ALGREPPA MOUNTAIN RANGE


    A young man was sitting down with his back against a wall, appearing to be deep in thought.


    The man was sitting in what looked like a cave since the icy mountain air didn''t reach his spot.


    He wore a pitch-ck hooded robe and a horned mask that covered the entirety of his face while clutching his arm tightly with a blood-soaked rag…


    At least what was left of it.


    The entirety of his right arm was missing, leaving only a short stub under his shoulder.


    Even if healing magic and high-ranking potions could regenerate lost limbs, they couldn''t regenerate missing limbs asrge as this.


    If he lost a finger or two, or even his tongue for example, if the man could find a highly skilled healing mage or a top-tier healing potion, it wouldn''t be too much of a concern. That was only if he could get ess to either of those in the first ce. Highly skilled healing mages and top-tier healing potions didn''t grow on trees after all.


    However, the man was missing a whole arm.


    Nothing could regenerate entire limbs thatrge.


    *Thomp Thomp Thomp*


    The sound of approaching footsteps brought the young man out of his daze.


    He turned his head to find another simrly dressed man approaching him.


    "Did you find them?"


    The second man shook his head.


    "We couldn''t find either of them."


    "Damnit!"


    The young man bit his lip in frustration, before mming his fist onto the ground.


    *BOOM*


    His fist left arge crater-shaped mark in the ground, shaking the entirety of the cave.


    Some of the stctites hanging from the walls broke off and fell crashing to the ground.


    "Where could he be hiding? He couldn''t have gotten far with those injuries! We had to fight that fucking ape as well!"


    "That beast alone caused us to lose half of our men. Just dealing with a celestial dragon king was already enough. Having to deal with a rank 6 beast on top of that…"


    The armless man looked up at his colleague.


    "Kujak won''t be able to survive with those injuries, hell he''s probably already dead. Instead of staying here and pissing off that ape more, let''s just go back."


    The second man shook his head.


    "We can''t risk that egg hatching. You witnessed the strength of that thing''s father, it can''t be allowed to grow up. It will almost certainly interfere in the great one''s ns."


    The armless man sighed.


    "I understand that, after how long we waited, letting a variable like that run free is thest thing I want. But, what else can we do? There is no way that an infant can survive here on its own. Even if it''s a golden dragon, it''s still a child."


    The second man put his hand to his chin.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Let''s stay here a few more days before reporting the result to the higherups. We also need to make sure that ourrades get a proper burial. We can''t let any nearby brutes defile their bodies."


    "Let''s go with that." The armless man nodded, "by the way, do you have any ale on you? It''s not like I can do much to help with my current condition anyways, so a drink won''t hurt. Might even help with the pain."


    He pointed to the bloody stub that used to be his arm.


    "Sigh… Just this once. Drinking on duty isn''t something you should do."


    He produced a bottle of ale under his robe and ced it in front of the armless man.


    "You say that, yet here you are with a bottle yourself!" The armless man teased.


    He used his only arm to remove his horned mask to drink, tossing it to the floor.


    However, the removed mask didn''t have any horns on it.


    Just 2 holes on the mask''s forehead, where the horns once were.


    ***


    KARSIA


    "Fuuuu, having a day off like this once in a while is not bad."


    Arvell was reclining on a pool chair while drinking a ss of red liquid from a straw.


    Despite having an exam many children his age would feel extremely nervous about undergoing, he didn''t seem to care too much.


    He was far more interested in the book he was currently reading.


    A book titled ''The History of ntrya''.


    ''Hmm… So the first ntryan king was believed to be blessed by Angels? What the hell is this?''


    Lykos shook his head.


    ''Defying a kingdom''s ruler is only natural… But even that has its extremes. I had to listen to these stories repeatedly when I was still in the hands of the ntryan nobles.''


    Arvell quickly finished reading the book and put it to the side, on top of arge stack of books.


    ''I already memorized the details of every other past ruler, as well as some basic ntryan history and culture. I should be fine for any knowledge-based test they throw at me. Even if they ask me something I don''t know, I can just ask you.''


    Due to having a new and far more improved body, Arvell''s memorization abilities have far surpassed those of his past self.


    If before he was hailed as somewhat of a genius, now he''d be considered nothing short of a monster.


    He was able to quickly skim through dozens of books, whilepletely memorizing the content.


    This newly acquired information was incredibly valuable for someone who preferred to use every tool to his advantage.


    …Even if it was riddled with tant propaganda.


    Having this knowledge would let him blend in better in society and avoid sticking out more than he already is.


    While he was debating his next book, a volley of water shot toward his face.