind whipped their hair back, caressing their cheeks as Ruby ran at top speed. She was so fast that the trees flying by were a blur. Nothing came out of the trees at them, nor did anything follow them as Ruby continued to run down the road as she followed the thin glowing green thread.

After a long time had passed, behind them, Dragon Head Mountain was barely visible in the distance. It was a dot in the distance. Ruby, in a sudden panic, without warning, slid to a stop.

Her long, armored limbs slid across the dirt, cutting long grooves as she slid to the side, trying desperately to stop.

The sudden stop threw Drake and his friends off her back as she finally stopped her massive body.

Drake was the first to stand. He was in a bit of a daze because of the fall. He looked at the surrounding area, trying to figure out what had happened. There was nothing he could see that would make her stop.

Drake silently communicated with Ruby, and he discovered that there was a barrier in her way. Drake looked, but couldn't see anything.

Behind him, Mike and Chad stood, while Renn immediately transformed into her beast form; all of them looked dazed from being thrown to the ground by Ruby's sudden stop.

Drake walked forward as he let his whip uncoil and fall gracefully to the ground. After filling it with energy, he swung his whip toward the barrier as hard as he could. With a long slash in front of him, the whip glided through the air and slammed into the barrier. There was no damage. The barrier vibrated briefly with the impact. There was an invisible barrier in front of them.

Letting his eyes glow a little brighter, he could see the soft glow of the invisible barrier. It was the same soft dimension master, green. It made Drake wonder if an ex-dimension master was the one trying to stop them from completing the quest. If it were, that would make them a grandfather or uncle.

He didn't know, nor did he care. What he cared about was removing the barrier so he could follow the thread. The barrier was in his way. He had to get past it to continue. He didn't know how to do that.

"That barrier is as far as the eye can see," Mike observed.

Drake nodded, then paced the length of the barrier in front of the road so he could think. He needed to figure it out.

Chad lifted his bow, notching and then shooting his energy arrow at the barrier. The energy slammed into the barrier with a loud bang, making it vibrate the same way Drake's whip did.

Mike, seeing what Chad tried, took out his sword and filled it with his strongest lightning blade. The lightning crackled and pulsed up and down the blade. Mike shot it out of his blade with a powerful thrust. The lightning shot forward and slammed into the barrier. The barrier vibrated, but nothing more.

Drake continued to pace, trying to figure out what to do. They needed to get past the barrier. He decided to teleport them to the other side, or at least try to.

Drake slammed his staff into the ground, the bright green light flashed, then disappeared. When it was gone, they were still in the same place. They did not teleport to the other side.

"Now what?" Mike complained. "I don't know what else to try."

Chad stayed quiet while he tried to come up with ideas. He couldn't think of anything either. It appeared they were stuck on the wrong side of the barrier.

According to the ascension quest map, the part of the river they needed was directly in front of them. It was in the river, directly under a bridge.

Ruby tried her own idea. She dug into the dirt, making a tunnel. Dirt flew behind her like waves as she avoided the top of the ground, not wanting it to be displaced. She was using the top to hold the barrier in place while she tried to dig under it.

When she reached the area of the barrier, it went all the way through the ground. She couldn't tunnel under it. Turning around, she kicked the dirt back into place, filling the tunnel she had just dug.

Drake stopped pacing and looked at the barrier. "We can't dig under it. Teleporting to the other side doesn't work. Our weapons and energy won't break it. I'm open to ideas about getting past the barrier."

"We can try to use our weapons all at once," Chad offered. It was an idea he had. He knew that all of them together were stronger than just one of them by themselves.

Drake shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

Drake let his whip fill with energy, while Mike filled his with a powerful lightning blade. Chad formed an arrow. It was the strongest he could conjure. As one, they shot their energy at the barrier.

The energy of the three attacks slammed into the barrier, causing a loud bang as the ground quaked. The barrier rippled and vibrated, but nothing else.

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