《Physics The Greatest Magic》


 Chapter 1 - 1: Prologue

    I gazed at the clouds through the window, as each second passed I could feel myself getting more drawn in


    "john, um excuse me, John?" Said the teacher


    "Sir?" I replied


    "Lessons are over for today, you can go home now." He said


    "Ah, I see. Thank you" I said as I got up


    As I made my way towards the door, I was stopped once again by the teacher


    "John, you''ve recently came into this school, and I''m sure it''s difficult to fit into the ss, But you should put more effort into talking to them"


    I try my best sir, I''m just not cut out for socialising and stuff


    "Understood, sir" I replied as I left the ssroom


    I was greeted by a giant hallway, as I looked through the window, I could see clouds form up


    "It''s going to rain today huh..." I muttered to myself


    As I began walking forward again, I ended up encountering a group of girls walking in my direction. As I was about to ignore them, I remembered what sir told me.


    In the middle, there was a girl I recognised from my ss, if I remember correctly, her name was...


    "H-Hey Elena, H-How are you?" I asked


    "E-Eh? I-I''m Good thank you" She replied


    She and her friend past without saying anything else, Elena seemed like she wanted to say something but hesitated


    After they walked past I could hear her friends speaking


    "Isn''t he the quiet transfer student? Do you know him?" One of her friends asked


    "N-Not really" Elena replied


    "He might have a thing for you," Said Another one of her friends


    "Really? That''s hrious, he obviously stands no chance" Said another


    The other girls around her, Startedughing. Elena, on the other hand, stayed quiet


    "Tch" I intentionally let out as I walked away


    ***


    Like? My ass, If a guy talks to you, you expect him to have a thing for you? Stupid girls


    I thought to myself as I stood at the school entrance. I couldn''t leave school because it was pouring and I didn''t bring an umbre


    "Lame..." I muttered to myself as I stared at the puddle, showing me my reflection


    I wasn''t handsome, Short ck hair and brown eyes, but I wasn''t bad looking either. So why don''t i have any friends...


    The rain didn''t show any signs of calming down, and it was so cold that I could see the fog of my own breath


    "I could run to the station, but by the time I make it there..."


    As I was thinking that, an unexpected voice called out to me


    "John, You''re John right?" Said the voice


    As I turned my face to find the source of the voice I was surprised to find Elena


    "Yeah"


    "I-It''s raining pretty heavily isn''t it?"


    "It doesn''t look like it''ll calm down any time soon"


    "Where''s your umbre?" She asked


    "I forgot it at home, I-I forgot to check the forecast," I said as I let out a sigh


    "T-Then, would you like to borrow mine?" She asked


    "And how will you get home?"


    "I didn''t think that far ahead... Oh!"


    "What?"


    "How about we share?" She suggested as she opened it up and stretched out her hand


    "Huh? People will get the wrong idea"


    "But who cares what other people think?"


    This girl... A second ago she hesitated to say something in front of her friends and now


    "If you don''te with me, I''ll leave the umbre here and go without one"


    "You wouldn''t"


    "Okay then"


    She dropped the umbre and was about to walk outside on to the rain, but stopped when I grabbed her hand


    "Fine..." I said as I picked up the umbre


    She showed me a bright smile as she said "see"


    We passed the school gate without saying anything and continued walking. We weren''t holding each others hands like couples but there was an awkward atmosphere around us. I was too nervous and embarrassed to say anything so the one that broke the silence was her


    "You know, i was really surprised when you called out to me," She said


    "Why is that?" I asked


    "Because you''re usually quiet and you don''t talk to anyone"


    "I try to... I''m just not that good at doing it"


    "But you''re doing just fine now"


    "I don''t know, you seem easy to talk to"


    "I am? Thanks"


    Was that apliment?


    "Hey John, remember the first day you transferred here? 3 Weeks ago?"


    "Yeah, what about it?"


    "You were very popr, you know"


    "I was?"


    "Yeah, you were one of the few people to actually get transferred to our school through grades, most people just enter through their families, so everyone was curious about you."


    "So they just suddenly stopped being curious?"


    "Don''t you remember what happened on the first day?" She asked


    "The first day... There were many students around me asking me questions right?"


    "Yeah, I was watching when it happened, do you remember what you said to each question they asked?"


    "Yes? I said Yes, right?"


    "Yes! Yes was the only thing you said! When they asked where you were from, you replied yes, What do you like doing? Yes, Couldn''t you think of a decent conversation?"


    Ah, I remember now, I was receiving so much attention that my brain bugged out


    "I was nervous... It happens" I said as I looked away to hide my face in embarrassment


    "You know, today was the first time, you called out to me"


    "Yeah, You didn''t seem very happy about it"


    "T-That was because I was surprised! When I tried talking to youst time, you ignored me!"


    "I did?"


    "You don''t remember?"


    "No, sorry... What was I doing and when?"


    "2 weeks ago when it was lunchtime, you were seemed lonely as you stared through the window, and no one was approaching you after the events of the first day so I thought I should try..."


    "And what did I do when that happened?"


    "You ignored me"


    "Sorry, I have a tendency to stare at the sky, whenever I do I feel like it''s pulling me in. Any sounds around me just disappear and I can''t hear anything..." I said as I ced my palm on my face


    We had been walking for quite a while and had reached one of the crosswalks


    "So that was why... I''m d..." she said as she walked out of the umbre and began crossing the road


    "What?" I asked


    "Hey, I live around here, make sure you bring the umbre back to school tomorrow," She said as she turned around and waved at me as she continued to walk backwards


    She had a really cute smile on her face as she said that as if it was something she''d nned straight from the beginning. her long brown hair seemed to shine as it was coated in rain.


    I was forced back into reality, once I noticed a truck corner of my eyes, It was beeping and didn''t show any signs of slowing down


    Before i even realised it, I was running towards Elena, With all of my strength, I ran as fast as i could


    Elena who looked over at the direction of the beep was frozen in fear as the truck got closer and closer


    "RUN!!" I shouted as I jumped to push her out of the way


    Luckily, I made it in time, I was able to sessfully push her away from the truck, however as for me... Shortly after I pushed her I felt something hit me and everything turned nk


    I couldn''t hear anything, I couldn''t feel anything, The only thing I could see was the sky


    "John... John... John!"


    After a while, I could hear Elena shouting out my name. I could barely make out what she was saying


    Looks like I won''t be able to see you tomorrow... Sorry...


    I wanted to say it... I wanted to apologise... I wanted to see what sort of expression she was making...


    With the remaining strength left within my body, I turned my eyes and managed to get a look at her, She was crying, before I could see anything else, I fell asleep and that was thest time I saw her

 Chapter 2 - 2: A New Society

    What''s this feeling? I can''t see... I can''t hear anything.. but.. It''s warm... And soft... It''s as if a warm liquid is enveloping my entire body... If possible, I''d like to stay like this forever...


    "John... John! Wake up, John! John!" said the random voice.


    "This voice... who are you?" I asked.


    As I awaited a reply, I felt my senses slowly return to me


    "W-What the h.e.l.l.." I quietly muttered as I opened my eyes


    There I stood, in the middle of the road, surrounded by houses. Houses which looked as if they would fit right in if it were ced next to the ones made in the medieval times


    I didn''t know what to say... I was shocked. Any bit of reasoning I had that could exin this situation disappeared as I noticed the slight dread within my bones.


    It wasn''t because I was in the middle of an unfamiliar environment or the fact that everything looked as if it were some town that came from a sort of fairy tale based on a fantasy


    It was because.. in front of me, Beings... Beings, who looked neither human nor monstrous. There were many races. Some looked like Humans mixed with animals. For example, girls with cat ears and tails. Others looked like humanoid Lizards...


    But the one thing they all had inmon is that they all wore clothing and had no problems interacting with other humans in the area.


    "Am I going insane..? Did I fall into aa after the car ident?"


    After asking myself these questions, I decided that the best course of action would be to calm down... Right. There''s no way being in a dream would feel this real. I feel cold, pain and hunger. There''s no other exnation.


    "I HAVE BEEN REINCARNATED INTO ANOTHER WORLD!!!" I shouted out


    I''m so excited that it feels like my heart will jump out of my mouth. In situations like these, peoples first instinct is to panic, however, How could I do something so careless? .I need to explore, yes, Explore! I need to find out where I am and why I''m here!


    Speaking of which.. I hadn''t realised this earlier but my body feels different... Wait... Since I reincarnated it''s only natural that my body won''t feel the same as it was before...


    As I stared at myself, I noticed that the clothes I wore were ragged and dirty clothes which barely managed to keep me warm and looked as if they were found in a dumpster... I also had only now noticed that I had been walking barefoot throughout the whole time I spent as I observed my surroundings


    Using a random puddle I had found as I walked around. I looked at my reflection. Short blonde hair and green eyes... In my previous life, with this look, I would have been the ''Cool kid'' in school.


    This new me appeared to be around 11 years old. Short, skinny and pale. The only appealing characteristic was my face


    As I yed around with my face in my reflection. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. Perhaps the reason why I hadn''t noticed this sooner was because I still hadn''t adapted to my new body... Either way, I need to find something to eat.


    Still... Judging by my appearance I''m most likely an orphan here too... every other kid I saw was being apanied by an older and were wearing way better quality clothes than mine...


    Hmm, what should I do..? Should I go around asking people for food? But will they even care? All I''ve been doing this past hour was observing my surroundings and walking around. I haven''t triedmunicating to anyone and since I''m in another world there''s a chance they won''t even understand me. Even the people that ran the food stalls red at me with a look that said ''If you have no money move'' when I thought about asking them for information.


    "Ahhhh! What should I do!" I desperately asked myself in search of an answer


    After racking my brain for what appeared to be a few minutes. I found an answer.


    "That''s right! This is another where Demi-humans exist. Meaning monsters might exist, and if monsters exist The adventurer''s guild exist! All I need to do is ask for directions."


    Obviously, there''s a chance that this won''t work as it''s just things you''ll read in fairy tale books in my previous life, however, I don''t have any other way to make money...


    Theoretically after going to another world. One would sell information and ideas to make money. But judging by how poor and weak I look. Any money I made would most likely get targeted which is why for now... I need to focus on getting stronger and making connections.


    The sun is still out so it''s probably early in the morning. So it was rather easy finding an open food stall.


    "Um Excuse me.." I Hesitantly called out to the grown man running one of the stalls which could be found by the road.


    "What? Beat it, kid, I don''t have any food to spare" He coldly dered in a somewhat threatening manner.


    I can understand him?


    "N-No that''s not it... I wanted to ask if you knew where the adventurer''s guild was.." I happily yet nervously stated after realising I''m able tomunicate to with him"


    "Kid, you realise that being an adventureres with a lot of risks right. You also need strength. I can''t see someone with skin and bones like you breaking a stick" He said as he let out augh


    "My name isn''t kid It''s John, and I know about the risks, so please tell me the directions," I Said as I red at him


    The tall muscr man, looked directly at me before letting out another loudugh


    "You got guts kids, not many people have the courage to re at me, much less someone your age. See my leg? It''s a prosthetic, lost mine to a pack of wolves during one of my quests."


    "You''re an adventurer?" I asked.


    "Was. Had to resign after I lost my leg. I like your guts kid, you remind me of myself when I was younger. here take these"


    The man pulled out a bag from inside of his stall and put in some of the apples that he was selling and casually handed it to me.


    "I can have these? Are you sure?" I reluctantly asked


    "Consider it a gift" He stated with a grin on his face


    "T-Thank you" I happily said while holding on to the bag


    "Don''t mention it. You said you were looking for the guild right? If you head down the road, once you reach the end turn right and keep moving straight, you''ll see a building With a sign saying adventurers guild on it"


    My eyes lit up in excitement after having finally achieved my goal.


    "Thank you very much! Um... What should I call you, sir?" I asked


    "Name''s Will. Come visit my stall again after you''ve be an adventurer, John"


    "Yes! I will Will. Thank you very much for your help!" I said with a face showing deep grat.i.tude before heading off in the guild''s direction.


    Wow... I never expected toplete all of my objectives that fast.. I was able to gain information on the location of the guild and I was able to get something to eat. What a nice guy. Will... I''ll remember this


    on my way to the guild, I decided to take a bite out of the apple.


    The juices that filled my mouth in every bite was delicious It was both sour and sweet.


    It looks like an apple but it''spletely different, both the taste and the Shape. This apple fruit thingy is, is shaped like a watermelon and tastes like a mixture of mango and orange. Both Sweet and sour. It was pretty big.


    I rapidly munched at the fruit while I headed down the road. After I finished one, I took the chance to count how many I had in the bag and see how long I''d manage to preserve it until I''d be able to make some sort of ie for an inn and food. At this rate, I''d be able to live with eating 2 a day and at the worst scenario, one.


    Then again, it''s pretty hard to sink in. I can''t believe I''m in a different world, this all still feels like a dream.. but seeing all these different species of humanoid beings walking around and this middle age looking city/town, there''s really no room for doubt.


    In fact, I''m more surprised humans and these beings can coexist with each other. But wait, if demi-humans exist... Does that mean that Elfs and catgirls exist too? My eyes lit up at the possibility of these races existing in this new reality.


    As I was thought of these things while I continued to walk. I noticed a girl curled up in ball sitting on the ground in the alley to my left. She was also wearing worn-out clothes which were barely enough to cover her.


    "Are you okay?" I asked as I approached her


    "..."


    She looked up and silently stared at me. She looked as if she was just as old as me. Short ck hair and ck eyes. It felt as if those eyes were staring directly through me. Her eyes looked empty as if they had lost their life and her expression looked emotionless


    "Cute.." I identally blurted out.


    "Huh?"


    "Ah, no I meant.. nevermind... Do you want a fruit?"


    Her eyes lit up at my question before she silently nodded


    "Alright," I said before handing her one from the bag


    She took a bite and her face lit up before releasing a satisfied smile as she continued to eat. Adorable. Absolutely adorable. How is a girl this cute being treated this way? What sort of world did I reincarnate to?


    "Hey.. Where are your parents?" I asked


    Her expression changed to a somewhat sad one and she replied. "I don''t know.."


    "Ah... Sorry.."


    "It''s fine... Uncle was taking care of me... but he''s gone now.." She said while hiding her face


    "Then... Wannae with me?" I excitedly suggested


    I mean it''s better to havepany rather than explore this new world alone right? And besides, I feel like it was fate that we met.. or something.


    "I can..?" She asked before slowly lifting up her teary face


    "Yeah, I might be a little weak right now and I don''t have any money. but I''m about to register on the adventurer''s guild and one day I''ll be the strongest adventurer in the world" I stated with a proud and excited expression


    Having a party right now would be helpful. Although she''s a kid. It''s better than being alone. Besides, I doubt anyone would want to form a party with an orphan within the guild.


    "Yes!" She replied as she wiped her tears away and showed me a smile


    C-Cute... I might just end up falling for her at this rate...


    "What''s your name?" I asked


    "Ariel.." She replied


    "Ariel, huh... That''s a nice name. My name is John! nice to meet you" I said with a smile on my face


    "John.. John.. Mn.. Nice to meet you too john" She replied with a bright smile


    I stretched out my hand and she grabbed it.. And thus, this was how our journey began.

 Chapter 3 - 3: Adventurers

    There we stood. In front of the guild. It was unexpectedly quiet. Usually you''d expect people to be making noise everywhere and hear cheers, but that wasn''t the case.


    Ariel who stood behind me while she grabbed on to my clothes. Looked like a younger sister. It was very adorable..


    "Are you nervous?" I asked.


    "Mn.. a bit.." She replied


    "Don''t worry, if anything happens i''ll protect you" I proudly dered.


    "Mn.." She nodded with a smile formed on her face.


    We walked inside and headed towards the receptionist. I could feel quite a few gazes on my back. but it was expected. It was most likely unusual for kids to be in adventurer guilds.. .


    But man this sure got me excited. It was as if it were a scene that came straight out of a fantasy novel. There were wooden tables and chairs around the guild. People were drinking and sitting in groups. Are they what you would call a party? Ah.. im so curious.


    Naturally when you think of adventurers, you think of a party. Forming a party and conquering quests and going on an adventurer with yourrades.. That''s what an actual Fantasy world is like.


    After we reached the receptionist. I curiously gazed at Ariel to see how she was acting, but she was calm. She''s putting up a great front that''s for sure. I stroke her head as i said "Thanks".


    "Mn" She replied as she nodded her head


    She seemed happy that I acknowledged her efforts.


    The receptionist stared at me and Ariel before she asked. "How may i help you?"


    "We''d like to register as adventurers within the guild."


    "You are aware of the risks right? The guild holds no responsibilities for death of the members" she coldly dered


    "Yes, would you please give me a list of the rules and how the ranking system works?" I asked.


    She let our a short sigh before her expression changed from a cold one to a soft one. "Are you sure you want to be adventurers?"


    It appears she was trying to scare us away as worry for our lives since we''re kids. She''s a pretty kind person.


    "Yes, besides, we don''t have a choice." I replied.


    Realising what i meant. The receptionist gave up on changing my mind.


    "Alright, Fill this form in.."


    Thedy handed me the form and in an instant i froze up. I hadn''t considered the possibility that i wouldn''t be able to read. I thought that since we managed tomunicate, thenguage writing would be the same as the one in my previous life. c.r.a.p.


    "Um.. I haven''t been taught to read or write so could you write the details down on my behalf?" I nervously asked.


    "Of course. How old are you?"


    I''m not sure how old this new me is after reincarnating but i look like i''m around my tens So..


    Ariel who had been quiet this whole time replied.


    "We''re twelve"


    "Okay"


    After She wrote that down, the receptionist asked other personal questions which i answered to the best of my ability. She repeated this process with Ariel.


    "Alright. That''s all i needed. Your form has been submitted, your guild cards will be ready in 2 days, however, before that, you are allowed to do quests. As long as they aren''t above F rank. I''ll exin the rules."


    If we''re able to start doing quests then it will save us a lot of trouble.


    "Please do"


    "As an adventure you are required toplete quests. If you don''tplete the certain number of quests within the time frame. Your guild members.h.i.+p is revoked."


    That makes sense.. There''s no point in having inactive members within the records


    "The quests you are limited to are dependant are your ranks. For example. The lowest rank is currently G and the Highest is S. Someone of Rank G is only able to do quests up to rank E in difficulty. In other words. Only 2 Ranks higher at max."


    I guess it''s so that newbies won''t try epting a quest which is impossible for them toplete.


    "Andstly, fighting between members are prohibited. They are only allowed with the consent of both parties. For example, a duel. However, self-defence is another thing. If you''re attacked you''re allowed to fight back."


    Tsk. That means it''s possible to get framed. As long as the attacker knows how to control the evidence.


    "I see. Thank you for the exnation"


    "I''m only doing my job. You''re quite a well-mannered"


    "Thank you.. Um, if you don''t mind.. i have a few questions..."


    "Sure what are they?"


    "Does magic exist in this world? And if possible how does one use it?"


    If i was going to survive in this world. Then something like magic would be a necessity. In most books that I''ve read. Fantasy-type worlds tend to have magic in them. This is due to existence of monsters which manipte elements. Therefore it''s only natural that humans would have adapted to such an ability to counterattack.


    "Yes, but it''s strange.. Even if you haven''t received an education you should have heard about the existence of magic.." She said with a worried expression.


    "Haha... I actually lost my memories and have no idea of who i am.."


    Ariel looked at me with a confused expression after my im, but i did my best to act like i didn''t notice. I''ll exin it to herter.


    I''m still not sure if this excuse is believable, but it''s better than not saying anything and being suspected, i am asking ignorant questions after all...


    She let out a brief sigh before exining "Magic is the foundation of this world. It''s everywhere. Those with an apt.i.tude are able to feel it as long as they concentrate. I''m not able to use magic so i''m not to sure about the details. but from what I''ve heard magicians gather the mana within their body, imagine the spell that they want to cast andplete a chant for a specific spell before casting it. That is what people refer to as magic."


    "Mana is a person''s life force and the magical energy that is found within them. Each person''s amount differs and it can be trained."


    ... So... It does exist.. Magic exists... I Wonder if i''ll be able to master it..


    "Hehehe..."


    "Um.. are you okay?"


    "Hm? Ah i''m fine, sorry imagining how fun it would be be to use magic."


    "About that.. You shouldn''t get your hopes up. Having an apt.i.tude for magic is quite rare. You''ll also need a tutor to teach you the chants and that''s also quite expensive.. That''s why it''s usually only n.o.bles who are able to seed in the profession of magic.."


    Chances huh.. I guess i''ll leave it to that. Besides, did she just say n.o.ble? n.o.bility is a social .s.s ranked directly under royalty meaning this is a kingdom. Ah, so i''m living in a monarchy.. interesting..


    "However, Most Swordsman and adventurers who do have an apt.i.tude. Use mana to strengthen themselves. It''s basic and anyone can do it with practice. You just need to imagine your mana enveloping your body.


    Hmm So strengthening myself through the use of magic is possible. If i''m able to do that, i''ll be able to fight monsters despite having such a small body.


    "There are 6 types of elements. Light, Darkness, Water, Fire, Wind, Earth. Most people can only use 1 element, let alone 2. There''s also exists unique types of magic but those are Very, Very Rare."


    Hm.. I''d like to know more about that and about this kingdom but that would be too many questions.. I''m sure she''s getting tired of exining.. I guess i''ll just find out on my own.


    "I see.. Thank you very much for spending your time to exin this all to me."


    "You''re very wee. if you look to your right you''ll see a board at the end of the building. That''s the quest board. If you''re interested you can search for a quest you''d like toplete. Since you can''t read just Search for anyone containing These letters on the top"


    The receptionist showed me 2 different letters which appeared to represent F and G in writing.


    "Thank you" I said to her showing a face of deep grat.i.tude.


    So i''m finally an adventurer... I didn''t expect it to be this easy. Honestly, i thought i''d be discriminated or wouldn''t be allowed to be an adventurer due to my age and clothes but i''m guessing there''s no restrictions. If you''re talented. You''re talented. But that''s only if, you''re talented.


    After it finally sunk it. My adrenaline started to get to me. Just the thought of the many adventures that i''d be able to go on made my heart beat faster.


    "And i won''t be alone" I quietly said as i gave a short look towards Ariel


    "What?" She embarra.s.singly asked


    "Ah. N-nothing..." I replied while feeling slightly fl.u.s.tered


    We headed towards the board and i took this chance to look around. The adventurers are sitting in tables with what appears to be members of their party. Most of these parties were pretty bnced. They had each had at least one person full body armour and carried a s.h.i.+eld, most likely a tank. others were swordsmen.


    I guess it''s to be expected that they would have a bnced party like this.. they''re adventurers after all. So far i have treated everything as an exciting adventure but i''m still aware of the risks. and i can''t afford exposing Ariel to these which is why i need to get stronger.


    We don''t have a party and from the looks of it, no one wants to trust their backs to kids. have a particrly strong build since i''m a kid, so i''m betting my chances on being able to use magic


    I know i''m taking things lightly. But i''m in another world. i want to enjoy it as much as possible..


    After we arrived at the board i looked around for sheets which had the letters which i was shown and picked a random one.


    I brought it over to the receptionist and she showed a relieved look. Shortly after she rposed herself.


    "This quest is to go collect medicinal herbs on the forest outside of the Kingdom"


    Sounds simple enough. Despite being big it was quite easy to find your way around this kingdom. And most likely after i exit i''ll get to see new things. This is so exciting... I can''t wait to start using magic.


    As if she had read my mind the receptionist said "The quest may be simple, but the reason why it''s a quest is because there are monsters in the forest. Don''t drop your guard and stay alert."


    "Yes. I''ll take these warnings seriously" I rea.s.sured her.


    "The reward for this quest is 1 Silver Per Herb. This is a drawing of what they look like and they''re prettymon throughout the forest. The reason the reward is high is because of the danger.. don''t forget!"


    "Yes... Thank you.." I Replied


    Ariel nodded and we took the sheet which had the drawing.


    "Well then, let''s goplete our first quest."


    "Mn" She nodded.


    I''ve realised this but she doesn''t really talk much... I don''t mind but it feels kind of distant... Well we literally met a few hours ago so i''m guessing she''s just shy. Over time she''ll talk more, probably.


    It''s good that she appears resolved... However heading into a forest without a weapon is suicide.. What do i do..


    As i turned around to head to exit the building. I was stopped by the receptionist.


    "Take this.. I''m sure it''ll be of use.."


    She handed me a Short dagger. it appeared to be made out of Iron and was light so i had no trouble holding it. She gave one to me and one to Ariel.


    "Are you sure?" I asked


    "Yes, it''s just a few daggers. They''re cheap and easy to find at any cksmith'' inn.


    "Very well.. I am very grateful and i''ll pay you back one day."


    "Make sure you do" She said with a bright smile on her face.


    I guess this was her way of telling me toe back safely? I guess I have no choice.


    Well... Once more.. let''s start ourquest.

 Chapter 4 - 4: Awakening

    There i stood beside Ariel at the gates of the kingdom. They were pretty big. I mean it is the main gate so i guess this is what you''d expect..?


    It''s only been a few hours since i came to this world and the sun is still out, but i have a feeling it''s going to go down soon. And i doubt spending a night in the forest is safe. Hell I''ve never been in a forest before. Not even in my previous life.


    But that''s what makes this even more exciting. Hehe.. if some people heard of my situation they may think i''m over reacting or acting to carefree. but what do you expect. You put a boy in the middle of puberty in another world. You think he''s gonna stay quiet and start panicking? No! This isn''t the society we live in.


    I exined to the gatekeeper that we were heading off to the forest toplete a quest and he let us through.


    After following the road we arrived at the forest. Although it''s called a forest. It doesn''t really look like ones i''ve seen on the. There are trees but it doesn''t feel as exotic as a forest. It''s more like a in with trees and bushes.


    This terrain is much better though. In forest we could have faced threats such as giant monstrous snakes attacking us or little poisonous snakes. either way it would suck.


    But since this is an open spacious area with trees and ura growing. i won''t have to worry about being attacked in a blind spot.


    We entered the terrain and went around searching for the herbs.


    Surprisingly enough after what seemed to be 30 minutes. We were able to find 10 Herbs which in my opinion was really good. We also didn''t encounter any monsters which was also a lucky boost. but if we did encounter one and beat them, i''m sure we''d get a pretty good reward from selling the body parts.


    But i mean we are kids. there''s no way we can take down monsters. My initial objective for bing an adventurer was just to secure enough funds to buy us food and get us a ce to sleep.


    At least that was the case.. Until i learned about the existence of magic.


    "Ariel, lets take a break. I want to test something out. Remember how i asked thedy how to use magic?"


    "Yes, she said that you needed to have an aptitude for it and you needed a tutor to teach you to how cast spells."


    I froze. Ariel said a sentence? Does this mean she''s feeling less shy around me?


    "Is something wrong?"


    "Ah. N-no i was just curious surprised that you managed to remember. You''re pretty smart aren''t you"


    "Thank you" She said with a satisfied smile on her face


    "Well about that, i''m about to try out what she said"


    Let''s see... magic is the foundation of the world. It is everywhere.. so i guess i should start by trying to feel it?


    I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes. I concentrated as hard as i could and focused on using every ounce of my sixth sense


    It was then that i noticed. My eyes were closed but i could sense my surroundings. In fact, they were much clearer than when they were open. I could feel the movement of the wind. The brushing of the leaves on the ground behind me and the location of Ariel despite not being able to see..


    It was amazing. It was as if my eyes had been opened to a new world..


    However that was only the gist of it. I was able to feel the flow of mana within my body and i was able to feel Ariels. To be specific. Through her flow of mana i was able to detect where she was.


    "It worked! I did it! I was able to feel the flow of mana!"


    "Really? You did it!" Ariel happily eximed as we subconsciously hugged each other in excitement


    "S-Sorry!"


    "N-no, it was my fault..."


    We both felt awkward and slightly embarrassed after that hug so i tried making things lighter by changing the subject


    "Apparently, I''m able to sense the life force within a person, the trees and the nts. I''m also able to sense the flow of mana. And judging by what i saw, you have a lot of potential."


    That''s right. Ariel mana capacity was pretty big from my perspective. the receptionist said that most people don''t have aptitude but from what i saw she has a lot of potential. Unfortunately I wasn''t able to see my capacity. I was only able to see my mana flow.


    "I''ll be able to be a magician?"


    "Yeah"


    Tears started to drop from her eyes after i replied


    "W-What''s wrong? S-Sorry if i upset you, please don''t cry.."


    "Mnm That''s not it... It''s just.. I was always told i had no talents so hearing that i have one makes me really happy.." She said while tears continued to pour from her eyes


    "Then we''ll make sure prove those people wrong" I happily suggested


    "Yes!" She nodded in reply with a smile on her face..


    Hnnnggggggg.. My heart can''t handle this cuteness..


    Before i got to try out other things with the use of mana. I detected something big moving fast towards us with my magic perception.


    "Ariel dodge!"


    I realised that she wouldn''t make it in time so i pushed her out of the way. half a secondter i felt an impact so hard, that it swung me towards the closest tree.


    *Cough* *Cough* *Cough*


    I coughed out blood and felt surging pain throughout my chest. It felt as if my ribs were broken and i couldn''t move. It hurt.. It Hurt... so much i could barely breathe.. I felt like i would faint at any second..


    "John!!!"


    Ariel Screamed before rushing towards me.


    "S-Stop! Stay BACK!!" I shouted with the little force i had


    She stopped. Thank god.. The pain of losing another person that''s precious to me would hurt a lot more... My consciousness feels like it''s slowly fading.


    Before me stood a 3 metres tall boar which appeared to be infuriated. How did he even detect me? Did someone bait him towards us? There''s no time to think about these things. Ariels in dangers I need to do something... I can''t let me self lose consciousness here..


    Noticing the boars stance and seeing how i was unable to move Ariel picked up a rock lying on the ground. After that she put up a saddened gentle smile on her face as if she were saying ''Everything will be okay''


    That expression.. I''ve seen it before.. I remember it clearly... It was the same ones my parents had before they were stabbed protecting me... D-Dont.. Please..


    "N-No... Stop.. STOP! RUN AWAY ARIEL!" I Shouted with all the remaining strength i had left. Yet she wouldn''t move. instead she threw the rock she picked up at the boar just before it charged at me changing its target to her.


    The boar charged at her yet she didn''t move. She stood there despite trembling. She stood there as if she had resolved herself to sacrifice herself for me


    "Don''t screw with me.. THIS IS A FANTASY WORLD RIGHT GOD. HOW MUCH MORE DO YOU INTEND TO TAKE AWAY FROM ME. MY PARENTS WEREN''T ENOUGH!? GOD DAMNITTT!!!


    It felt as if all my bottled up emotions from both of my lives, burst out as if the container had broken.


    It was then that i realised, time had slowed down. The boar was charging at Ariel and she was just standing there. Now that i payed close attention. She was crying. This girl decided to sacrifice herself for someone she had just met..


    Hey god... I''m not sure why you brought me to this world or why i died such a meaningless death without proving anything in my previous life. But please lend me power.. Help me protect her.. I beg you..


    I stretched out my hands. And imagined. I Concentrated the hardest i had ever concentrated in my life. I Focused all of my Mana on top of my hand. Imaged the hydrogen and oxygen in the air mixing to form Water.


    I then imagined the atomic particles of the water slowing down and imagined the chemical ammonium nitrate being formed and dissolved in the water so that an endothermic reaction could take ce. I parried this with the image of The Water Turning into Cold Ice and in nearly an instant it did.


    Since Time was slowed it felt as if each second was an eternity. However i didn''t lose focus.


    After Ice had formed. I imagined its tip bing Sharper, Harder, Denser And stronger so that it could pierce that thing. I poured all of my remaining energy and power into this Icicle.


    The ice which began on in front of my hand Slowly shifted forward before propelling itself at a super fast speed. Even with time slowed down it the Icicle managed to out-speed the boar and pierce it right on it''s side.. Shortly After I fainted.

 Chapter 5 - 5: The Aftermath

    Where am i..? My head is killing me..


    I opened my eyes to find myself staring at a ceiling. I looked around the room to see try and find out where i was andid eyes upon the girl who slept as she remained seated on the chair.


    "Good morning" I happily said in a relieved manner.


    I got up from the bed and felt most of my pain gone from my chest. How long was i asleep? How did i manage to recover from all those broken bones? What happened after i fainted?


    All these questions filled my head as I tried to guess what had happened.


    As i was stuck deep in thought, Ariel woke up.


    She stared at me and i smiled back as she jumped onto the bed to give me a hug.


    Tears flowed down her face as she tightly hugged me saying "You''re finally back" with a teary happy expression


    "You think i''d leave you? Didn''t I tell you that i''d protect you and that we''rerades now?"


    "Mn!" She nodded while she continued to hug me with all her strength.


    To be honest, i hadn''t fully recovered so it hurt. It hurt a lot. but at times like these a mans gotta ignore the pain.


    After a few minutes passed she quietly let go. Perhaps having only realised after how embarrassing what she had done is, her face turn slightly red. Seeing her like that made me want to tease her..


    "So, what happened while i was out?"


    -------------------------------------------------


    Apparently i was out for 3 days. After i shot my icicle at the boar, in a split second the entire boar was frozen, not only the boar but even the trees in the direction that i had shot.


    Shortly after my icicle hit, it went through the bear and continued to Propel itself through the forest, breaking down and freezing the trees. in it''s the direction before it stopped..


    Luckily, since Ariel was quite distant from it, she wasn''t affected by the freeze. I did well not choosing fire, or i could have started a forest fire...


    Shortly after the bear was frozen, Ariel picked me up and dragged me to the gate exining what had happened, to the gatekeeper. Luckily they managed to get in contact with healing mages in time and my life was saved. Or at least that''s how the story went.


    "If i remember correctly we were 30 minutes away from the gate.. Did you carry me that far all by yourself..?"


    She nodded in response to my question


    "Thank you. Man i acted all cool saying i was going to protect you yet i was the one who needed protecting.."


    "That''s not true! You were really cool and if you hadn''t pushed me out of the way i''m sure i wouldn''t have been alive by now.."


    This was the first time i ever saw her speak with such conviction.


    "John, do you have a fever? Your face is red.."


    "N-n-no.. I-I''m fine.. i just felt a little tired.."


    "Then get some more rest."


    "I''m fine, im fine, more importantly. Where are we?"


    "We''re in an inn."


    "You said i was asleep for 3 days right..? How were you able to get us an inn to stay? "


    And why would the healers waste their time to heal a random orphan? What''s happened while i was asleep?


    After i had asked Ariel, she exined everything that happened after i fainted.


    She carried me from the scene to the capital in a trip which originally took us 30 minutes by walking. After she got there she exined what i had done to the boar and how i ended up in this state and begged him to save me. He summoned healers which had started to treat me.


    What kind of gate-keeper can summon healers like that?


    After the mages started my treatment. The gate-keeper asked Ariel to take him to the scene. After she did. The man looked around and seemed as if he understood what happened. Walked up to the boar and melted the ice which enveloped it. He also offered to drag it to the capital for her which was very helpful.


    After she arrived at the capital the healers were pretty much already done with their jobs. so they helped carry me to a nearby inn while she went to sell the boars parts to the guild. We ended up ranking up as that boar was a Rank D monster called Big Boar and got 2 Gold Coins(200 silver) in exchange for the parts. She then came to the inn and has been looking after me for these past 3 days.


    "I see.. So in other words, you worked really hard to save me.. Thank you. I''m really lucky that i met you.." I said with a smile as i covered my face to hide my tears


    It might''ve been my imagination but it looked like her cheeks turned red, however, before i could confirm it she turned her head.


    "Thank you too" She murmured under her breath


    "Hm? did you say something?"


    "Nothing." She said with a slight giggle and smile


    On the next day we got up and decided to head to the adventurers guild.

 Chapter 6 - 6: The Gatekeepers Perspective

    After i dropped the kid and the girl off at the inn, i requested an audience with his majesty. A dayter, my request was granted.


    "Your majesty, if i may." I requested


    "Speak." He ordered.


    Just the sheer pressure of his words give off the feeling of a supreme ruler. The presence of a king is no joke.


    "Yesterday, at the gate, a girl brought a kid who had suffered immense injuries and was passed out on the verge of death.. and exined that they were assaulted by a giant boar.."


    "And?" With an uninterested tone, and expression, the king asked.


    "She reported that the kid managed topletely freeze the boar and some of the trees in it''s direction."


    "Did you confirm, if what she said was true?"


    "Yes, I summoned mages to perform treatment on the kid while i went to the scene. It was exactly as reported. The boar had been frozen in solid cold ice. I used up quite a bit of my energy just to melt it."


    The king perhaps realising the value that the boy possessed, asked another question. with a grin on his face.


    "It took a former famous fire magician a bit of energy to melt ice made by a boy? Where is this boy?"

 Chapter 7 - : 7+8 Recovery And Concept Learning.

    It''s the morning after Ariel exined what happened. My pain seems to be mostly gone.. I guess this has something to do with magic.. It is really incredible. Hopefully I''ll be able to use a healing spell..


    I turned my head to find the source of weight on my hand only to see, Arielyed down right beside me. Using my arm as a body pillow.


    The longer i stared at her sleeping face, the stronger my faster my heart began to beat..


    "C-Calm down john, E-empty your mind.. Empty you mind..


    I Took a deep breath, closed my eyes and felt my heart begin to calm down..


    "Good.. just like that.." I silently said


    I opened my eyes and stared at Ariel again only to go back to square 1.


    Wait. Calm down john, there''s surely an exnation for this. Ariel most likely only bought one room for us to save on our funds. Yes. That is surely what happened. However..


    MY HEART CAN''T TAKE IT...


    Just as i continued to fight my inner fantasies and mind, i heard Ariel whisper something while she slept.


    "Uncle.." she said as a small tear slid down her face..


    Arg.. What am i doing so early in the morning. I need to prepare myself to head out to the guild with Ariel..


    Just as i motioned my self to get up, i noticed Ariels expression changed from sadness to a smile as she grabbed on to me, in her sleep.


    W-Well, i suppose we could get a little more rest...


    -------------------


    After a few minutes which felt like hours of my heart beating at 60 miles per hour, Ariel woke up.


    She gave out a slight Yawn, before opening her eyes.


    "Good morning." I said while we stared at each other as she continued toy on my arms..


    "Eh?" She muttured out as her cheeks became bright red


    Cute..


    "U-um, sorry, i identally fell asleep and.." She desperate said in a rush, trying to exin herself.


    "Don''t worry about it, I don''t mind. Besides there''s only one bed, where else would you have been able to sleep?" I said, while I kept my head under the nket to hide my red swollen cheeks too.


    That said. We got up and tried to change the topic to get rid of the awkward atmosphere.


    "S-So, let''s get ready to go to the guild.


    "Y-Yes"


    Ah not good, it still feels a little awkward. But i guess it''s fine.. On the bright side, i feel like we''ve gotten closer, she usually used to be more quiet but now she seems like she has no problems talking with me.


    While i said get ready.. There really wasn''t anything to prepare. I held the dagger which had been sheathed on my waist and so did Ariel with hers. We have a weapon.. The only thing we need now is.. Armour and clothes and a shower.. When was thest time this body took one?


    Ariel on the other hand, was wearing clean clothes, and it looks like she recently took a shower. I guess the inn has that sort of facility.


    As i stared at her, as if she managed to read my mind she said. "Um, while you were resting I bought some clean clothes for us to wear.. Was it wrong..?"


    "No, no, not at all. On the contrary, it was something i was nning to doter so now that you''ve already done it, it makes life easier so thank you."


    "Y-You''re wee, Here are your clothes" She picked up the clothes and the table and handed them over to me.


    "Thank you"


    I didn''t really want to use these clothes without taking a shower first, but it can''t be helped.


    "Is there a ce to take a shower here?"


    She pointed at the door leading the another room in our room. before she said "That room is the shower room, the maids bring a few buckets filled with water every afternoon. I used that to take a shower."


    I see. I guess it''s the inns job to provide it''s customers with water too. That''s pretty nice. And i''m guessing the way time passes here is the same as how it did in my previous world.. so that''s another bonus.


    "That''s great! Do you mind if i take a shower before getting changed?"


    "Not at all, I already already took onest night, so don''t worry about me. And there''s two buckets inside"


    "Alright, see you in a bit" I said before heading inside the room


    "Mn" She nodded in response


    I took off my clothes and stood on top of the wooden tform that had a hole on it. I''m guessing the water i spill goes through this hole on to the sewers? If they have one. I also noticed that there was something which looked like soap on top of the tform.


    Now that i think about it.. I learnt a lot of things in myst life due to how hard i studied for my parents. Science was my speciality but i did learn quite a bit on engineering in case i''d need it..


    I''m sure i could think of a few ideas which would be able to help and improve this kingdom. Also, i wonder if i''ll be able to use magic to create metals.. I mean From what i remember, i was able to create an element and turn the elements of Hydrogen and Oxygen in the air into molecules to form water..


    As i wondered what the limitations to my abilities were, i poured down water on my head.


    "C-Cold.."


    I let out a quietint apanied and felt my body shiver as it came into contact with the cold water. and started scrubbing my body to get myself as clean as possible.


    Shortly after, i had finished. the shower was good and all but we need soap, or something simr. Well at least i managed to get rid of any odour i might have had.


    Ariel somehow smelled nice regardless.. Are the bodies of beautiful and cute girls able to automatically smell nice? At this point i don''t know what i''m saying.


    While i was stuck in deep thought, waiting for myself to dry, i got an idea.


    What''ll happen if i imagine all the molecules of water around me moving to form a ball of water on my hand? That way i''ll be able to dry faster and get rid of any moisture on the surface of my skin..


    I concentrated on my flow of mana and imagined a ball of water would be formed by absorbing the moisture on my skin and water which hadn''t yet dried.


    It produced an effect looked as if a vacuum was pulling at the moisture on my skin and eventually i was dry. On top of my hand there a sphere shaped ball of water.


    ...


    ... ... ...


    I DID IT!!! I''M ACTUALLY ABLE TO FREELY USE MAGIC!!! YES!!! So wait.. Does that mean that i can create water out of nothing by imagine molecules of H2O forming in the air and i can also manipte the moisture and water in the area? Magic is OVERPOWERED!


    I wonder if i can use other elements... The receptionist said that using more than 1 was rare, let alone the fact that magic was already a rare existence.


    It''d probably be best for me to wait until i got to the forest... Didn''t the receptionist say i needed to chant to use spells? Well the spell i used was self made so i don''t think there are any chants required in those cases.


    She said something about unique magic, but i think my case is just the fact that i properly understand the molecr structure, therefore i don''t need to chant.. I''m not too sure.. I guess i''ll ask her.


    But i couldn''t help but get excited at the thought of about being able to create new spells and manipte new elements. I Can''t wait to find start a new quest!


    -----------


    After the shower i got changed into the new clothes and we went to the guild


    This time we no longer look like orphans and look like proper adventurers. Ariel also looks even cuter on her new clothes.. But that aside..


    I greeted the receptionist alongside Ariel while i ignored the the gazes that were piercing my back. This time they were a lot sharper than before. I''m guessing they didn''t expect orphans to survive in the forest? It doesn''t seem like they heard about the incident though.


    "Wee back!" She happily said


    "Thank you"


    "Your guild cards are ready and don''t worry you''re already registered as an F Rank."


    So i guess we did rank up, i mean we did get to exterminate a monster 3 ranks higher so it''s only natural. However, the feeling of ranking up made me feel strangely happy.. and proud.


    "Lend me your finger"


    I did and she pricked it with a dagger.


    I left out a soft "Ow" as she positioned it on top of my card. After a drop of blood fell on it. It gave off a temporary shine and that was it. She repeated this with Ariel and the same effect happened.


    "Congrattions. You are now officially rank F adventurers." She said with a happy expression


    "Thank you" We replied.


    -


    -


    -


    After we got our cards. The receptionist showed us a new letter which we were allowed to search for on the board. This letter represented E in writing.


    We thanked her and made our way on to the quest board.


    After searching around for quests. We agreed on choosing a rank E difficulty one. Since i had just learnt magic, taking out bigger targets would be much more possible, and with Ariel potential, I''m sure we''d be unstoppable.


    I brought over the quest to the receptionist and she exined the details.


    The objective of the quest was to exterminate goblins which had settlements around the forest. As proof for exterminating them we''re supposed to collect a body part. If we can somehow bring the entire body back, we will be awarded money in exchange for materials.


    Each extermination would be worth 2 silver and we''d be payed ordingly to how many we killed.


    However it was weird how we didn''t encounter any monsters despite spending 30 minutes in the forest, only one. I might''ve been due to how close we were to the entrance? I don''t know..


    We thanked the receptionist and epted the quest, before making our way to the nearest cksmith and armour shop. We needed some form of protection and since we have a budget, i thought i should get Us some armour.


    After all, the only thing we have is a dagger, which we haven''t even gotten to use.. Hopefully i''m able to learn a protection type and healing spell. however i still haven''t tried and there''s a chance i won''t havepatibility with it. That''s why we''re getting armour now instead ofter.


    But if worstes to worst, i''ll try to make a water barrier. That sounds like it would work. I need to learn how to use my dagger though..


    We entered the shop and i was instantly taken aback. There were armours and daggers on disy. A back room which appeared to be where the cksmith worked as i could hear the sound of someone banging metaling from there..


    "Huh, customers? Give me a second." Said the voice which wasing from the backroom.


    Shortly after, a short but ripped looking man came out of the room. His ears were pointed and he had a long brown beard. He gave us a curious look before moving on to the topic.


    "So, what are you looking for? Armour i''m guessing?"


    "Yes, i''m looking for something easy to maintain and durable."


    "For the girl as well?"


    "Yes." I hastily replied


    This man.. Although he was shorter than me he definitely looked older. I''m guessing he''s a dwarf..I''ve read about them in books. Short beings which specialise in cksmith arts. I can''t believe I''m actually meeting one...


    As i thought that. He asked. "Hmm, are you adventurers?"


    "Yes" We replied in a proud and dignified manner.


    "I see, that exins it. How does Orc armour sound? It was made with the top quality orc skin and is pretty easy to maintain, It''s also flexible and weighs little so it won''t restrict movement."


    That sounds too good to be true.


    "W-What''s the price?"


    "60 Gold Coins"


    I knew it.


    "Do you have anything cheaper? Around 50 silver coins?"


    "Why did that guy make the armour in the size of kids... There are barely any adventurers that would fit this size.." He quietly murmured.


    Ah, so that ''s the case..


    After Giving off a saddened expression, the man quickly rposed himself


    "How does iron armour sound? I''ll have 2 sets which look like they''ll fit you and the girl. Since i didn''t seen any adventure''s small enough to fit them, the price dropped. They''re in top quality condition and i''ll give them to you for 30 silver, maintaining kit included. "


    He doesn''t seem likes he''s lying and i don''t really know the market price and now''s not the time to be picky so i epted.


    The armour set itself wasposed of an iron chest, leggings and gauntlets. In my opinion 30 silver sounds pretty good.


    We each went to a separate changing room to try out the armour and then shortly after, came back out, with it equipped.


    It fit me pretty well, I guess it''s a little loose around the chest but aside from that it felt natural. Now i look even more like an adventurer.


    "H-How do i look?" She asked with slightly reddened cheeks


    In front of me stood Ariel. I must say... Ariel is a real beauty. A slim waist, slender body yet it doesn''t look like itcked nutrition, A cute face with deep ck eyes and short ck hair. She''s 100% my type.


    "I would prefer longer hair though.." I quietly said without realising


    "I-Is that so.." She said with a saddened expression


    "Ah? What? N-No I identally said that out loud, but honestly you look really cute i-i mean Nice!"


    Uwah.. I was so flustered i couldn''t properly make out what i was saying.


    Seeing my embarrassed expression she let out a cute giggle giggle and smile before saying "Thank you"


    ... I think my heart just skipped a beat.


    I took out 30 silver coins from the bag on Ariel''s waist and handed it to the cksmith. Now all that was left was 20 Silver coins. We left the rest at the inn in case something might have happened.


    the purchase that brought down to 143 silver coins. the first twenty was payed in advance to stay for a week, meaning there were 3 days remaining. And the 3 silver was used for her meals. If you''re a client in the inn. You''ll be able to have 3 meals a day for a silver as a bonus.


    We payed 2 silver coins this morning for the meals today and had breakfast before we left. In wasn''t anything impressive just bread with milk. I guess you can''t expect much from an inn. but she did say the other meals were better.. Guess i''ll have to wait and see.


    I''ve been wondering. why did she pay 6 silver instead of 3 for the meals? Did she get extra meals for me? But i was asleep so i''m guessing she somehow managed to feed me.. I''ll ask herter. Either way i have to thank her.


    "Thank you for your patronage"


    After we left the store, we stocked up on food to eat in the forest as we weren''t sure how much time we''d be spending in the forest. And as we walked towards the gate i took upon this chance to ask.


    "Um.. Ariel."


    "Yes?"


    "Remember when i was unconscious?"


    "Yes..?"


    "Were you feeding me when i was asleep?"


    "Yes.. Sorry."


    "W-What? Ah no, i''m not mad at you, i''m actually grateful, that way i was able to properly recover, thanks to you."


    "Mn.. I used to take care of uncle while he was ill so i learnt how to help.. While you were asleep i sat you up and spoon fed you.."


    Ah.. I guess that''s possible..


    "I see.. Thanks a lot, i feel even better than before now thanks to you"


    I showed her a big smile on my face as i said that.


    "Mn" She replied with a smile as she blushed


    The inn provided us with toothbrushes and toothpaste so there''s no need to worry about my breath smelling bad or bad teeth. And of course, the same can be said for Ariel, she had been living quite nicely after all, it was only until recently that her uncle had died.


    ------------------------


    After heading towards the gate we finally arrived and were stopped by the gatekeeper


    "Where are you going?" he asked.


    This voice.. Is he a new gate-keeper?


    "Hey, we''re adventurers, we''re on our way to the forest for a goblin subjugation quest."


    "Adventurers.. can i see your cards?"


    "Sure."


    We handed the man our cards and after checking them, he allowed us through.


    That''s weird, the previous gate keeper didn''t ask us for our cards.. Was he cking off? It''s even more weird that he was easily able to melt ice, doesn''t that mean that he was able to use magic? Isn''t it rare? Why was someone with such an ability working as a gatekeeper?


    We took the same path we tookst time and arrived at the forest, I wanted to see how much damage my magic caused after i fainted so i followed Ariel as she led the way.


    After we arrived at the scene, i froze.


    I.. did that? In front of me were a few trees which had beenpletely frozen. It wasn''t anything massive but the fact that i was able to do such a thing made me feel strangely excited..


    After looking around and making sure that there weren''t any monsters nearby, i decided to sit down.


    This was a pretty open area, there weren''t many trees around here. No wonder the boar was able to easily attack us.


    I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and wordlessly began to concentrate. Ariel stood there and watched quietly.


    Imagine.. Imagine.. Remember how it felt when the boar tried to attack Ariel. Remember the feeling of the mana flowing within my body.. Imagine the elements forming water molecules around me and imagine Ice being formed through an endothermic reaction.


    After a few seconds which felt like minutes.. 4 Spiky emerald shaped Ice balls formed around me.


    While it drained some of my energy, i still feel like i could create 30 more of these. But it''s probably better not to use up everything.


    After she saw the ices form, Ariel''s expression lit up. and she let out a short "Wow.." to show that she was impressed.


    Seeing this made me want to show off but i held back.


    I aimed at a target and the directions the ices were facing changed at my will. After my signal they propelled themselves towards each target i had in mind.


    I wanted to see if i would be able to aim each on individually towards a separate tree and it worked.


    On impact The tree instantly froze up.


    Seeing this i couldn''t help but let out a short "Wow.." Either..


    Although the power was weaker than the first and they only managed to freeze the first thing it collided with.. It was still amazing..


    Oh god.. I can''t stop trembling.. Even Ariel was surprised. It looked like she wanted to be able to do that too.. I''ll try to teach her once i''m done with.


    As i sat down again to i noticed that there were a few creatures approaching us from within the forest.


    Was it the sound cause by the impact.. Crap.. Should we run? No.. With magic i should be able to fight them..


    I signalled at Ariel toe over and perhaps having understood the situation she nodded.


    "How many?" She asked.


    "I''m not sure.. I''m only able to feel movement, i can''t exactly, detect what they are or how many, with perception."


    Although i should be able to if there was a search spell.. We''ll leave this forter.


    "What do you want to do?" I asked


    She pulled out the dagger on her waist and said "Fight."


    I nodded and we got into our positions. I''ll attack with spells and a dagger and she''ll attack with her dagger.


    "Well then.. Let''s dance."


    Uwah... that was embarrassing.

 Chapter 8 - 9: Battle

    As they stood in their positions, monsters started toe out from the woods. It was 6 Goblins.


    "Hmm, this will serve as good training." John quietly muttered.


    The goblins wore a cloth on their waist and carried a club. They didn''t look strong and were the size of a dwarf, but looks can be deceiving and they are monsters after all. They were a bit buff but less than the cksmith that they had met. They did definitely look stronger than a guy who''s all skin and bones like John though.


    The Goblins slowly approached them. It seemed as if they were wary.


    ''For monsters they''re pretty smart.'' John thought.


    The first to attack was John. He shot off the 4 Ice spikes at the 4 Goblins and in an instant, the moment there was impact, they froze up. They tried to dodge, but his spikes out-sped them.


    ''Whoa.. I might not need any other spells if this one is this strong, I''ll name this spell cies.'' John concluded.


    Seeing as how theirrades were frozen. The remaining two looked frightened and slowly started to step back, however..


    "cies." John uttered.


    At a single word, within seconds, 2 Ice Spikes were formed around him.


    ''Since I''ve gotten a feel for the spell, I''m able to use it faster.'' John understood.


    Seeing this, the goblins began to tremble and shriek..


    "what..? You''re scared? Even though you came all this way to attack us, you''re thinking about running?" John said.


    After he said that, the goblins turned around and started running in an attempt to escape. But, before they even realised, they had been frozen by John''s cies.


    Seeing this, Ariel looked speechless. John couldn''t really tell what she was thinking, but she was probably afraid..


    ''I mean, it''s only natural, I guess¡­'' John inferred.


    After Ariel saw his saddened expression, she walked up to him and asked. "What''s wrong? That was Amazing! You easily managed to take all of them out! C-Can you please teach me how to use magic just like you?" With dimly lit eyes and excited expression


    That was the first time I ever saw her this agitated.


    "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, yes, yes, I''ll teach you." John answered,


    Seeing his smile, Ariel showed a relieved expression on her face


    ''So she was worried about me.'' John reckoned.


    "Pfft, hahaha." Johnughed.


    "W-What.. What''s so funny!?" Ariel said with her cheeks puffed up.


    "Sorry, sorry." John said with a content expression on his face.


    ''I guess it was a bit bad of me to assume such a thing.'' John thought.


    "S-So how will I be able to use magic like you? I wasn''t of any help in the fight and I don''t want you to think I''m useless.." Ariel said with a saddened expression on her face.


    ''Ah.. so she was worried about that.'' John guessed.


    He then let out anotherugh .


    "Don''t worry, I''ll do my best to teach you what I know, but after we collect the goblin ears. It''d be good if we could take their whole body in exchange for silver, but we can''t really carry it all." John answered.


    She nodded in response


    ''Wait, what if I use magic to create a portable space in which I''d be able to put their bodies in? Like a ck hole? No.. I don''t think it works that way... I might just end up wasting mana.'' John pondered


    ''Besides, despite all of those casts, I don''t feel tired at all. Not to mention I don''t need to chant. Isn''t this pretty broken?'' John thought.


    He walked up and asked. "How will I melt these?"


    Ariel shook her head in response.


    "Ah, I have an idea." John


    John ced his hand on the ice and then it melted''


    "What did you do?" Ariel asked.


    "Well, I changed its state from solid to liquid. I imagined the particles which were once tight together, separating, having more space to move and more movement. It may have melted, but the water is still cold, so be careful." John answered.


    So basically, John imaged the particles acting as they would in the liquid state.


    Upon hearing his words, Ariel showed a deeply confused expression.


    ''That makes sense, she''s never learnt about this so I can see why.'' John guessed.


    "Ah, don''t worry about the details, I just imagined the Ice turning into water." John added.


    "Still.. To be able to do that.." Ariel spoke hesitatingly.


    "Hehe.." John nervously chuckled.


    He unfroze all of the goblins and as it had turned out; they were dead. He didn''t feel guilty at all for killing monsters, they''re doing what they can to survive, and he''s doing what he can. Besides, John hated goblins.


    They then cut off their ears with the daggers given to them and ced them in the bag.


    Despite all the blood spurting everywhere, Ariel didn''t seem bothered by it. In fact, she seemed used to it. Not a scene you''d expect to see from someone with such a pleasant face, but John didn''t mind.


    In fact, it was good that she had no problems with blood as they would be getting into a lot of fights as adventurers.


    "Hm.. but this is certainly a problem.. Changing the state takes quite a bit of energy... Ariel." John spoke.


    "Yes?" She responded.


    "I''m going to try learning a new spell. Do you mind waiting, before we head back?" John questioned.


    "Mnm, not at all." Ariel said while she shook her head.


    "Thanks." said John.


    He then sat on the ground and began concentrating again.


    ''A spell which can efficiently cut the enemies without having to worry about burning the forest.. Ah, that''s it!'' John grasped.


    "Alright, I have an idea." He said.


    Ariel observed him carefully, as if trying to understand the process. And around 10 secondster, a tree was sliced in half.


    "Mm?! Was that a wind spell?" She asked


    "B-But how.. Most people are only able to use one element.." Ariel questioned.


    "Hmm, It''s either because I have an aptitude for both or because I am able to grasp the concept..?" John replied in an unsure tone.


    Ariel gave him a look as if she wanted me to teach her.


    "Anyway, I think it''s time for your first lesson." Said John.


    With a joyous expression on her face, Ariel thanked John.


    "The first thing I''ll be teaching you is magic perception. To use magic, you need to understand and feel the flow of mana in your body." John spoke.


    "Yes."


    "For that you''ll need to concentrate. Close your eyes and focus on your senses. Try to imagine what magic feels like and try to feel the flow of mana within you. Don''t lose focus." John instructed.


    Ariel nodded her head and closed her eyes. After a while, nothing seemed to have happened. If a person walked in, John sure they''d find it weird how she just motionlessly stood there. But he knew that she was concentrating and didn''t want to disturb her.


    After a few minutes, Ariel opened her eyes.


    "Were you able to feel it?"


    "Yes! I was able to feel and see my flow of mana and the flow of lifeing from the trees, nts and you. It felt amazing being able to see the world in this new way."


    Ariel said with an enthusiastic expression.


    "I see, that''s good. Since you''re able to feel it, you should be able to control your flow, right?" John questioned.


    "Yes, but it''s a bit difficult." Ariel responded.


    "Don''t worry, it''ll get better with practice." John consoled.


    Ariel nodded in response.


    "Ah, that reminds me, you were able to see my flow of mana, but were you able to see how much magic power I had?" John asked.


    "No.." Ariel said as she shook her head.


    ''She wasn''t able to see how much magic power I had, huh? No wonder the receptionist looked troubled when I told her I wanted to use magic. I know that I have a lot of magic power as I''m not tired even after all those casts. And being able to show my magic potential is a requirement for looking intimidating... I''ll leave it for the me of the future to think of something.'' John thought.


    "I see.. Well, never mind that let''s move on to the next lesson." John said.


    "Yes!" Ariel said with dimly lit eyes.


    "Well, since I don''t use chants, I need to have a precise image when using a spell. The same goes for you. Probably." John estimated.


    "Mn." Ariel said as she nodded.


    "Very well. Listen carefully. It will sound a bit confusing at first, but I feel like chant-less magic is only rare because one doesn''t fully grasp the concept and the chants rece that part." John exined.


    Ariel nodded in response.


    "Understanding the concept will also allow you to create your own spells." John said.


    "What causes wind?" He asked.


    "Wind.. is caused by a change in the weather?" Ariel replied.


    "Well, you''re not wrong, but, what exactly causes wind. The weather is a factor which affects it but not exactly the process." John exined.


    "I don''t know.." Ariel said with a saddened expression.


    "No need to look so gloomy, I''ll exin." John replied.


    Her eyes lit up after she heard what John said.


    "Wind is the flow of gases on arge scale." John answered.


    "Gases?" Ariel asked.


    "Yes, gases. Gases are one of the four fundamental states of matter." John answered.


    "States of matter..?" Ariel asked.


    "To put it simply, look at this." John said.


    He then cast cies and a sphere of ice was formed slightly above his finger.


    "Look at the ice. You''re able to touch it and it''s hard, right? This is the solid state." John said.


    Showing apletely interested expression, Ariel continued to listen to John''s exnation.


    "mn" She said as she nodded


    John then changed the ice from solid to its liquid state.


    "This is the liquid state. Think of it like this, when water is frozen and turns into ice, it''s called the solid state of matter. Once the ice melts and turns into water. This is called its liquid state. And this.." John said.


    The water in his hand turned into gas.


    "It disappeared?" Ariel asked while surprised.


    "Sort of like that. I turned it into gas." John answered.


    ''To be honest, I wasn''t sure this would work, but I''m d it did.'' John thought.


    "So, did you understand?" He asked.


    She looked confused but nodded her head in response.


    "Alright, now we can move onto the difficult topic." John continued.


    Ariel looked excited,pletely unlike John expected. She didn''t look worried at the possibility of not being able to understand at all.


    "You see, wind is the movement of air from an area of higher pressure to an area of lower pressure. Air is the mixture of different gasses all around us, but it''s so small that you can''t really see it, just like how the water disappeared." John exined.


    "Mn.." Ariel responded.


    "Did you understand?" John asked.


    "Kind of.."


    "Well, don''t think about it too deeply. Just Imagine your mana flowing to and causing pressure on the air in the direction you are facing. Image the air being under high pressure and imagine it moving to an area of lower pressure. Imagine where you want that area of lower pressure to be and that area which you imagined will be the direction and the area to which your wind will travel." John exined.


    ''Ahh.. that definitely sounded confusing.. Will she be able to pull it off..?'' He wondered.


    "Mn" Ariel responded.


    "To increase the power so that it acts like a de, you need to imagine the shape of a de, add more magic power into the attack and increase the pressure that is being put on the air." Said John.


    Ariel nodded and stretched out her hands.


    After a minute, a transparent de formed and propelled itself towards the tree at high-speeds.


    *Bam*


    ''It let out that sound after impact, but it wasn''t enough to cut it in half like mine had done. Either way, for her first try, that was amazing. She might actually be a genius. Not even I understood what the teachers meant when they first taught me this.'' John thought.


    Ariel showed an extremely joyful expression after being able to use magic for the first time and turned towards John''s direction to see how she did.


    "You did it!" John eximed.


    "I did it!" Ariel chimed.


    They both said as they raised their hands. John got a strange satisfying feeling for seeing someone aplish something after going through the difficult process of teaching something.


    ''Is this what teachers feel like?'' John wondered.


    "I-I''m d N-Now I''ll finally be able to help you in the fight. T-This time I-I''ll be able to protect you when you''re in danger.." Ariel said as her voice trembled in between the words.


    ''So she was still worried about being a hindrance... I mean, I''d understand why. Especially with the incident of the boar.'' John understood.


    He noticed that her eyes were swollen and her cheeks were dyed in a bright red colour.


    Ariel turned around to wipe her face before saying "Thank you".


    Without saying anything, John simply smiled.


    "Well then, want to go further into the forest and try out your new spell?" He asked.


    "Yes!" Ariel replied while she avoided eye contact.


    "Alright, let''s take a short break before moving further in. I''d like to practice a new spell. Use this opportunity to practice your wind de too, but make sure you don''t use up too much mana." John suggested.


    "Yes!" Ariel responded.

 Chapter 9 - 10: Goblin Lord

    After their 30 minute break, they decided to start heading deeper into the forest


    The receptionist had told them that the reason goblins aremon is because they have settlements within the forest and those settlements are where they take humans that they''ve captured, mainly females.


    After they walked around for around 15 minutes, John noticed that there were monsters nearby with his magic perception


    Ariel, who noticed it herself, turned to John and asked, "What do we do?"


    "Let''s ambush them." John responded.


    They hid themselves using the trees as cover and slowly approached the area where they felt the monster''s presence.


    After they arrived there, they froze.


    A base surrounded by wooden fences and filled with goblins on the inside. It also had goblins keeping watch at the entrance


    "W-What is this..." John quietly muttered.


    In the middle of it all, stood a giant goblin who appeared to be handing out orders and watching over their work.


    "This might be too much for us to handle... Let''s head back and report our findings to the guild." Said John.


    Ariel nodded in response.


    Just as they were about to turn around and head back. John noticed that there were goblins on the path carrying a nk which had a human girl tied to it. The girl didn''t look like she was struggling, so she was most likely unconscious, and even if she did try to struggle, her arms and legs had been restricted, so she wouldn''t have been able to get away either way.


    The girl still had her armour but her sword sheath was empty, John guessed that she was outnumbered and dropped it, from the looks of it, they haven''t done anything to her yet.


    John stared at the girl, wondering if he should risk it. She had Red hair and looked young, probably around 15 years old,


    ''Where were her party members? Did the goblins kill them? The goblins probably managed to out number their party and captured her in the process.'' John guessed.


    What he didn''t understand was how 4 goblins managed to survive. They tend to travel in packs of 6, so if the girl had a party, it would have been harder to outnumber them. John wondered what exactly had happened.


    ''Leaving her here would leave a bad taste in my mouth afterwards, but I couldn''t afford to put Ariel''s life in danger, at our current level.'' John thought.


    He thus decided to ask Ariel, who had been looking at him for the past few seconds, if anything was wrong. "What''s wrong?"


    "I-I think we should save her, don''t worry about me.. my wind de still isn''t strong enough to cut through the tree but it should work on goblins." Said Ariel.


    "Yeah.. you''re right. Let''s go save her, but if things go wrong, run away, alright?" John replied.


    After hearing his words, Ariel showed a relieved expression.


    "You know, I can''t do that.." She said with a smile on her face


    "Argh.. Fine, but just be careful." John responded.


    "Yes!" Ariel said.


    "I''ll nk them, you cover me with a wind de." John suggested.


    Ariel nodded her head in response, but her arms were shaking.


    "Don''t overthink things, just focus on attacking. Even if you miss you can always try again, and don''t worry, I won''t let anything happen to you." John assured.


    With a smile on her face Ariel replied, "Yes!"


    The goblins are still quite far from the settlement, but one of the goblin scouts had noticed them and went to inform the Giant goblin.


    If they were to rush out now, they would most likely get seen by the goblins at the gate before rescuing the girl, and the lord woulde out to face them. In that situation, John was not sure whether they could win.


    "Let''s go." Said John.


    They ran out to the path and intercepted the goblins carrying the girl.


    "Shrieeek!" cried the goblins.


    They let out a loud scream as they saw their figures and the guards that stood in front of the gate readied their weapons. While the others went to tell their lord.


    Unlike the previous goblins, these ones held spears. They probably took them from the humans that they''ve killed.


    The goblins which had been standing in front of them decided to put the girl on the ground in order to fight them.


    It took 4 of them to carry a teenage girl, so John guessed they weren''t that strong.


    "Ariel, I''ll leave these to you." John said.


    "Yes. Ventus!" She said as she nodded


    In a sh, the heads of the four goblins were cut off. Perhaps because they were monsters, there was barely any blood, so it didn''t look gory at all


    Ariel, who was the one that did the finishing blow, looked unsettled but quickly rposed herself as she realised that she didn''t have time to think about those things.


    ''She really is strong-willed, it''s interesting seeing her act.'' John thought.


    "Well done, Ariel!" He praised.


    "Mn" She nodded her head with a satisfied expression


    They cut the ropes that were tied onto the girl and ced her on the ground. Having learnt first-aid in his previous life, John checked to see if the girl had any difficulty breathing and checked her pulse.


    Luckily, she was just unconscious and was having no difficulties breathing. Just as John was about to pick her up, he felt the presence of the Goblin''s lord approaching, so he decided to leave her in the recovery position.


    "W-Well then, we managed to rescue her. Let''s get out of here before the Giant goblin lo-" John said and was interrupted.


    Before he could finish, a loud roar which came from the entrance resonated throughout the forest. Shortly after the giant Goblin started approaching them.


    "Ariel, stand back, I''ll go deal with that thing." Said John.


    "B-But!" Ariel responded.


    "If we both go, who will protect that girl? Don''t worry, he''s just a bigger version of the goblins. It''s all the same." John said with a confident manner.


    "Mn" Ariel nodded with a saddened look on her face.


    John''s ''everything is going to be okay'' act worked well, but in reality he was shaking. The goblin which was in front of him was at least 3 meters tall. Not to mention his overly buff frame. The size of the club he held was around John''s size and just from standing in front of him John felt an overwhelming pressure.


    He felt like running away with Ariel, but it was toote to turn back now.


    "So you''re the goblin''s lord, huh.. How about you look the other way? That way I''ll spare your settlement at least." John bluffed.


    "Hu..man.. Hu..Man! HUMANS KILL!" Goblin lord said


    After he said that, he lifted up the club in his hand and swung it towards John.


    During that moment a grin formed on John''s face. Without moving a single step he muttered. "Ventus"


    In an instant, the hand of the Goblin lord which held the club was cleanly cut in half. He screamed in pain as he grabbed on to his severed arm. Blood gushed out of the wound as he tried to cover it.


    Shortly after, the wound closed up and blood stopped spilling out.


    "Heh.. That''s a monster for you. Entertain me, will you?" Taunted John.


    Realising that John was mocking it, the goblin lord in a fit of anger tried to grab him with his remaining left hand, but missed or more precisely, John dodged.


    Right before he managed to grab on to John, he jumped on top of his hand. Ran up it and pierced his left eye with his dagger.


    The reason why he was able to do all of this with his weak physique is because he was using magic strengthening.


    Magic strengthening is when a person covers their whole body in their mana in an attempt to boost their physical attributes. Naturally, John decided to try it during the break and it felt amazing. His reaction time senses, reaction speed increased, and he felt lighter, faster and stronger.


    John didn''t get to teach it to Ariel because she was focused on mastering her wind de. Which he named, Ventus.


    After losing its left eye, the goblin lord screamed in pain and tried to grab John, who was about to stab his other eye, but then John retreated before he could.


    "Come on goblin lord, you''re stronger than this, aren''t you? At this rate you''ll end up dying.." John said in a mocking tone.


    After hearing what John said the Goblin Lord realised that he wouldn''t be able to win, so he let out a Loud roar which was a signal for back-up.


    "Finally." John said.


    It''s what he was waiting for.


    ''Now I''ll be able to deal with all of the goblins along with the lord at once.'' John thought.


    Shortly after the signal, goblins starteding out of the settlement with weapons.


    "Ho... That''s quite a lot of goblins." John muttered.


    Around 30 goblins came out of the settlement. Seeing as he was outnumbered, the Goblin Lord gave him a grin.


    "Hu..Man. DIE!" He shouted.


    "Well.. This is a problem... for you." John said.


    With a confused expression, the goblin lord let out a loud roar which seemed to be a signal for the other goblins to attack. But before the roar waspleted, his head had been cut off.


    "Ventus." John muttered quietly.


    Seeing their leader die. the goblins froze in their tracks.


    "What''s wrong? Weren''t you all going to attack me?" John taunted.


    They trembled in fear as he approached them.


    "Now, now, don''t think of running, I''m not too into massacres, but I have no choice. And I''m feeling strangely pissed off right now." Said John.


    There was no need to collect all of those ears. The four from the ones Ariel killed plus the original 6 along with the Goblin lord''s head should be enough. John didn''t really want to show Ariel a gory scene which would appear if he shed them all with Ventus.


    After finally making a decision. John stretched out his hands in the air and casted, "cies". This time he poured a lot more magic power into it than usual, and it grew bigger and bigger.


    Shortly after, John had created a giant version of the Ice Spike. It was most likely big enough to freeze all of the goblins in range.


    "Hm, it probably isn''t but let''s find out," Said John.


    With his left hand, John picked up the goblin''s head while the goblins stood there frozen in fear and with a flick of the wrist, The giant ice spike propelled itself at speeds unexpected of its size at the horde of goblins.


    On impact, they froze up. Every single goblin was frozen, with the expression of fear on their faces. The surrounding trees in the area had also been frozen, but it wasn''t that many.


    Having let out such a huge version of cies, John felt my energy start to seep away. He also didn''t have any more magic power to keep magic strengthening active.


    With my remaining strength, John staggered towards Ariel, struggling to keep bnce. Then after he arrived, he showed her a thumbs up.


    Ariel who saw this smiled as she also showed a thumbs up.


    Now that the fight was over. John and Ariel took the time to cut the ears of the 4 Goblins who had managed to capture the girl and put it inside the bag alongside the Goblin Lord''s Head.


    They were slightly covered in blood, so they cleaned ourselves using water made from John''s magic. He also dried them up using the method he had used in the shower.


    On their way back, with the red-haired girl still unconscious on his back, John thought it''d be a good time to ask. "Ariel, is everything okay?"


    "Mn? Ah, yes.. Everything''s fine, why?" She asked with a confused expression


    "Ah.. It''s just that you were a bit quiet, and I thought you were still bothered by what happened." John replied.


    "They''re monsters, so it doesn''t bother me too much. They''ve taken the lives of countless others. It''s just that I feel like taking a life is still a bad thing to do." Ariel said.


    "In my opinion, what we did was part of nature. Monsters attack humans, so humans fight back. That''s the way of life. It was also self defence, so it definitely wasn''t a bad thing. And besides, you did it to save a life, so I think you should be happy and proud about that." John exined.


    "I saved a life..?" Ariel asked as she pointed at herself.


    "Yeah, you saved a life." John replied.


    As tears began to form in her eyes and slowly dripped on to the ground, Ariel hung her head and clenched her hand.


    "So I''m notpletely useless..." Ariel muttered.


    Without saying anything, John just watched.


    ''Recently I''ve been talking more, I wonder why... Ever sinceing to this world, the introvert in me has disappeared. But was that all? I feel like I''m not me¡­'' John wondered.


    ----------------------------------


    [¡­ let me out....]

 Chapter 10 - 11: Reward

    After they arrived at the kingdom, the first thing they did was to head straight to the adventurers'' guild.


    "Um.." said the receptionist.


    "Yes?" John asked.


    "This is a goblin king''s head, right?" The receptionist questioned.


    "Yes.. I believe so..?" John replied.


    With her palm on her face, the receptionist breathed in an attempt to relieve herself of stress.


    "And that girl on your back..." she asked.


    "Like I just said, she was captured by goblins and before she reached their I saved her. However, since we were close, the Goblin King decided to go outside and fight us. After an intense battle I cut off his head and froze the remaining goblins, which he had summoned to help him in the fight" John exined.


    The receptionist made a perplexed expression as she looked at John.


    "Okay.. So what you''re saying is, you took out a goblin settlement and a goblin King by yourself." The receptionist reiterated.


    "Yes. That''s what we''ve been telling you this whole time!" Ariel intervened.


    "Okay.. Wait just a moment, I''ll be back." Said the receptionist as she headed towards the backroom of the guild with the bag.


    Shortly after, she came back carrying a bag full of coins.


    "Okay, this is your reward for subjugating 10 Goblins and a goblin lord, 5 Gold coins and 20 Silver." She said.


    "5.. Gold coins!?!?" Ariel shouted


    ''She really is more open now, huh, That''s good.'' John thought.


    "Y-yes. You shouldn''t be saying the amount you receive out loud, young girl.." The receptionist advised.


    "Yes.. Sorry." Ariel apologized.


    The receptionist was right. After Ariel had shouted out their reward, John felt a few gazes on his back.


    "Well then, what do we do about this girl?" John questioned.


    "Hmm.. You can leave her here with us. We''ll lend her a room to rest while we wait for her to recover and exin what happened." The receptionist replied.


    "Alright." said John.


    John handed the girl to the receptionist and thanked her before making his way towards the exit.


    "Wow.. We now have 6 Gold coins in total. This shouldst us for a few days." Ariel happily said.


    "Yep, we can also buy new clothes. Having just 1 set feels¡­ bad." John replied.


    As they made their way towards the inn. They were stopped by 3 Guys who were carrying knives.


    "Give us all the money you got, kid." The men said.


    They didn''t look strong and had barely any magical power, so they probably couldn''t use magic strengthening. But John had no energy left from the goblin fight nor carrying the girl from the forest straight to the kingdom.


    Ariel could easily take them on, but she doesn''t know how to properly control her power yet and might end up killing them.


    As John wondered what to do. Ariel stepped up.


    "L-Leave us alone.. We earned this money through hard work. If you really want to earn money, then go do quests yourself!" Ariel chided.


    That surprised John.


    ''She looks a lot braver now, is she changing... or has she always been like this?'' thought John.


    "The Hell''d you say brat?" said one of the guys before he swung his knife at Ariel.


    Ariel, who saw the knifeing, took a step back and dodged. At the same time, his hand waspletely frozen


    "E-EH? A-A-A-AH! M-My HAND!?" The man shouted.


    Ariel watched as John formed 3 ice spikes above him. As he let out a sigh, the air around them started to get colder.


    "Hey... I don''t care about what you want, what you need or where you''re from all I know is that if you don''t move right this instant, I''ll freeze you." John said with a look as cold as my spells.


    His otherpanions looked frightened as they saw him sat on the ground. Ariel herself was surprised, well John was showing his cold side to her.


    "So, you still want to fight? You might end up like the goblin lord we fought, though." John asked


    "We won''t forget this!?" The three said before hastily running away.


    John turned to Ariel who had a satisfied smile on her face before saying "Thank you for standing up to me"


    "A-Ah, but you''re the one who did everything." She muttered


    She was zoning out; making John wonder what she was thinking about.


    They went inside the inn and decided to take a shower before having their meal. As they went up the stairs John heard Ariel quietly saying "Precious partner.." with a happy look on her face. But he decided not to question it.


    They arrived at their rooms andid down on the bed. It was so fluffypared to the ground in the forest, and John felt like he was drowning in heaven.


    Ariel who had been stretching her arms as sheid down also had a satisfied expression on her face.


    "Mnnn" She said in satisfaction


    After around 5 minutes, John started to get drowsy and neither he nor Ariel were moving.


    ''At this rate. we''ll fall asleep without eating or taking a shower.'' John thought.


    Just as John had thought that, Ariel got up


    "I''ll be going in first," Ariel said.


    ''Huh, first? Oh, is she gonna go to the showers now?'' John wondered.


    "Where are you going?" John asked.


    "Showers, where else?" Ariel replied.


    ...


    "W-wait a moment, I''ll go heat up t-the water and I''ll be back soon." John suggested.


    "Thank you," Ariel said.


    John then walked into the bath area and ced his arm above the bucket.


    "I never tried this before so it might not work but.." Muttered John.


    ''Imagine.. Imagine that water heating up as my mana is transforming into thermal energy.. And imagine that energy being transferred to the bucket of water.'' Thought John.


    After a few tries, he finally managed to heat up the buckets. He made sure they were no longer cold before slowly making his way back to the room.


    "Alright, the water''s heated. You can go take a shower now." Said John.


    "Mn, what about you?" Ariel asked.


    "I''ll go take one after." John replied.


    "I see.. but wouldn''t it be faster if we just took one together?" Ariel suggested.


    ...


    "W-what did you just say?" John said with surprise.


    "I said.. Wouldn''t it be faster if we just took one together? I used to take showers with uncle to help him wash himself after he became ill. It was also faster than taking one individually." Ariel said.


    ...


    "T-true it''s faster, but I can''t..." replied John.


    "Why?" Ariel asked with a confused expression


    "You shouldn''t take a shower with just any guy you know. It would be inappropriate." John exined embarrassingly.


    "But John, is John? John isn''t any guy.." Ariel replied in a naive manner.


    ''... what''s happening.'' John wondered helplessly.


    "T-That''s not the problem! 2 teens of the opposite gender shouldn''t be taking showers together." John exined.


    "Why?" Ariel asked.


    "Y-You just can''t!" John protested.


    "Mn.. Okay..." Ariel replied as she nodded her head.


    Shortly after, Ariel went inside and started taking a shower. After the interaction John had with Ariel, he wasn''t able to think straight, so decided to take a stroll around the inn to calm himself down.


    "God. She''s a little too innocent, saying things like that. People could take advantage of that. Argh... I''ll just have to properly teach herter myself." John said to himself frustratingly.


    After going down the stairs, John noticed that the innkeeper was still behind the counter. The sun had already set and it would be dangerous for a kid with proper clothes to be walking outside, so he decided to go have a chat with the innkeeper.


    "Hey." John greeted.


    "Sup? You''re one of the 2 kids that came in, aren''t you?" Responded the innkeeper.


    ''He knows about that? Well, he is the innkeeper, so i guess it''s natural.'' Thought John.


    "Yeah." John replied.


    "So, what do you need, young man?" The innkeeper asked.


    "Nothing much, just looking for someone to chat to." John spoke.


    "Hmm, I''m all ears." The innkeeper replied.


    "Thanks, say, How long have you been in this ce, sir?" John questioned in a respectful tone.


    "By ce, you mean inn? I''ve been here for 5 years." The innkeeper answered.


    "No, not inn. Kingdom, what''s this kingdom called? Are there others, what are they called?" John further questioned.


    "Whoa, slow down, young man. I thought you came here looking for small talk." The innkeeper replied.


    "Sorry." said John.


    "It''s all good. Give me a second, I should have a map in the storage... keep watch for me while I go search for one." The innkeeper replied.


    "Yes, thank you." said John.


    ''Hmm, so he has a map. Perfect, now I''ll be able to find out more about this world I''m living in.'' John thought.


    The man came back with a map in his hands and showed John where they were. The map contained the names of the towns and kingdoms, so he didn''t have to go over much.


    The kingdom that they were currently residing in was called Halfaust, it was just one big capital with vast territory. Compared to the other kingdoms on the map, which had separate cities, it wasn''t really that big or much like a kingdom. There might have been some sort of special reason as to why John''s starting point was in this kingdom.


    Around the kingdom there were neighbouring kingdoms. North of halfaust was the kingdom of as. To reach it, one would have to travel by boat through the sea. East of halfaust was the kingdom of Ashtar and South of it was the kingdom of Threlfad.


    The continent the kingdom of Halfaust was in is called Gilda. Including Gilda, there were 5other continents in total, Finra, Resta, Tempest, Dia and thest one, the magical continent. They each have other kingdoms that John hasn''t mentioned but going over it would be too long.


    Dia is the most dangerous one and it is home to those of the demon race. Still, the map was very useful. It had a detailed portrayal of the kingdoms and continents in the world and even had their names.


    After John finished analysing the map. He thanked the innkeeper and gave him 10 silver coins as payment for the info. He thanked John with a smile on his face as if he already expected it.


    "Thank you for your patronage. " The innkeeper spoke joyously.


    John nodded at the innkeeper before heading back to my room. He opened the door only to find Arielying down on the bed with clean clothes. John had washed her clothes and dried them out for her, while she was in the shower.


    After noticing that John had returned, Ariel wordlessly got up and made her way towards him before cing her head on his chest and staring at the ground. In this position, John couldn''t really tell what kind of face she was making.


    "W-where were you..?" Ariel asked.


    "Ah, I went to ask the innkeeper for some information." John answered.


    "Why didn''t you tell me you were going to go earlier?" Ariel questioned.


    "W-well, you were in the middle of a shower, and I didn''t think I''d take long so..." John exined.


    "oh... okay... But please don''t leave me..." Ariel said with slight trembles in her voice.


    ''Why would I suddenly leave her?'' John wondered.


    "I won''t, we''re a party, don''t worry about these things." John said.


    "U-Understood..." Ariel muttered with her head hung low.


    "W-well then, I''ll go take a shower, after that we''ll go get something to eat." John replied.


    Like John said, he washed his clothes, took a shower and went downstairs with Ariel to have dinner. It wasn''t anything special; it was just soup with potatoes and meat, but John had to admit it was pretty good.


    After dinner they went back to their room.


    "Did you enjoy the meal?" John curiously asked.


    "Mn, it was good." Ariel said.


    "Great. Let''s go to sleep early. Now that we have money, I''m nning on exploring the city tomorrow and look for some new clothes. We''ll take a day off to get some rest, we''ve been through a lot today after all." John suggested.


    He took off his leather boots andid down on the bed. Shortly after, Ariel did the same andid down right next to him. John turned to the wall, and she turned to the other side of the room. He also made sure to give her a pillow so she shouldn''t have any problems sleeping.


    "John, are you awake?" questioned Ariel.


    "Yeah." He answered.


    "Thank you." Ariel spoke.


    "Ah? Don''t worry about it, I don''t need a pillow to sleep." John replied.


    "Not for that.. For everything" Ariel said as she let out a soft giggle.


    "Yeah..." John replied.


    ''Did I really deserve that, thank you?'' John thought to himself before falling asleep.

 Chapter 11 - 12: Exploring The City

    "Hey isn''t thatAriel?" Said a familiar voice.


    John was currently walking through the capital with Ariel. They were nning on buying new clothes and just going sightseeing. After all, since John came to this world, all he had done was try to survive. He thought that he should try to enjoy it more.


    John turned his head to see who the familiar voice was confused after doing so.


    "Will!" Ariel called.


    "Hey Ariel, how have you been?" Will asked.


    "Good... What about you?" Ariel replied.


    "I''ve been managing," Will said as he let out augh.


    John watched as the two interacted, they seemed to know each other.


    ''Who is this, man¡­?'' John wondered


    John''s mind couldn''t stop thinking about words to describe him. He was tall, nearly twice John''s height. Strong, with defined muscles all over his body and bald, a shiny head with a sharp gaze attached to his face.


    John felt intimidated as he stared at the man, but didn''t look away. Ariel was there so there was no way he could, even if he felt like a puppy staring at a wolf.


    "So aren''t you going to introduce your boyfriend?" Will asked with a smile on his face as looked at John


    "H-He''s not my boyfriend... He''s my partner¡­ His name''s John." Ariel replied with slightly reddened cheeks


    "I''m John, nice to meet you." Said John with a smile as he extended his arm for a handshake


    Seeing this, Will smiled back before grabbing John''s arm. As he did so, John''s smile began to twitch as he felt an immense amount of pressure begin to squeeze his hand.


    ''O-Ow¡­ What''s with this strength...? Is he testing me?'' John wondered


    Will watched as John was about to fall onto his knees and expected John to beg for him to stop. But contrary to that expectation, John stayed on his feet and even squeezed will''s hand back.


    Seeing this an even wider smile was formed on will''s face as he weakened his grip. John took this opportunity to let go of his hand.


    "John, huh¡­? You''re an interesting kid, I like you. The name''s Will, if you ever need anything, just ask." He said happily


    John wondered why the man seemed so happy before grabbing onto the hand he had just used to shake Will''s. It was red, and was throbbing in pain.


    ''It hurts like hell¡­ What is this guy?! If I hadn''t used magic strengthening¡­''


    "Haha, Thanks." John replied as he forced a smile


    Ariel looked towards the two and smiled happily as they seemed to get along. .


    "So.. What happened to you? After these few days?" Will asked after staring at Ariel''s clothes.


    "Well.. I-I became an adventurer." Ariel answered.


    "Oh! I knew you had it in you!" Will said with an amused expression before giving her a pat on the back.


    Ariel looked happy receiving the praise and pats. Seeing this, before John had even realised it, a smile was formed on his lips.


    ''So you weren''t alone¡­ That''s good.'' He thought to himself.


    "What are these fruits called?" John asked as he stared at the fruits on the stall. They were red like an apple yet shaped like a mango.


    "These are appa!" Ariel said excitedly.


    She looked at John expectantly, as if she wanted him to try the fruits. John was particrly interested in them either way, so he just went along with it.


    ''Appa¡­ How much are they?'' John wondered.


    "How much would 2 appas cost?" John asked.


    "25 Copper coins each"Will replied with a smile on his face.


    "Right, then can I have 4 Please?" John questioned.


    "Sure, pick anyone you like." Will responded.


    "Right, thanks. Ariel, aren''t you gonna pick one?" John asked after choosing 2 random ones.


    "Huh? Ah, yes." She replied with a startled reaction.


    "Pick a good one." Said John with a smile


    "Mn, Thank you" She said as she showed a happy and excited smile back..


    "I-It''s fine," Said John, slightly surprised by how happy she looked.


    He then looked at will before pulling out a few silver coins from out of his pouch.


    "Here''s the payment," John said as he handed Will 5 silver coins.


    "This is a lot more than I requested, John. I only need one of those." Will said with a confused expression.


    "Consider it as thanks. I know it''s not much but I''d appreciate it if you could ept it."


    "For what?" Asked Will


    "For letting me try some of this appa." Said John happily


    The man showed a troubled expression as he thought about whether or not to take it


    "You''re a strange kid... Alright, I''ll take you up on that. Thanks John."


    "Yeah. Well then, We''re going to continue to look around the city. See youter!" John said.


    "Stay safe and take good care of Ariel!" Will replied.


    ***


    Shortly after, John and Ariel continued to walk along as they waved at him.


    "He''s a nice person." Ariel said as they continued to walk along the roads.


    "Yeah.. He is.." John replied.


    John wondered how exactly she knew him or what was she to him, but since she didn''t say anything, he thought it''d be better not to ask.


    To distract his mind, John moved the red fruit towards his mouth to take a bite out of it. He still hadn''t tried it and was curious to see just what sort of vours a fruit from this world would hold.


    As he did so, John then noticed out of the corner of his eyes, Ariel staring at him expectantly, but he decided to ignore it.


    *Crunch*


    As soon as John took the first bite, his eyes widened. The sund simr to the crunching of an apple, yet the juice sourer than that of an orange and a sweet rich vour simr to that of a mango. It was a triplebination. All happening within John''s mouth at once.


    "So good~!" John let out as before taking more and more bites.


    ''The sourness and vour dissolves in your mouth!'' John thought to himself, happily.


    Seeing this reaction, Ariel couldn''t contain her smile before taking a bite herself. As she did so, she too had a satisfied face as he continued to eat.


    "So good¡­" She muttered to herself


    ***


    Throughout the day, John and Ariel just continued to walk around the city. They bought new clothes, ate delicious meals in restaurants and just had fun. Just the two of them.


    ''Wait, isn''t this a date? No, I''m just overthinking. It''s just 2 party members walking through the capital and having a great time.'' John thought.


    "John.. John, are you listening?" Ariel asked.


    "Wha- What''s up?" John said.


    "I was asking what you wanted to do now.." Ariel questioned.


    "Oh! Well.. I''m guessing we could get better weapons? Daggers are a dual-handed weapon but since we were only given 1 pair, we only have one. I''d like to get another pair." John answered.


    "Okay." Ariel replied.


    They headed towards the smithy they had been to previously and like before, there were iron nking noisesing from the back room and there was no one behind the counter.


    "Um, excuse me." John said loud enough to be heard.


    Shortly after, a dwarf came out of the room.


    "Oh, it''s the two kids. Was the armour useful? What can I get ya?"


    "Yes. I''m looking for strong, light and sharp daggers and I''d like a wand for Ariel." John answered.


    After hearing his words Ariel let out a surprised "Eh?!"


    "Yep, I''m nning on getting you a wand. I feel like you''d do well as a support mage while I go on the offensive. However, if you don''t want to then we don''t have to get you a wand." John spoke.


    "I-it''s not that, it was just that I was surprised. I also think being a mage would suit me!" She replied with an excited look.


    "Well then, I guess we''re getting the wands." John decided.


    "What''s your budget?" The cksmith asked.


    "2 gold coins," John replied.


    Ariel gave him a surprised look but didn''t say anything.


    "Right, follow me," The smith said.


    He led them to one of his dagger disys.


    "This is?" John curiously asked.


    "These are mythril daggers. They''re quitemon amongst adventurers due to how durable and sharp they are. They''re also fairly light." He said as he stroked his beard.


    "How much are they?" John asked.


    "50 Silver Coins."


    "Hmm.. What about this one?" John pointed.


    He pointed at the dagger, which was next to the Mythril ones.


    "This dagger is quite unique.. It''s made by a special ore which gets harder and lighter as you give it magical power. If you give it enough, it could easily surpass the mythril one." The smith exined.


    "That''s pretty good.." Ariel quietly said


    "So what are the drawbacks?" John asked.


    "You''re pretty sharp, kid. To use it, you need to constantly supply it with magic. Most people don''t have enough magic power tost long and it turns into a useless piece of metal when they run out." The smith answered.


    "How much is it?" John questioned.


    The man gave him a look as if nning something and replied "Hm.. Usually it would''ve been 4 Gold coins but I can make it 1 since you look like you''ll be a regr."


    "1 Gold coin for a dagger which looks as if it can''t be sold due to how hard it is to use. Aren''t you being a little cold?" John asked as he stared at him.


    "The ore is rare.. You won''t find others selling these kinds of daggers."


    "Isn''t that mainly because of its drawbacks?" John asked.


    The man clicked his tongue and appeared to have given up. "Alright, I''ll sell it to you for the same price as the mythril. There are no refunds." said the smith.


    "Understood."


    The man opened the disy and handed the daggers to John after he paid him.


    "Is there anywhere I can test this on?" John asked.


    "Yeah, follow me"


    The man led them to his backroom. Inside, it looked just like you''d expect. It was full of weapons and tools cksmiths would use to craft swords. the room was also moderately warmerpared to outside.


    "Here use this." He said.


    The man handed him an iron sword. The quality looked like it had deteriorated a bit, but it still felt sturdy and the handle seemed broken.


    "How?" John asked.


    The man ced the sword on top of a wooden table


    "Take a shot." He said.


    "What? John asked.


    "Try cutting the sword."


    "Are you sure?" John hesitantly asked.


    "It''s fine, it''s just junk and besides, you wouldn''t be able to break it even if you tried." The smith said.


    "If you say so.."


    Both Ariel and the man stared intently as John, in a swift motion, swung his new dagger at the sword on the table. After it hit, a scratched was formed on the sword.


    "See, what did I tell you? The dagger is only good if you have enough magic po-"


    Before the man had finished speaking. As my dagger began to slightly glow, John took another swing at the sword, only this time, he kept a constant supply of magic power flowing through it.


    On the swing, both the sword and the table were cut in half. Both Ariel and the man stared motionlessly at him with dumbfounded expressions.


    "It''s pretty sharp." John said.


    That being said, this dagger barely took any energy from John. In fact, it was just slightly more than magic strengthening and he didn''t really need to keep it active the whole time, so the drawbacks weren''t really that bad. He felt like he just made a huge profit.


    "Oi kid.. You never told me you could use magic." The smith said.


    "You never asked?" He replied with a smile on his face.


    The man put his palm on his face and let out a sigh as he realised he made a huge loss before taking them back to the entrance.


    "What about the wand?" John asked.


    "John, about that-"


    Before Ariel could exin, the man interrupted. "Wands contain a magic stone as a mana store. They improve the amount of magic you have and the power of your spells. Do you get it, kid? They''re quite expensive, and would cost at least 10 Gold Coins."


    "I see.. Then looks like we''re going to have to make more money.." John quietly said.


    Ariel, who looked as if she had something to say, decided to keep it to herself.


    "Well then, we''ll be back for a wandter."


    Ariel who had remained quiet finally decided to say what she was holding back "Are you sure we should get a wand.. Isn''t it too expensive..?"


    "Don''t worry about that. What kind of mage doesn''t have a wand? Besides, we''re still training right now, so it''s best if you don''t rely on one too much. But after you''re good enough, I''ll get you one." John answered.


    "Yes!" Ariel said with a slightly relieved expression.


    John paid an extra 5 silver for dagger sheaths, and then they left. He felt sorry for the cksmith, but at least he learned something new.


    On our way back, he thought about getting Ariel a gift to remember this day.


    "Ariel, wait here for a moment, I remembered something."


    She hesitantly nodded


    John felt bad for leaving her here, but they were near the inn and he wanted to make the gift a surprise.


    John activated magic strengthening and rushed to one of the jewelry shops he had seen while we walked around the city. There was something that had caught his eye.


    After a minute he arrived at the shop. He had been quite fast for his size, so the shop workers. Had a perplexed expression.


    "Um.. I''d like to buy this pendant." John said.


    It was a pendant shaped in the form of a moon connected to a pendant shaped in the form of a sun. The main function that attracted John was that it could be connected, and once that happened, it would look whole.


    ''I''m getting it because I think it would suit us.''John thought.


    "Y-Yes, that''s 2 silver coins," The clerk said.


    John handed the coins to her and ced the pendant in his pocket.


    Excited to see Ariel''s reaction he rushed back to where he had left her. As John got nearby he noticed that something was off.


    After John finally arrived, he saw the 3 Guys who tried to rob us yesterday standing behind a guy who held a dagger at his hand. He also saw Ariel with both of her arms stretched out. A position she usually uses when she''s about to cast her spell.


    John rushed to Ariel''s side before asking, "What''s going on?"


    "I-It''s him!" Shouted out the guy whose arm John nearly broke.


    "This kid? You got beaten up by a kid?" Asked the man who was holding the dagger.


    The man who held the dagger looked like he was in his twenties. He didn''t look as buff as the dwarf cksmith or will, but his body looked trained. He had short brown hair and a piercing on his ear.


    The one on the ground with bandages all over his body nodded in response without saying anything else.


    "Oi, kid. Why d''you beat up on of my guys?" He asked


    "You must be pretty stupid if you can''t tell why. Especially in a situation like this," John replied.


    In an instant, the guy leapt towards John giving him a kick which he managed to block with his hands. The kick was so strong that it pushed him back a few feet. John''s arms felt numb. He was sure that if he didn''t have magic strengthening on they would have broken them.


    He let out a whistle before saying, "Not bad. Follow me. You know what will happen if you don''t" as he looked at Ariel.


    Ariel who had kept quite red at him as she spoke "Don''t worry about me John.. I''ll be fine."


    "No. That guy is probably an adventurer which is why he didn''t do anything to you, There are people watching us so if he did anything he''d be in trouble." John replied.


    "Hoh.. You''re quite smart aren''t you. Kids like you piss me off." He said.


    "Then!" She said


    "It won''t work. Even if we get away today, he''ll most likely try again where there aren''t any people watching. It''s better to deal with this now." John exined.


    "But! He''s dangerous..." Ariel replied.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll be fine. He got me by surprise." John said.


    ''Or so I said, but I could tell, he was a lot stronger than me. He''s probably reinforcing his body with magic, just like me.'' John judged.


    "She''sing too." He said


    "She has nothing to do with this." John said.


    "I''m going to need something to stop you from running." He said with a grin on his face.


    "I was nning on going either way." She said.


    "But-"


    Before John could finish he was interrupted by Ariel. "We''re partners, aren''t we? How could I leave you by yourself when you''re in danger?!" She said with an annoyed expression as she looked at him.


    "Fine, we''ll go." John replied.


    "Good, I was getting tired of waiting."

 Chapter 12 - 13: Courage

    The man brought them to outside of the city to the ins near the forest.


    "Hey kid, what''s your name?" He asked


    "It''s rude to ask for someone''s name without giving yours first." John replied.


    "Hahaha, man you really crack me up."


    "Let''s get this over with." John said.


    The man was stood around 10 meters away from John, the 3 guys who threatened them were spectating and Ariel''s job was to keep an eye on them.


    The man who John was about to fight held Deep red daggers, he didn''t see them at the cksmiths shop so it must have been made by some sort of special ore.


    "See this coin? After it touches the ground we start. There are no rules, this includes killing." He said.


    The man threw the coin into the air, and John started to apply a constant supply of magic to his dagger and body to reinforce them.


    "Alright." John replied.


    Time felt like it was moving slowly as the coin began to fall. John felt his heart rate increase and his breathing felt heavier. The adrenaline was finally starting to get to him. Only now did he truly realise that he could die. But he couldn''t give up because of his promise.


    The moment the coin touched the ground, the first one to make the move was him. He lept towards John at inhumanly fast speeds and swung both of his daggers once John was in range.


    John used both of his daggers to parry his and the shock put him off bnce. The man took that opportunity tond a side kick on his left arm.


    The force managed to push John back even further than when he had kicked him in the city. John''s left arm felt so numb that it hurt, but he continued to hold on to the dagger.


    "That confirms it, you don''t have any experience fighting people do you. What did your master teach you?" he asked


    "You sure do talk a lot, I never had one." John replied.


    "What was that?!" He asked both irritated and confused.


    The man leapt towards John again and kept constantly swinging his daggers at him with high speeds. If John had lost concentration for even a moment, he was sure that he would have been sliced. After parrying blows, John''s hands started to feel numb from the shock from each parry.


    Seeing as how John was starting to slow down, the man took this opportunity to speed up and add more power onto his attacks. Since John had slowed down and gotten weaker due to the pressure, he ended up losing bnce one more time.


    The man took this opportunity to send another side kick to John''s left arm. Taking another one of these kicks would have definitely rendered it useless.


    Before the kick could hit John though, he strengthened his legs and bent backwards. Resulting in the kick, barely grazing his chest.


    "Not bad, but-"


    The momentum of the kick had turned his body to face the other direction. John had nned for this instance to cast cies and strike him.


    The man had used the momentum of the kick to spin his body around to face John''s direction again. As soon as John was in his sights, he swung his dagger at John.


    It happened so fast that John wasn''t even able to propel his ice Spike towards him. Instead, it stood there waiting for him to use it. Once John saw that he got an idea.


    While he was still in the air, the man looked surprised after seeing a spike of ice having appeared out of thin air which caused him to slow down for a moment, but he quickly rposed himself and continued his attack.


    That moment was all John needed. The instant his dagger touched John''s Ice spike, a grin formed on his face as he muttered the words "Scutum cies".


    As John casted the spell, in an instant, many ice spikes were formed around his original ice spike, causing it to expand and take the shape of a shield. Before he could move his dagger away, it had already pierced through the shield.


    "What!?" He let out in surprise as he realized that his dagger had gotten stuck. Precisely because it had pierced the shield. The ice from the shield quickly enveloped the dagger, before it reached him he had let go.


    "So you still had a trick up your sleeve, huh?" He said


    John used this opportunity to get up and said. "Not really, I only thought about it, now." with a straight face


    The man looked at John with a dumbfounded expression before letting out augh. "Man.. You really are interesting.."


    Despite all of this small talk, John kept his guard up. The shield he had recently formed had remained in front of him. It had stopped expanding afterpletely engulfing the man''s dagger and could move ording to John''s will. Despite how big it was, it moved fast and could only go around 2 meters away from him at most.


    ''It will definitely prove itself helpful in this fight, but, he was able to cut through some of it easily with his dagger so I''m guessing it''s not good at defending long range hits, it''s only effective at short range if someone touches or attacks it.'' John thought.


    "Well then, shall we continue?" The man asked as he slowly approached John.


    John decided that shield might not have worked a second time, so he moved it behind himself and muttered "cies" which caused 4 ice spikes to be formed around him. 2 on his sides and 2 above his head.


    The guy who held his dagger stopped moving after he stood in front of John. He had a cautious expression after he noticed the spikes around him.


    They followed John wherever he went and always remained in the same position. Which is why after casting them all John needed to do is think about them attacking and they would do it. Not to mention how fast they are. Due to how fast they are, dodging them at close range is extremely difficult.


    ''One hit is all it takes. This might end up freezing him to death, but if I hold back, I''ll really die. Not that I''m prepared to take someone''s life, though. I''ll unfreeze his face so that he can breathe after.'' John decided.


    Seeing as how John was focused in his thoughts, the man finallymenced his attack. This whole time John was on the defensive, but he could not afford to drag this fight out any longer. He was running out of mana.


    So John decided to switch things up a bit, he was going to end everything in this attack. His dagger started to glow as he started to pour more mana into it. John started to increase the reinforcement of magic in his body.


    This resulted in his speed being increased, and the power behind his attacks to be stronger. The one who was being pushed back now within the parry was this man.


    The man let out a surprised expression after noticing what was happening.


    "You bastard, you were holding back?!" He said


    "Focus on the fight." John replied as he pointed towards his legs which had ice enveloped around them slowly spreading up his legs.


    "When did you?!"


    The moment he got distracted, John used the remaining 3 ice spikes around him and propelled them towards him. At this distance he managed to dodge the first one by tilting his head, but the other two were aimed at his stomach and chest


    He wasn''t able to dodge them and on impact, it quickly spread throughout his whole body, leaving only the head out in the open. He waspletely frozen.


    After realising he wouldn''t be able to move no matter how much he struggled, he gave in


    "It''s my loss, I surrender." The man said as he hung his head


    "Good, then I''ll be leaving." John replied before turning around and making my way towards Ariel.


    As John started making his way towards Ariel and the guys who had frightened looks on their faces, he felt all his energy leave my body. He no longer had enough magic to keep magic strengthening active through his entire body.


    As John was approaching Ariel, he saw her running towards him while pointing behind him. They originally started off around 50 meters away from everyone so that they wouldn''t get caught up. When John realised what she was trying to say.


    After John turned back, the guy who he had frozen just recently was unfrozen, with traces of ice still on his body.


    ''H-How? I hadpletely frozen him.. Did he use magic?!'' John wondered.


    "H-"


    Before John could finish what he was going to say, he had been punched by him right in the stomach. Without body reinforcement, the single punch made him copse to the ground. Pain was surging through his stomach.


    As Johnid on the ground, he felt the remaining strength disappear.


    As John could feel himself losing consciousness, he looked up to see Ariel fighting against him. She kept constantly pressuring him with ventus, preventing him from approaching.


    ''Even though, I promised to protect her..''


    Before John could see the rest of the fight, he passed out.


    ------------------------------------------------------


    "Where am i..?"


    John looked around and all he could see was darkness.


    "Am I.. dead..?"


    Inside of this hollow ck room, all John could hear was his voice. He could feel himself moving but couldn''t hear any steps


    "Again... I was useless... DAMN IT!" John shouted as he punched the ground.


    It then began to shatter, and John began to fall.

 Chapter 13 - 14: King

    "Where am i..?" John muttered.


    John opened his eyes, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling.


    ''It''s not the same one as the inn, the bed feelsfortable.'' He thought.


    "Where''s Ariel?" John questioned.


    He hastily looked around in search of her, but she wasn''t here. He was the only one here.


    John got up from the bed and made his way to the door but somebody else had already opened it before he got there.


    The man walked inside the room and John felt a strong anger after seeing him. He was the one who cheated in our fight.


    "Where.. Is she..? I''ll say this now... If youid a finger on her..."


    John''s surroundings began to freeze as he let out his blood lust.


    "Whoa, calm down. I''ll exin, " The man said.


    "Exin?! You went back on your word!" John shouted.


    ''Why am I so mad... ''John wondered.


    "The king requests to meet you." the man said.


    "Oi... You still haven''t learned a lesson? You really think I''m going to believe you after everything you just did?" John asked as he got up.


    With an emotionless expression, John slowly walked towards him. With each step, a trail of ice would be left. John was walking on the cold ground, barefoot, yet he couldn''t even feel it.


    "Even I''m mad at you, you little ****, but I can''t oppose orders from above, even I''d like to know what they want with a kid like you."


    Without listening to him, John continued to walk, ''why... Why was I so angry?''


    " You''re not really nning on fighting in the pce, are you? And you know what happened before." The man spoke.


    He was starting to get nervous, you could tell just by looking at him.


    "Y-your friend is safe in one of the guest rooms!" The man shouted.


    And in that moment, John stopped..


    "Exin yourself." said John.


    "F-First of all, Sorry for kidnapping you. I was told to test your skill but didn''t expect you to be able to win or use chant-less magic. Please understand that I had to follow my orders and capture you alive." The man said.


    After hearing that Ariel was safe, John had calmed down.


    "Alright, Let''s just get this over with." John replied.


    "O-Okay..." responded the man.


    ''That exins his neat clothes,pletely unlike before.'' Thought John.


    Without saying another word, the man took John to the king''s chamber. As they passed through the corridors, there were many maids and neatly dressed people, Upon seeing that, John could tell that this wasn''t a joke.


    The only one Inside was a man. He looked like he was in histe 40s at most. He sat on his throne and looked at John.


    John walked up to the throne and bowed his head with his knees on the floor, something William advised him to do.


    "Lift up your head, young boy." The Kind said.


    John lifted up my head and stared at him. Long Silver hair and White eyes. He gave off vibes of apetent man.


    "What is your name?" The Kind asked.


    "John Fox" He replied.


    "How''s our kingdom? Is it to your liking?" The King asked.


    "Surely an orphan like me wouldn''t have many positive views on it." John replied.


    "You''re right.. It wouldn''t be normal for an orphan to have a good experience in a society. Just like it wouldn''t be normal for an orphan to use chant-less magic." The King said.


    ''He got people to spy on me?'' John wondered.


    "Who taught you how to use chant-less magic? It''s a lost method, The ones who do know are few in this world." said the King.


    "It''s self taught." John replied.


    "So you''re saying a kid who hasn''t received any education is able to pull off Chant-less magic as if it were nothing? Haha, are you trying to lie to me, boy?" The King spoke.


    The look in his eyes were as if they were looking at trash. If not for John''s knowledge, he was sure he would have disposed of him on the second.


    "Not at all, I simply understood the concept and became able to use it." John answered.


    ''That''s not urate, I understood the concept of an element to be able to use it, but there''s no point in telling him that. I don''t like the look in his eyes. Nor this kingdom.'' John thought.


    "Interesting.. So you''re saying you understand the concept of magic..?" The King questioned.


    "In a way." John responded.


    "That itself is already perfect. Our court mages have been trying to figure out the concept since they were kids and have only gotten so far." The King replied.


    Obviously, Magic is science, this world''s education is clearly behind. Therefore, someone like John, who is from another world and has learnt about these things, has no difficulties using it.


    "Say, would you be interested in working for the pce as a teacher? We can make your pay way higher than what you could make as an E-rank adventurer, and you would have your own territory and house." The King offered.


    ''So he wants my knowledge, and after that he''ll most likely dispose of me so that I don''t teach it to others.'' John guessed.


    ''Why would I assume that? Because of the way this kingdom treats themoners. They separate the kingdom into 2 sections, themoner sect and the noble sect. Commoners are not allowed to enter the noble sect, and some are killed if they do.'' John concluded.


    If John wasn''t invited by the king himself, he would have been killed by now. The pce is located in the noble sect, after all. That just shows how little they regard the lives ofmoners.


    If amoner like John were to possess valuable knowledge, they''d naturally want to get rid of it, to keep a bnce in the kingdom. And to increase its overall strength. But John had no interest in staying in this kingdom or getting involved with your corrupt society.


    "Could I have some time to think it through? I''d also like to consult it with my friend, and there are a few things I left unfinished back in the inn." John answered.


    "Very well, You have a week to think about it, during that time you and your friend can go finish what you had to do." The king replied


    John left the Giant golden room and was greeted by William who took him to Ariel''s room.


    "Ariel, how have you been?" John asked as he walked inside.


    Ariel, who had been sitting on her bed, got up and ran towards John.


    "John!!" She said as she gave him a tight hug.


    "I''m back," John said.


    "There are a lot of things that I have to tell you!" She said as she continued to hug John.


    "I''m interested in hearing them, but let''s leave it forter. We have something we need to do now." John whispered to her, while making it seem like a normal hug.


    "Ahem, while I''m d you are happy to be reuniting, the king would like his answer as soon as possible, so please go finish what you have to at the inn." Said will


    "Understood, what we have to do will take a few days, but I''m sure the answer will be before his deadline. But I would like to return as soon as possible." John replied as he stopped hugging Ariel.


    Will nodded before leading them to their inn.


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    The pce was quite far from their inn, since it was in themoner area. The castle was in the middle of the kingdom and Noble Area.


    When John first came into this world, he didn''t realise it was a noble area, so he tried going inside, but got stopped by the guards. At least 80% of the kingdom is mainly for nobles, which is why he never really took the time to explore the rest of.


    The discoveries, magic, they were all exciting, but John hasn''t done anything that made him truly feel like an adventurer, all he''d done is subjugate monsters. He wanted to explore this world, see new things. Fight a dragon, make a party.


    ''The king''s offer was boring. I''m not going to spend my days teaching people how to fight. But I couldn''t exactly tell him that. The education I received holds a lot of power, which is why he wouldn''t just let me go. So my only option is to grab Ariel and run.'' John thought.


    John was honest to gain his trust, but he was sure he''s still wary of him.


    ''That''s fine, I already have a few countermeasures even if he sends people to watch me.'' John thought.


    From what the innkeeper told John, this kingdom has a severeck of adventurers. That''s because of the inequality between themoners and nobles and because it has no dungeons. It''s also surrounded by other kingdoms making monsters difficult to find. The knights are all that''s needed to take care of them


    ''I''m sure that''s not the only case, but either way, adventurers are people who travel around, I believe I''ve spent enough time in this kingdom, I have enough funds, so I think it''s time for me and Ariel go exploring.'' John decided.


    "Get ready" He said.


    Will was no longer with them, so John didn''t have to worry about him overhearing it.


    "what?" Ariel asked.


    "I''ll exin itter. For now, just follow my lead," John muttered as he gestured to her to be quiet.


    She nodded without saying a word.


    They walked inside and he began to pack his things. That said, he barely had anything. Only a few sets of clothes which he had bought for himself and clothes Ariel had gotten herself. They had a few bags they got from shopping, so they put their clothes inside of them.


    John made sure the ne he was going to give to her was still in his pocket before heading outside of the inn. He made sure to thank the innkeeper for the information before heading towards the exit.


    "John, wait a minute!" Ariel said.


    "What''s wrong?" He asked.


    "Well, we''ve been packing up our things, and you even told the gatekeeper that we were leaving. Where are we going?" Ariel asked.


    "There''s no time to exin, but all I can say is that we''re running away." John answered.


    "But I heard from William. The king offered you a ce in the pce, so why?" She asked


    "I''ll exin it on the way," John said.


    With a worried expression, Ariel didn''t say anything. Seeing this, John thought she had the right to decide, and that he shouldn''t force her.


    "A-Ariel... If I told you we were running away for our own good, would you still want toe? You''d be leaving the kingdom you''ve lived in ever since you were a kid..." John asked.


    As if finally understanding, she nodded and with a smile she said, "If John''s going, then I''ll go with you, we''re partners after all, right?" She asked


    "Right" John replied.


    John smiled back at her and grabbed on to her hand before muttering the words. "Furtim, Silentium"


    Ariel gave him a confused look before trying to say something. However, to her surprise, no sound came out.


    John motioned at her to wait and that he would exin it after they left.


    Furtim is a camouging spell. John had started practising this spell when he got noticed by the scouts back in the goblin settlement.


    For the first spell, furtim, John had to understand that in order for a person to see an object, light needs to reflect off of it and hit their eyes. So the only thing he needed to do was to use his mana as a cloak to intercept that light, preventing it from reflecting off of him and from escaping if it makes it inside.


    That way, to others, they will appear invisible. But since they are inside the Anti-Light magic cloak, made by coating them in his magic, they won''t have any problems seeing things. The cloak also prevents their magic from being detected. It''s a great stealth spell.


    As for the next spell, Silentium. Sound waves exist as variations of pressure in a medium such as Air. They are created by the vibration of an object which causes the surrounding air to vibrate.


    With this mechanism in mind. Just like the Anti-Light magic cloak, John made an anti-sound magic field. By imagining a small magical sphere around them where sound waves can''t go inside ore out of and imagining that any vibrations in the air around them ceased to exist.


    It''s a simple method and a powerfulbo. Which hardly wastes mana. Anyone who knows how to freely manipte their magic can do it. The only reason why they probably can''t is due to the difference in education between John and the people of this world.


    John made the field big enough to fit the two of them, but small enough so that other people don''t realise. As they left the inn, John noticed that there were a few things off. There seemed to be a few people who were acting as if they were doing something but in reality were keeping watch over the inn


    As John held on to Ariel''s hand, they headed towards the city gates.


    After a carriage finally appeared in front of the gates and was about to leave the kingdom, they hopped on the back without anyone noticing and waited for the carriage owner to finish talking to the gatekeeper


    After they were done, the gatekeeper opened the gate, and the carriage went through.


    Around half an hour after the carriage left the kingdom, John undid the spell and they could finally talk again.


    The first thing John did was to look back at the kingdom with a relieved expression.


    "You can talk now, Ariel," He said.


    "A-Ah, I can... So John, can you finally exin?" She asked.


    "Of course" John replied.


    ***


    "So we were going to be used, and you decided that leaving the kingdom would be the best option?" Ariel asked


    "Yep" John replied.


    "Pffft"


    They both started tough as we sat on the back of the carriage.


    "Imagine the look on the king''s face when he finds out we left," John said.


    "He''s probably be like, ''What?! Guards!" Said Ariel as she imitated him


    "But you don''t regret the choice, right?" John asked.


    "Of course not, I think that it was the best decision," Said Ariel.


    "But weren''t you born there...?" John questioned.


    "I didn''t really like it, and adventurer''s travel, so It''s fine, and that doesn''t mean I won''t ever be able toe back. When I''m older and stronger... I''lle visit," She said with a determined look on her face.


    Seeing this, John felt like a burden had been lifted off of his chest.


    "That''s good," John replied.


    "Ah, by the way. Where are we going? I get that you use some sort of concealment on us so that we wouldn''t be seen leaving the kingdom. I could also feel that there were some people watching our inn as we left, so I don''t need you to exin why we rushed. But where are we going?" Ariel questioned.


    After hearing Ariel''s question, John began to nervously sweat.


    "I-I don''t know.. But Isn''t that what makes it more exciting?" said John.


    "W-well, I guess..." Ariel said as she looked away.


    "W-Why are you looking away?!" John asked.


    They let out anotherugh before as they stared at the sunset. Ariel, who looked worried while they were sneaking out, now looked like the weight on her shoulder had been removed.


    And John, who was starting to feel disappointed at how boring the kingdom was, felt excited now that he could finally experience something new.


    ''Some people may think I''m rushing, but from the very get go, my objective has always been to travel around the world. I was given 10 Gold coins by William as an apology for what he did and now I have 15 gold coins in total.'' John justified to himself.


    "Ah! That reminds me." He said.


    John then pulled out the 2 connected nes out from his pocket.


    "Remember the thing I told you I had to do before sprinting off? I wanted to get this ne. I was also going to give it to you, if we hadn''t been interrupted." said John.


    He handed over the sun part of the ne to Ariel before continuing.


    "They''re 2 in 1, in other words, they''re connectable. The one I gave you represents the sun, and mine represents the moon. When you connect them it represents a whole. What do you think? Perfect for partners like us right?" John asked with a smile on his face.


    Ariel, who had been quietly listening, put on the ne and showed him a bright smile as she said, "Thank you.. I''ll treasure it!"


    Shortly after, she lowered her head to cover her face.


    "Um.. Ariel, if you don''t like it, you don''t have to force yourself to wear it.." John said.


    She lifted up her head in a rush and as tears flowed down her eyes said. "No! It''s not that! It''s just I was really happy and didn''t know what to say.."


    "O-Oh.. I see.." John muttered.


    Now this time, John was the one that lowered his head to cover his face.


    "You don''t have to be that happy..." John quietly whispered to himself.

 Chapter 14 - 15: Travels

    The carriage owner, who had remained quiet the whole time, finally decided to turn around and check where all the noise wasing from.


    "Hi!" John said as he faced him.


    "What the!?" He shouted.


    Ah, sorry..


    "Sorry for the jump scare.. Is everything alright?" John said.


    "Everything Alright..? I Have a kid on my carriage and I didn''t even notice!" The driver replied.


    "Yeah.. about that.. 2 kids actually." John said.


    He pointed at Ariel, who had been staring at her new ne, and she waved at him.


    "W-when did you 2 get on..?" The man asked with a perplexed expression


    "That''s not important, sir. Why don''t you have any adventurers guarding your carriage?" John questioned.


    "No, I don''t think that is important." the driver said.


    The man let out a sigh before continuing. "I''m a merchant kid. I made a request in the guild to be apanied, but no one epted. I couldn''t wait any longer so I decided to leave everything to luck."


    "I see.." John responded.


    "Look kid, Carriages without adventurers protecting them usually get targeted by bandits. They''re umon in this area, but they still appear. If we''re lucky, they won''t appear. If they do, I''m afraid I won''t be able to help you. They''ll capture you and your friend and sell you off to ve traders.'''' The driver exined.


    "Mhm.. Hey sir, what''s the reward for that quest?" John asked.


    "10 Silver coins," He replied.


    "Hmm.. Then since I''m already here, I might as well ept it. I also get a free ride so."John spoke.


    "Wait, a minute. You kids are adventurers?" The driver asked.


    "How do you think we got on without anyone noticing? We''re both F rank adventurers." John replied.


    "F?! That''s pretty low. I don''t think you''ll be able to handle bandits." The Driver said.


    "Ah.. About that.. Don''t worry, look. cies." John replied.


    He pointed up and an ice spike had been formed slightly above his finger.


    "Magic?!" The driver eximed.


    "Mhm. She can use it too." John added.


    The man let out augh after he realised something. "I see, not to mention how you didn''t use any chants. You''re a strange kid, but you''re hired. My name is David, you are?" the driver asked.


    David looked to be in his 60s. He had a long white beard, a sword on his waist and ponytail tied white hair. He was also slightly taller than John, around 165cm while he was around 155cm.


    "It would be rude not to properly introduce myself to my benefactor. My name is John Fox. And this here is my partner." John answered.


    Ariel, who realised that it was her cue, got up and bowed her head and introduced herself. "My name is Ariel Rivera. I''m John''s p-partner." With a smile on her face, she sat back down.


    "Nice to meet you, John and Ariel." Said David.


    They both nodded at him.


    "That being said.. Aren''t you the lucky guy? Travelling around with such a cute girl." David whispered.


    "Very!" John said as he nodded.


    "Wha- I wasn''t expecting that reaction.." Said David.


    "But it''s the truth?" John said with a perplexed expression.


    "Most people aren''t able to admit it. We''re still pretty far from where we''re supposed to go, It''s gettingte and the horses are tired so let''s get some rest." David suggested.


    It''s been around 3 hours since the carriage left the kingdom and the sun set about an hour ago. The reason that David didn''t notice them all this time was because he kept ''Furtim'' activated between him and Ariel, and would asionally use Silentium when he turned around.


    John decided that it would have been best to tell him after we were moderately far from the kingdom, so that he wouldn''t be able to go back.


    "Alright." John replied.


    David moved the horses out of the road, onto a nearby in with trees.


    "This should be able to keep it out of sight.. The only problem is that monsters are quitemon here." Said David.


    Next to the road they were on, there was the forest that he went to with Ariel for the goblin extermination and the Giant boar. Despite travelling for 3 hours by carriage, John still couldn''t see the end of it.


    The forest also looked much more deeper herepared to the entrance, apparently it was because people cut trees in the entrance of the forest to use for the kingdom.


    "It''ll be fine as long as we''re not inside of the forest, right? We''re still out in the in, we''re just taking cover with the trees near them." John asked.


    "No, I''ve travelled this path many times, there''s always going to be a pack of wolves that will appear, I was nning on taking a short break then keep travelling by night, but that would be more dangerous. And since I hired adventurers, let''s see what you''re capable of." David exined.


    "Agreed, I''ll keep watch, you can get some rest along with the horses. Let''s continue tomorrow morning. Wait.. I FORGOT! Where are we going again?" John asked.


    "Huh? You didn''t even know that? Then why d''you hop on to my carriage..? You''re a pretty strange kid. We''re heading north to one of the ports where adventurers go to travel by boat to the kingdom of as." David answered.


    Ah, that''s right, kingdom of as was north of the kingdom that he was in.


    "I thought you guys got on my carriage because you knew that.. It''s also quite a famous ce for adventurers.. No, in fact, many adventurers go there." Said David.


    "Why is that?" John curiously asked.


    "Well, there are 4 Dungeons surrounding it." David answered.


    "Dungeons.. Can you tell me more about dungeons?" John questioned.


    "Huh? You''re an adventurer and you don''t know what dungeons are!? Listen.. Thousands of years ago, dungeons just appeared out of nothing. Inside came out monsters which caused a massive amount of casualties and deaths." David exined.


    John listened intently with dimly lit eyes as the man continued to exin the origins.


    "In an attempt to find out, what was the cause of all the monsters appearing. Humanity created exploration groups to explore the dungeon, Thousands of treasures and magical items were found inside and these helped strengthen humanity." David spoke.


    ''Wow.. I never realised history could be so interesting.'' thought John.


    "The exploration groups resulted in the creation of the adventurers'' guild. It''s an adventurer''s job to suppress monsters and explore dungeons. Because they explore, they''re able to experience many new things. Each dungeon is different, so adventurers tend to travel around and see each one." David further added.


    "Wow.. So that''s what it means to be a true adventurer. You say they travel around to see each one, does that mean that they''vepleted the previous one? What happens when they do, does it reset?" John probed.


    "Completed? Haha, you''re a funny kid. In history, only 3 dungeons were recorded to have beenpleted. In order toplete it, you''d have to reach the final floor and beat the final boss. As a result, you gain unimaginable riches and ancient loss scrolls containing powerful spells. Do you get it now, kid?" David spoke.


    "Ah.. so the reason they travel around is to find an easy one which they''ll be able toplete?" John realised.


    "Haha, you didn''t have to put it like that, adventurers have their pride, you know. But yeah, that''s the case. Anyway, we''re continuing tomorrow morning. It''ll take us a week to reach As following this pattern, so try to get as much rest as possible." David replied.


    "I see.. Thanks for the information! I''ll be fine." John said as he made his way towards Ariel.


    It sounded a little ungrateful, but John was sure he understood why he was in a rush.


    "Ariel, how are you?" John questioned.


    "I''m good and you?" She asked.


    "I''m good. I thought it''d be a good time to teach you magic strengthening." John answered.


    With an excited expression, she nodded.


    John exined the process to Ariel, how she had to imagine her magic power strengthening her body, and she got a hang of it quite easily. It''s probably because she can use magic perception and cast a spell. Compared to that, magic Strengthening is basic.


    "So how does it feel?" John asked.


    "My body feels light and I feel faster." She answered.


    "Interesting.. Why don''t we test it?" John suggested.


    As he finished saying that, in an instant, he stretched out his arm to see how she would react and she grabbed it.


    "Looks like your senses and reaction speed increased as well." John stated.


    "D-Don''t just startle me like that! But.. I unconsciously reacted. I never imagined that I would be able to move that fast." Ariel said.


    "It''s magic.. Anything is possible. That aside, get some rest for now. I''ll be keeping watch with magic perception to make sure no monsters attack us." John dered.


    "Alright, wake me up when it''s my turn. I can use magic perception too." Ariel replied.


    "Yes, yes. Will do." John responded.


    Shortly after that, Arielid down on the carriage and began to sleep. John checked on David and made sure that he was also asleep. The horses were fine too.


    "Well, then, I guess it''s time to try out this spell. Deprehendere." John muttered.


    ''A pack of wolves in the forest within a 50 meter radius, huh.. Just to make sure'' John said to himself.


    "deprehendere"


    ''No other humans within a 100 meter radius. It should be safe, if I go hunt some food for us.'' John thought.


    "Meat easily spoils without being frozen. But with my ice magic, that doesn''t matter." He spoke to himself.


    -----------------------------------------------------------


    "Ariel, Good morning." John greeted.


    "Good morning.. Wait.. Didn''t you say that you were going to wake me up when it''s my turn!" Ariel eximed.


    "Well, things happened and there wasn''t really any need. Besides, I can get some rest in the day while we travel, and you can just wake me up when anything happens." John exined.


    "So you don''t trust me to be able to protect us from the monsters at night.." She said with a saddened expression.


    "N-No! That''s not it! Sorry, it''s just because you looked sofortable when you were sleeping that I didn''t want to wake you up.." John justified.


    "F-Fine, but next time please rely on me a bit more.. If you don''t it makes me feel useless as your partner." Arielsaid with a pouting face.


    "Understood."


    John went over to David and woke him up.


    "Good morning." He greeted.


    "Good morning, kid. Looks like we got fortunate. No wolves attacked us." David responded.


    "No, they did." John said as he pointed towards the frozen bodies of the wolves outside of the carriage.


    "W-What?! You dealt with them all on your own!?" David asked in a surprised manner.


    "Yep, and I froze them, so we''ll be able to eat some meat." John replied with a smile.


    Ariel, who hadn''t realised either, looked surprised.


    "Well done. Looks like I made the right choice hiring you. Not like I had any choice to begin with." David replied.


    "Thank you, that being said. I don''t know how to butcher animals, so do you mind teaching me?" John asked.


    "... I don''t even know what to think, at this point." David said with a dumbfounded expression.


    John unfroze one of the wolves and with his help they butchered it. Now all that they needed was to cook it and eat.


    "Hey kid, lend me a hand. I''m trying to set this wood on fire. Try to look for some flint." David asked.


    "there''s no need. Ignis." He replied.


    In an instant, after John muttered the word. The wood lit up in a blue me.


    "O-oi.. What''s this?" David asked.


    "Fire? John replied."


    David ignored what John said and began to cook the meat. To his surprise, it managed to cook way faster than expected. That''s because of the blue me.


    Last night, John practiced a few new spells. One of them was ''Ignis'', a fire spell. At first he tried creating fire, but it didn''t work. John thought he didn''t have aptitude for it until he realised that fire is the process of the rapid oxidation of material.


    It''s possible for Magic to create a material out of nothing, It can create Chemicalpounds and elements of the periodic table, as long as you understand the form and you can imagine it.


    But creating a material like wood is a waste of energy, and John was never really interested in wood, so he didn''t understand itsposition. Creating wood to use fire magic seemed stupid, so he thought, why doesn''t he just create the me itself? And to his surprise, it worked.


    A me is the visible, gaseous part of the fire. If John remembered correctly, mes consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapour, oxygen, and nitrogen.


    Most of those can be found in our atmosphere, so all he needed to do was gather them up with magic, After that with a spark. It ignited. The Area in which he concentrated The Carbon, nitrogen and oxygen is where the blue me is formed. And after it''s formed, John can manipte it in any way he wants to.


    After we finished eating John asked David "What are we going to do with the remaining bodies?"


    "Can you unfreeze them for me? I''d like to butcher them, I think you could keep the pelt and sell them for quite a few gold coins. And we could freeze the remaining meat and use them for food during the trip." David answered.


    "That''s a good idea!" John replied.


    Just as he suggested, John unfroze the remaining bodies, and he butchered them. Shortly after he finished, John created some water for the horses and after they were finished eating. They continued the trip.


    *Yawn*


    John let out a yawn and had a tired expression on his face as he sat on the carriage beside Ariel. David was the one controlling the carriage and remained focused throughout the whole time. He was also working hard in his own way.


    Ariel, who noticed that John was tired, grabbed his head and ced it on herp.


    "Um.. Ariel?" John asked.


    "Sleep, if you don''t get enough rest, you''ll slow us down." She said.


    "Alright.." He replied before closing his eyes.


    ''I''m excited to see the kingdom of as and experience new things from now on.. I don''t know what the future has in store for me.. But I hope it''s filled with exciting adventures.''


    ''Slowly but surely, I''m bing stronger. Stronger so that i won''t ever lose to anyone. I''ve decided that once I reach As, I''ll undergo heavy training.'' John thought to himself.


    And just like that, he fell asleep.


    .

 Chapter 15 - 16: Bandit Raid

    It had been 6 days since they had started travelling. So far, they hadn''t encountered any other monsters, and they continued to use the frozen meat and other fruits as food. For water, they relied on John''s water magic.


    To be honest, John wasn''t sure if his water was clean or drinkable, so he would use ignis to heat it up and filter it.


    So far, the journey has been great for them. Yesterday they finally got out of the forest and now all that they could see around was mountains and wild animals.


    John didn''t know what kind of animals they were, but David said they were neutral and won''t attack needlessly.


    ''Tomorrow we''ll finally Arrive at As, I''m so excited!'' John thought.


    "John, are you listening?" Ariel asked.


    "Wha- Yes?" John replied.


    "I was asking, who''s turn will it be to go on a lookout tonight." Ariel questioned.


    Ariel seemed as if she really wanted to keep watch. John wasn''t sure why, but he was guessing that it was her way of helping. After the first day, since John didn''t end up waking her up for her turn to keep watch, she got really mad, so now they take 4 hour turns.


    But since they can''t tell the time, it usually ends up being inconsistent.


    "Would you please go first today?" John politely asked.


    "Of course, you can count on me." Ariel said with a proud expression.


    "Than-"


    Before John could finish the carriage stopped. The sun hadn''t set yet, and the horses had already taken a break, so John was confused.


    "John! Ariel! Bandit''s a lot of them." David shouted.


    ''Oh, so it''s finally time. I was wondering when there would have been a bandit development and honestly...'' John wondered with a little excitement.


    "I was starting to get bored." He said.


    John told Ariel his n, and they walked out of the carriage and stood at the front.


    "Uhm.. Bandits. If you do not wish to die a meaningless death, turn around. This carriage barely contains anything. Do not waste your troops!" John arrogantly said.


    The bandits let out a loudugh as they saw 2 kids start talking about them dying. There were around 7 of them on the hill to their left and 8 of them on the hill to the right. All of them had Bows pointed at the carriage.


    The hills were around 50 meters away from the carriage; it seemed like a good spot to raid people if they ever went under or through the middle. John knew it was suspicious.


    They weren''t shooting at the horses because they thought that they had resigned since they weren''t moving. Horses were worth a lot, after all.


    Ignoring John''s warning, the bandits began to approach them. The 7 of the left rushed at them with their sword while the 8 on the right kept watching with the bows.


    John already knew that bandits wereing since.


    "Um David.." John said.


    "What''s wrong? You can''t beat them?" He replied.


    "Uh no not that, it''s just I''m going to do something I tried when everyone was asleep, so don''t worry," John said.


    "Alright, let''s see what you can do," David replied.


    "Okay. Sphaera cies" John muttered.


    On the instant John said the word, a Sphere of ice slowly started to rise from the ground around the carriage, covering both the carriage and the horse.


    It was difficult to exin how it looked. You weren''t able to tell that it was forming a sphere at the beginning, since it didn''t instantly cover the top. It waited for the circr walls to reach the top before covering it.


    This spell was really hard to learn, not to mention secretly too. It took 4 days to actually properly use it. But now, as long as John knows what radius he wants, he can form any sphere as long as it''s not too far from him. He might even be able to improve the distance over time.


    "Well then, what do I do with them?" John asked himself.


    John wasn''t nning on killing them. There was no reason to, and he didn''t think he''d be able to bear that thought. John also told Ariel not to kill anyone, and that they were only going to subdue them and sell them off to the guild if they could.


    "What are you guys waiting for!! ATTACK!!" Said one of the bandits on the hill alongside the archers.


    The 7 bandits who had stopped in their tracks after seeing the ice sphere form began to rush at them.


    "Ariel! You ready?" John asked.


    "Yes!" Ariel said as she nodded.


    Ariel, in her casting position, waited for his signal.


    "Now!" John said.


    "Ventus tormentum" Ariel muttered.


    Ariel wasn''t able to use Ignis or cies. She wasn''t able to properly grasp theposition of water as she didn''t exactly know what was hydrogen. As for ignis, the moment John mentioned Nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapour, she looked lost.


    On the instant she muttered those words, the pressure in the air in front of them increased and expanded before bursting towards the direction of the bandits at high speeds. Without knowing how to react, they tried to dodge, but it was toote.


    They got hit by an overwhelming pressure which caused them to get flung back to the wall of the hill. After hitting the wall, some fell unconscious while others looked immobilised.


    "Whoa..." John unintentionally let out.


    Ariel''s inability to use other elements of magic is precisely that which makes her wind magic this strong. Instead of focusing on improving control with all the elements except for earth at once like John. She had been focusing solely on improving her control with ''Ventus''.


    So John decided to teach her the only other wind spell he had created. Wind cannon ''ventus tormentum''. While John could use it, he never expected her to be able to learn it too. John exined the process to her 4 days ago, yet somehow she was able to execute it perfectly.


    John only managed to learn how to use it the day before yesterday, despite already knowing the concept.


    ''She has immense talent.. I''m looking forward to seeing what she looks like in the future.'' John thought.


    "That was amazing, Ariel!" John said.


    Ariel, who seemed surprised at what she did, showed him a pleased smile before copsing to her knees.


    "Are you out of energy?" John asked.


    "Yes.." She said.


    "That''s fine, you already took out half of them, get some rest inside, with David." Ariel nodded as John princess carried her to the sphere.


    John ced his hand on the ice and a hole big enough to fit both of them in opened. The remaining Archer bandits who froze after seeing Ariel''s wind cannon had now started shooting arrows at their ice cube. But it was useless, puny arrows would barely scratch it.


    Johnid Ariel down on the back of the carriage and turned to David.


    "Wait just a moment. Their boss has been hiding, and he doesn''t look like he''lle out anytime soon, so just sit back and rx."


    David wordlessly stared at John and just nodded his head. As if he has seen something that shocked him.


    John didn''t pay too much attention to it and walked out of the ice sphere.


    "You idiots!! Aim at the kid. Don''t let him approach us!!" The leader shouted.


    "So you''re the leader..." said John.


    The leader stood in between the archers. With magic perception and deprehendre, John could tell that he was a lot stronger than the rest of them.


    John activated magic strengthening and began to rush to the hill where the other 8 bandits were. Seeing him run towards them, they desperately tried to hit him with arrows, but he managed to avoid all of them while he ran up the hill.


    Shortly after, John was standing in front of them.


    "So... Is that all? Well, it''s good that you''re all here, I wanted to try thest spell I learnt after all this time. It was the easiest one to learn." John stated.


    The bandits looked frightened and confused at what John was saying.


    "Well, aren''t you going to attack?" John asked.


    The bandit leader shouted, "Attack!!!" as he heard his question.


    The bandits, who were frozen in fear, slowly rposed themselves and hesitantly began to rush at him, while the leader stood there watching.


    ''I''m not supposed to kill them, and cies wastes quite a bit of energy so I''m d I learnt this.'' John thought.


    John stood still as he waited for the bandits to attack him. The first guy to attack swung his dagger diagonally at John, which he easily evaded as he tilted his body to the right.


    "cio" He muttered as he ced his hand on his chest before pushing him to the ground.


    The part of his body that John had touched was frozen, the ice slowly began to spread through his body. He tried to break it off, but it was impossible. The way you could get rid of his ice was through fire. John had learnt that the hard way.


    The other bandits now hesitated to approach him after seeing what was happening to theirrade.


    "What are you guys doing, Huh!? Can''t you tell that the kid is afraid of killing you?! He hasn''t even pulled out his daggers, Don''t show mercy." Yelled the leader.


    Hearing his words, the bandits regained their morale and began to rush at John together. He evaded all of their hits and managed to touch all of them and activate cio.


    "Tch, useless fools." Said the bandit leader with a grin on his face.


    John stared at him, trying to figure out what he was grinning, and noticed while using magic perception that one of the guys John hit with cio got up and swung their dagger at him.


    "Scutum cies".


    The man who felt contact with his dagger didn''t hit John, but his shield instead. Shortly after, an expression of terror filled his face as the ice on his shield began to expand throughout his arm and body.


    John made sure not to freeze his head, only his body, so there wasn''t any risk of him dying. He did the same for all of them, ice was enveloped throughout their whole body as they remained motionless on the ground. The fight had been over in an instant.


    "Come." Said the bandit leader with a grin on his face.


    "Youe to me, I''ll wipe that grin off your face." John coldly replied.


    "Don''t underestimate me kid.. I''m not like those guys." He said as he pulled out his dagger.


    "You''re right. Even if I end up causing a lethal wound, it should be fine as long as I freeze it up." John said as he pulled out his daggers and began to circte magic through them.


    They stared at each other for what felt like minutes. The first to make a move was him. He rushed towards John and began swinging his dagger without rest in an attempt tond a hit on him. John easily evaded each swing by barely tilting his body.


    "Is that all? Why don''t you stop holding back? You realise what will happen if you get hit by my ice spell, right?" John said.


    The man whose expression changed from a grin to that of anger started to speed up.


    "That''s better. Looks like you''re finally strengthening yourself with magic. But you''re still slow. I''m guessing the more magic you add to yourself, the stronger the strengthening. I always add a small steady amount, I wonder what happens if I add more, I''ll try that outter ". John said.


    John continued to dodge his blows as he talked to himself.


    "Well then, I guess it''s my turn." John spoke.


    John parried his swing with his dagger and that caused him to go off bnce, John thennded a spinning kick on his left rib. It happened so fast that he wasn''t able to block it. This was a move that John copied from the guy who cheated in his fight.


    The guy dropped down as he spat out blood.


    "Is that it? I was expecting more.. The B-Rank adventurer must''ve been very strong then.. Well, Sleep well!" John taunted.


    "Curse yo-" The leader cursed.


    Before he could finish, John hit his head with the tilt of his dagger and knocked him out. He then casted cies and froze the rest of his body.


    "Hm.. That was unexpected. I was actually hoping for a better fight, I was even excited to try out my ''Ignis'' For the first time in a fight.. I guess bandits will always be weak, whether it''s the boss or not." John spoke to himself.


    He knocked out all the bandits that he had frozen and unfroze them so that they wouldn''t freeze to death, while they were unconscious and then dragged the bandit boss to the carriage.


    The bandits that Ariel had knocked down were still motionless on the ground. John made sure to check whether or not they were alive and they were. He did this so that Ariel wouldn''t worry about having killed someone without knowing.


    After making sure they were alive, John got rid of the Ice Sphere he had created to protect the carriage and exined what happened to David.


    "Well done, thank you for protecting us." He said with a perplexed expression.


    David probably didn''t know what to think. A kid had managed to take out a bandit group.


    ''That surely that''s probably umon.'' Surmised John.


    John went to check on Ariel and she was asleep.


    ''She must''ve used up quite a lot of energy.'' John thought.


    "She tried her best to stay awake in case you might need help," Said David.


    "Haha, that sounds just like her." John replied.


    "Yeah.. Something''s been bothering me..." David said.


    "What''s wrong..?" John asked.


    "Who''s that man that you''ve been dragging around all this time?"


    "Oh, this? This is the bandit leader. I''m hoping that he might have some sort of bounty on him at the guild since he was pretty strong. We''re going to make a fair amount from all this wolf pelt, so it wouldn''t hurt to make some more from a bounty." John straightforwardly said.


    David let out a loudugh before saying, "That''s a good idea. Haha".


    John ced the frozen man on the back of the carriage and got on. Shortly after, the carriage began to move again, and they continued the journey while acting as if nothing had happened.


    ''Man... I can''t wait to reach As!'' John thought with excitement.

 Chapter 16 - 17: Port Of Atlas

    "We can see it... The ports in the view!" John shouted out in excitement.


    Ariel quietly stared at the scene with enthusiasm.


    It''s been a week since they started the journey. Throughout this journey they encountered bandits and a wolf pack, and they got to see many different types of animal. Now they''ve finally arrived at the port of As.


    David who had been focused on the trip let out augh and spoke up "Wee to the port of as. Thank you for protecting me on the trip, both of you. I don''t think I would have been able to survive the bandit raid alone."


    "Yeah, of course not, no one can escape our grasps." Said the bandit leader who was tied up on the carriage.


    "Oh, you woke up? Alright then, let''s go back to sleep" John said with a smile on his face as his hand chopped the side of his neck with magic strengthening.


    The bandit leader who had recently woken up went back to sleep.


    "It''s fine, we both benefited from it after all. If it wasn''t for you, I would''ve still been stuck in that kingdom. Plus, you taught us how to butcher, we even got a wolf pelt and the bandit leader." said John.


    "Y-Yeah." Said David with a dumbfounded expression as he saw the bandit leader get handled by a kid.


    They had now finally arrived at the gate of the port, which was in view.


    "ID?" Asked the gatekeeper.


    David presented his merchant card to the gatekeeper, who then looked at them.


    John handed his adventurer''s card to the gatekeeper, and so did Ariel.


    "The fee?" Asked the keeper.


    ''Fee? There''s a fee for entering a kingdom? Of course there is, how much is it?'' John wondered.


    "How much?" John asked.


    "5 silver each" He replied.


    ''And there goes the reward we got from escorting David.'' John thought.


    John handed him the coins, and he allowed them through.


    "So that''s why no one was escorting you. You were just paying their fee. Unless they actually had a need toe here, they wouldn''t." John said as he gave him a disappointed look.


    David, who saw this, tilted his head to avoid John''s gaze.


    "Well, that''s fine, isn''t it? David taught us a lot of things and we can go sell the pelt in the adventurer''s guild to make some money, right? So no need to get so upset, cheer up okay?" Said Ariel.


    ''Seeing her stand up for Dave was a little cute. Wait, who''s Dave? I only know a guy named David.'' John thought.


    "Thanks Ariel." Said David.


    "Ariel, you shouldn''t spoil him too much. Otherwise, he''ll just do it again and it will end up in no one epting and him reaching his deadline." said John.


    "Yes." Ariel said with a saddened expression.


    "B-But that''s fine. I suppose I can let it go for now." John replied.


    "Mn! Thank you!" Said Ariel as she grabbed onto his hand.


    "Well then, don''t forget this is only the port. You''ll have to pay a fee to go to the main city by boat, so don''t waste too much time or money exploring the port. The city is much bigger and prettier." David exined.


    "Yes. That being said, can you take us to the adventurer''s Guild? I''ll stand out if I carry all the wolf pelt and drag the bandit leader on the ground." John asked.


    "Sure, consider it a bonus." David replied.


    ''No, I''ll think of it more as what you owe us.'' John thought.


    Without getting off the carriage, David took them through the port. It was much, much smaller than the kingdom, but had many facilities. The port was also connected to the sea, so the view was beautiful.


    "It smells so like the ocean, the breeze is so fresh." John said as the carriage continued to head to the guild.


    "O-cean?" Ariel asked.


    "You haven''t seen the ocean before?" John asked.


    "No, I''ve always lived in that kingdom. My uncle told me the ocean was full of water, and that you couldn''t drink it." She said.


    John felt that he might actually tear up.


    "Your uncle was right, the ocean is full of water and it''s undrinkable. Most people love ying and swimming in the ocean," John replied.


    "Swimming?" Ariel asked.


    "Yeah, swimming. It''s really fun, but if you can''t swim, you might drown." John answered.


    "Mn. Uncle told me about it. I want to go swimming but I don''t know how, so I might drown," Ariel said with a saddened expression.


    "Hm? Don''t think too hard on it, Swimming is easy to learn, especially for someone as smart as you. I''ll teach you how to swim and I won''t let you drown," John said with a confident demeanour.


    "Yes! Thank you!" Ariel excitedly said as her eyes lit up.


    "Sorry to interrupt, but we''ve finally arrived at the guild." David spoke.


    "Ah, thanks," John responded.


    Ariel carried half the wolf pelt while John carried the other half and dragged the bandit leader inside. Before heading in, John and Ariel turned around to thank David. "Thank you, David! Make sure next time we meet you aren''t being much of a cheapskate! Stay safe!" John said as he waved at him


    "Stay safe! Thank you for all the help, David!" Ariel said as she waved at him.


    "Yeah! I''ll try not to be much of a cheapskate anymore, thank you too kids, make sure you stay safe!" said David as he left with the carriage.


    "What a weird guy. But he was a good person." John said.


    "Yes!" Ariel replied.


    They then headed in and were instantly amazed. The adventurers which were here were actually young. Not young as in their age, but some of them were teens while others were young adults.


    "Finally!" John said as we walked in.


    As they walked in, most of the people''s gazes and attention were gathered to us.


    "Hey, Ariel... Aren''t we standing out a bit too much?" John quietly asked.


    ...


    "Um, Ariel?" John asked.


    Ariel who wasn''t used to all the attention froze up.


    As John and Ariel stood still, they could hear some of the mumbles of the adventurers.


    "Those kids took out all of those wolves?" Whispered a random adventure.


    "Hey, look at the guy that the kid is dragging, isn''t he a bandit?" Whispered another random adventure.


    ''Standing out is hard... We might not be able to find a party at this rate.'' John thought.


    John let go of the Bandit leader, tied to a rope, and grabbed on to Ariel''s hand.


    "Let''s go submit this pelt," John said.


    "Y-Yes." Replied Ariel.


    John held on to her hand with one hand and carried the pelt on the other as he guided her to the receptionist.


    "Um receptionist, we''d like to exchange this wolf pelt for money." John reported.


    "Wha- Y-Yes, of course, just to be clear, you kids hunted the wolves to get this much pelt alone?" The receptionist asked.


    "Actually, it was just jo-"


    "Yeah, it was the two of us. We got lucky." John replied as he interrupted Ariel.


    ''I don''t want to draw too much attention to myself.'' John thought.


    "Ariel, can you wait here, while I go get the bandit leader?" John asked.


    "Yes! I''m fine now, I was just surprised since we didn''t really get much attention in the old guild." She replied.


    "I''m d that you''re fine," John said before heading back to get the bandit leader.


    After John got to him, he dragged him to the receptionist and kindly said. "Um, this man is the leader of one of the bandits we fought, does he have any value?"


    The Receptionist gave him a puzzled look as if she didn''t know what to do.


    "You guys didn''t steal all of this pelt from anyone, right? And I need to check to see if he has a bounty."


    "Yes. We hunted wolves during our trip here and were raided by a small group of bandits. This is their leader, he might have a bounty as he seemed experienced." John answered.


    "I see. I''ll check his identity and see if there''re any bounties on him. Also, I''ll check how much this pelt is worth, also where are the rest of your party members?" She asked.


    "It''s only us 2?" John replied.


    "What!?" She shouted out, which resulted in more attention being gathered at their backs.


    ''Darn.. Now we''re standing out even more. Come on guys it''s just wolves and a bandit leader, it''s nothing that ba- okay nevermind.'' John cursed.


    "That''s not good! You should try to find at least a 3rd member. This guild is full of people near your age group, so just find someone you can trust. Okay!?" She said before heading off to one of the rooms with the bandit and wolf pelt.


    "O-Okay, we''ll find someone. Thank you for your help." John replied.


    The receptionist paced back and forth to pick up the remaining pelt and took it to a separate room.


    "Hey you, duel me."


    John turned to the source of the voice and found a young-looking girl. She had moderately long silver hair and deep silver eyes; she wore a robe and a pointy hat on her hair. Sort of like the ones you see on witches.


    "W- What did you sa-" Asked John.


    "Duel me." She interrupted.


    "But why?" he asked.


    "I want to see if you''re strong enough for me to join your party." She said.


    "Who said anything about you joi-"


    Before John could finish what he was going to say, one of the adventurer''s in the background spoke up "Guys! The kid who brought the bandit just got challenged to a duel!"


    "What? More importantly, how did you hear that?! You''re on the other side of the room!?!"


    "What are we going to see a duel!? Alright. Everybody let''s go outside and watch!!"


    The adventurers began to cheer.


    "Darn it. Now there''s no way I can decline. Fine, I ept the duel." John muttered.


    "He epted the duel!!" Said the same adventurer who heard John from the other side of the room.


    The adventurers let out another cheer.


    "Aren''t these guys a little too excited to watch kids fight?" John asked.


    "Kids? I''ll have you know I''m already an adult! I turned 15 this year." Said the silver-haired challenger.


    "Oh sorry, do they always do this when there''s a duel?" John asked.


    "Every adventurer''s guild does, it''s normal." She replied


    Ariel, who had been quiet this whole time, decided to speak up.


    "Why do you want to duel John?" She said with an annoyed face.


    "Well, I overheard you talking to the receptionist, she said you should find party members, so I was nning on joining your party as a condition if I won."


    "That''s the reason. You could have just asked! I would''ve let you join either way!" John shouted.


    "R-Really!? T-Then, thank you for allowing me to join. My name is Serena Valeriana, I''m a mage. Thanks for having me on board." She said as she bowed.


    "The pleasure''s all mine. My name is John, and this is Ariel. We''re both mages." John said as he bowed.


    ''Oi.. I got caught up in the moment. No matter how you look at it, isn''t this moving too fast!?'' John thought.


    "Either way, I believe we should still have that duel, we''ll be able to understand more about each other''s abilities." Serena Suggested.


    "Yeah, you have a point. Besides, I don''t think the audience wants to wait any longer. Very well, this will also show people that I''m not weak." John said.


    "John.. Wait a minute.. Aren''t things moving too fast!?" said Ariel.


    ''So you thought so too.'' John wondered.


    "Yeah, but we needed a third member, anyway, so I don''t really mind." said John.


    "But.. You could have at least asked me for my opinion.. We''re partners after all." Ariel said with puffed up cheeks.


    "You''re right.. Sorry. Um Serena.. I forgot to consult with my party member, whether or not she would mind you joining, so let''s set up new conditions." John replied.


    "Alright, I understand." She replied.


    "If you win, you join our party, or we can join your party. Whatever you want. If I win, Ariel will decide whether or not you can join us. Sorry," John dered.


    "It''s fine, I was the one to rush it all, so it''s my fault. Very well, I agree to the conditions. If I win, I''ll join your party." She said with a slightly saddened expression.


    "Very well, then, it''s decided. Let''s just wait for the receptionist toe back." John suggested.


    After a few minutes, the receptionist came back with a box.


    "Uhm, for the wolf pelt, you were given 10 Gold coins as they were in perfect condition and there were at least enough pelt worth 20 wolves which is 50 silver each. This box also holds 55 Gold coins, the bounty on the Bandit leader you brought in. He confirmed that it was indeed you who beat him. So there are no issues."


    Both Serena and Ariel looked shocked at the amount of gold in the box. At the same time, John could feel a few evil gazes fall on his back.


    ''They never learn.'' John said to himself.


    The receptionist handed him the box, and he showed a confused expression.


    "Um receptionist, This Box is the size of a pencil case. Does it really have all those coins?" John asked.


    "John.. That''s not a normal box." Said Serena.


    "What?" John asked.


    "Oh my, is this your first time seeing a Magic Tool Box? While it looks small, it''s only so that it can be easily transported. While it indeed is small, inside can fit anything as long as the space doesn''t exceed 10 cubic meters. All your gold is in there, all you need to do is open and pull it out. If you don''t believe me, you could check it right now." The receptionist replied.


    "No, it''s fine. You''re trustworthy, and if I were to take everything out now, that would grab too much attention. Thank you very much for the reward. Also, how were you able to get information on the bandit? He wasn''t willing to talk when I asked him." John asked.


    The receptionist gave me a cold smile as she said. "The guild has its ways."


    ''I''m never picking a fight with receptionists¡­'' John decided.


    "Well, then." John said as he turned around to look at the people adventurers which stood before him.


    Some of them stood up and were waiting near the entrance for John and Serena to have their duel, while the remaining ones ignored it and looked like they were just rxing. John could tell just by looking that these guys were strong.


    Unlike the young adventurers who were excited to see a fight, these guys remainedposed and diligent. John respected people like them.


    ''But I guess that just proves that every adventurer is unique. They''re not like the ones you see in fairy tales, and they''re not all Buff men. Some of the ones here are swordsman teens around 16-18 years of age, while others look like mages and tanks in their 20s and 30s.'' John pondered.


    Honestly, they look a lot more motivated than the adventurers of Halfaust though. John wondered how diverse the adventurers in As will be.


    ''I can''t wait to find out!'' John thought.


    "Let''s head to our duel, shall we?" John said before heading to the entrance.


    ''Man.. So many things that I could never expect are happening.. I''m so d I became an adventurer!'' John thought happily.

 Chapter 17 - 18: Duel

    "Are you ready?" Serena asked.


    "Yep" John replied.


    "Then we start on his signal," Serena said as she pointed to the random adventurer.


    "Okay," John replied.


    The random adventurer pointed his arms into the air and quietly waited for the right moment to lower them.


    John was standing in the middle of a giant circle of adventurers in the city.


    ''Won''t it be too dangerous if I use my magic? Well, maybe it''s better this way, at least those guys who were nning on stealing my money will learn how scary reality can be.'' John thought.


    The man lowered his arm, and in that instant, Serena started moving while chanting.


    John waited it out to see what she would cast. It took 5 seconds for her to finish the chant and another second for it to cast.


    The spell she cast made around 10 fire arrows form in the surrounding air.


    "Hmm... That''s slow.. What happens if your chant gets interrupted?" John questioned.


    "Stop ying around!" She said as she gave the signal for her arrows to attack John.


    ''Fire... I usually use ice and never water. All right, let''s create a Water shield.'' Thought John.


    "Scutum Aqua" John muttered as he remained still in the same spot.


    John had formed a shield of water right in front of himself and it blocked all the arrows as it let out an insane amount of steam.


    The crowd which was unusually quiet cheered as they watched.


    "Wha-"


    Before Serena could finish what she would say, John countered. He had cast cies while the shield was blocking the arrows and waited for the moment for her to drop her guard.


    She tried to dodge, but it was toote, John''s cies had directly hit at Serena. The area where there was contact froze up and spread throughout her entire body. Covering everything but her face.


    "Well, then. Checkmat-"


    Before John could finish what he was going to say, Serena began chanting something. The Ice which had enveloped her body melted, and a lion made of pure fire was formed beside her.


    "Oh... That''s interesting. You realised that merely casting fire spells won''t work. So you summoned a fire lion." said John.


    "Stop talking so much! Focus on the fight!" Serena shouted.


    "Yes... Yes.." John replied.


    John watched the lion as he waited for it to attack. The lion observed him as it slowly approached. It pounced at John in an attempt to get in a bite, but he easily evaded its attacks with magic strengthening.


    ''Chant magic huh.. chanting is like a script which executes a program. Its strength is limited to how strong the script is and what type of script it is.'' John inferred.


    ''With concept magic, you can easily control the magic element however way you want, with practice. It''s like you be the programmer itself and create the script. Which is why, with practice, concept magic should be the strongest magic there is, not to mention you don''t need to say chanting words. Why do I use mine?.'' John concluded.


    "The other difference is... Hey Serena, I will try something I''ve never tried before! I''ll also stop holding back, so as a mage you should think of a way to defend yourself while your lion''s fighting." John spoek.


    "Huh? I already kno-"


    Before she could finish what she was going to say, A cies John had cast flew towards her and hit her leg.


    "See?" John asked as she was casting a spell to heat up her leg.


    Casting takes too long. John could''ve put pressure on her while she was unfreezing her leg, or he could''ve just frozen her head from the beginning to stop her from chanting.


    "However, that would be boring. I still need to prove my strength so... No more ying around. cies." John muttered.


    Above his finger, a slightly bigger version of cies than normal was formed.


    "Hey, you know what happens when ice goes into contact with fire, right? It melts. But what if the ice is even colder than the fire? And in this case, will your fire be strong enough to both melt the ice and evaporate the water?" John asked.


    "What are you talking about? I thought you said you stopped ying around!" Serena spoke.


    "I did," John replied as he propelled his big cies to the Lion.


    On impact the lion began to freeze up, the fire spread throughout its whole body before it waspletely engulfed.


    The crowd which was cheering up until a while ago became quiet before letting out even bigger cheers.


    "What... The hell.. You froze Fire!?" She asked.


    "Yep, even if it didn''t freeze, the ice would''ve turned to water and turned the fire to steam."


    "Those daggers on your waist... Why don''t you use them?" She asked.


    "Why? Well, it''s because we''re having a magician battle, right? It wouldn''t be fair for me to just charge at you with a dagger while you''re casting. I wouldn''t be able to test your skills and you wouldn''t be able to test mine." John answered.


    "I see, So, in the end, you were still holding back. I''m a disappointment as a wizard," She said as she sat on the floor with tears filling her eyes.


    John approached her and sat down next to her.


    "What are you talking about? You were able to stay concentrated and focused on casting, even though I was constantly pressuring you with my movements. Not to mention that fire lion you summoned, that was really cool!" John consoled.


    She began to look at him as John continued to go on about what he thought..


    "You can''t call yourself a disappointment over one loss. Where I''m from people say ''Losing only makes you stronger''. Anyway,so what I''m trying to say is, don''t cry." John said.


    For a moment, she showed John a really bright smile. "Who''s crying?!" She said as her smile changed into a cute frown.


    "Haha¡­ Alright, alright." John said as he got up.


    "But. Thank you... Next time I''ll beat you!" Serena replied.


    "Yes... Yes... I''m looking forward to it." John responded.


    "Oi, are you still taking me lightly.." she said as she got John on a headlock.


    "What are you talking about... I would never dream of such a thing." John said as he yfully tried to get out.


    "You''re doing it again!" She said.


    As John continued to struggle in the headlock, the adventurer who was the ref of the match, asked them. "So who''s the winner?"


    Serena was the first to speak up. "It''s my loss, I surrender."


    Hearing this, the crowd let out another round of cheers. As they picked John up and threw him in the air.


    "Wa- Sto-"


    "JOHN! JOHN! JOHN!" The crowd cheered


    -------------------------------------------------------------------


    After the fight was over, The crowd had carried John all the way to the guild, Serena and Ariel followed.


    Now, John, Ariel and Serena were sitting on one of the empty tables of the guild.


    Most of the people in the guild seem like they trust John a lot more now that they''ve seen what he can do.


    '' Adventurers are weird.'' John thought.


    "So.. As our agreement suggested, Ariel will decide on whether or not you join. And I''ll just ask you one question." John stated.


    Serena slowly nodded her head.


    "You don''t have to give any personal information to join our party, thates naturally as we find out more about each other. What I wanted to ask was, why our party? Speaking of which, with your skill, you must be able to join any party." John asked.


    "I arrived at the port yesterday. I was bored and I''ve been travelling by myself. Most parties you see here are only temporary or only stay in this area, not many people actually travel around. I overheard that you guys were travellers." Serena spoke.


    ''Ah.. so it was luck?'' John thought.


    "I also heard that you were iming to beat wolves and bandits like it was nothing. I thought that I finally found a party which I could travel with. And you guys looked like you were having fun so I wanted to join in but before I could do that, I wanted to see how strong you were though so I challenged you to a duel."


    ''Did I really im it like it was nothi- Nevermind.'' John thought.


    "And that brings us to now. So Ariel, what''s your decision?" He asked.


    Serena gulped.


    "I have nothing against Serena, in fact, I''d love it if she joined the party. The only reason I was mad at you was because you didn''t consult me first, I was even nning on telling you beforehand that I didn''t mind if she joined but you guys rushed into the duel." Said ariel.


    ''Oh¡­'' John sighed.


    Ariel approached Serena and grabbed on to her hand. Before saying "Wee to the party!"


    "Wee!" John added on.


    "Thank you!" Serena said with a bright smile.


    "Besides, I was getting tired of travelling with an overprotective guy like John. With another girl here, we''ll be able to teach him a lesson," Said Ariel in a yful tone.


    "Wha-? Ariel?" John asked.


    Ariel let out a giggle before saying, "I''m joking. I love travelling with John". With a smile on her face.


    "Oh.. I see... " John replied with a relieved expression.


    "But um... Travelling with John is fun and... And seeing as we are the only girls here... I hope we get along.." Ariel said as she stretched out her hand for a handshake from Serena.


    "Me too.." Said Serena as she shook her hand.


    John didn''t know why, but seeing Ariel make a friend put a smile on his face.


    "John, you too," Ariel said.


    "Yes... Yes.." John replied as he put his hand above theirs


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Right now they were heading to a random inn. John had 81 gold coins in total after exchanging the pelt and receiving the bounty, and both he and Ariel were moved up to D Rank.


    Ever since leaving the guild, Ariel and Serena have been quite close ever since they left the guild, and have been talking to each other.


    It turned out Serena''s 15 and a C rank adventurer. It''s pretty good for her age, John thought.


    ''It''s nice seeing her have this much fun talking, but I feel left out.'' John thought.


    After they arrived at the inn, John was about to talk to the innkeeper before suddenly remembering something.


    "Um Serena, during your interview you said something about waiting for the ship of As to arrive, right? What do you mean by that?" John questioned.


    "You didn''t know? The shipes once every week and you can''t go there unless you go through to the ship, otherwise you won''t be allowed in. The ship will be arriving tomorrow." Serena answered.


    "Wow... I had no idea, thanks." John replied.


    "It''s fine." She said.


    After the discovery, John bought a room for 3 and paid in advance for dinner.


    ''There goes 12 silver coins.'' John thought with resignation.


    Unlike 3 Silver for a room with one bed each night in Halfaust. When you ask for 3 beds, it''s 9 silver and the extra 3 silver was for dinner.''


    The reason why John''s paying for everything is to celebrate Serena joining. Besides Ariel wanted to and his money is technically her money too so there''s no reason to say no.


    After paying for everything in advance, they were all starving, so they had dinner and went to their room.


    Inside, it was pretty big and warm. There were 3 beds aligned next to each other. And another room which appeared to be the shower.


    Seeing that, the girls took off their armour and went inside.


    "John," Ariel said.


    "Yes?" John replied.


    "Can you please heat up the water for us?" Ariel asked as she walked out of the bathroom.


    "Yes... Yes.." John replied and did the following.


    He walked inside and began to heat up the water in the buckets. Unlike the bathroom in their previous inn, this one was big.


    Serena who was watching let out a surprised "Wow.."


    "Is something wrong?" John asked.


    "No, it''s just I''ve never seen someone use magic the way you do. You heated up the water without any chants and even in our fight, I didn''t see you use chants. Even though I can use fire magic, if I tried to heat up the buckets it''d end up either evaporating or exploding due to the power"


    "It''splicated," John said.


    "I see... If you do not wish to talk about it, I won''t force you" She replied.


    John felt bad for not telling her but for her own safety, it''s better if she didn''t know.


    ''Hopefully, Ariel doesn''t tell her, she promised not to talk about concept magic with anyone.'' John thought.


    After he finished warming everything up, John told Ariel that he was going for a stroll before leaving the room.


    "Where is he going?" Serena asked.


    "I don''t know, he always does that whenever I take a shower.." Ariel Replied.


    ''I can still hear you guys... The reason why I do it is because I''m trying to keep my mind pure!'' John said to himself.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


    John spent thest 15 minutes walking around the town as he waited for the girls to finish taking a shower.


    Nothing happened to him but there were people watching him while he walked so he was guessing that his disy of skill in the duel wasn''t enough.


    His original n was to sabotage those guys while the girls were distracted but seeing as how they didn''t make a move there wasn''t a need to.


    All John did was say "You guys can watch me, just know that if any one of you tries to hurt them, I''ll kill you."


    They seemed to have heard it and ran away once they realised John was aware of their presence.


    ''But i was bluffing, I think... I don''t really have the guts or resolve to take another''s life, but that might change.'' John thought to himself.


    ''Life in this world is so tiring... But as long as it''s fun, I couldn''t care less.'' He concluded.


    John went back to his room and saw Ariel and Serenaid down on their bed.


    "We''ve finished taking the shower." Said, Ariel.


    "Alright, Well, if you''ll excuse me," John said before entering the bathroom.


    John created water, heated it up and used it in the showers like he always had.


    Once he was finished, he put on a new pair of clothes and left the bathroom. John spent at least 10 minutes taking a shower. By the time he got out Both Serena and Ariel were asleep on their own beds.


    John never expected to find his third member this fast, but thought that she''s definitely talented.


    "Hm? She forgot to take her hat off." John muttered.


    Serena who kept her witch hat on even when she entered the bath, didn''t take it off when she fell asleep.


    John decided to take her hat off as it looked ufortable. When he did, he unintentionally muttered the words "What?"


    Pointy ears stuck out from her Silky silver hair.


    "She''s an elf...?"

 Chapter 18 - 19: Boat

    "Mmm" John let out as he woke up.


    It was morning already. That meant that the ship to As is arriving today, Serena didn''t say what time so John decided he should ask her now. He also didn''t know if he should mention anything about her being an elf, but he was curious.


    As he tried to move his left hand, he felt that there was something heavy on top.


    "This sensation... I could recognise it anywhere... Ariel." John muttered.


    John tilted his head to see what the cause of the heavy sensation was and he was right. It was Ariel.


    ''How did she end up asleep on my bed when I saw herst night on hers? Wait, it''s better not to think about it.'' John wondered.


    Under normal circumstances, John would have waited for Ariel to get up and enjoy letting her use his elbow as a pillow. But right now they have to make it to the As ship.


    "Ariel... Ariel, Hey Ariel wake up!" John said as he slightly shook her.


    ''This girl... How can she be such a heavy sleeper?'' John wandered.


    "Ariel, at this rate we might not go to As..." He said.


    The noise being made to wake Ariel, ended up waking up Serena. Serena silently got up and turned towards the direction of the sound before saying.


    "Huh? Where is everybody?" Serena asked.


    ''I''m sorry, I had no choice. This was a huge misunderstanding, and I''m enjoying my new life so I''d rather not die so early. The moment she got up I had cast ''Furtim'' and ''Silentium''.'' John exined to himself.


    "Don''t tell me, they''re having breakfast without me!?" She said before getting up and rushing to the bathroom.


    John let out a sigh of relief as he deactivated silentium and furtim.


    "Look, Ariel, if you don''t wake up right now, I''ll die I''ll honestly di-" John said.


    Before he could finish, Serena interrupted "You''ll what?" She asked with an icy smile on her face.


    "G-g-good morning, Serena... There''s a perfectly valid exnation for this." John said.


    "Of course, couples sleep together, it''s normal. However, you''re too young to be doing that sort of thing, much less next to me!!! Even I was only allowed to this year!" She said.


    "S-Serena you''re getting the wrong idea, I''m sure you remember right? Before you went to bed Ariel was sleeping on her bed." John exined.


    ''All right, that should have convinc-'' He thought.ariel interrupted him


    "So you ''re saying you did those th-things to her while she was asleep!?" Serena said as she grabbed her wand.


    ''Oi oi oi, wait a minute, didn''t I just make things worse... Crap, wasn''t that the wand she used in our fight? I''m not some beast!'' John thought.


    "W-Wait, why don''t we c-calm down, I can exin! I didn''t d-" He spoke.


    As John was about to exin, he was interrupted by Ariel, "Mn.. G-Good morning John.. Thank you forst night.."


    ...


    "Oi... Ariel.. what do you mean by thank you?" John nervously said as he felt Serena''s piercing gaze.


    "You were very warm..." She said with reddened cheeks.


    ''Alright, mum, dad looks like I''m going to meet you. I''ve lived a life full of difficulties but I don''t regret it.'' John thought to himself.


    "Your shoulder was.." She added on.


    "Say that sooner! Serena''s already casting her spell!" John shouted.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------


    "I''m very sorry!" Said Serena as she bowed her head.


    "It''s fine.. Mistakes happen, it''s partially her fault too." John said as he looked at Ariel.


    "Sorry!" Serena said as she bowed her head.


    "So... Ariel, why were you even in John''s bed?" Serena asked.


    "Why? We always sleep together.." Ariel replied.


    "Don''t look at me! We were low on money and had only bought a room with one bed! But we didn''t do anything aside from sleeping together!" John said.


    "Ariel, you shouldn''t sleep next to another guy, it''s dangerous." Serena said.


    "Oi.. Why am I the one that''s getting treated as the viin here.." John replied.


    "No! John isn''t dangerous!" Ariel said.


    "Ariel." I said with teary eyes.


    "Look, Ariel. I get it. All I''m trying to say is that a girl should only sleep next to a guy she ns on marrying or is engaged to." Said Serena.


    "Engaged... Marrying..." Ariel muttered as she looked at John.


    ''Huh..? What''s that look supposed to mean..?'' John wondered.


    "I-I understand, I won''t do it anymore" Ariel said as she stopped looking at John.


    ''That was rather fast..?'' John thought.


    "Serena... Since you two are good friends and you''re both girls. Please tell Arielter why it''s only someone you n on getting engaged to or marrying," John requested.


    "W-What..? Fine..." Serena said.


    "What are you guys talking about?" Ariel asked.


    "Don''t worry, Serena will tell youter." John replied.


    ''Not everyone goes through the same education, huh?'' John thought.


    "Anyway.. Serena! What time does the Boat arrive?" John questioned.


    "It arrives at noon from what I''ve heard.." She replied.


    "Noon.. It''s been a while since sunrise... It should be arriving soon... Isn''t there anything which can read the time in this world?" John asked.


    "You mean a clock? Yeah, but they''re mainly avable for nobles." Serena replied.


    "Crap... So how do adventurers measure the time?" John asked.


    "Hm? Like most, I track the sun''s position, others follow their shadow and I hear that there are people who look at the stars at night." She replied.


    ''So those basic methods work in this world too.. Good.'' John thought with a relieved expression.


    "Alright, Everyone, pack your things. We''re heading to the port!" John said as he stared at the sun.


    ''ording to the sun''s position... There''s only an hour till noon.'' John estimated.


    "Yes!" Ariel said as she started putting her belongings in a bag.


    "Um John I- Are you alright? Your face looks a bit red... Why are you just staring at the sun?" Ariel asked.


    ''My eyes are starting to hurt.'' John thought.


    "Y-You know.. The sun is beautiful, staring at it calms me down." He answered.


    "O-Okay..? I just wanted to say that I forgot my belongings at the inn I was staying at.. So do you mind going with me to get them?" John answered.


    "Of course not. You''re a member of our party now so no need to act so reserved around me..."


    "John..." She said with a smile on her face.


    "Yes?" John asked.


    "It''s just... You would''ve sounded a lot cooler if there weren''t tears flowing out of your eyes as you said that." Serena replied.


    "Ah.. Don''t worry, it''s just one of the side effects from staring at the sun for too long. It also damages your vision." John said.


    "Like I asked, why are you staring at it?" Serena asked.


    "There are times where a man must make sacrifices..." John replied.


    "John..." She said again with a smile on her face.


    "Yes?" John asked a second time.


    "You''re crying." She said.


    -------------------------------------------------------


    After Ariel packed her things, John packed his, and they followed Serena to her inn and waited for her to pack her things, before heading to the port.


    "Ahhhh... Nothing beats the fresh breeze you can get from the sea. Ariel, what''s it like seeing the sea for the first time?" John asked.


    Unlike what they expected, after entering the city through the gates, they weren''t able to see the ocean; they needed to head to the port to see it, but since they were busy, they didn''t have time. However, now she is finally able to see it.


    "It''s beautiful..." Ariel replied as she stared at the ocean with sparkling eyes and a bright smile.


    John stared at Ariel as her hair moved in motion with the breeze as it passed by.


    "Yeah, it is. Hey ariel..." John replied as he looked at the sea.


    "Hm, what''s wrong John?" Ariel asked.


    "It''s nothing... Let''s move on." He replied.


    After they arrived at the port, they saw a few adventurers and merchants. There were around 50 waiting for the Boat to Arrive.


    "There''s quite a lot.. Will we really be able to get in with this many?" John asked.


    "Yeah, there''s no need to worry about that. They send 3 ships once a week which is capable of carrying 50 people each."


    "Ah, that''s good. Are you guys hungry? Looks like they''re selling sea food and drinks there." John asked as he pointed at the food stalls.


    "Yes!" Said the two girls.


    And so they ate as they waited for the boat to arrive. And after half an hour it did.


    "ID?" asked the boat guard at the entrance to the boat.


    They spent 20 minutes waiting in life for our turn, so John handed the man his adventure''s card without saying a word. He just wanted to go inside as fast as possible. Ariel and Serena did the same.


    "All right, that will be 3 Gold coins." The guard said.


    ''Expensive! Now I see why there are so many adventurers here in the port. Not everyone can afford the fees. But if you do, you should be able to make more in the dungeon, which is why the boat fees are so high.'' John thought.


    "Yes... Yes... Wait a moment." John said as he pulled out 3 gold coins from his magic tool box.


    ''Wait... 3 Gold coins... Then that means it''s one Coin per person.'' John estimated.


    "Oi... Serena... Give me a gold coin... I''m running low on funds." John said.


    "W-what.. are you talking about John... You''re the party leader. I believe this sort of fees are your responsibility..." She said.


    "Why of course I''m responsible for the party, however any fees the members have to pay individually has nothing to do with me. Ariel is one thing, the money I have was made with her help as we went hunting but you just joined. Shouldn''t you be treating your seniors with more respect?" John replied.


    Serena intentionally tried to avoid his gaze as he stared at her.


    "You two stop fighting! Can''t you see that there are people in line waiting for us? Sorry guard, for wasting your time here." Ariel said as she took the 3 gold coins off of John''s hands and handed it to the guard.


    Seeing this the guard let them through and handed them 3 separate keys, with the numbers 31, 32 and 33 written on them.


    "Sorry" they said to the guard as we passed by.


    Seeing as how they were truly apologetic the guard said. "Don''t worry about it."


    "What a nice guy... Now that I''m inside I''m starting to see how big this boat actually is..." John said.


    "Of course! This boat is top-quality, It has food, drinks and it even has rooms for us to sleep in. Judging by our numbers our rooms are right next to each other. Why else did you think the fee was so high?" she asked.


    "Yeah, the fees that I paid for." John replied.


    "Huh? Weren''t you the one who said that you were going to pay for anything yesterday to congratte you and Ariel getting a new member? Besides, I already thanked you!" Serena said.


    "That Was only for yesterday!" John replied.


    As they continued to argue, they were both stopped as they heard Ariel chuckle.


    "What''s so funny?" John asked.


    "It''s just you guys look like you''re having a lot of fun. I''m sure you two are already close friends." She said.


    "Truce?" Serena asked.


    "Sure." John replied.


    "Um... John... Sorry for getting mad at you, I''ve been very ungrateful..." Serena said.


    "It''s fine... I was also being a bit childish. We''re party members thus we should help each other." John replied.


    "But you''re a kid? It''s normal to be childish." Serena replied.


    "Oh yeah that''s right" John said.


    "pfft"


    "haha"


    The three of themughed at his answer and just like that, they began their trip on the boat to As. John didn''t mention anything about Serena being an elf, he was sure that she must have a reason not to tell them, but honestly he didn''t mind at all.. He really liked the elf race after all.

 Chapter 19 - 20: Atlas

    It''s been 2 days since the boat trip has started, the port is no longer in view and we are starting to see outlines of the kingdom of As. At this pace, we should be arriving soon.


    "Hey, John, John! Look!" Said Ariel as she pointed to the sea.


    I looked at the direction that her finger pointed and saw something which seemed to be a dolphin unicorn.


    "Nothing you can show me can surprise me at this point world..."


    "What?" Asked Ariel


    "Nothing, that looks awesome! What is that?" I asked


    "That''s a Dolicorn, they''re kind to humans and there are many records of them saving humans. They''re also super adorable" Replied Serena


    "Adorable...?" I muttered as I stared at the weird mutated unicorn dolphin creature


    Ever since we arrived on the boat. All we''ve been doing is eating, sleep and sightsee. To be honest, it felt like a vacation more than a trip.


    "John! Let''s go over there, we can see even more Dolicorns" Said Ariel as she grabbed on to my hand and pulled me towards the other end of the ship.


    There are quite a few adventurers in this ship. The amount was split evenly between the 3 Ships so there''s not an abundance. Either way, they all seem to be minding their business. or chatting with their party members.


    "John, can you see them!" She said as she pointed at the pack of dolicorns.


    "Yeah, they look great..."


    They look like they think of us as food...


    "Hey Ariel, look. As is even more visible" I said as I pointed north.


    Ariel looked at the giant kingdom and her eyes began to sparkle. She had been so distracted by the passive sea monsters that she didn''t notice that we were already close to the kingdom.


    "It''s pretty..." Ariel said.


    "That''s right! I heard that this is one of the strongest kingdoms, you see those 4 towers around it. Apparently, those are dungeons." Said John


    "Woah..." Ariel muttered, amazed as she looked at it


    Wow... now that I''m looking at it closer, this kingdom looks quite advancedpared to the other kingdoms I''ve seen. It looks advanced but not that much. The kingdoms so far looked like they were from medieval times. This one looks like it''s a few years ahead but still medieval.


    The towers which surrounded it, also known as dungeons were a sight to see. They lookedpletely submerged in water and underground, while the entrance is still slightly above sea level.


    The tower appeared to be connected to something which looked like ports, and there were adventurers there. I strengthened my vision and used deprehendre to find out.


    As I was lost in thought. The boat let out a loud horn to signal the city to open the gates and the captain shouted out his order.


    "WE ARE APPROACHING ATLAS, I REPEAT, WE ARE APPROACHING ATLAS!" he shouted.


    Ariel who was getting excited grabbed on to my hand. While Serena who was trying not to show it but was also excited.


    "Serena, it''s your first timeing here right?" I asked.


    "That''s right." She replied.


    "Then you must be pretty excited huh..." I said


    "Yes, I am, is there a problem?" She replied.


    "Not at all." I said as I looked forward


    "We''ve arrived at as. Pack your belongings and exit the ship." Said one of the employees.


    "Well, you heard the man. Let''s go." I said to Ariel and Serena.


    We had already packed our things so all we had to do was exit the ship.


    As we got off I let out a sigh of relief as I muttered. "Now... What are we going to do?".


    "Alright guys, we''re finding an inn, leaving our things in there and explore the city! Today is rest! Tomorrow we''re exploring our first dungeon!".


    "Hey Serena, anything specific you''d like to do? You wanted toe to as after all." I asked.


    "N-Not really. I just wanted toe exploring." She replied.


    "I see... You can be really cute when you''re quiet." I said with a smile on my face.


    "Wha-! What are you talking about! And the reason I''m always agitated is because of you! I''m a quiet person." She replied.


    "Sure... Sure..." I replied.


    Nature huh... she''s an elf, and despite all of the people I''ve seen, she''s the first elf I''ve ever met. Are they rare?


    "What''s that reply supposed to mean?" She asked


    "Nothing at all," I replied


    ----------------------------------------------------


    As nned we found an inn to stay at. The price for the rooms was slightly more expensive than the ones at the port, making it 10 silver per day for a room of 3 and an extra 5 silver for all 3 meals of 3.


    I have around 75 gold left, I have to make sure I don''t spend it needlessly.


    that being said, after we left our clothes at the inn, we all decided to start exploring the kingdom. Like halfaust, there was only 1 kingdom and no other neighbouring cities as we are literally in the middle of the sea.


    One would expect it to be a weak kingdom as it''s not surrounded by any other kingdoms like halfaust and it''s by itself in the middle of the sea but it''s surprisingly economically strong. That is probably because the kingdom uses the treasures from the dungeons to increase their funds.


    And with those funds, they import food from other neighbouring countries and their port. Meaning, without these dungeons here. The kingdom would cease to exist. So I might head to thest floor but just not conquer them. If I can that is.


    "John, are you listening?" Asked Ariel


    "Yes!" I replied


    "Oh yeah? Then what did I say?" Asked Ariel


    "..."


    "See, you weren''t listening." Said Ariel with a pouting expression


    "Oh and by the way, Serena, alongside the 1 gold coin you owe me from the fees, you also owe me another gold coin from the fees of the inn to the weing party and the seafood we ate. The daily interest is 10% so you after 10 days the amount which you owe me will be doubled." I said


    "John... but you never said anything about interest or paying you back." Said Serena as tears began to form in her eyes


    "John..." Said Ariel as she looked at me with a saddened expression


    "I was joking! Joking!" I said


    And just like that, we continued to have fun while exploring the kingdom. It was really big and there was no such thing as amoner or noble area but there was a pce which most likely contained the king.


    Unlike halfaust, we didn''t encounter anyone itching to ambush or kidnap kids.


    Like I promised, I got them each anything they wanted. Serena, she insisted that she didn''t want anything. Probably because of me constantly teasing her. Maybe I should stop... It''s just so fun.


    Ariel also didn''t want anything as Serena didn''t get anything.


    We''re on our way to our inn and the sun is starting to set. We''ll probably rest for the rest of the day so now should be a good time.


    "Ariel, Serena," I said.


    The two turned around and asked "Yes?".


    "Well for starters, I wanted to ask if you enjoyed today.".


    "Yes! It was really fun, I got to see so many things that I couldn''t see in the other kingdom, and I got to spend more time with my friends." Said, Ariel.


    "W-Well, I guess I enjoyed it too if we get rid of the times we argued." Said, Serena.


    "Haha, I''m d you both enjoyed it. Since I had promised I''d get you two something so..." I said as I pulled out two small fancy looking boxes from my pocket and handed it to them.


    "What''s this?" They asked.


    "Open it," I said.


    For ariel, I had noticed that she looked interested in a particr set of earrings. With a gem which appeared to be a sapphire on it. Whereas for Serena I got her a bracelet which had a gem which appeared to be a ruby on the middle, Something I noticed Serena looked interested in as well.


    The two continued to stare at what I got them without saying anything.


    "Uhm... Did you not like it? I asked


    When I asked, they both shook their head before turning around.


    Uh... is that a bad sign? Did I get the wrong thing?


    As I thought that, they nodded at each other, then simultaneously turned around and with a bright smile on their face they said: "Thank you".


    Phew... For a second I thought they hated it.


    "Then, let me help you put it on, right now. I''m curious to see how you too look with it." I said


    "Eh? It''s fine, we can put it on ourselves." They replied


    "No, It''s easier with help." I insisted


    Seeing as to how I would keep persisting until they allowed me, they gave up. I opened the box and put the bracelet on Serena and the earings on Ariel. While I was putting it on, they desperately tried to cover their face, I wasn''t sure why.


    "And... Done!" I said as I finished putting it on them


    "H-How do we look..?" asked Serena with her face still covered.


    "You both look beautiful, obviously?" I boldly dered


    Hearing my words, the two''s face turned bright red before they hid it by turning around


    Do they really dislike looking at me that much...?


    "W-Well, let''s head back to the i-inn..." Said, Ariel


    "I-I agree..." Said, Serena


    "Yeah! I can''t wait to go dungeon Exploring tomorrow!" I dered


    The two girls remained quiet For the rest of the journey back to the inn and without paying much attention to it, I focused on the excitement I was feeling as I imagined going dungeon exploring.

 Chapter 20 - 21: Tower

    "Mmm," John let out as he stretched his arms while getting up.


    ''Hm? I stretched my arms!? What happened to all the daily weights which would appear on my arm whenever I woke up?'' John wondered.


    He looked around and as he suspected, Ariel was sleeping soundly on her bed and so was Serena. It looked like she had really thought about what Serena told her.


    "It does feel quite lonely though... And a bit colder." John sincerely said.


    "What''s a bit colder..?" Said Serena as she got up and stretched her arms.


    "T-The nkets, they feel a bit colder than usual..." John replied.


    "They feel the same as any other inn, I''ve been to..?" She said.


    "Nevermind," John said.


    She gave John a confused look before getting up and heading to the bathroom. While she did that John woke up Ariel.


    After they all brushed their teeth and got prepared, they headed towards the Adventurer''s guild. Honestly, John was feeling very excited.


    Adventurers which spend their time conquering dungeons, John wondered how bnced the parties were or how strong they were.


    ''Maybe I''ll be able to meet a Rank A or S? I''ve never met them before. If I do meet one, I''d like to fight them'' He thought.


    "John, are you floating in space again?" Ariel asked.


    The 3 of them were walking on their way to the guild.


    "Space? I float in space?" John asked.


    "No, it''s what my uncle used to say whenever I was distracted. I wish I could see what you were thinking about," She said.


    "Hm? I was just thinking about what sort of adventurer''s we might encounter, and if it''s a Rank S or Rank A, I''d like to fight them." John said.


    The two gave him a surprised expression.


    "John, you realise they are rank A for a reason, right? Why would you like to fight them? They''re in apletely different league from us Rank D or C like us." Said Serena.


    "Wow, now I''m more curious to meet them. The highest rank I''ve ever seen or fought was a B-Rank," John said.


    "You fought a B-Rank!? Why?" Serena asked.


    "It''s a long story, but he was threatening us so John didn''t have a choice," Ariel replied.


    "Why would a B-Rank threaten you... Wait, that''s not important, what matters is that you guys came out fine..." Serena said with a relieved expression.


    "Mhm," John said as he continued to walk.


    "Ah, by the way, what happened in the fight?" Serena asked.


    "John won, well, he told me that the adventurer surrendered so when John dropped his guard, he got hit by a surprise attack and fainted," Ariel said.


    "You didn''t have to add thatst part... And I didn''t faint because of his attack. It was before I wasted too much magic power holding back. I could have ended it from the beginning if I had frozen himpletely, that way he wouldn''t be able to chant." John arrogantly said.


    "I don''t even know what to think right now, but what I can do is proudly say ''As expected of the guy that beat me!''," Serena said.


    "Wait, why are you feeling proud about that?" John asked as heughed.


    "We''ve arrived!" Serena said while changing the subject.


    The guild lookedpletely unlike any other he''d seen so far. No, honestly, every other guild he''d seen looked sort of run-down, but still in a condition where everything wouldn''t break down.


    This looks like they hired workers to maintain it. A big wooden and concrete building. Not to mention it looked clean from the outside. It wasn''t very big, but it was at least big enough for them to fit 3 floors in.


    "John... Is everything okay?" Asked Ariel.


    "Of course, why do you ask?" John said.


    "You''re crying..." Replied Serena.


    "Ah really, sorry! It''s just... when you see people taking good care of what founded your dream job, you sort of feel happy." John said as he brushed away my tears.


    "Dream job..." Ariel muttered.


    "Yeah, bing an adventurer has always been my dream. What about you two?" John asked.


    "Dream, huh... I guess it would have had to be to go travelling with my master?" Serena replied.


    "Then, for me, it is to keep travelling with John." Ariel dered.


    "I-Is that so... Me too... But that wasn''t what I meant. Nevermind, I''ll exin itter, we''ve been standing in front of the guild for quite a while and it looks a bit weird." John said.


    The two nodded and together they walked inside.


    The first thing John noticed when he walked in was the vast amount of adventurers that were there. Sat on the tables, there were over 30 adventurers in the room. There were also a lot of tables.


    The vibesing off of these adventurers made them look like professionals. Some of them had unique looking armour too, John could tell just by looking that those guys were strong.


    For example, there was a girl who appeared to be a ninja standing by herself near the walls. She wore a violet cloak which covered her entire body, allowing you to only see the face. It looked so cool, John didn''t know there''d be ninjas in this world.


    ''Maybe she''s an assassin?'' He thought.


    As he was lost in thought, Ariel grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the counter with a receptionist as he was just standing there in the middle of the room.


    "John... You''re not getting cold feet, are you? I never expected the guy who beat me to be nervous over standing in front of adventurers." Said Serena with a smug look on her face.


    "Huh? I was just checking to see if there was anyone strong enough to fight me, and surprisingly enough, there are a lot." John said.


    "Why do you wanna fight someone so bad? I don''t mind us having another duel." Serena said.


    "I don''t mind fighting you either, John." Ariel dered.


    "No, to be honest, I''d rather not fight you, Ariel. To be honest, you''ve gotten so good with wind spells, I''m not sure I could win. Besides, I don''t want to fight just for the fun of it. I just want to see my Actual ranking level." John exined.


    "Oh... So that was why... I was starting to think you were a battle addict." Serena said.


    "Since we''re going dungeon exploring today, I won''t be wasting unnecessary energy in duels," John said before approaching the counter.


    "Excuse me" John called out to the Receptionist.


    "How may I help?" She asked.


    "We''re nning on exploring any of the 4 dungeons which surround the kingdom. Is there anything specific I should know?"


    "Is it your first time going to a dungeon?" She asked.


    "Yes," John replied.


    "Very well, As you know, a dungeon contains many floors, the further you descend the stronger the monsters get. Any adventurer is allowed in the dungeon as long as they are Rank D and above. You will need your Adventurer''s card as verification and proof." said the receptionist.


    "I see... And regarding the dungeon, how exactly do we make money from it? Isn''t most of the treasure in the first few floors already taken?" John asked.


    "Not necessarily. The dungeon is alive, or to put it simply, it lives off of monsters and humans that die there. If a monster dies, it will be turned into a magic stone and its body will be absorbed into the dungeon as nutrients, the same happens if a human dies. You can sell the magic stones obtained at the guild or use them to enchant weapons and armour," Said the receptionist.


    ''Enchanting... I wonder if I could use that sort of spell... Hehehe... The possibilities are endless.'' John thought to himself.


    "I see... Looks like dying isn''t an option." he said.


    "Yes. Monsters are also much moremon in dungeons than in the wild. There are traps in there which can result in you being teleported into a room with a horde of monsters or you might just encounter a horde out of nowhere by climbing down. Either way, it''s unpredictable and dangerous." The receptionist exined.


    ''What''s this weird feeling of Deja-vu... Oh, I remember, it''s from the receptionist from the other kingdom. I feel bad for suddenly disappearing without telling her anything. I hope she''s doing fine.'' John wondered.


    "That sounds troublesome... So are we allowed to go right now? To any of the 4? I heard they each have different levels of difficulty. Which is the easiest? Is it the one near the port?" John asked.


    "Didn''t you just hear what I said? It''s dangerous! Kids like you shouldn''t be doing such reckless things." Said the receptionist.


    "Thank you for worrying about us, but it''s fine. These two are strong, they can handle themselves. Besides, aren''t adventurers supposed to be reckless?"


    "Just make sure you three stay safe and take good care of each other..." Said the receptionist as she let out a sigh.


    "Yes! I''ll make sure to take good care of them," Serena replied.


    ''Well yed, Serena! Knowing that we have an adult with us should make the receptionist feel more relieved.'' John justified to himself.


    "Yes... You''re a good kid taking care of your friends." Said the receptionist.


    "K-Kid... I-I''m 15 already... I''m an adult..." Said, Serena.


    "I''m sure you will be soon..." Replied the receptionist with a joking tone.


    At the receptionist''s sudden reply, Serena did nothing but stay quiet. She appeared to have taken some emotional damage from that joke.


    John''s body began to tremble as he held in myughter.


    Seeing this, Serena''s empty expression changed into an annoyed one.


    "All right, you said you wanted to spar and test your level. Why don''t we take this outside?" She said.


    "W-Wait, i-it''s fine, I don''t have enough magic power to spare. I''m sorry!" Apologies are the best methods of escape.


    "To answer your question. If you''re serious about exploring dungeons, I suggest you prepare a camping kit and food supplies. If you have one put it in a magical toolbox as time doesn''t pass inside so the food will never spoil. The smell also won''te out and attract monsters to your location." Said the receptionist.


    ''Wow, she''s a pro¡­'' John thought.


    "And make sure that you go to the dungeon near the port. It''s for beginners and less dangerous than the other ones. Understood?" She asked.


    "Yes!" John replied


    --------------------------------------------------------


    After thanking the receptionist, they left the guild and arrived at the dungeon entrance.


    Unlike every other time, Ariel and John weren''t the centre of attention in the guild, or rather, everyone was busy worrying about their own life.


    ''This isn''t good... I was nning on travelling around the world, but I might get addicted to living here¡­'' John thought.


    "Anyways, we''ve finally arrived!" he said.


    They stood near one of the ports in front of the entrance to a giant tower. There was a guard which was guarding the entrance and making sure there weren''t any trouble makers going inside and that everyone that went in was Rank D or Above.


    Honestly, the dungeons were the only source of ie for adventurers in As, meaning they wouldn''t be able toplete hard quests which would rank them up from F to D in a rapid motion like John.


    ''Simply because we were literally in the middle of the sea. I''m so d those bandits decided to raid us¡­'' John thought.


    He looked at Ariel and Serena to see how they were doing. Serena didn''t seem nervous or excited at all, she just looked the same as always. No, wait... always would be annoyed. So unlike always, she looked calm. If she remained like this most of the time, she would be a lot more pleasant.


    "Did you just say something?" Serena asked as she stared at John.


    ''Whoa... can she feel my thoughts?'' He wondered.


    "N-Nothing at all," John replied.


    As for Ariel, in the beginning, when they were approaching the dungeon she had an excited look on her face, but now that she''s standing directly in front of it she looks nervous.


    Seeing that, John patted her on the head and said. "Don''t worry, you have me and Serena here to help. Besides, you should have more faith in your abilities. You''re a lot stronger than you were before." he said with a smile on his face.


    "That''s right, we''re a party, as long as we work together, everything will be fine," Serena added.


    "Yes! Thank you, I''ll also do my best to help" Said Ariel with a relieved and less stiff expression.


    "It''s fine, Well then, let''s hurry up and go, I can''t wait!" John said as he grabbed on to their hands and led them to the guard.


    "Scram, this isn''t a ce for kids." Said the guard without batting an eye.


    "We''re adventurers," John replied.


    "ID?" He asked.


    They handed him their ID''s, and he allowed us through.


    "My bad, I thought you were one of those kids who would juste here and start causing trouble." Said the guard.


    Hearing that, Serena''s brows twitched.


    "I-It''s fine, mistakes happen, you''re just doing your job," John replied.


    ''Oh god... I''m sure getting constantly called a kid must be annoying... It''s probably better if I don''t mention it. She looks very annoyed right now. If Iugh, I might note out of this dungeon alive.'' John thought.


    "Okay, we''re finally here," He said as they walked inside.


    The two girls nodded at what John said.


    ''Dungeons... Exploration.... I''m so excited!!!'' He eximed internally.

 Chapter 21 - 22: Dungeon Exploration

    The instant they walked inside, they felt a change in the air pressure.


    "So this is what being in a dungeon feels like. I thought it was a tower. Howe we''re going down? Won''t we flood?" John asked.


    "From what I''ve heard, all dungeons are underground. So maybe the tower on the dungeon only exists for aesthetics or appearance?" Serena replied.


    "So that means, they''re trying to make the dungeons easier to identify," Ariel replied.


    ''So that they can scare any countries nning on raiding... By building towers on them, they''ll emphasise their value and worth.'' John thought.


    They all nodded after reaching their conclusions while they continued to walk deeper and deeper.


    Originally they were going downstairs, but now they''ve reached the first floor.


    ''There should be other adventurers fighting so, let''s detect them.'' John decided.


    "Deprehendre.".


    John cast his favourite scouting spell as he continued to walk through the first floor.


    "What!?" John said.


    "What''s wrong!?" Serena and Ariel asked.


    "Try casting magic at these walls. No, wait I''ll do it." John said.


    "cies".


    John cast cies at these old mossy strong walls that surrounded them, and on impact, it evaporated. The same would happen to any other element. Ariel and Serena then gave a look showing that they realised what he talking about.


    "I was right. These walls have some sort of anti-magic imbued to them. They''re slightly broken right now, but they''re hard. Not to mention my deprehendre was cancelled out by it." John stated.


    "What''s your deprehendre?" Serena asked.


    "I''d like to know too..." Ariel added.


    "Ah, that''s right. I never showed you guys it, did I? Basically deprehendre allows me to detect how many and where the enemies are within a distance of whatever I like." John said.


    "What!? At the use of a word?!" Serena asked.


    "Every spell I use is like that," John said.


    "C-Can you teach me how to use it?" Serena asked.


    "Can you teach me too?" Ariel asked.


    At this point, John couldn''t deny Serena''s offer.


    ''Well, she seems trustworthy enough to learn a scouting spell. It''s not as difficult as concept elemental magic.'' John concluded.


    "Yes... yes... I''ll teach you both. But for now, we''re in the middle of a dungeon. Put your guards up. I felt the presence of around 10 monsters in the room in front of us." John answered.


    They walked forward with their guards up and as John thought that, they saw 10 kobolds.


    The kobolds noticed them and began to let out annoying screams as they rushed at them.


    Ariel was prepared to cast, while Serena was already casting. When John signalled them to stop.


    "No need to waste your magic here. We''re going to try to reach the 3rd floor today, so leave this to me." John said.


    "Ventus" John muttered.


    The instant he said the word. The heads of the 3 Kobolds who were charging at him were directly sliced in half. The moment they died, their bodies evaporated and as soon as it did, Magic stones were left there on the ground.


    The 7 which were right behind them stopped in their tracks.


    "So those are magic stones." Ariel muttered.


    "Yes, mages can also use them as mana reservoirs to cast spells. In other words, with these, we don''t need to be worried about running out of magic power." Said Serena as she looked at John.


    ''Okay, okay, I didn''t know about that. And to be honest, I wanted to show off a little too.'' John thought.


    "Hm... True, we''ll keep some to sell and some to use for our spells." John said.


    "What about them?" Ariel asked as she pointed at the 7 kobolds, who stuck to a close formation as they approached them.


    "Ah, that. Do you guys mind if I handle it? I already started." John asked.


    The two nodded.


    "Alright, I''ve always wanted to try this. Soo... Ignis, cies." John said louder than normal.


    Above his left shoulder was a Blue me the size of a baseball, and on his right shoulder, there was a cies the size of a 2 Litre water bottle. This cies was bigger than normal.


    "D-Double casting!?" Said Serena with a dumbfounded expression.


    "Ah. It''s just like that time." Ariel said.


    She was probably talking about when John used ''Silentium'' and ''Furtim''.


    "Nice observation, just like that time," John replied.


    "What time?" Serena Asked.


    "It''s a long story. I''ll tell youter." John Said.


    John continued facing the group of monsters as they were nearly right in front of him and aimed his me and Ice Spike at them.


    "A blue me!?" Serena said.


    "But John! That me-".


    Before Ariel could finish, John propelled that me towards that horde of monsters. Before propelling it, he had increased its size to the size of 4 Basketballs so that it would engulf the entire group.


    The monsters who had enough intelligence to work together were unable to get away in time. On impact, the fire engulfed their entire group. Soon their screams of pain ended and their bodies evaporated.


    "But now the fire-".


    "Don''t worry, look," John said as he pointed at the mes which were disappearing.


    "What?" Ariel said.


    "The dungeons'' anti-magic floor and walls are reacting with the me, which is causing it to disappear," John said.


    "Then why did you create that Ice spike above your shoulder?" Serena asked.


    "Well, in case it failed. I would use this to evaporate the fire after I increased the size of this spike." John replied.


    "You''re pretty smart aren''t you John..." Said Serena.


    "I studied hard," John replied.


    "After we leave the dungeon, I want you to exin," She said.


    "I''ll exin, but you won''t be able to tell anyone. I''m only doing this because I trust you." John replied.


    "T-Trust..." She repeated with a smile on her face.


    ''What''s that reaction supposed to mean?'' John wondered.


    "Okay, let''s move on." They walked up to the magic stones and picked them all up. They also ced it in the magic toolbox.


    "Tell me when you guys get hungry. I put enough food tost 3 days in the toolbox. It should be getting full soon though." John said.


    The two nodded.


    ---------------------------------------------


    It had been around an hour since they entered the dungeons. So far, they''ve been killing monsters as they advanced deeper and deeper. There were a few traps like treasure chests and different rooms, but John was still able to use deprehendre to detect traps. It just can''t detect things over the walls.


    "How troublesome, maybe I should just break these walls with magic reinforcement?" John said as he punched it and left a crack on it.


    "W-what!? Don''t do that John!" Said Serena.


    "John, you might end up getting us trapped inside." Said Ariel.


    "It was a joke. Come on, do I look like the kind of guy that enjoys breaking stuff?" John asked.


    The two looked like they were deep in thought before nodding.


    Recalling the events that have happened so far, for some reason, John couldn''t deny them.


    "Crap... I actually do..." John muttered.


    He then turned to face the direction they were originally heading.


    "Let''s go..."


    The two nodded and continued following John.


    So far, they''ve fought using a pretty simple formation. John attacks the front, Ariel and Serena support from behind.


    Ariel has been using Ventus while using the magic stone''s mana as a reservoir, while Serena has been using both the magic stones and her Wand. As John had thought, wands contain magic stones in them which can be recharged using magic stones or the mage''s mana.


    ''So that''s why she didn''t feel tired after using so many spells in our fight.'' John thought.


    They didn''t really need to use any formation, since they can just hit any monster, which they see with a magical bombardment. However, that would be boring.


    As John was lost in thought, they had finally arrived. A huge door which gave the vibes of the final boss''s room.


    "Guys, I think this is the 1st-floor boss''s room. We''ll continue using the same formation we''ve used so far. If it gets too dangerous for me to fight it close. We''ll bombard it with spells from midrange." John exined.


    John didn''t expect to find the boss''s room this fast, it''s been only an hour.


    So far, the dungeon has been a maze with weak monsters. They would walk in a straight line, then they would hit a wall and would then be forced to choose between left or right, with empty old rooms around them which were most likely traps.


    ''But now we''re finally here. I wonder how strong the boss is. I can''t wait! I''ve been getting tired of killing Kobolds, even if it''s only been an hour.'' John thought.


    "Is everyone ready?" John asked.


    "Yes!" Said the two girls as they nodded.


    "Alright, then let''s go," John said as he pushed open the door.


    Inside was a room identical to a king''s chamber. At the end of the room stood a throne and on it, there was the boss. Behind the boss and the throne was a door which would probably take them down to the second floor.


    The boss was an armed bigger version of the kobold; it wore a Worn out iron armour and had a knife looking sword on its waist. It got up after seeing them enter.


    "What is that?" John asked.


    "That''s a Kobold King. Unlike regr small kobolds. This is a special one which can control kobolds and strengthen them." Serena exined.


    "Ah, so he is the boss. He looks stronger than the Goblin King, but in the end, he''s just the boss of the first floor. It''s quite funny how he''s sitting on a throne." John said.


    Realizing that John was mocking it, the Kobold King let out a piercing roar.


    "I''ll leave him to you two," John said as he sat down on the floor behind him.


    "What are you talking about!?" Said, Serena as she started to cast.


    "John, we should be training our teamwork even if it is weak," Ariel said.


    "You''re right, but in the end, he''ll just be taken out in one hit by my cies or Ignis. We won''t be practising. Besides Ariel, you and Serena can easily take it out yourselves. This won''t serve as practice just as a waste of energy." John exined.


    The Kobold King who appeared to understand his insults fell in deep rage as he started to rush at them as if it could understand John''s insults.


    "Fine..." Said Serena.


    "Understood!" Said, Ariel.


    After it arrived on their side, the Kobold King, who was aggroed at John, swung his giant sword at him.


    "Fast. Definitely faster than the goblin king. But not fast enough." John said as he jumped back to dodge it.


    ''Not bad. I might''ve underestimated it. They can still handle it, though.'' John thought.


    "Ariel, Serena. Now!" He shouted.


    The two who had finished preparing their spell used it.


    "Ventus!" Said, Ariel.


    "Fireball!" Said, Serena.


    Serena had already started casting before Ariel, so her spell was ready by the same time as her. During the moment, John gave the signal, they bothunched their spells at the Kobold King.


    It was super effective. It''s the right hand who held the sword was sliced off, while the left side of its body waspletely burnt. Its left hand was probably unusable.


    "Wow... Ariel, you should be able to easily take out the goblin king alone and Serena, you''re already super strong. How strong are wepared to an A-Rank adventurer?" John asked.


    "An A-Rank Swordsman adventurer could take out this Kobold King easily in one hit." She said.


    "Hm... I see... So, in other words, this monster isn''t that strong. But it''s stronger than the Goblin King, so why was surprised in the guild after we took out the goblin king, Ariel?" John asked.


    "It was probably because we were orphans, most people don''t expect Orphans to take out any kind of monster, but we were able to take out a C-Rank goblin king." She said.


    "Hm... That makes sense. Don''t forget to finish him off." John said as he pointed at the motionless, nearly dead Kobold King.


    "Ventus!" Said Ariel as she nodded.


    "Fireball!" Said Serena As she finished casting.


    ''Rest in peace. You were the same Rank as a goblin king. It must''ve sucked to be looked down upon, and I''m sure I annoyed you, I''m sorry.''


    John thought as the Giant Red Fireball and the Wind de finished it off.


    After dying, a Red Magic Stone which was bigger than the purple ones from the weak monsters was formed and the dead body of the kobold King was absorbed into the dungeon.


    After the body got absorbed, the door which stood behind the throne opened up.


    "Well then, you guys want to continue and go to the second floor? Or head back?" John asked as he picked up the slightly big red magic stone and put it inside of his Magic toolbox.


    "We''d like to continue!" Said the two after nodding at each other.


    "Alright then, Let''s continue our dungeon exploration!" John dered.

 Chapter 22 - 23: 2nd Floor

    It had been 30 minutes since they''d started walking through the second floor. Unlike the first floor, the second floor had more than one species of monsters. There were Kobolds and Goblins. 2 Weak monsters.


    As they had nned, they continued to fight with John as the vanguard and Ariel with Serena as the support.


    They were unstoppable. The number of monsters had increased, and they were encountering groups more oftenpared to floor one, but they still didn''t encounter any adventurers.


    They also saw a few Weirdly coloured but bigger than normal magic stones lying around and decided to leave it in the toolbox. The stone''s origin was probably from the death of adventurers.


    "John! Enemies!" Ariel said as Serena started to prepare her spell.


    "Again? Haven''t we already killed like 60? Since when do goblins and kobolds even work together? Tch, Alright, I have an idea. Let''s deal with this group first." John said as he looked at the group of Goblins and Kobolds.


    There were around 6 Goblins and 4 Kobolds, armed with Swords which were probably the only remains of the corpses of the adventurers they killed.


    "For some reason, I feel really mad. Ariel, Serena! We''ll do it like usual! After I attack them head on with my daggers and break their formation, you guys finish them." John said.


    "Yes!" Ariel Replied.


    "You don''t have to tell me twice," Serena replied as she gave the signal that she had finished casting and that the spell was ready.


    "Alright," John said as he enhanced his body with magic strengthening and charged at them. The more magic he circted through his body, the stronger it got. With magic stones, it can get even stronger as John will have more power to be able to circte.


    But John didn''t need magic stones, as it felt like every day his mana pool or reservoir had been growing quite quickly too.


    In a single leap, John was able to cover the distance needed to get to them and in a single swing, he sliced off the head of the two goblins and kobolds who stood at the front.


    Seeing theirrades getting obliterated so easily, struck fear in the hearts of the monsters. Seeing them tremble in dread made John feel bad for them. But thatpletely disappeared once he saw the weapons that they were holding.


    "Now!" John shouted.


    And at that moment, the two girls who had their spells ready cast it.


    A giant ball of fire appeared and so did fairly transparent wind des. These attacks were then propelled at the group of monsters who had lost their formation after John attacked them.


    As the fireball and the Wind des were about to impact on the group. John lept back to Ariel and Serena''s side to dodge, and as always, the formation worked.


    6 Green magic stones and 4 Purple magic stones were formed as the corpses disintegrated or were absorbed into the dungeon.


    "Well done, you two," John said as he walked up to them after he picked up the magic stones and ced them in the already full pouch.


    They''ve been using some of the magic stones so that they could keep and sell the lower-level ones. They had around 50 when they left the 1st floor and now only had 30. Each small stone from the weak monsters breaks after one use of a Giant spell like fireball or Ventus Tormentum.


    John hasn''t been using any, because he doesn''t need them. But after seeing magic stones, he got an idea. Since he won''t be using a wand or daggers. Why dosn''t he make gloves with magic stones imbued in them!? That would not only look awesome, but it would also feel awesome.


    "Regarding what you said, How will we be able to pass through without being detected?" Asked Serena.


    "Ah John, you haven''t shown her that yet have you?" Ariel asked.


    "Nope, I was waiting for this moment. Both of you, grab on." John said as he stretched out each of my hands.


    "W-Why?" Asked Serena.


    "Just do it," John said.


    "Fine." Serena said as she grabbed on to John''s hand.


    "Silentium, Furtim" John muttered after Serena and Ariel grabbed his hands.


    In that instant, they had turned invisible to the other enemies, and their magic power was also being hidden. This is the power of John''s strongest stealth skill, Furtim. Combined with his Silencing Spell Silentium.


    Serena gave him a confused look as it appeared as if nothing had happened, but when she attempted to question it, no sound came out.


    John deactivated furtim and silentium to exin what just happened to Serena.


    "What just happened?! I wasn''t able to talk!" Said Serena after she realised that she was able to talk again.


    "Rx, you''re overreacting. All I did was make us invisible to anyone who wasn''t cloaked with my Furtim spell and prevent any sound from travelling within a certain field. Luckily it worked since I''m using it on us and not the dungeon itself." John said.


    "Overreacting? You just removed my voice and said something about us bing invisible as if it were something normal and you expect me not to overreact?" Asked Serena.


    "Ariel, took it pretty fine," John said as he looked at her.


    "That''s because I trust John." She replied.


    "No, I don''t think that''s the case here, I trust John too but it''s normal to react this way, right?" Serena said with a deeply confused expression.


    ''Crap,I should''ve made it seem like it was something harder to do.'' John realized.


    "Well, let''s leave the overreacting to after we leave the dungeon. Besides, let''s see if it will work in a dungeon. Now, let''s go find the dungeon boss." John said.


    "Yes!" Ariel Replied.


    While Serena simply nodded her head.


    ''Is she alright?'' John wondered.


    John should be able tost over a few hours without magic stones, due to the current size of his mana pool. With the addition of magic stones, they should be fine.


    ''Well, guess I''ll just have to find out.'' John thought.


    "Don''t let go, no matter what. Furtim, Silentium." John said as he grabbed on to their hands.


    The two nodded in response.


    ''Will this work or not? Time to find out.'' John thought.


    ---------------------------------------------------


    They walked for 10 minutes without deactivating the spells and finally encountered monsters. The monsters were unaware of their presence as they passed by them. They didn''t even have to worry about the sound of their footsteps; it was convenient, way too convenient.


    ''With this, we should be able to easily conquer the dungeon... No... Even if we can get past them, there''s no point if we can''t beat the boss. Not to mention monsters of lower floors should be able to detect us. My spell does have a few loopholes, like smell for example.'' John thought.


    John noticed this as they walked past the goblins. They weren''t able to see them, but they kept constantly sniffing the air as if they could smell them. It''s a good strategy to get them to the boss''s room on the early floors, but it won''t be of much help after dropping a few more levels.


    That being said, John wondered how many floors a dungeon has.


    ''Maybe Serena knows something about it.'' He thought.


    As John thought such things, they had finally arrived. A giant door much like the one they previously saw on the 1st floor which led to the entrance of the boss room.


    Before we entered John decided to ask "Hey Serena, How many floors does a dungeon have?"


    "The Highest recorded number on this one was 17. Those whopleted the dungeons disappeared and never mentioned anything about it. However, there was a case, where a man whopleted it said there were 20, but it was never confirmed." She replied.


    ''I see. So it''s that sort of thing huh'' John thought.


    "You two ready?" John asked as he let go of their hands.


    "Yes" They replied as they nodded.


    "Then, Let''s go," John said as he pushed open the doors of the boss room.


    Much like the room of the 1st-floor boss, it was a big chamber. The only difference was now there was fire illuminating the Chamber and there was no longer a throne. Instead, there stood a motionless Goblin King in the middle of the chamber.


    The Goblin King wore leather and iron armour and held a Giant iron sword in its hand.


    "What, it''s just a goblin king. I beat one of these already. They''re weak and slo-".


    Before John could finish, he was interrupted by the Goblin King who was rushing at them when they stepped inside its chamber.


    "Something''s wrong. He wasn''t this fast before. He''s a lot stronger. Serena Starting Casting. Ariel Prepare to use the cannon when I give the signal". John said.


    The two nodded at what he said.


    "Tch, I kind of regret underestimating you." John uttered.


    After he said that John activated magic strengthening and circted magic through his Daggers, before running at him.


    "I''ll hold him off! Tell me when you guys are ready!" John said loud enough for them to hear it as he approached it.


    "Yes!" Said the two of them.


    With the momentum from the dash, John parried the swing of his giant sword with his daggers. He had been supplying it with a lot more constant magic than usual, so they were stronger than ever.


    Having only an iron sword, his sword broke on impact and during that opening. John swung both of his daggers together in an X motion and cut off both of his arms.


    After that, he let out a roar filled with pain and rage. Now that he was unarmed he wouldn''t be able to block any of the attacks Ariel or Serena would throw at him.


    "We''re Ready!" They shouted out.


    John lept back to give Ariel and Serena the space they needed and at that moment; he felt a Cannon of wind pressure pass by on his right side, while a Fire lion ran by his left. The Target of these two insane spells was the Goblin Lord.


    The first to hit the defenceless goblin lord was the wind cannon from Ariel. After being hit by all that wind Pressure, the goblin lord was sent flying to the wall which looked broken after impact.


    The wind cannon was then followed up by the Fire Lion, which was significantly slower than it. But the Goblin Lord was already immobile, so it didn''t matter. After the fire lion reached the Goblin lord, it bit on to him and began to burn his body.


    Shortly after, the goblin lord''s body had turned into a Big Purple Crystal. The Size Of a 500Ml water bottle, unlike the small ones which looked like 50Ml water bottles, in terms of size.


    John picked up the magic stone and brought it back to the girls so they could see it and the Lion dispersed into the air. It was a really handy and strong spell. John thought that he would like to learn more about its concept.


    "So, pretty big isn''t it?" John asked as he showed them the magic stone.


    "Wow... I guess it''s what you''d expect when you fight a monster that strong. But John, you could''ve beaten it alone." Ariel said.


    "Sure, I might have been able to beat it alone, but for how long? We need to improve our teamwork and he was a great practice. I feel like we make the strongest team!" John said with a bright smile on his face.


    "Well then, how about we see how far we can go after 3 days? That''s how long our food willst, if we ration it, it should be 6, just enough toe and go. But we''ll stay here for 4 days depending on what you''d want." John said.


    "Well, if everyone''s fine with it, I don''t mind... Staying 4 days." Said Ariel.


    "It does look like it would serve as good teamwork training. Just make sure you don''t underestimate dungeons too much." Said, Serena.


    "Yes, Yes... You''re always too serious, you need to smile more often." John said as he started to pull at her cheeks in an attempt to make it into a smile.


    "Wha-! S-Stop!" She said with an embarrassed expression.


    ''So she can be cute if she tries.'' John thought.


    "Alright, my bad. Anyways, why don''t we start making our way to the third floor? I wonder what awaits." John said as he eagerly walked ahead of them to find out.


    "Ariel, I''ve been thinking about this but... Isn''t John super strong?" Serena asked.


    "Yes, John is super strong and kind, he always helps a person in need," Ariel replied as she looked at John with idolizing eyes.


    "I see..? I don''t know about the kind part but he is strong and helpful so I guess you''re right." Said Serena as she stared at him.


    "Huh? Did you two say something?" John asked when he was already on the other side of the chamber.


    "Nothing!" They both replied as they smiled at each other.


    ''I wonder what they were talking about? Girls are girls... I wonder if I should add another party member to the party. It''d be nice if he was a guy. That way I''d also have someone to talk to like them. Maybe I should do that.'' John wondered.


    And so,they moved on to the third floor, and John thought about what to do after they leave the dungeon.

 Chapter 23 - 24: Origin

    The third floor.


    As soon as they went down the stairs to the third floor, John casted a Deprehendre.


    "There are people here... Quite a few of them. They appear to be fighting" John said after using deprehendre


    He was able to adjust his deprehendre to suit the dungeon. The only problem is that it can only detect things that are nearby and it still can''t really go through the wall


    "So they''re farming the dungeon too. Why didn''t we see anyone before we came here john?" Ariel asked.


    "I''ve been wondering the same thing. There were a lot of people lined up outside." John said.


    "Most experienced people just rush through the dungeons. We took our time to fight the battles and search for the floor boss but the veterans just go down to the floor most optimal for farming." Serena said


    "Ah... So they realised that those low level Magic stones weren''t worth much and decided not to farm them." John said.


    "Yeah, pretty much." Serena replied.


    "Hm... But aren''t goblin ears supposed to be worth 10 silver each? How much are those magic stones worth?" John asked.


    "The goblin magic stones are worth 7 silver each. The kobold stones are worth 5 silver each." Serena said.


    "I''m guessing their prices are that low because they only have a one time use or don''t contain that much mana?" John asked.


    "Not really, I don''t know why either. But I think 5 silver each is a good deal. The stones break after one use, and we can''t really use these weak ones that easily break on wands or magic tools." Serena answered.


    "I see..." John muttered.


    "And besides, the professionals rush through it because they know that the stronger the monster, the better the rewards. Which is why they don''t waste their energy on the beginner floors. That being said, we''ll probably find more people around the 4th and 5th floors." She said.


    "Ah, okay, I understand now. You''re quite knowledgeable aren''t you?." John asked.


    "Hm? Well I had nned to go dungeon so i thought it''d be a good idea to learn more about it." Serena replied.


    "I''m d you both are here, I probably wouldn''t be able to enjoy it this much by myself." John said with a relieved face.


    "You better be" Said Serena with a smile on her face.


    "We''re d john''s here too." Said Ariel who was also smiling.


    ''Crap, I feel like something got on my eye. It feels a bit watery.'' John thought.


    "Thanks. Let''s move on, Also unless they ask for help don''t help them. It''s their prey and some might not like us attacking it. Don''t forget that most of these guys are just here to make money." John said.


    "Yes!" They replied.


    "Aren''t we here for the same thing?" Serena asked.


    "Well yes, but we''re mainly here to get an understanding of it. Next time we''re back we''re rushing through in order toplete it." John said.


    "Complete it!?! We''d need to at least be an S rank to do that." She said.


    "Maybe notplete. But we''d at least try to see how far we could get. It''s been at least 3 hours since we started, and we''re already on the third floor. At this rate it won''t even take us a day to reach the 5th floor assuming each floor is 1 hour long." John spoke.


    "Alright... I''ve been wondering... How do you know how many hours it''s been?" Serena asked.


    "I''d like to know too." Ariel added.


    "Body clock." John said.


    "What?" They asked.


    "A body clock. I''m leaving it to my instincts. After spending countless nights studying, paying close attention to the time while I did. I developed an ability to be able to freely guess correctly, how much time was passed without using a clock." John said.


    "Study... Weren''t you a homeless person? Why would there be a need to study? To be honest, you''re able to count aren''t you? Since when can someone homeless do Arithmetics?" Serena asked.


    "Ariel can do arithmetics" John replied.


    "My uncle taught me." She said.


    "Exactly! She wasn''t always homeless, someone taught her. So who taught you? I''m even more curious about your background now. You can use chantless spells and you erasemon sense when ites to magic!" Serena said.


    "Serena... John''s life is his privacy. Don''t you think you''re being unfair by forcing him to talk about it? He''ll tell us when the time is right." Ariel said.


    "But..." Serena muttered.


    "It''s fine, Ariel, besides I was nning on telling you guys anyways so might as well exin it while we walk." John said as he began walking forward.


    The two gave each other a confused look but followed me with curious looks on their faces


    "Ariel, before we met. I didn''t know who I was. My name was the only thing I could remember. I didn''t know where I was, why I was there or anything about the kingdom. Almost as if my memory had been erased or altered." John exined.


    The two continued to listen quietly as they walked.


    "Furtim," John said as he grabbed on to their hands.


    They continued to walk but John didn''t activate silentium so they could hear his story.


    "Confused, I walked around and met a guy called Will. He gave me a few Appas and told me about adventurers. That was when I got the idea of bing an adventurer."


    "So that''s how you met will..." Ariel muttered.


    "Yeah, and it was also how I met you. I was heading towards the guild to be an adventurer when I saw you sitting down on the alley. At that moment, I thought ''she''s just like me.'' and went to ask you to join me on my adventurer. I was really happy when you epted!" John spoke.


    "I was also really happy when John invited me..." Ariel said.


    "Can you two stop flirting in front of me?!" Serena spoke.


    "We''re not!" John and Ariel said simultaneously.


    "Yeah, yeah and what happened next? How were you able to use magic without chanting?" She asked.


    "So everything I told you, so far, had happened on the same day. Me and Ariel signed up as adventurers and we went to the forest to hunt for monsters and sell them at the guild. While I did lose memories of my life. There were 3 things I still remembered. My name, life skills such as arithmetics and finally The concept of magic." John exined.


    "The concept of magic?" Serena asked with an amazed expression.


    "That''s right. I understood the concept behind each element. Fire, Water, Earth and wind."


    "How is that possible? No wizard so far has been able to understand the concept of a single element much less all 4... Who taught you?!" She asked.


    "I don''t know, I told you I lost my memories. I don''t know how I knew that. But that doesn''t matter. What matters is that I know it. So me and Ariel got in an ident, on that day. A giant boar attacked us, We were caught off guard and we were in trouble. At that moment, something inside me triggered and I used magic without chanting." John answered.


    John felt bad for lying to them but he couldn''t let them know that he was reincarnated from another world. John just felt like he shouldn''t. He also didn''t wish for that information to spread. Even though he knew they wouldn''t spread it.


    "That''s a lot to take in. I''m d you both made it out safe, I think I understand, You were able to use chant-less magic because you understood the concept, right?" Said serena.


    "That''s right. But you know what''s the most bizarre thing of all? Everything I told you happened on the same day. Meeting ariel... Bing an adventurer... I feel like it was all a part of fate. Even meeting you too." John added.


    "Fate..." Serena muttered.


    "But yeah, if you really want to learn how to use concept magic, I don''t mind teaching you. Just know that you can''t tell anyone else, as it will break the current power bnce over this world." John said.


    "Understood. If you really wish to teach me I would be deeply grateful and I swear on my name that I wouldn''t tell anyone about it without your permission." She said.


    "It''s fine, there''s no need to swear on your name. As long as you understand, besides I already told you that I trust you, so if you feel like it''s necessary to tell someone what it is, it''s fine. Just make sure you never teach anyone how to use it. At least for now." John said.


    "But why do you trust me so much? We''ve known each other for less than a week." Serena said.


    "Would you sleep in the same room with someone you don''t trust?" He asked.


    "T-That was because you were paying, and Ariel was there. I couldn''t leave her alone in the same room with a guy. If you tried anything i would have beaten you up." She replied.


    "I-I was joking... But yeah, it''s just a feeling? Besides, you don''t look like someone that betrays others." John said.


    "If you keep thinking like that, then you really will be betrayed!" Serena said with a worried expression.


    "Why are you worried about a guy you just met?" John jokingly asked.


    "Shut up." She said as she lightly punched me.


    ''That being said, I''m only going to teach her the concept of fire. Knowing too much would put her in even more danger. But she had a point, why am I so trusting? Why did I decide to teach her?'' John wondered.


    "But yeah, I''ll teach you when we''re outside, we might be overheard from here."


    "Yes! Thank you." Serena said with a bright smile.


    ''We''ve been walking for quite a while now, why haven''t we encountered any monsters? Even if we''re invisible we should have at least seen them lurking around. Is it because the adventurers which I had detected Earlier have been killing them?'' John wondered.


    John did see blood on the walls, that might exin it.


    ''Where are they? Let''s see if I can find them with deprehendre.'' John thought.


    "Deprehendre" John muttered.


    ''Wha-? I can''t detect them anymore. No wait... Something''s wrong. Something''s been wrong for quite a while.'' John wondered.


    "John, Ariel, there''s something i haven''t told you guys... I''m an El-"


    "No one move. Something''s wrong" John said.


    The moment he said that, the walls on their side began to move. Creating a path which had a Giant door at the end of it.


    "What the hell? That looks like the door to the dungeon boss room... But why? What''s going on? Is this the dungeon''s doing?" John asked.


    "John... The path in the direction we were heading. It''s disappearing" Said Ariel as she pointed in the direction they were heading.


    The mossy walls and the bricks were breaking down. Darkness was all you could see, an endless abyss. The same was happening behind them. Leaving their only option to head to the room which had appeared out of nowhere


    "Let''s go!" John shouted as they followed the path to the giant door.


    ''Is this the dungeon''s doing? I heard that it was alive but why us? Why is it targeting us?'' John questioned himself.


    "Serena, do you have any idea of why this might be happening?" He said as they ran.


    "T-There have been cases where people activate traps and are teleported to lower floors in the dungeon! But i don''t recall us falling into a trap!" She said as they ran.


    "Crap! At any rate! We''re going to have to face whatever is on the other side of this door if we want to survive" John said while running..


    After we arrived at the entrance,Johni pushed open the door and we went inside. Shortly after we were in, the door behind them shut itself closed.


    Once, they were inside. John could feel the little hair he had on his body stand. He felt chills go down his spine at the insane amount of bloodlust being let out from it. John looked at the other two and saw them also trembling in fear.


    John then, looked at the direction where this pressure wasing from.


    "Are... You... Kidding me..." John muttered as he could hear the sound as he gulped down.


    Serena and Ariel did the same and froze. It was a spider den, literally. Giant Eggs with a Giant spider standing in the middle of them on a web. The spiders of about their size were crawling around the giant spider which was their mother. The giant spider remained motionless as it appeared to observe them.


    "Serena, Lend me your staff for a second." John said as he grabbed the bag which held magic stones.


    "A-Alright..." She said as she handed it to him.


    The spider who noticed John was nning something, shot a web at them, from its mouth. The web was very fast, reaching their side of the room in nearly a second


    "Scutum cies." John muttered as he moved out of the way.


    The Spider web pierced the shield and hit the wall, but the ice on the shield began to slowly engulf the web and spread toward the spider. Seeing this the spider let go of the web and became wary of them.


    "Sphaera cies" John muttered as he held on to Serena''s wand.


    The sphere of ice which took half a minute topletest time waspleted in only 5 seconds, thanks to the help of the wand.


    "Sphera cies Spheara cies Sphaera cies Sphaera cies" John repeated, over and over as he casted even more ice spheres to fully envelop them in ice. Seeing this the Spider let out a shriek which appeared to have been a signal to attack.


    John consumed 5 magic stones and created a giant sphere of ice which not even the spiders web could prate.


    "I''ll wait until you guys are able to calm down. At this rate, we won''t be able to get out of here. I won''t be able to beat it without your help." John said as he ced his hand on their shoulder.


    ''This is a really bad spot. I''m scared, I can tell that this isn''t the full power of that spider. But I can''t show it to them. I''m the leader of the party, I need to stay strong at this moment, even if it''s just faking it.'' John affirmed to himself.


    "So, take all the time you nee-"


    Before John could finish, the 5yers of Ice sphere he had ced were broken.

 Chapter 24 - 25: Hope

    The Giant spider who John had lost sight of, broke it. She stabbed it with four of her legs and made a big hole, through it.


    John pushed Ariel and Serena Out of the way and leapt back to avoid its legs after it had prated through the sphere.


    "I know you two are scared. I am too... But if we don''t do something... We''ll die. So face your fears head on, I know I''m asking for much, but I can''t do this without you guys!" John shouted.


    The two who realised they were dragging John down, got up. They were still shaking but faced their fears.


    "S-Sorry, for dragging you down." Serena said with trembles in her voice.


    "D-Don''t worry about us john, W-We''ll back you up." Said Ariel who also had trembles in her voice.


    "T-That''s the spirit. I''ll keep itpany, you guys deal with the other spiders. Make sure you use these wisely." John said as he threw 10 Magic stones each at them.


    "B-But john! You''ll need these to fight the queen!" Said Ariel.


    "It''s fine, besides there''s no way I''ll be able to carry all 30 of those and fight at the same time." John replied.


    "D-Don''t die..." She said with tears in her eyes.


    "Who do you think you''re talking to? I''ll be the best advent-"


    Before John could finish, the spider broke the remaining ice and tried to stab him with its leg. He evaded it by leaping forward and was directly under it. In that instant he cast cies, and made a really big one with the cost of two magic stones.


    "Die." John said as he propelled the Ice Spike at the Spider.


    Despite being right under it, the Spider managed to dodge his giant cies by jumping back.


    "Oi... Are you serious? You''re able to dodge something at that range? You''re like 10x my size." John eximed.


    John was acting like he wasn''t at all threatened but deep inside, he could barely breathe straight. Not only was it big and fast, but it''s also intelligent. It seems to really care about its life.


    ''Thank god, the other spiders aren''t attacking us, but watching us as if they are waiting for the giant spiders'' orders.'' John thought.


    "John, can I have my wand back?" Asked Serena.


    The spider wasn''t attacking and was only observing so now would be a good time.


    John leapt back and dashed towards Serena before handing her the wand.


    "Start Chanting." John said.


    She nodded and began to chant.


    The spider, again, stayed still and just quietly watched them.


    John leapt back to my current position and stared at it.


    "How about a deal? Let us go and I won''t kill you." John said.


    The spider seemed to have been smart, so it should be able to have understood what John meant.


    "What do you think good deal righ-"


    Before John could finish, the Spider leapt forward and tried to pierce him with one of its legs, he barely evaded it by jumping sideways, but while he was in the air, it used its other leg to attack.


    Being midair John wouldn''t be able to dodge, so he cast ''Scutum cies'' Right before it hit him.


    After being hit, John was sent flying straight to the door they had entered from. Before he reached the door John created an ice wall to cushion his hit.


    It didn''t help much. After all the pain from getting hit by the spider and hitting the wall was unimaginable. John couldn''t even breathe.


    "T-that''s a-all you g-got?" John said as he coughed out blood.


    ''It hurts, I''m scared, I want to cry, I want to leave. I want to give up, but what''s going to happen to these two if I do? I''m scared but I''m even more scared of losing the people close to me. I''m hurt but not being able to help them would hurt more.'' John thought to himself.


    John stood up but his consciousness was beginning to fade. He was starting to lose focus over his senses from the pain and his head was spinning.


    John looked towards Ariel who was running towards him and Serena who seemed to be casting a fireball. He then looked at the spider who appeared to be rushing to him, while shouting something.


    John then realized that the spider who had been watching most of the time, was rushing at him.


    "Ignis" John muttered.


    In the instant he said that a blue me was formed above his head. The spider who was rushing at him stopped after seeing the me he had formed. John signalled at Ariel to wait and she understood.


    "Bigger." John said.


    Another stone broke and the Blue me got bigger.


    "Bigger, Bigger, Bigger." John repeated over and over again.


    Three more magic stones broke and the Blue me was even bigger than the spider itself.


    "BIGGGEEEERRRRRRRR!!!!" John shouted with all his remaining energy.


    In that instant, 2 more magic stones broke and the me''s size and heat increased. It looked 3x the size of the spider and the light from the brightness nearly covered the entire room.


    "Magnum Ignis" John said.


    With this me formed above his raised hand, John slowly walked up to the spider.


    With this size, it wouldn''t be able to dodge it, but John didn''t want to get Ariel and Serena caught up in the attack, so he walked and approached the spider who was slowly retreating after seeing the giant me.


    "Die!" John shouted after he was far enough so that Ariel and Serena wouldn''t get caught up in the attack.


    The moment he shouted that, the Giant Blue me which was formed above his head, propelled itself towards the spider. After contact, everything around it was set on fire. The spider''s web and nest including all the spiders there began to burn. John couldn''t see any traces of the big spider as the fire was too big.


    "They should be all dead" John muttered to himself.


    "John!" Shouted Ariel as she ran up to him.


    "Yes, that''s me." John replied.


    After she finally reached him, she jumped to give him a hug.


    "I told you to be careful!" She said as tears streamed down her face.


    "Yes... Yes... I know... I like hugs but i think my bones are broken so it really hurts, so could you please let go." John asked.


    "No!" She said as she continued to cry.


    ''She looks just like a baby. I''m so d I didn''t give up. I can''t even imagine what life would be like without her.'' John thought.


    After a few more seconds, Ariel finally let go of the hug and John looked over to Serena. He waved at her and she gave him a thumbs up.


    When John was about to shout and ask her if she was fine. The expression on her face changed to fear.


    John turned around to see what she was talking about but before he could, he felt Ariel pushed him out of the way. It had quite a lot of power in it, and since John had no strength he was pushed to the side and fell.


    While John fell, he turned to Ariel to see what happened, and the sight shocked him.


    Ariel was sent flying back, with a wound on her stomach thanks to the spider''s attack.


    Seeing this, John realized. This wasn''t some sort of fantasy yful world where everything is filled with excitement and enjoyment. This was reality, a reality where he and anyone he cared about life could die at any time.


    John deeply regretted not listening to what the receptionist had said at that time.


    And as he watched the spider move, its hand with Ariel on its mouth, he felt rage... So much rage that he couldn''t hold it in. But at the same time he felt powerless.


    "Ah- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" John Screamed as he stared at the motionless Ariel after she hit the wall.


    "I''ll kill you... Magnum... Ventus..." John muttered as he cut off the arm it used to attack Ariel.


    The spider was in bad shape after taking his attack head on. It had lost 2 of its left legs, one of the right and the left side of its body was burnt. Thanks to being weakened, it wasn''t able topletely evade his Ventus and lost one of its front legs.


    It backed up to see what sort of move he''d make next, but in that moment he didn''t care. John took the opening it gave him to rush to Ariel.


    John didn''t know what sort of expression he was making, or didn''t know how he looked as he ran towards Ariel. But he didn''t care. Tears streamed down his face as he made the most powerless figure. But John didn''t care. All he could think about was how she was doing.


    John ran and ran. It was the hardest run he had ever done in his life. The pain, the spider, his wounds. He couldn''t care less.


    After reaching Ariel, John checked her wound. It was bleeding, but it wasn''t deep. Before she was hit John could feel wind gathering up, so she probably used it as a shield. She was breathing, but it was slowly getting weaker.


    "Ariel... Stay with me okay... Please..." John said as he began to cry.


    "John... I''m sorry..." She said as tears streamed down her face.


    "Don''t waste your energy talking. Don''t fall asleep. Stay with me!" John said.


    The spider who could barely stand, slowly began to approach them, meanwhile Serena cast the fire lion and ran towards them.


    Meanwhile, John was thinking of how he could close the wound on Ariel''s stomach.


    John began to gather his mana on Ariel''s stomach and imagined the wound closing. The remaining magic stones broke as he began to use the energy within them to close Ariel''s wound.


    "Close... Close!" John repeated over and over again.


    But nothing happened. John was pouring magic into the wound, and imagining it closing. But it didn''t work.


    Tears streamed down his face as he punched the ground thinking about how useless he was.


    Meanwhile, Serena was keeping the spider at bay by casting fire spells at it. It was weakened so Serena wasn''t having any problems. But it wasn''t dying, it constantly evaded her attacks. John felt a deep desire to kill it but couldn''t leave Ariel''s side.


    John took off his shirt and cut it so that he could use it as a bandage. John then tied it over Ariel''s stomach wound to prevent the blood from flowing out. It wasn''t much help but all he could do now was hope that it would slow down.


    ''At this rate, she''ll die... The only reason she''ssted this long was because she was able to create a wind shield at thest moment. It wasn''t perfect, but it prevented it frompletely piercing her stomach.'' John thought,


    "S-Someone... Please... I don''t care who... please save her... SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!" John shouted as hard as he could.


    In that moment, the door where they came from, opened and from the outside John could hear a female voice.


    "Man, Looks like there are people already fighting the boss. I thought we were the only ones who came to this floor," Said a red-haireddy as she walked in.


    John and Serena looked confused as a partyposed of a Swordsman, a tank, a mage and a Priest walked in. The spider also stopped fighting Serena to watch.


    "I did, have you ever seen anyone on the tenth floor aside from us?" said the tank.


    ''10th floor? Did he just say 10th floor?'' John thought with shock.


    "Of course not, we''re the strongest party in the city." Said the tank.


    "Hey kid, what happened here?" The Red-haireddy asked as she walked in, with her party.


    ''By the kid, does she mean me?'' John wondered.


    "Are you deaf?" She asked as she looked at John.


    "U-uh... We had fought against that monster and one of myrades got injured." John said.


    "Luke." She said


    "I''m on it." Said the blue-haired priest.


    He walked up to Ariel, and John stopped him.


    "What are you nning on doing?" I said with a cold look in my eye.


    "Don''t worry, I just want to see her condition." He said.


    With no choices left, John let the man see Ariel.


    "Her condition?" The girl asked.


    "If we leave her as is, she''ll die. But it''s nothing I can''t heal. You''ll have to give me some time." He said.


    "Huh? Who do you think you''re asking? I''ll give you all the time you need. If that monster gets moves a single step closer. I''ll kill it." She said.


    Feeling the bloodlust, the spider retreated even further back.


    "Hey kid, you and that red-haired girl were fighting this thing, right? That means it''s your prey. We''ll watch over your friend. Go finish that spider off." She said.


    ''My ribs are broken too... Either way.'' John thought,


    "Thank you very much." John said as he bowed to her in deep gratitude as tears streamed down his face.


    When she walked in, John remembered a feeling he had long lost after the death of his parents, hope. John hoped that they would be able to do something for Ariel, and now that they offered to, he felt an insane amount of gratitude. John was really happy.


    "You can thank me by finishing off your prey. Avenge your friend." She said.


    "Yes!" John replied with a relieved smile on his face.


    "You... you have a few broken bones, I''ll heal you." Said the priest.


    "It''s fine, please focus on helping my friend. Today I realised something. I''m weak, I''m truly weak. So I need to get stronger. To protect the people I care about. Besides, I''d rather finish our fight without healing. To make it fair." John dered.


    "Well said. Now go. I have a few questions to ask so don''t die." Said the Red-haireddy.


    Hearing those words John leapt towards Serena, she was closer to them thanks to the pressure of the spider.


    "Hey, Serena. Thanks for protecting us. I''ll take it from here, you must be tired right?" John said after reaching her.


    "Hey John, Yeah, a bit. I''ll leave it to you. Who are those people?" She asked.


    "My hope" John replied before heading towards the spider.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" She muttered.


    The spider seemed quite disturbed by his presence.


    "Hey spider, it''s been a while. Could it be, you''re scared of me? Haha, funny. But it doesn''t matter, because this fear will be thest thing you have in you before death." John said.


    "Hey Ria, why didn''t you let me heal him? Are you just going to let that kid fight that thing alone?" The priest asked.


    "Don''t worry, the captain has a good eye for things. Besides, if it gets dangerous we can always save him. It''s just a spider after all." Said the tank.


    "I wasn''t able to detect a shred of magic power from that kid." Said the mage.


    "Yet he and his party were able to do that much damage to the spider queen? Just watch, he''ll surprise you." Said the red-haireddy.


    The spider let out a shriek as it felt John''s killing intent. Perhaps it realized that it''s life was in danger


    "I''m feeling really angry right now, You hurt someone precious to me, and would''ve killed her if these people didn''t arrive.. Can you feel it? My bloodlust?" John asked.

 Chapter 25 - 26: Rage

    No matter how hard John tried to remember, nothing came up. His previous life was empty, having been home-schooled most of his life and only introduced to high-school after turning 14 made him a very socially awkward person.


    More like he wasn''t able to interact properly with kids his age. Adults, people who knew him would always say things like ''He''s so smart'' or ''Wow, I wish my kids were like this'' But honestly, he hated it.


    More like John hated himself. He wasn''t very good at making friends, Even when he''d go to the park to y with kids his age, he''d always somehow manage to annoy them. Even now he couldn''t remember why.


    Eventually, John stopped trying. The only people who were actually close to him were his cousins and uncle. Aunty was always a bit quiet, but she deeply cared for them. His 2 cousins who were in their 20s were like older siblings to him.


    Honestly, John lived with his uncle, and aunty by himself, but his cousins would asionally visit. It was thanks to them that only recently at school he started interacting with people more often, and he felt as if he had finally made a friend.


    Now that he thought back, he may not have been depressed, but he was pretty lonely at school. He thought if he studied hard, his parents would be proud of him and he''d be epted into society. So he studied and studied and studied.


    Sure it was stressful, but as long as John thought about what it would result in, his drive continued to grow, and as he was living at the best he ever had, it was then that he lost it all. A car ident, just like his parents. Ironic, isn''t it?


    When he first came to this world. John met Ariel, he didn''t have any trouble talking with her, and back then he wasn''t sure why, hell he was not even sure now. But since they''ve met, she''s continued to amaze him. She works hard, faces her fears. She did things John wasn''t ever able to do in his past life.


    The more time he spent with her, the more he realised how fun it was to have someone close to you, experiencing many new things with you. Because of her, John never felt alone in this world.


    ''I guess she was like my first true friend? I might''ve had one in the past, but I can''t remember.''


    ''I always wanted to ask her why she would sacrifice herself for me? A stranger she''s recently met.'' John thought.


    Seeing Ariel nearly die. Seeing the same powerless feeling return, the fact that he wasn''t able to do anything. John felt something inside him snap.


    "I''ll kill you..." John muttered.


    The spider let out a loud shriek as it noticed him approaching.


    "Hey spider, do you know what that feeling is called? The feeling where all your hope is crushed? That feeling is called despair. I''ve felt it quite a few times in my life, especially after my parent''s death. I wonder what sort of sounds you''ll let out once I crush your hope." John said.


    The spider who had lost most of its speed used threw its web at him. John easily evaded by sidestepping to the left and waited for its next move. The spider''s movement was severely lowered thanks to his Magnum Ignis, and it also appeared to be out of energy.


    "What''s wrong? Are you tired?" John asked.


    The spider let out another shriek as it tried to stab him with its right front leg. But John also evaded it by slightly jumping forward.


    "Be quiet." John said as he wordlessly cast ''Magnum Ventus''.


    2 of the 10 Magic stones he got from Ariel were broken and in that instant, an insane amount of wind pressure cut off the spider''s front leg. Shortly after the spider let out a shriek which was different from the others. It was a shriek of pain


    "This could have been avoided," John said as he wordlessly cast Magnum Ventus again.


    Another two magic stones were broken and he had cut another right leg. The spider who was having difficulty bncing its body let out another shriek of pain as it had both of its front legs and only had 3 legs remaining. There were 2 on the right side left and 1 on the left.


    "Do you get it? I''m purposely leaving your only left leg intact, so I can see you struggle. I could''ve killed you at any moment. But I won''t instead I''ll hear your screams of pain as I continue to dismember you." John said as he wordlessly cast another ''Magnum Ventus''.


    Another two magic stones were broken, and he had cut another of its right leg. The spider let out another shriek of pain as it only had one leg remaining on each side of its body, it could barely bnce its body.


    "Oh, what''s wrong? Did you drop a coin? It looks like you''re having a little trouble standing up. Need a hand?" John asked as he raised his hand.


    Above it, a Small blue me appeared. The size increased Considerably after 1 Magic stone broke.


    "John! Stop!" Said Serena as she hugged.


    ''When did she get here?'' He wondered.


    "Let go." John coldly said.


    "No... It''s enough John. Just stop..." She pleaded.


    "What are you talking about? We need to kill that thing. It hurt Ariel!" John shouted.


    Serena continued to hold on without letting go.


    "I know, I''m angry too, but you need to calm down John. If you keep going like this, you won''t be able to return!" Shouted Serena as tears started to flow down her face.


    "Boss, why didn''t you let me purify that kid?" Asked the priest.


    "What are you talking about?" asked the red-haireddy.


    "The kid, I''m sure you noticed the dark miasma around him. He was cursed by a monster." Said the priest.


    "Shut up and watch." Said the red-haireddy.


    "What are you talking about I''m ca- Huh... What''s going on with me... Why am I crying..?" John asked as tears began to stream down his face.


    The giant Ignis which was formed above his right shoulder slowly began to disappear.


    "It''s alright John... Ariel''s fine now...," Said Serena as she stroked his head.


    As his anger began to slip away, he was ovee by the emotion of sadness and joy.


    "What... Happened to me..?" John asked as tears streamed down his face.


    "I''ll exinter..." Serena muttered as she continued to hug me.


    "That kid, the miasma, it disappeared... he managed to get rid of the curse on his own!" Said the priest.


    "If that kid wants to get far as an adventurer, he can''t let a weak curse manipte his mind. Now, I suppose it''s my turn to head in." Said the-red-haireddy as she lept towards them.


    She reached them in barely any time at all.


    "Hey kid, you did well getting rid of the curse. Leave the rest to us." Said the red-haireddy as she patted him on the head.


    "Thank you..." John said as he bowed.


    Serena whose face was still red from the hug also bowed and said "Thank you".


    Thedy gave them a smile before she headed towards the spider. After she reached the motionless, weakened spider. She drew her sword and cut it in half. Had John''s vision not been enhanced thanks to magic strengthening, he wouldn''t have seen her movement at all. That''s how clean it was.


    Her skill was definitely top tier. He''d stand no chance if John were to fight her. No, in fact, he wouldn''t even be able to react.


    The moment the spider died, a big Green magic stone, at least 30 Cm in diameter, was formed and the door to the next floor opened.


    Thedy picked up the stone and carried it over to John and Serena before saying. "Here''s your reward.".


    He and Serena looked at each other with a confused expression before saying. "Eh?".


    "Your reward." The Red-haireddy repeated.


    "No, I don''t get it? We can''t ept this, you were the one that finished it." John said.


    "Stop being such a brat. Your teammate fought for this and deserves it. I''m not so petty that I''ll steal someone''s money, or do I look like that kind of person?" She said as she red at John.


    ''Her attitude was bad, but she seems nice.'' John thought.


    "O-Of course not," He said.


    "So take it. Don''t forget that you could have finished it at any time. I just did it so that you could get rid of that curse." She said.


    "Curse?" John asked.


    "Yes... When you were fighting, there was this dark air around you... It was going to possess you so before it did. I stopped you." Serena said.


    "That''s right, if this girl hadn''t stopped you, you would''ve been possessed." Said the red-haireddy as she handed him the Green magic stone.


    "I see... Thank you, Serena." John said as he showed her a bright smile.


    "I-It''s fine." She said as she looked away.


    "Um... regarding that stone. How exactly will I be able to carry it back? My magic toolbox is full,"John said as he pointed at the toolbox that was stuck to his waist.


    "Oh, that''s fine. We''ll carry it for you, while we apany you back," Said the red-haireddy.


    "You''ll apany us? Wait more importantly, where are we?" John asked.


    "You don''t know? We''re on the 10th floor of the dungeon. How did you guys get here?" She asked.


    "We fell into a trap," John replied.


    "I see... You can give us the detailster. For now, let''s go check on your friend." She said.


    ''Why is she offering to help a random party she just met? I don''t really get her.'' John wondered.


    ''I don''t get her but... When she arrived, I was really happy.'' He thought.


    After reaching Ariel and her squad, John checked to see how she was doing.


    "How is she?" he asked with a restless look on his face.


    "She''s fine, she''s just sleeping right now." Said the priest.


    After hearing his words, John felt his eyes start to tear up, and a giant load of weight got lifted off his chest.


    "You''re quite a cry baby, aren''t you?" Asked Serena.


    "Shut up... Something got in my eye..." John said as he covered his face.


    "Sure, sure," She said with a grin.


    Despite her teasing, John wasn''t annoyed like usual; he was actually relieved and happy, they could still y around and joke like always.


    "Hey, Serena..." John said.


    "What is it?" She asked.


    "Thank you for protecting us while Ariel was injured, and I''m d that you weren''t injured," He said.


    "W-Why are you being so kind all of a sudden, it''s creepy..." She said.


    ''Creepy... Me...?'' John questioned.


    "Ah... I see..." He said with a sad face.


    "Cheer up, I was joking, I''m d that you''re doing fine too, wait, weren''t you injured?" She asked.


    "Oh, yeah... That''s right... OWW!" Johnshouted in pain.


    The adrenaline which allowed him to handle the pain had finally run out. Seeing this, the priest who had healed Ariel rushed over to his side and started to heal his wounds.


    "You shouldn''t push yourself, especially after that fight. I''d like to know how 3 kids were able to weaken the spider that much. And that blue me you created, can you show me again?" He asked.


    ''Please don''t ask me these things when I''m on the verge of fainting¡­'' John thought.

 Chapter 26 - 27: The Strongest Party

    "Back me up." Said the Red-Haireddy as she cut through the minotaurs as if they were paper.


    "What exactly am I supposed to back? You killed them all," Said the mage.


    "Huh? Did you say something?" She asked with a cold look in her eyes.


    "N-Nothing at all." He replied.


    ''So this is what the strongest party in As is like. What amazing teamwork.'' John thought.


    They were currently on the 5th floor; they had a map which contained the structure of the dungeon up to the 13th floor. It''s been 4 hours since they left the boss room and they''ve apanied them so far.


    They hadn''t asked John anything regarding how he fell into the trap or told him to exin what happened in the fight before they arrived, so he guessed that they were being considerate of him.


    John was carrying Ariel on his back, she was fast asleep, and Serena had been observing the proimed strongest party and seeing how they worked as a team.


    John did the same, it was pretty interesting. If the enemy was strong enough to survive the red-haireddies attack and attack back. She would either dodge it or have the tank block it and kill the enemy. A simple, yet effective strategy.


    The mage wasn''t doing anything, or rather, he didn''t need to. To be honest, John wasn''t sure what he was doing. He would asionally chant something, but nothing would happen.


    ''Maybe it was a buff? Like a speed or strength boost, buff? I wasn''t sure what it was, but he seemed to be working hard, so I didn''t ask. The mage also seemed interested in how in the spells I used against the spider, but he also didn''t ask.'' John inferred.


    For the rest of the journey back, it felt awkward. But John didn''t care, he was always in a good mood thanks to Ariel being fine. He couldn''t ask for more. John wouldn''t mind giving them all the gold coins he had, but judging by the way, their leader, the Red-Haireddy acts. She wouldn''t ept or need it.


    --------------------------------------


    After 6 hours, they finally made it to the exit of the tower. It was nighttime, and the fresh breeze felt amazing. It felt like John was being purified simply from inhaling the fresh air. He took a deep breath and let the nice cool air fill his lungs as he let it out in a singr motion as he exhaled.


    "Thank you very much for apanying us back. As requested, I''ll answer your questions to the best of my ability as thanks." John said.


    "Thank you," Serena added on.


    "What well-mannered kids... It''s fine the boss helped you because she was worried about you. She may act scary but she''s honestly really soft." Said the tank.


    "Shut up..." Muttered the boss as she hid her face.


    "K-Kids..?" Serena said.


    "Y-Yes, is something wrong? Ah, my bad, I assumed you were a kid thanks to your looks. I''m sorry." Said the tank.


    "I-I look like a kid..." Serena muttered with an empty expression.


    "S-Sorry, I had no idea you were older." Said the tank.


    "I-It''s fine... I''m used to it..." She said with a nk look on her face.


    She seemed to have taken some emotional damage from his words. The fact that he was trying to be sincere must have hurt even more.


    "Anyway, what are your names? If you don''t mind me asking." John said.


    "Ah, that''s right, we haven''t introduced ourselves. My name''s Lee. The soft-hearted boss of ours is called rose-"


    "What was that?" Rose asked.


    "The mage who you see quietly reading a book is Oliver and that priest who healed you is called Alex. We''re all A rank adventurers." He said.


    "I see Nice to you. My name is John, The girl on my back is Ariel and this kid is called Serena."


    "John, what did you just say?" Serena asked with an annoyed expression.


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about," John said as he shook his head.


    "Um, Rose, you said you''re an A rank adventurer, right? You see, John here was looking for a rank adventurer to fight. Do you mind sparring against him?" Serena asked.


    ''Eh? Serena, you didn''t just do that, did you... Well it should be fine Rose is soft-hearted after all, there''s no way she''d ess-'' John thought.


    "Sure." Said rose.


    "W-Well, Rose has apanied us this far, I''m sure you''re quite tired, right?" John said as he began to nervously sweat.


    "No, I''m fine." She said.


    John looked towards the tank with an expression that said ''please help me'' but he looked away as if he were too afraid to stop her.


    "L-Looks like we have n-no choice, when is the match?" John asked.


    "Now''s fine, there''s space and if anything happens Alex can heal you."


    ''W-what did she just say? Am I going to die.'' John dreaded.


    "O-Okay..." John said as he handed Ariel over to Serena.


    ''Sorry, Ariel, I thought we''d be able to talk onest time, but it looks like my life will end tonight.'' John thought


    They prepared themselves for the fight and got in their positions.


    "Very well, 3..." Said Lee.


    ''O-On second thought, I think I''m a bit too tired.'' John thought,


    "2..."


    John began sweating and looked towards Serena for help.


    "1..."


    Serena gave him a mischievous smile and acted like it wasn''t any of her business.


    "Go."


    The moment he said go, John felt every hair on his body stand as Rose let out bloodlust.


    "U-Um Ros-"


    Before John could finish, rose leapt forward and swung her leg in a motion to kick him. He barely dodged it by ducking. She then used that moment to direct another kick with her left leg while her body was turned.


    John blocked that kick and his arms felt numb.


    "You''re holding back, aren''t you?" he asked.


    "What do you mean?" Rose asked.


    "You''re not using your sword and you were much faster when we were fighting against the spider and other monsters in the dungeon," John said.


    "So you want me to use my sword... Okay." Rose replied.


    Eh?


    -----------------------------


    "It''s my loss."


    While facing the sky with his head on the floor, John surrendered.


    It happened in an instant. She pulled out her sword and lept towards John. He pulled out his daggers and strengthened them to block her attack, but when he did, she disappeared from his line of sight.


    By the time he realized that she was above him, it was already toote. She hit John with the handle of the sword in the head and he fell.


    In a real fight. John would''ve been dead. Things might have ended differently if he used magic, but he still would''ve lost. Johncked experience and losing sight of an enemy in a fight is something not even magic can save you from.


    "You did well, for a kid." Said rose.


    Hearing her words put a tear in his eye. Rose, a red-haired, intimidating looking woman, who was both good looking and scary. However, in her nature, she was a good person.


    "Thank you, Let''s fight again some time. Next time let''s give it all we have and no holding back."John said as he wiped away his tears.


    "Sure." She said.


    She was a quiet person, though. John wondered if she''s dating anyone.


    ''She''s surrounded by guys, so one of them should be her boyfriend, right? Well, whoever it is. Good luck!'' He thought.


    "So John, how did it feel? Did you enjoy your A-Rank adventurer fight? Hm? Aren''t you going to say that I told you so?" Serena said as she approached John.


    "Argh. Yes, you were right, you told me so, I should''ve listened to you," John said.


    "Huh? John''s admitting it? Did you perhaps hit your head or something?" She asked with a smile on her face.


    ''Calm down John... Thanks to her everything is fine, don''t lose your cool.'' John consoled himself.


    "Remember what you said. ''I can easily defeat A-Ranks I''m not afraid of them.''"


    "Okay! I get it!" John yelled.


    "Haha, are you mad?" Serena asked.


    "How can you be so annoying!" John shouted as he began to chase her around.


    --------------------------------------------------


    "So John, can you exin to us how you and your party ended up on the tenth floor?" asked Lee.


    "Of course," John said.


    Right now, they were in one of the restaurants in As. After they had finished talking, they were going to the guild to redeem their rewards. John killed a few monsters with Serena while they were going down the floors, so they should be able to make quite some money, not to mention the giant magic stone from the spider.


    And so John exined everything that happened to them. He told them how they had defeated the boss on the second floor and after walking on the third floor; they had lost signs of life. He also told them how everything started to turn to darkness and their only option was to enter the boss room, which appeared out of nowhere.


    "That''s... That doesn''t sound like a normal trap. It felt like the dungeon itself wanted to get rid of you. Or at least something controlling it." said Lee.


    "That''s right when you said trap. We assumed you might''ve fallen into a teleport circle, however from what you''ve said, there wasn''t any room you stumbled upon or any teleportation. If it was teleportation, you wouldn''t have seen all that darkness or the destruction of the dungeon''s structure," Said Oliver.


    ''He''s quite talkative if it interests him, isn''t he?'' John thought.


    "Not to mention, the curse ced on you. That can only be done by monsters found on floor 15 or higher." Said, Alex.


    "Oh yeah, that curse Serena and Rose talked about... Speaking of floors, how many floors are there in a dungeon? What''s the furthest you''ve guys gone?" John asked.


    While they were heading up the floors, the number of other parties we saw increased. He thought they saw over 20 people in total, especially on the 4th and 5th floor.


    "The dungeon you went to is the easiest one, it mainly contains weak monsters. There isn''t a need to farm it. The amount of floors depends on the dungeon, but the one you went to in particr has 30. The furthest we''ve gone is 20," Said Lee.


    "And if you''re nning onpleting these dungeons, I suggest you don''t. The kingdom can operate properly because of them. If youplete them they''ll disappear, so unless you don''t wish to be an assassination target or the enemy of the nation, it''s better if you just use it to farm cash. There are other dungeons out there." Said, Alex.


    "I thought as much, thank you for the warning, but I never really nned toplete them. I just wanted to see how far I could get, and what the final boss would look like," John said.


    "They''re a lot stronger than you can imagine." Said rose.


    "That reminds me, you guys farm the harder dungeons, right? What''s the furthest you''ve gotten on the hardest one out of the 4?" John asked.


    "The 5th floor on the red dungeon. Never attempt going there unless you have a full party." Said Rose.


    ''5th floor? Are you serious? They reached 4x further in the beginner dungeon. How hard is the red dungeon?'' John thought with surprise.


    "Understood," He replied.


    "The blue me you made and the invisible wind de. Can you show us it one more time?" Oliver asked.


    ''Looks like he was very interested in it.'' John realised.


    "Sure, Ignis," John said as he lifted his finger.


    And above it, a small Blue me was formed.


    "!?"


    "I don''t think I would be able to use the wind de in the store, it''s a bit dangerous," John said.


    "You... How are you able to use chantless magic?" Asked Oliver with a curious and surprised expression.


    "T-That is something I am not allowed to say, sorry," John said.


    "A kid was able to use magic without chanting... When researchers are still trying to find a way?! Who was your master?" He asked.


    "I''m not sure, I don''t remember, but I lost memories of my past, but I do remember him being some sort of Great sage," John said.


    ''Lies, Complete lies. But honestly, I feel like if I don''t say that, this dude will ambush me at night and torture me until I tell him. Nah, he may look addicted to the topic of magic to the point where he bes talkative, but there''s no way. He''ll try something like that, right?'' John wondered.


    "You said you can use wind de, right? That means you can use the chantless fire magic, Wind magic and ice magic?!" He continued.


    "How did you know I could use Ice magic!?" John asked.


    "I didn''t, I saw residue of ice in the chamber, so I assumed it was either you or one of your party members. Either way, the fact that you can use all of these elements without chanting is something unheard of. People could try to kidnap you just to obtain the information." He said.


    ''It''s toote. They already did. The king of Haulfast.'' John said to himself.


    "It''s fine, I''ll be able to protect myself," John said.


    "And you''re party members? You''re putting them at risk. You and your members need to be stronger. Strong enough to reach the 20th floor together. I suggest you find a 4th member,"said lee.


    "Yeah..."


    With his current strength, John was weak. The only reason he had survived this far was thanks to good fortune. John thought that he should go to a church and start praying to God and thank him for giving him a second chance at life.


    After they were finished with eating, they went to the guild and exchanged their magic stones to money with Rose''s party.


    In total, they had killed 5 Minotaurs from the 5th floor, 10 spiders from the 9th floor, rested through the 8th, 7th and 6th floor and killed 10 Wolves from the 4th floor. They didn''t have any more space, so they didn''t kill any more.


    ''Unfortunately, we weren''t able to fight any other boss as the boss won''t spawn if you''re climbing up. It only spawns if you''re heading downwards. But it''s fine, we already got the magic core needed.'' John thought to himself.


    "Right so, 5 Minotaur magic stones, which are 5 Gold in total. 10 Big spider magic stones, which are 30 Gold coins in total. 10 Wolves which are 5 Gold coins. Here''s your reward: 40 Gold coins." Said the receptionist as she handed it to John with a dumbfounded expression.


    "Thank you," He said as he took the reward.


    -----------------------------------------------


    "Are you sure you don''t want to sell it?" Asked Lee as he pulled out the Spider queen''s magic stone from his toolbox and handed it to John.


    Thankfully, they were in the inn and so no one had seen them. Otherwise, people would''ve tried to rob him while he was asleep or even awake.


    John took the stone and put it into his toolbox before saying. "It''s fine, I''ll use it to improve my party''s strength."


    "Well said," Said rose.


    "Well then, we''ll be leaving," Said Lee.


    "Yes, thank you again for all the help," John said.


    "No worries, if anyone messes with you. Come tell us, we''ll teach them a lesson." Lee said.


    "Yeah," Rose added.


    John never knew one word from one person could make him feel so safe.


    "Understood, till we meet again," John said as he waved at them.


    They waved back and left.


    "Is it okay for such a kind and cool party to exist?" John asked.


    Their kindness had deeply moved him.


    "Let''s go to sleep John, I''m really tired." Said Serena.


    "Okay. Let''s go to sleep, I''m also quite tired myself." John said as he carried the sleeping Ariel on my back.


    And just like that, their temporary team with the coolest and strongest party in As ended.

 Chapter 27 - 28: Magic Stone

    Morning came, and Ariel waspletely recovered. She got emotional when she saw that John and Serena were alive and started to cry. Flustered John exined to her in a hurry about what happened and how a party saved them after she passed out.


    She felt grateful for what they did and nned on thanking them if they ever met again.


    That happened this morning. Right now they were on their way to the cksmith after finishing breakfast. There was something John wanted to do.


    "So John, what exactly are you nning?" Asked Serena as they entered the smithy.


    "Nothing much, just improving our equipment." John replied.


    With their daily fees, food and advanced payment of their stay at the inn. They have exactly 106 gold coins left. Counting silver takes too long, so John didn''t bother. Instead, he exchanged all his silver to gold.


    "Um, excuse me. Mr cksmith, you have customers." John said out loud.


    A muscr dwarf came out of the back room shortly after and said. "I''m the owner of this smithy, what can I get you?"


    ''He reminds me of the cksmith back in Halfaust. Coincidence? I think not.'' John thought.


    "Well, I wanted to improve our current gear. I already have in mind what I want." John said.


    "Is that so? What is it?" He asked.


    John walked up to him and told him about the wand he wanted to make for Ariel while Ariel and Serena were looking around and what the man crafted.


    "I see... However, for that you would need a strong magic stone, one that is able to be refined and has enough magic capacity." He said.


    "Will this stone do?" John asked as he pulled out the green magic stone from the box.


    "!? T-This!" He said.


    "This?" John asked "This stone will definitely do, no in fact, it''s more than enough. It''s great for the core, and will be able to be easier to use after refining," He said.


    "I''ve been wondering, what does refining a magic stone do?" John asked.


    "If you refine a magic stone, it will be easier to use and you will be able to recharge the mana within it." He said. "Oh! That sounds promising. Also, with this size I should be able to make more than 1 magical core right? Isn''t it too big?" John asked.


    "No, it''s possible topress it. You could split it, but that would also split the power, but in this case, it would still be too big, so you would have no choice but topress it. Compressing keeps the power the same, so I rmend justpressing the entire stone." The smith said.


    "You can do that?" John asked with an astonished face.


    "Of course, leave it to this old man." He said.


    "dly, but either way. I''m still nning on splitting it. Split it into 3 even pieces, It should be 30 cm in diameter in total so make each one a ball of 10cm in diameter." John said.


    "So you have ns for having 3 pieces?" He asked.


    "Not really, it''s just my party worked hard to get it so they all deserve a piece." John said.


    ----------------------------


    "And so, what would you guys like to make?" John asked after telling them about the conversation he had finished having with the cksmith.


    "A magic stone... Hm... I don''t know, I don''t really have anything I''m missing." Serena said.


    "Neither do I." Ariel added.


    "Ariel, I already told the cksmith to make you a magic staff with your piece as the core." John said as he looked at the cksmith.


    He nodded at her to confirm it.


    "Wha- But I don''t deserve it-" Before she could finish, John interrupted her.


    "There you go again. We''re a party. We all worked hard and risked our lives to get it. So stop saying things like you don''t deserve it." John said.


    "O-Okay... Thank you, John." She said as she tried to hide her happy expression.


    "Good, now as for Serena, he''ll refine your stone for you and give you your piece so you don''t have to think of what you want right now, you can think it through over time." John said.


    "Alright, I''ll do that, thanks." She said.


    "And as for me... You know already, right?" John asked as he looked at the cksmith.


    "I do, it''s honestly an insane idea, making gloves which act as a staff," The smith said as he let out a sigh.


    "You want him to make gloves which act as magic staffs?!" asked Serena.


    "Yeah, is that bad?" John asked.


    "No, it''s just it''s the first time I''ve ever heard of something like that. People who specialise in hand-to-handbat such as martial arts prefer to enchant their melee weapons with magic." She said.


    ''Ah, I see, so there might be gloves, which increase the damage done, but it won''t really work as a wand like what I''m asking for.'' John reckoned.


    "There are many people who use magic stones to improve their power, but they mainly put it in the form of a staff like me. Yet, you''re putting it in the form of gloves. That suits your style, it''s a good idea." She said as she gave him a thumbs up.


    ''That''s an exaggeration, isn''t it?'' John thought.


    "Haha... So yeah, how much would it cost in total? To refine the stone split it into 3 equal pieces. Create a magic staff with one of them. Split the 2nd piece in half to make a pair of gloves and leave thest piece as is." He asked.


    ''There goes all our money.'' John internally sighed.


    "Let''s see... Refining the stone and splitting it to 3 equal pieces is 5 Gold coins. Creating a Staff would require 2 Gold coins in total, because of the wood andpression of the stone. What sort of design would you like for the staff?" He asked.


    "What would you like?" John asked Ariel.


    "You can choose, I don''t really have any ideas of what the design would look like and you seemed experienced." She said.


    "Alright, As for your gloves..." He said as he looked at me.


    "As for my gloves?" John repeated.


    "You''re lucky you met me. I don''t mean to brag but there aren''t many cksmiths here which are able to create magic staffs of quality as high as mine. I''ll be getting some help, but that''s not important. Connections are part of skill." He said as he gave John a thumbs up.


    ''Wow... This man is really running a business,'' John thought.


    "Making gloves is no issue at all. Leather as a material should work. It''s the first time I''m making something like this. I usually either make staff, magically enchanted weapons or armour."


    "So there''s a chance of failure?" John asked.


    "I doubt it, we''re making something new, but I should be able to use the same process I used to make staffs. As long as it has a core and it''s enchanted in the correct form, that''s all that matters. A staff is an enchanted well-designed long stick of wood with a core." he said.


    ''Ah, I sort of get it now.'' John thought.


    "If we follow this process. As long as your gloves are able to be enchanted in the same way as a staff, and I do thepression correctly, then it should work." he said.


    "I see... Are you the one that does the enchantments?" John asked.


    "No, It''s done by a friend, I simply do everything else, such as the designing and creating," he said.


    "How much would it be in total?" John asked.


    "10 Gold coins for everything, including the magic gloves, it''ll be ready in a week," he said.


    "Well then, um?" John gestured.


    "Frank, call me Frank." Said the cksmith.


    "Frank, I''m John, these two are Serena and Ariel. We have a deal." John replied.


    -------------------------------------


    "Hey John, are you sure it wouldn''t have been better to just enchant gauntlets to do more damage when you attack?" Serena asked.


    "Nah, It''s fine. Besides, I specialise in daggers. If it ever reaches hand to handbat, then I''ll rely on my martial arts. But I only know a bit of MMA." John answered.


    "MMA?" Ariel asked.


    "It''s somethingplicated, but don''t worry about it." John said.


    "More importantly, where are we going?" Serena asked.


    "Training." He replied.


    "What do you mean?" She asked.


    "Training. We''re going to train." John replied.


    "What kind?" She said.


    "I''ll be teaching you the concept of fire magic, Ariel will be practicing on improving her concept of Wind magic and I''ll be creating new spells and doing exercises to strengthen my body." John said.


    John looked a lot less skinny than back when he met Ariel because he''s been properly eating his meals, but he hadn''t been properly working out. Which is why, he''ll need to start doing that.


    "Huh? What is this? This person just said something about teaching me the concept of fire magic, something researchers still haven''t been able to grasp and said he''d be creating spells as if it were something normal. What''s wrong with this person?" Serena mumbled.


    "Oi, I can hear you." John said.


    "It''s alright Serena, you''ll get used to it soon." Said Ariel with an empty expression.


    "Ariel, not you too..." John muttered with a saddened expression.


    "D-Don''t be sad, John! You may not be normal, but you''re still amazing!" She said.


    ''Please stop, you''re hurting my feelings.'' John thought.


    -------------------------------------------


    "Where are we?" Serena asked.


    John didn''t know. They were searching for a ce where they could train in a kingdom surrounded by water and ended up here.


    "We''re not too far from the port, but it looks like some sort of dock. It''s empty so it should be fine, right?" John asked.


    "Well, it is spacious... It looks like it was recently used, but since it''s empty right now, I say we should use it." Said Ariel.


    "Well then, let''s start." John said.


    "Huh? Now? Wait, a moment, what if someone overhears us?" Serena asked.


    "Nope, I''ve checked, there aren''t any people within a 50-metre distance from us."


    "What if someone has the ability to hear us from far? You should be paying more attention to these things!" Said Serena.


    "Its fine, it''s fine. Look. Stand over there for a second." John said as he pointed at a location 5 metres away.


    "Fine..." She said as she walked over.


    "Quiescis" John muttered.


    "So what exactly are you trying to show me?"


    "I''m trying to show you my new spell." He replied.


    "Huh? What did you say?" She asked.


    "I said, I''m trying to show you my new spell." He repeated.


    "I can''t hear you!?" She said with a surprised face.


    "Alright, I turned it off. Can you hear me now?" John asked.


    "W-Wha- Don''t tell me you..." Serena muttered.


    "That''s right. Unlike silentium, which stops sound from moving inside. Quiescis prevent sound waves from reaching outside a certain field. Ariel, who was standing next to me, could hear me perfectly, isn''t that right?" John said.


    "Yes, like John said. I could hear him but you couldn''t, it was probably due to our positions. You were outside of the field so the sound wasn''t reaching you." Said Ariel.


    ''She''s a good learner... I wonder if there are any schools in this world... Wait, there was one in Halfaust. I heard it was called the royal academy or something.'' John wondered.


    "Ah, that''s right... I forgot its John after all..." She said with a saddened look on her face.


    "Oi, why are you talking about me as if I were some sort of lost cause?" John replied.


    "Cheer up, Serena. On the bright side, you''ll be learning from him!" Ariel said.


    "No. I don''t want to stop being normal." Serena said.


    "Alright, we''re outside, the weather is nice. Why don''t the two of you fight me?" John asked.


    "You''re on, I''ve wanted a rematch since the day I lost." Said Serena.


    "I''d also like to fight John." Said Ariel.


    ''Wait, wait, wait. I was joking. Why would Ariel even want to fight me? Does she hate me... Where did I go wrong?'' John wondered.


    "Before we start, just know that we are dueling to see how much we can improve over this week." John spoke.


    "Okay." They both replied as they nodded.


    "After this match, I''ll start teaching Serena the concept of fire magic. As for you Ariel, I will also help you improve your control over the wind element. Now, I''m going to flip this coin, when itnds we start. If you two can beat me now or after this week, then I''ll do anything you ask." John exined.


    "Anything?" Asked Serena with an evil smile.


    "Really?" Asked Ariel with an excited expression.


    ''I don''t feel safe. Should I not have said that? I did it to motivate them.'' John thought to himself.


    "That is if you win." John said as he pulled out a silver coin from the magic tool box.


    "Well then. Good luck.." John said after throwing the coin into the air.

 Chapter 28 - 29: Concept Magic

    The instant the coinnded, the expression on the faces of the two girls went from yful to serious. Ariel instantly cast Ventus while Serena began chanting.


    "Eh?" John unintentionally let out.


    Since it happened so fast, he barely managed to avoid the Wind de by ducking. John felt a few strands of his hair get cut off by that attack.


    "Wha-"


    Before John could say anything Ariel put constant pressure on him by propelling a wind de at him whenever he stood still.


    "John, during a fight you usually start talking whenever the opportunity arises, it''s because you don''t take things seriously that you end up in a bad spot!" Said Ariel after stopping.


    ''What''s going on? Wasn''t I supposed to be teaching them?'' John thought.


    "W-w-wait timeout! Time out!!" John shouted as Ariel continued to pressure him with Ventus.


    Meanwhile, Serena had finished her chant and was summoning her fire lion.


    "Yes?" Asked Ariel with a scary smile.


    "U-um, Ariel,don''t you think you should hold back a bit more? This is just practice, your des are pretty sharp¡­" John said while she stopped attacking.


    "But I am holding back? These attacks are just enough to be able to knock you out! John is very strong after all." She replied with a proud expression.


    ''No, please don''t think of me as some sort of strong being. These attacks might actually kill me if they hit me head-on'' John internally thought.


    "A-Ariel, I don''t think anyone can surviv-"


    Before John could finish, Serena sent a fireball at him, which he managed to dodge by sidestepping to the left. Once he did a fire lion which was being hidden behind the giant figure of the fireball jumped at him and bit him midair.


    While ittched onto his shoulder, John cast cio and froze it.


    "Aw, I thought we got him with that strategy... John always jumped to the side to dodge a big attack..." Muttered Serena.


    "S-Serena... A-at least you should hold back... My arm still feels numb," John said.


    "Don''t be silly, John. As if something like that is enough to stop you." They said.


    ''Nonono, no matter how I look at it, these attacks are aiming for my life. I may be able to withstand Ventus head-on since Ariel is slightly holding back. But if these 2 keep constantly attacking me like this, I might really die¡­'' John reckoned.


    "W-Wait... Maybe let''s just do a 1v1..." He said.


    "Huh? Did you hear something Ariel?" Asked Serena as she cast another fireball at John.


    "Nope, not at all," Ariel replied as she mixed in a Ventus behind it.


    ''O-Oi¡­ S-Stop¡­ I''ll really DIE!!!'' John internally screamed.


    -------------------------------------------------


    "How did we lose..." Muttered Ariel while her body was frozen.


    "Our n was perfect..." Muttered Serena while her body was also frozen.


    "Oi, did I just hear something about a n? When did you guys even make a n? We had 1 minute to prepare." John asked as he stared at them.


    They nervously avoided his eyes as their expression was filled with guilt.


    "Hmmm?" John said.


    "W-We were practising working together so that we could be able to catch up to you and beat you..." Said, Ariel.


    "Surpassing me is one thing, but was there a need to beat me?" John asked.


    "Well, you''re a-always growing so fast that we felt as if, beating you would be the only way to tell if we''ve caught up..." Serena muttered.


    ''Ah, so that''s what it is¡­'' John thought.


    "I see... I guess that makes sense... Once you guys are ready,e to where I''m at, I''ll begin Serena''s lesson on the Fire concept, and help Ariel improve her wind control," John said as he unfroze them.


    Shortly after, he headed towards the middle of the open field and waited for Serena and Ariel.


    "T-thank god he didn''t find out that we were training because we were nning on making him do something for us if we won..." Serena muttered.


    "Yeah..." Replied Ariel.


    ''This should be far enough¡­'' John said as he looked over at the two girls who were talking.


    He felt his legs lose strength as he sat on the ground. John looked up at the sky and cast ''Quiescis''.


    "Alright, I set it to 5 meters, so all I need to do is wait." John thought.


    As he waited, he began to recall the events of the fight. It was a close match. Serena and Ariel showed perfect teamwork as they made up for each other''s weaknesses.


    Ariel would pressure him while Serena began her chant so that he wouldn''t be able to disrupt it, and Serena would attack him while her chant was finished. It was a simple strategy which would have been easy to be, but they addedplexbinations with their attacks.


    For example, she''d always hide another spell behind the fireball. Whether it was a Ventus or a lion. Of course, John was hit a few times by Ariels ventus, but it didn''t do much damage. Unlike how she acted, she held back quite a lot.


    The Ventus which would be able to cut enemies in half only left a few small cuts on wherever it hit John. But they lost because of that. Since Ariel''s only spell was one that was able to cut. She wasn''t able to deal that much damage to him.


    Serena''s spells weren''t life threatening, so she didn''t have to hold back that much. John was pressured in the beginning because he wasn''t prepared, but over time, he easily countered them.


    Nheless, John stayed on the defensive as originally nned to see their abilities and they severelycked training.


    Ariel managed to gather enough magic power for a Ventus Tormentum despite casting countless Ventuses but she missed, and due to that she became temporarily immobile since she ran out of mana, after judging that John had seen enough, he ran up to Ariel and used cio once they made contact.


    John then ran towards Serena who had missed her fireball when she tried to stop him and used cio on her too. That was how they lost.


    ''Ariel''s mana pool is growing, but without a wand, it''s still not that high. At this rate, I might have to teach her another concept instead of Wind so she can protect herself... However, that would be unfair on Serena... So I would have to teach her another concept too¡­'' John judged.


    "Damn it god, what should I do!" He shouted out.


    Shortly after they were done speaking, they finally arrived.


    "John, we were formting another n. Do you mind if we had another fight tomorrow?" Serena asked.


    ''I could have sworn we were allies. Why do you guys want to beat me so much?'' John wondered.


    "Hmm... I think it''d be more effective to try after the training is over." He replied.


    "Then, we''ll do it after the training is over," Serena said.


    "Alright then, let''s start."


    ''What should I do... Ariel is here, so if I teach her the fire concept... Ah... Screw it. I''ll just teach them both the same concepts, I''ll teach Serena the wind concept and fire. Who cares if the concepts go public? I''ll be doing a good thing for society.'' John concluded.


    ''Even if I''m making mages which could potentially want to kill me stronger, I''m only teaching them a fraction of what I know.'' He further thought.


    From what John had seen, with the knowledge he had, he''d been able to create magic which has nothing to do with the 4 elements, like the unique magic John heard about. There are many other concepts aside from the 4 basic elements.


    ''For example, for physics, I might be able to create lightning spells... I also learnt biology, so I should be able toe up with a healing spell... With chemistry, I might even be able to create gold... Or not.'' John inferred.


    "Yeah, there''s nothing to lose. If anything happens, I''ll just learn stronger spells to protect those I care about," John unintentionally said out loud.


    "What?" Asked Ariel as she was startled.


    "At our current level, we''re too weak. I''ll be teaching you guys the concept of all 3 elements which I know, These are, fire, water, and wind. I''ll also be teaching ice magic, Understood?!" John said.


    "Yes!" They both replied with their expressions full of excitement.


    ''Well, if i-it makes them happy, I won''t regret teaching them... Besides, I''m the kind of person who hates the feeling of regret. I''ve had enough of it in my past life, and I try to live life without regretting anything, even if it was a horrible decision.'' John thought.


    "But are you sure, John? Teaching us something this valuable, if any of us decide to say anything, you might not get credit..." Ariel said.


    ''Ariel, I''m sure she wouldn''t do anything like that. Serena we recently met and I don''t know much about her so I''ll have to leave it to luck.'' John decided.


    "Well, I trust you both, besides you two, don''te off as the type to take credit for something you didn''t do unless you had to," John said.


    "I see... Well, I''ll be staying with John so when the timees, I''ll just ask you directly." Said Ariel with a smile on her face.


    "I''d like to continue staying in this party too, I''m always learning new things and it''s pretty fun arguing with John." Said Serena.


    "Thanks... and Serena, what was that you said at the end?" John asked.


    "I''m always learning new things," She said.


    "Nevermind, I might have imagined it. If a kingdom learns of concept magic, it will eventually spread out through spies or mages to other kingdoms, so there''s no point in me hiding it, it''ll only bring a new era for magicians and make them stronger." John said.


    "Yes, that would be the case." Replied Serena.


    "Then, I''m guessing it''s better if they learn more about it. If you guys wish to tell others or teach them, go ahead. I only think we should wait until we are stronger as a party." John spoke.


    "We can use the fact that I discovered this to gain a head-start and have more time to practice it." John said with a smile on his face.


    John was sure the concept behind the 4 elements would be able to make big changes. But he''ll leave that to him of the future to worry about. At least at this rate, all magicians will be able to use more than one element and chantless.


    ''Besides, won''t it be cool? I''ll be the trigger to a new era, I''m getting excited¡­'' John thought.


    "I agree, once we''re stronger, we can teach others about concept magic. You''ll gain credit and most likely a hefty reward. Eventually, it''ll spread to other kingdoms and everyone will know your name," Said Serena.


    "Is it something that amazing?" John asked.


    "YES! I''ve told you countless times, your master/teacher was the first to find out about the concept! And you were probably the only one he taught!" Serena eximed.


    "Unless he taught others who know, but you''re the only person I''ve heard of who can use chantless magic, meaning your master only taught you." Said Serena.


    "I see. I guess that''s pretty amazing. Imagine how everyone will react in the future when we teach them?" John said.


    "Probably, dumbfounded." She replied.


    "Yeah... But I''m d I finally reached a decision. We''ll start with our lesson, now. Serena, ariel make sure you pay close attention." John said.


    "John, wait." Said Serena.


    "What''s wrong?" Asked Ariel.


    "I have something to say... You''ve shown immense trust in me, so I believe should tell you..." said Serena


    "Go on..?" He said.


    "I''m an elf.." Said Serena.

 Chapter 29 - 30: Gravity

    "I''m an elf, specifically a half-elf," Said Serena.


    "Pffffft" John startedughing.


    "Wha-! What''s so funny!?" Asked Serena with an embarrassed expression.


    Ariel didn''t look surprised but had a smile on her face as if she already knew.


    "I''m sorry, it''s just you actually thought we didn''t know," John said.


    "You knew!?! All this time, I''ve been wondering when I should tell you guys, and those whole time you both knew!?! Ariel, why didn''t you tell me about this?!" She said as she looked at Ariel.


    "I didn''t know John knew, he never talked about it, and I never said anything because I thought there was a reason why you didn''t tell anyone." Said Ariel.


    "I was thinking the same. What''s so bad about being an elf?" John asked.


    "There''s nothing bad about it. It''s just I thought you''d treat me differently if you knew..." Muttered Serena.


    "Hm? Why? I''ll still treat you like a preciousrade regardless of your background." John said.


    "I-It''s because elves aren''t fully human... We''re part fairy..." She said.


    "What''s so bad about that?" John asked as he got tired ofughing.


    "Well, there''s nothing bad about being an elf. But half-elves are... Treated badly in the tribe... Even mum and dad were..." Serena said as tears began to flow down her face.


    ''So she''s just like Ariel and me.'' John realised.


    "I''m sorry forughing at it, I didn''t realise it was something that serious," He said with a saddened expression.


    "It''s fine... Thanks to their treatment, I ran away from the tribe and met Master." she said.


    "He must''ve been a nice guy..." John said.


    "Yeah... But, I thought that you guys mighte to hate me if you found out I was a half-elf." She said.


    "Why? Just because your tribe treated you badly, doesn''t mean me or Ariel will do the same. No rather, if anyone treats you badly from now on, tell us. We''ll beat them up for you." John said with a smile.


    "Yeah, you can count on us." Said, Ariel.


    "Hmm... Aren''t you always treating me badly?" She asked.


    "T-This and that is different!" John said while flustered.


    "Is it, though? I felt really hurt ." She said with a smile.


    "Argh... You''re so annoying!" He said.


    "You say that as if you''re the only one who feels annoyed!" She said.


    Seeing as they argued, Ariel let out a giggle.


    "What''s so funny?" John asked.


    "It''s just, you guys look like really close friends." She said.


    "Huh!? How are we close!?" me and Serena asked simultaneously.


    "See?" Said Ariel as she chuckled.


    John let out a sigh before saying "Truce?"


    "Truce." Replied Serena.


    "I was right," muttered Ariel with a smile on her face.


    "Hey, John..." Said, Serena.


    "What?" John asked.


    "Thank you." She said with a bright smile.


    Without saying anything, John quietly stared at her smile before averting his eyes in haste. He seemed embarrassed for some reason.


    -------------------------------------------------------


    "We''ll begin the training of fire magic, you two, pay attention," John said.


    "Yes!" They replied.


    "First of all, we need to understand the concept behind fire. Serena, what do you know about fire?" John asked.


    "Fire... Fire is a force that burns you?" Serena replied.


    "Close Enough, Ariel?" He asked.


    "Fire is the burning of a material?" Ariel Replied.


    "Good, Fire is the process of the rapid oxidation of material. Oxidation is when something isbined chemically with oxygen. Oxygen is one of the gasses which can be found within the atmosphere, the atmosphere is-"


    Before John could finish, he was interrupted by Serena saying "S-Stop!"


    "What''s wrong?" John asked.


    "Don''t ''What''s wrong'' me! I have no idea what you''re talking about! Can''t you exin things slower?" She asked.


    "You''re right... Sorry, Uhm... Think of it like this. Fire is indeed the burning of a material. What do you think happens when a material is burning? It is gaining a gas called oxygen and releasing another gas called carbon dioxide." John said.


    "Oxygen... Carbon dioxide? Gas?" Serena asked.


    "That''s right. I haven''t exined what gas is." John said.


    He then exined to Serena what gas was using the same method he taught Ariel. The states of matter, what happens when a liquid evaporates.


    "I sort of understand..." She said.


    "Good... You don''t need to know all of this, but it''s necessary to grasp an understanding. What we need is to do is to be able to create a me. In other words, the gaseous part of the fire." John said.


    "The me..." Ariel repeated.


    "That''s right, the me. To create the me, imagine. Imagine different gases which you can''t see, being gathered above your hand. Think of the gases called oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and think of water vapour being formed in that area." He said.


    The two stretched out their arms and began to concentrate.


    "Think of small particles, with the initials O, N, CO and water vapour being gathered above your hand. Remember the initials." John said.


    Honestly, John didn''t know if knowing the initials will help much, but it was worth a try.


    As John thought that, he could feel the gasses gathering in front of Ariel''s stretched out hand. She was probably able to get it right this fast since she already uses concept wind magic.


    Shortly After that, A small amount of gasses half the size of Ariel''s was being gathered on the end of Serena''s hand..


    "Good! You two are doing it! Now imagine, the gas igniting! Imagine a spark, a me being formed." John said with an excited expression.


    Without saying anything, the two quietly began to imagine a fire being formed. For the first 30 seconds, nothing happened, Even Ariel, who could use wind magic, was having trouble. The amount of magic both Serena and Ariel Had was being spent while trying to form the me.


    Serena wasn''t allowed to use her wand since it would make it harder for her to learn, so she had less mana than usual, but her magic power was still considerably high so she holding up fine.


    With their eyes closed, they continued to concentrate. After another 30 seconds, a me was formed at the end of Ariel''s hand, It was red and orange, not blue like John''s, but that was probably due to herck of imagery.


    John was filled with an unexpected feeling of excitement and joy when she created it, but he didn''t say anything as to not disturb Serena''s concentration.


    After another minute, Serena''s me was formed. It was half the size of Ariel''s but it was a me.


    "Alright! You two can open your eyes now." John said as he pped his hands.


    "D-Did it works?!" They simultaneously asked.


    "Check for yourselves," John said as he pointed at the fire they had created.


    Their eyes lit up as they stared at the deep red fire that stood at the end of their hands.


    "W-We did it!" they shouted out.


    "Yeah, you did well. Now you two will practice controlling that fire for as long as you can for the rest of the day." John spoke.


    "That''s all?" They asked.


    "Yeah, that''s all. The real training starts tomorrow." John said as he left them together inside of the ''quiesces'' field to practice their magic.


    "Now... What sort of spell should I make... At this rate, they''re going to beat me... I don''t know why, but I feel that it''ll be dangerous if I do..." he muttered.


    ''A spell I need... I have defence and offence... That''s right! I''m missing on a mobility spell.'' John realised.


    "But how... Ice skating? Hmm, too much magic power required... That''s right! I can use Wind as a catapult!" John said out loud.


    After reaching that conclusion he stretched back his hands and applied created a wind pressure under his hands which would shoot out and boost him forward.


    After it was ready, John propelled the wind towards him and pushed him 5 meters forward.


    "I-I It worked!!!" He shouted out in excitement.


    The reason why it didn''t push him too far, was because his legs were on the ground.


    ''So if I apply more pressure and do it while jumping¡­'' John pondered.


    He jumped as high as he could and reached 3 meters in the air. Before he fell back down, John imagined the wind pressure being built up on his legs and made it propel him forward.


    This time, John was sent around 20 meters forward at high speeds.


    "YES! Now I won''t get hit mid-air anymore!" John shouted out.


    John could notice Serena Staring at him with a slight bit of envy and amazement in her eyes but he ignored it.


    "Alright, I have a boost spell... Now I need a spell which can increase my speed... I''ve been thinking of how I''ll be able to but I can''t think of any ideas... How about teleportation? Even harder..." John muttered to himself.


    ''What is the theory behind teleportation again? I read it once... I think it was... where teleportation is a process in which quantum information can be transmitted from one location to another.'' John pondered.


    ''Can I do that with magic? Probably. Do I know how to? Nope. I doubt there are any teleportation spells too... Damn it.'' He thought.


    John guessed that the only thing he could do now is practice his control over the 3 elements.


    ''Alright, for the rest of the day, I''ll practice simultaneously casting all 3 at once. After that, maybe I''ll do some body strengthening training.'' John decided.


    ''Wait, aren''t I forgetting something? That''s right! Flying! I never tried, but I wonder if I would be able to... It would draw too much attention though... Hmm... Screw it'' John thought.


    "For flying... I would need to remove the gravity and find a way to propel myself... Not to mention without gravity I''d be able to propel myself much faster." He muttered.


    ''That''s it! I think I know how to fly! Gravity is a force of attraction that exists between any two masses. The human mass is pulled to the earth''s core, this is why humans are affected by gravity and aren''t flying around¡­'' John thought.


    So that meant theoretically, John should be able to fly with magic, as long as he created a field around him where gravity won''t affect him.


    ''No, I don''t need to create a field, It would be easier if I just made myself an object which is free from the force of gravity¡­'' John pondered.


    He had read these before in Sci-Fi novels, however, none of them had to do with magic. It was mainly other methods, such as mechanical fields and stuff. John wondered if it would work with magic. No, this was all just a theory, but John was able to create a field where there weren''t any sound waves.


    "Enough thinking, let''s try it," John said.


    ''Imagine... Imagine cloaking myself in an anti-gravity magic cloak which makes me free of the force of gravity... Imagine separating myself from the invisible force which pulls me to the earth... Imagine¡­'' John thought.


    As he continued to imagine, he could feel a heavy, constant amount of mana being sucked out of him.


    "Nothing is hap-"


    Before John could finish, he noticed that his body was levitating off the ground.


    "Eh?" John said as he began to float around higher and higher into the sky.


    John looked over at Serena and Ariel and they didn''t notice since they were focused on controlling Ignis.


    He used the mobility wind spell he recently learnt to boost himself up higher into the sky.


    "Haha... I''m flying... Haha! I''m flying!!!" John said as he got closer and closer to the clouds.


    The higher John got, the more the louder his heartbeat got and the more excited he got.


    The scenery was amazing. John was able to see the whole kingdom after boosting himself up. The scenery was breathtaking, The blue sky, the silky clouds, the smooth and rxing feeling.


    ''I wonder what Ariel and Serena would think about this?'' He thought.


    From an outsider''s perspective, it looked like a kid was being pulled into the sky, but most likely no one saw him.


    "I''ll name this spell Levite and the movement spell Velox," John said as he continued to ascend.


    Since he had used Velox, he had been slowly but constantly ascending.


    "For the rest of the day, I''ll focus on getting a hang of this. Thank god I loved physics, I''ll be sure to practice this for the rest of the day, but I better get back down, before they get worried." John said as he began using Velox to descend.


    Before reaching the ground he activated furtim so that they wouldn''t notice, and after arriving he deactivated it. Ariel and Serena were still concentrated on their mes.


    "What the hell! I had no idea flying would feel so amazing... My heart is still beating super fast thanks to the excitement... Somehow, flying barely took any mana at all, it took as much as Body reinforcement or furtim. I''m guessing because it''s a cloak-type spell? I don''t know." He inwardly muttered.


    Either way, that felt amazing to John and he couldn''t wait to show it to Ariel and Serena in their match.


    ---------------------------------------------------


    And so, their training began.

 Chapter 30 - 31: Training

    It had been a few days since they started training. Ariel and Serena have been practising their magic control over Fire and Wind.


    John recently taught Serena how to use wind, since she already had a good grasp of fire, she learnt it without difficulties. He taught her the same way he taught Ariel, and she got the hang of it just as fast.


    John guessed that it proved that concept magic doesn''t require an elemental aptitude. Meaning anyone and everyone can use all the elements with practice. However, practising is the hard part. Forming a me or a wind de is easy.


    However, making something like a methrower and a wind cannon like Ventus tormentum is the next level. Concept magic requires a lot of concentration and dedication. Even now, Ariel and Serena and Practising creating a new fire spell.


    John had tried making a methrower with ignis but it was unexpectedly hard. It failed after the first few tries, now it at least looks like one but it''s weaker and slower. It''s kind of saddening how that''s as far as John got after 4 days of practice.


    Ariel and Serena are also showing difficulty in forming their fire spells themselves. The reason it''s hard is that when you''re creating a spell, you need to have not only the correct image but have an objective.


    For example, Learning ''Ventus Tormentum'' Wasn''t that hard since they knew what they wanted. They wanted a strong pressure of air to release and shoot out like a cannon. It was simple and took only 2 days of practice to get it right.


    As for a methrower. They needed to have the temperature of the fire in mind. The force and rotation of the mes.


    John was close to getting a grasp over the temperature of the me, the force and rotation. He thought that he should be able to do it today.


    "Alright, time to go and test it," John said.


    "What are you testing?" Asked Serena.


    "I think I have an idea of the rotation and force on the spell I''m trying to create," He replied.


    "How about you don''t try to create anything, while I and Ariel try to get stronger." She said.


    "Can''t do that, I''m afraid," John said.


    John was afraid though, these girls suddenly got motivated when he told them they could order him to do whatever they wanted. He didn''t know what he was afraid of but something was telling him not to lose. John was taking his training very seriously.


    "Hmm, boring." She muttered as he left.


    ***


    "Alright... Imagine... A spiral... A tornado which pushes everything away... Focus on the rotation... And apply it to Ignis..." John said as he stood on the open field facing the ocean.


    The size of the blue me in his hand began to increase, and it began to rotate above his hand.


    "Good... Compress it... Slow and steady..." He muttered.


    John began topress the big rotating me, which resulted in the force and energy being umted inside.


    "Good.. This is the first time I''m trying this method... If my theory is correct, it should burst out after being continuously pressured andpressed. The force of the burst will be high and it should look like a methrower... Now... Release!" John said as released and directed the pressure forwards.


    The instant he released the pressure. The giant me whose size had beenpressed burst out in a rotating manner from his hand at high speeds. It looked exactly like a methrower.


    The methrower which was released from John''s hand continued to pour out of his hand, constantly sucking out his magic power and went crashing into the water of the ocean.


    Steam began to form as the water started to evaporate. The overall power and heat behind this attack were frightening.


    "Cancel!" John shouted out.


    The methrower which wasing out of his hand had stopped. John looked over at the water, and some of it had evaporated and turned to steam, but it wasn''t noticeable.


    "Let''s not use this against them..." John muttered as he sat down to catch his breath.


    ***


    John was d the methrower was a sess. He had been imagining the me rotating and gushing out of his arm, but he hadn''t triedpressing it before so it would burst out with more power.


    The problem was that it was too strong. Its power and temperature were way higher than ignis.


    "I''ll name it ''mma proiciens'' I guess that just leaves..." John muttered.


    Now that the methrower was a sess, John could focus on the other things he was practising. The first was gravitational magic.


    "Since I was able to create an anti-gravity cloak around me. Theoretically, I should be able to create a field where gravity is stronger... Or in other words... The attraction towards the mass of the earth is harder..." John muttered.


    The second was practising flying.


    "I need to be able to fluently manipte the wind and bnce myself while I stop being affected by gravity. Practising this has been so hard I haven''t been able to enjoy it much." He muttered.


    The third was practising water magic.


    "I didn''t want to do this, but it''s just in case. Water will always beat fire. cies works as water too once it evaporates, but it''s still slightly less effective." John spoke to himself.


    Andst but not least, the strict training regime he had been doing every day since he started this 7-day training. Every training needs a bodybuilding training routine.


    "For me it''s... 100 Push-ups, 100 Sit-ups, 100 Squats, 100 Crunches and then a 10 Kilometer run." John said.


    This training was rmended to him back in his previous world. John didn''t know much about muscle training since he barely did any strengthening exercises in his previous life. But he was sure these exercises will target most of the muscles in his body.


    -------------------------------------------


    ''The day has finallye. After all that training, I... Physically I don''t feel any different, I made sure to do all the bodybuilding training without magic and I''ll continue to do it every day. It was hard, but I want to look ripped and strong, so it''s going to be worth it.'' John thought.


    John read books on getting ripped before, so he knew which types of crunches targeted his obliques, abs and core. So he was sure his training was going well.


    "John, remember what you promised?" Serena asked.


    "Yes, yes. If I lose, I''ll do anything you say." John replied.


    "Good." She said.


    After the fourth day, John had stopped paying attention to their training. They looked like they were doing fine and he thought it would be unfair to see what sort of tricks they might have up their sleeve so he didn''t check.


    Although, John was kind of regretting it now.


    ''But it should be fine... No, it will be fine. After all that practice, I can''t lose.'' He thought.


    "Then, like before, let''s start once the coin reaches the ground." Said Ariel as she flipped the coin into the air.


    "Good luck," John said.


    "Thanks." They replied.


    Watching the coin slowly rolling in the air, he didn''t feel nervous at all. Instead, he felt excited, being able to see the efforts of our training. John wasn''t worried about losing, he just wanted for them as a whole team to have gotten stronger.


    The instant the coin touched the ground, Ariel cast Ventus. John managed to evade it by jumping to the side, but it was faster than usual.


    "Ignis" Said Serena.


    A me, smaller than her usual fireball, was formed and aimed at John. It was fast, but thanks to his training John was able to evade it using ''Velox''


    "!? What was that?" Asked Serena.


    "Nothing much, I just used wind pressure to boost me out of the way," John said.


    "Not bad, but we''re not finished yet. Ventus Tormentum!" Said Ariel.


    The air pressure began to gather in front of her without releasing like it usually would.


    "Ignis." Said Serena as point her hands in the direction of Serena''s wind cannon.


    Serena''s red me was formed where all of Ariel''s wind cannon''s air pressure was being gathered, causing them to merge.


    ''Oioioi, wait a moment... Isn''t that just like my methrower but stronger?! Crap, I gotta get out-'' John thought.


    "Ignis Tormentum!" They simultaneously shouted.


    The Fire cannon, which they had formed, was way stronger than John''s me thrower. Not only that, but it was faster. She had also fully charged it up, so if John hadn''t seen iting, there was no way he''d make it in time.


    That is, if John hadn''t seen iting.


    "Furtim, Levite, Velox" John muttered right before they released the spell.


    "Did we get him?" asked Serena.


    "H-Hey Serena... Are you sure that wasn''t too much? Can John really survive that?" Ariel asked.


    "Of course he can, we''re going to need a lot more than that to beat him." Said Serena.


    "Are you trying to kill me!?" John shouted at them while he was in the air.


    "H-Huh? John, you''re i-in the air?! Did you die!?! Is this your spirit!?!" Asked Ariel with a frightened expression.


    "What? No, It''s a flying spell." John said.


    "Oh, I see..." Replied Ariel with a relieved expression.


    "More importantly... When were you able to fly!?" Asked Serena.


    "That''s the least important thing right now! Are you guys trying to kill me with that attack!?" John shouted.


    "Huh?! How could that possibly kill you?" Serena shouted back.


    "Don''t ''Huh?!'' me! What sort of person can survive that attack!?" John shouted as he pointed at the burnt wall which was behind him.


    "Oh please, you could''ve used an Ice shield or water shield to block it. If you don''t want us to use these attacks, don''t block them with the opposite element." She said.


    "Fine. I''ll only use cies to attack. I won''t use it for defence." stated John.


    "Okay, nowe down from there." Said Serena.


    "Huh? What are you talking about? cies." John said.


    He cast cies and around him and 6 Ice spikes were formed.


    "Bigger," John muttered, and the size of each spike increase.


    "John, t-time out! Don''t you think it''s not fair!? You can fly and dodge our attacks and attack us." Said Serena.


    "Serena, it''s fine. John''s cies are fast, but from where he''s at, we can easily dodge them." Said Ariel.


    "Ah, that''s right. Gravitas."


    The instant John said the word ''Gravitas'' both Ariel and Serena fell to their knees.


    "W-What''s going on? It feels like there''s weight on top of me." Said Serena.


    "Ah, that''s just gravity. It''s a spell I''ve been practising. I created a field around you two where everything weighs 10x more, I could increase the weight but the higher I do, the more magic it takes." John said.


    Gravitas, a spell he spent thest 3 days trying to perfect. By creating a field where the attraction of mass towards the earth''s core is higher than usual, John can increase the pressure of gravity within that field. In other words, he can make everything heavier.


    "That''s unfair!" Serena said.


    "This is the end," John said as he descended back to the ground.


    John walked up to them and tapped them on the shoulder.


    "Do you surrender?" He asked.


    "No..." They replied as they struggled to get up.


    John let out a sigh and said, "Fine, I surrender. It''s my loss." before deactivating Gravitas


    "What are you talking about... We lost fair and square..." Ariel muttered.


    "Fair? I used a flying spell against you and taught you an element which is the opposite and weak against my strongest element. The fact that you two didn''t give up is already good enough. Your teamwork was also amazing." John said.


    "Then, it means it''s our win?" Asked Ariel.


    "Yeah," John replied.


    "Hear that, Ariel. That means he''s going to do any one thing we ask." Said Serena With an evil smile.


    "Huh?" John unintentionally let out.


    "You didn''t forget, did you? Remember what you said? If we win, you''ll do any one thing we ask," Said Serena.


    "You did say that John." Added Ariel.


    "Ah... I forgot..." He said.


    "Either way, you''re not nning on going back on your promise now, are you?" Asked Serena with the same creepy smile on her face.


    "O-Of course not... I promised after all... Besides you, two worked hard, so you deserved it. So what are your orders?" John asked.


    "Well... What we want is...."

 Chapter 31 - 32: Reward

    "Are you sure this was all you wanted?" John asked as he looked over at Ariel and Serena.


    "Yes!" They simultaneously replied.


    Their request or order was for John to take them around the city for sightseeing and to one of the best restaurants in As.


    And as asked, they did, they went to the nicest looking restaurant they could see and went sightseeing.


    "You look disappointed, were you expecting something more?" Said Serena with a smug look


    "Not really," John replied.


    "Well, since we weren''t able to beat you. We agreed that we''ll hold back our original requests until we can." Said Ariel.


    "Alright? Anyway, we''ve gone sightseeing and to the restaurant, meaning there''s still one more thing left." John said as he stretched out his hands to each of them.


    "We''ve already done everything though?" Said Ariel as she grabbed on to it.


    "He''s probably nning something again, let''s just go along with it." Said Serena as she also held on.


    "Haha¡­ Levite, Furtim." John said as they held his hand.


    The moment he cast Levite, the 3 of them began slowly ascending into the air.


    "Eh?! Wha- Wait!" Said Serena while startled.


    "J-John!" Said, Ariel.


    "Rx¡­ Make sure you don''t let go of my hands" John said as they continued to ascend to the air.


    "W-What do you mean rx! We''r-"


    The breath-taking scenery which could only be seen by them as they floated above the kingdom left Serena who wasining speechless. Ariel''s eyes sparkled as she also stared at this stunning scene.


    "Beautiful, isn''t it? We can see the whole kingdom from here, with the sun setting in the background it really is astonishing." John said.


    His words didn''t even reach the two girls who were captivated and only focused on what they were looking at.


    John thought that he should teach them how to fly so that they can see scenes like these more often.


    "Man, today felt like it was a date." John unintentionally said out loud.


    "Da-te?" Said, Ariel.


    "What''s a date?" Asked Serena.


    "Uhh¡­"


    "Go on?" Said Ariel


    "A date is¡­ When a guy and a girl go out and have fun¡­" He muttered.


    "Ah, I had a lot of fun today¡­ It was a nice date." Said Ariel.


    "Me too, We should go on a date again." Said Serena


    "Y-Yes¡­" John responded.


    He felt guilty. John didn''t say that it''s something between lovers, but that was fine. They probably don''t think of it as that way either. Besides, he was not even sure of how he felt towards them.


    Ariel is a cute and quiet girl who''s able to socialise when she tries. Serena is a more open girl who speaks whatever''s on her mind.


    Still, John wondered if he''d end up falling for one of them. Maybe he already had. He didn''t know since he''d never had the chance to fall in love in his previous life.


    "John?" Said Ariel.


    "Why do you keep staring at us without saying anything?" Asked Serena.


    "Ah, sorry, I was distracted. Anyway, we still have a few hours left. Why don''t we fly around?" John asked.


    "E-Eh?! I-I don''t think I''m ready-"


    "Velox," John said as he interrupted Serena.


    The instant he said that, they were propelled higher and higher until they reached the clouds. The two girls clung on to him in fear, and John could feel them trembling through their warmth.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t let you two fall. Open your eyes, this scene looks a lot nicer than the kingdom''s one," John said.


    The two girls'' eyes sparkled as once they opened them. They could see the clouds and the sky as they felt the smooth, calming breeze of the wind. The two remained speechless as they soared around in the skies.


    The fear which was in their face hadpletely disappeared, and they were no longer trembling. They looked as if they were enjoying it. The closer John looked, the more he''d notice just how beautiful these two girls were.


    "It looks nice, doesn''t it?" John asked.


    "Yes..." They quietly muttered as they nodded.


    They continued to fly around for another 5 minutes before they headed back down.


    "Well, let''s go get something to eat," John said after theynded.


    "Um... John." Said Ariel.


    "Yeah?" John asked.


    "I enjoyed the date, thank you." Said Ariel with a bright smile on her face.


    ...


    "Yeah, It also enjoyed it, you should bring us on another date soon. Once a month, no week!" Said Serena who also had a bright smile on her face.


    ...


    "John, what''s wrong? Do you have a fever? Your face is bright red." Said Ariel as she ced her hand on his head.


    "I-I''m fine! I''m d you enjoyed it!" John said as he faced the other direction to hide his expression.


    ''Huh? Why am I getting so flustered?'' He wondered.


    "Oh? John, could you be getting flustered? Well, you are a boy after all. Spending a day apanying 2 beautiful girls." Said Serena as she teased him


    "I''m not..." He muttered.


    "Wait, you actually are? That''s unexpected, and here I thought that you didn''t swing this way." Said Serena.


    "Why would you think that!?" John asked.


    "I was joking. Besides, you''re awfully passive today. Normally, we would''ve started arguing by now." Said Serena.


    "It''s your reward, and I want you to enjoy today, so I''m holding back..." John spoke.


    ''It''s really hard, though.'' He thought.


    "Hmm..." She said as she stared at John.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" He asked.


    "Nothing..." She said.


    "Huh? Hey Ariel, what did she mean by that?" John asked as he turned to her.


    "I don''t know either..." Said Ariel with a teasing tone as she looked away from him.


    "Not you too..." John muttered.


    ''I had a lot of fun today... However, I wish they wouldn''t tease me as much'' John thought.


    ------------------------------------------


    The next morning they went straight to the smithy.


    "Um, excuse me, Is Frank here?" John asked as he walked in.


    "That voice, If it isn''t John. How have you been?" Asked Frank as he left the backroom.


    "Frank, I''ve been good, what about you?" John asked.


    "Haha, the business has been going well. I take it you''re here for your staff and gloves?" He said.


    "Yes, is it ready?" John asked.


    "Of course, who do you think you''re talking to." He replied as he pulled out 2 boxes from the backroom.


    He opened the boxes, and inside was a wooden staff with a green crystal ball as the core. And two leather gloves with Green round magic stones in the middle.


    "Why don''t you two try it out?" Said Frank.


    John grabbed the gloves and put them on, while Ariel grabbed the staff.


    "This!" He unintentionally let out.


    "That''s right. It works just like a staff, you can feel the amount of power you have avable increasing right? To be honest, the stones you had contained a lot of power in them, so you should be able to notice." He said.


    "Yeah... It feels amazing. I feel like I can cast Magnum Ignis with it." John said.


    ''I can''t wait to test these out.'' John thought with excitement.


    "mag-? What''s that? Anyway, unlike most magic stones which break, this stone has been refined so when it runs out of magic energy, you can just recharge it by adding your magic power or wait for it to recharge on its own. The stone has a lot of magic power but it''s not unlimited, don''t needlessly waste it." Said Frank.


    "Yes, I won''t. Ariel, how does it feel?" John asked.


    "It feels like I''m flowing with power. I should be able to use Ventus Tormentum and Ignis a lot more times now." Said Ariel with an excited expression.


    "I''m d you like it. I must say, you forgot to give me your hand measurements, so I was worried that I''d get the wrong size. Luckily, my guess was right." Said Frank.


    "Ah, that''s right, sorry. But to be fair, you also forgot to ask." John said.


    "Haha, that''s right. But take good care of those gloves. It was quite hard to write the runes on it." Said Frank.


    "Where are the runes? I can''t see them." John asked.


    "They can''t be seen by the naked eye, they''re drawn in a spell ink which allows for magic to be easily conducted. That is how a magician can conduct magic through his wooden staff." Said Serena.


    "You''re quite knowledgeable aren''t you?" Asked Frank.


    "I was taught by my master after all." She said.


    "Hey Serena, I''ve been wondering. This master of yours, how strong is he?" John asked.


    "Very Strong. 20% of the people in the world can use magic, a portion of those be mages, but only a select few within the thousands can match master''s level. At least that''s what he said." Serena exined.


    "Thousands... I wonder where I would rank." He muttered out loud.


    "Probably in the thousands as well, but it''ll be umon to meet a magician stronger than you. They''re spread out, we''ve met a few but you might not have realised. Oliver, for example, He''s stronger than you." Said Serena.


    "Is that so..." John muttered.


    "Yeah, I noticed when we were conquering the dungeon. He was easily taking out the 9th and 8th-floor monsters while providing back up to Rose. He''s also quick with his chants." Serena continued.


    "I see..."


    "What''s wrong? Just because you''re weaker now doesn''t mean you''ll always be weaker. In my opinion, you have more potential, and in a fight, you''d most likely win. You can use chantless magic and you''re physically strong." Said Serena.


    "Ah, don''t worry, I''m fine. I was just getting excited thinking how much stronger I could get." John replied.


    "So that''s what it was? Don''t worry, when ites to magic, there are mages that can beat you in the blink of an eye. They are rare but they exist, so make sure you don''t aggro them." Said Serena with a smile on her face.


    "You kid sure are reckless. Anyway, here''s your refined stone, I didn''tpress it since you still haven''t decided what you want to do with it." Said Frank as he pulled out another box and handed it to Serena.


    After confirming it, Serena said "Thank you." as she handed it to John to put it in the toolbox.


    "Don''t sweat it. It''s my job after all."


    "We received everything as requested. Here''s the payment, "John said as he pulled out 10 gold coins from the magic toolbox and handed them to him.


    Nheless, for all of this, they were able to save up quite a lot. John guessed that it''s because they were able to get the most expensive factor, which was a good magic stone.


    "Thank you for your patronage. Make sure you guyse back again." Said Frank as they left.


    "Yeah," John replied.


    "We''ve gone through training and received better equipment. Let''s see how well we''ll do in the dungeon." John said as they headed to it.


    "Yeah. This time, the three of us will easily beat that spider." Said Ariel.


    "Damn right." Added Serena.


    And so they began their second round.

 Chapter 32 - 33: Searchers

    They entered the dungeon and thanks to their new equipment and training. They were able to get by the first floors in a breeze.


    Thanks to the training, their team''s strength improved greatly. Now both Ariel and Serena could use chantless wind and fire magic, so they were pretty much unbeatable. At least that''s what John thought.


    They quickly rushed from the first floor straight to the 5th, beat the Minotaur king and took a short break before advancing again.


    They got to see the bosses, which they weren''t able to see before as they ascended back to the entrance of the dungeon.


    The 5th-floor boss was Minotaur-King. He carried a giant sharp sword and was fast, not to mention the monstrous strength. However, against magicians who he can''t even hit, he stood no chance.


    John parried his attacks at close range, while Serena and Ariel Shot Ignis and Ventus at him. His endurance was very high. After a few burns, cuts and being frozen, he finally tapped out.


    They were able to see many adventurers on the 5th and 4th floor, but they remained unseen thanks to furtim. There was no need to engage in a conversation with them, and they didn''t want to waste any time.


    They continued to ascend without any problems until they reached the 6th floor. The monsters of this floor were partly also Minotaurs with ogres.


    They worked individually, meaning they only encountered one at a time. They would have been much harder to deal with if they were working together.


    As they approached the entrance, they felt a battle going on inside. John used deprehendre to check on the situation without opening the doors, and he could feel the presence of 4 adventurers.


    3 were motionless, and thest one was fighting on his own.


    "So, wanna help them?" John asked Serena and Ariel as he exined what he noticed to them


    ''I should teach them deprehendre soon.'' John decided.


    "Yes." They replied as they nodded.


    "Alright, let''s do some saving," John said as he opened the door to the boss'' room.


    After all the rushing, they were able to reach the 6th floor''s boss room in around 3 hours. Not bad. John had brought food as he wasn''t sure how long they''d be spending in here. They had enough tost 5 days.


    They had also been collecting moderately big magic stones from the bosses they''d faced so far. To save space, they''d only collected the stones from the bosses. And they would keep doing that.


    "Hey! Do you guys need help?" John shouted out as he waved at them.


    As John looked at their party, he felt a bit of deja vu. They were a party which had a Tank, swordsman, priest and magician. The boss they were fighting was called an Ogre King. The boss had his aggro on the female magician who was holding him back.


    The priest was focused on healing the injured swordsman and Tank.


    "Hm... We should probably find a healer soon... Or maybe I can create a healing spell?" John muttered.


    ''I''m not sure if I should get another party member right now... I don''t feel like looking, so I''ll leave it to fate. If there''s a 4th party member out there, I''m sure I''ll know when I meet him or her.'' John thought.


    "Huh? A kid?! What''s a kid doing here?! It''s dangerous! Get back!" Shouted the hurt swordsman.


    "You should be more worried about yourself. Well, not that I mind... Like I asked. Do you need help?" John said.


    "Can you beat him?!" Asked the magician who was temporarily restricting its movements with a binding spell.


    "Oh, a restricting spell. That sounds like it would be useful." John said.


    "Ariel, he''s getting weird ideas again." Said Serena.


    "It''s fine, That''s John after all." Said Ariel with a smile on her face.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" John asked with an annoyed expression.


    The two diverted their eyes to avoid his gaze.


    "Stop ying around! Get out of here!" Shouted the injured swordsman.


    "Don''t worry about us, how do you think we got this far? We know how to take care of ourselves." John assured him.


    Well, to be fair, it did happen with the spider.


    "Y-You''re right... I''m sorry I''m just not right in my head right now... W-Will you be able to help us..." He asked.


    "Yeah, leave it to us. Ariel, Serena." John said.


    "We''re on it." They said as they cast ignis and Ventus on the restricted Ogre.


    The attack didn''t do much as expected, the ogre''s defence must have been very high since Ariel''s Ventus barely cut it. Serena''s Ignis was more effective as it let out a roar as it was getting burnt. It was definitely in pain.


    "Alright, Let''s do it like usual," John said as he lept towards the ogre and swung at it.


    He managed to cut into his arm, but the power wasn''t enough to cutpletely through.


    "Dawn it, I should have supplied more mana into my de. Well, that''s fine. cies." John uttered.


    The instant he said that word, an ice spike was formed above him. Without being able to move, the ogre got hit point-nk by his cies and froze up within seconds.


    However, it wasn''t dead. Despite being unable to breathe, it still hadn''t kicked the bucket. John felt bad for killing an enemy who wasn''t even able to fight back, but unfairness is part of life.


    "Sorry. Magnum Ventus." John muttered.


    Unlike the regr Ventus, Magnum Ventus takes time to gather enough energy until it''s ready, but he''s immobile so the time taken doesn''t matter.


    After a few seconds of energy being drawn from my magic stones and gathered in the air. A giant version of Ventus was formed, and John propelled it towards the Frozen and restricted ogre.


    In a swift motion, the ogre was cut in half. The Ventus cut through it like butter. The magician, the swordsman, the tank and even the priest looked speechless


    "Alright then, let''s go, guys," John said as he made his way towards the entrance to the 7th floor.


    Before leaving, John was stopped by a voice.


    "Wait!" Shouted the magician.


    "What''s wrong?" John asked.


    "Thank you for saving us. I wasn''t going to be able to hold out for much longer." He said.


    "No problem," John replied as he turned to head to the 7th floor.


    "W-What about the magic stone?! You can sell it for a lot of cash! Isn''t that why you helped us!?" He asked.


    "Oh, you guys can keep it, we don''t need it. You and your group worked hard for it after all. Besides, you got here first that made him your prey, It''s a bit rude to take someone''s reward, isn''t it?" John asked as he walked on.


    "But we asked you for help... Hey, can you please tell us your name?" Asked the swordsman who had managed to get up despite his injuries.


    When they had walked in, he was bleeding pretty badly.


    ''Is it alright for him to be doing that?'' John thought.


    "Name... My name is John. This is Ariel and Serena. We will be the strongest party in history." John said as he left to head to the 7th floor.


    "Strongest..? I see..." Muttered the magician with a content smile on his face.


    ***


    Now that they had reached the 7th floor, the number of adventurers had decreased, but there were still quite a few hunting the monsters that spawned.


    The monsters on the 7th floor were a little dangerous. Rose called them cloakers. Everything appears safe when you enter, but out of nowhere, you''re attacked.


    This is thanks to their stealth ability. They can camouge in the darkness and attack in the darkness. But thankfully, Serena had cast an illumination spell ever since they first entered the dungeon. So it would have been harder for them to attack in the darkness.


    The only problem is that they can detect them through furtim. Being detected by John''s strongest spell is quite annoying. Nheless, they were weak monsters whose strength lied in surprise attacks.


    While encountering a few of them, they managed to safely reach the boss'' room. After entering the room, they instantly felt something different.


    "Stay alert. This one''s dangerous..." John said as he walked in with them.


    He could feel the sweat slowly drip down his face as he got closer to the boss. Its appearance was a Giant Floating Eyeball and eyelid with small eyes connected to it.


    It made John feel nervous, not because of how it looked, but because it felt as if they had walked right into its trap


    "What''s that?" John asked as he looked over at Serena.


    "That''s a Searcher... It can create an anti-magic field where magic won''t work..." Said Serena with little to no fear in her eyes.


    "I see... So it''s our natural enemy, huh? This anti-magic field you created... It''s quite troublesome," John said as he ran towards it with his daggers at hand.


    John''s strength had been greatly weakened. Not being able to use magic was the same as taking away a gun from a gunslinger. Or at least, John was sure that''s what you thought.


    "Wait, John! Don''t!" Shouted Serena as she saw him rush at it.


    John began to move faster as he ran and his daggers began to glow. In a swift motion, he cut the body of the Searcher in half.


    Ariel and Serena looked at him silently, as if they wanted an exnation for what just happened.


    "Well, you see... I had a feeling we were going to end up fighting an anti-magic monster. So, I found a way to counter it." John said as he picked up the magic stone.


    This stone was a bright red Sphere at least 10cm in diameter. One-third of the Spider queen''s Stone.


    "Yeah, that makes sense..." Said Ariel as she let out a sigh.


    ''Hm... Even Serena''s not saying anything. Usually, she''d beining about how I''m always creating spells as if they are nothing. But today she seems out of it.'' John thought.


    "Well then, let''s take a little break before heading to the next floor. Countering Anti-Magic and using magic at the same time, is quite tiring..." John said as he sat down on the floor.


    "Alright..." Said Ariel and Serena as they sat down next to him.


    "So what would you two like to-"


    Before John could finish, he noticed that the two looked sleepy. That made sense. They woke up early, went to the smithy and climbed 7 Floors in a day. They also constantly used a lot of their magic, since concept magic requires a lot. It should be midnight soon.


    "You two can get some rest, I''ll keep watch," John said.


    "Alright...." They replied.


    They silently rested their heads on each side of John''s shoulders.


    "I won''t be able to rx in this position if you two do that," John said.


    There was no reply.


    "Hey, are you listening?" He asked them.


    John looked over at their faces and noticed that they were already asleep. Serena''s sleeping face looked very innocent, contradictory to her usual face. Ariel''s sleeping face looked just as innocent as her usual face.


    "Asleep already, huh..." John muttered.


    Now that he thought about it. John had two cute girls using his shoulders as a pillow.


    ''Crap, now I can''t stop thinking about it... Clear your mind.... Clear your mind¡­''

 Chapter 33 - 34: WereBears

    After a few hours of rest, Ariel was the first to wake up.


    "Mn..." She let out as she opened her small eyes.


    She looked around and noticed that she had fallen asleep.


    "John?" She muttered.


    "Yes?" John asked.


    "Nothing... Can I stay like this until Serena wakes up..?" She asked.


    "Isn''t it ufortable?" John questioned.


    "No... John is soft, like a pillow." She said.


    "I don''t know how to feel about that." He replied.


    She kept her head on his shoulder as she continued to talk.


    "John... There''s a lot I don''t know about you and since you''ve always helped me, I thought it would be better not to ask. But if you ever want to talk about it, you can tell me." She said.


    "Hm... Thanks. But don''t worry, everything I told you and Serena is pretty much everything I know. I lost all my memories, and then I met you." John said.


    "John... What would you do if... Your memories returned..." Ariel asked.


    "Hmm... I don''t know. But I''m sure nothing would change. I''d keep travelling with you guys around the world. If I had a master, then I''d probably stop by any kingdom he''d be at and say hi. But I wouldn''t leave the party if that''s what you''re wondering," John replied.


    "Mn... do you remember your promise..? When we were at the inn?" She muttered.


    ''Promise... The one I made when we were at the inn. Where I said I wouldn''t leave her?'' John remembered.


    "How I promised to never leave you?" He asked.


    "Yeah. About that... John has always been helping me. You taught me how to use magic. You helped me when I lost everything and even now you continue to take care of me. I want to stay with John but it feels like I''m being selfish and forcing you to stay with me." Said Ariel as tears streamed down her eyes.


    ''So she''s felt this way¡­'' John realized.


    "D-Don''t be stupid, I''m staying with you because I want to. Don''t ever put it in your mind, that you''re forcing me. I made that promise because I wanted to stay with you. Did you forget about all the help you''ve given me so far? We''re a party, we''re supposed to help each other!" John said.


    ''This girl, she can be so ignorant to the number of things she does, even recently she protected me from the spider''s attack... What is she, an idiot?'' John wondered.


    "John..." She muttered.


    "And you can be more selfish, we''re a party so we''re supposed to tolerate each other. If there are any selfish demands you want to make, let them out. Sure, we might argue or I might not like them. But I want you to be yourself and we''re a party so..." John said.


    ''Just get to the point!'' he inwardly said.


    "In other words! Just be as selfish as you want! That won''t change the fact that you''re my precious partner!" John added on.


    Seeing as how John was desperately trying to cheer her up, Ariel let out a giggle.


    "Did I sound that stupid..?" John muttered.


    "No, it''s not that, it''s just that it made me really happy. You said that I could be more selfish. Then, I''d like to stay with John forever..." Said Ariel as she ced her hands on his face.


    As her thin slender fingers held on to John''s cheeks, her deep dark eyes looked directly at him. He could feel his heartbeat getting faster and faster.


    "Yeah, we''re a party, after all, we''ll get to go on many adventures together and experience many new things. So... Basically... Don''t ever leave me..." John said with slightly red cheeks.


    "I won''t! I promise!" Said Ariel with reddened cheeks and a bright smile on her face.


    Ariel''s mood hadpletely changed. She looked relieved and happy thanks to their conversation.


    "Mnn," Said Serena as she stretched out her arms.


    Thanks to all the noise we made from talking, Serena finally woke up.


    "This is... Someone''s shoulder... Did I fall asleep?!" Said Serena as she looked up at John''s face.


    ''This girl is always so full of energy'' John thought.


    "Good morning. Or night, I''m not sure what it is." He said.


    "I-I''m sorry I fell asleep." Said Serena as she got up.


    "It''s fine. You both used up quite a lot of mana after all." John said.


    "Ariel, fell asleep too?" She asked.


    "Yeah," Ariel replied as she also got up.


    "Howe you''re full of energy? Wait... You didn''t do anything to us when we were asleep, did you!?" Asked Serena with a worried expression.


    "Huh!? Who do you take me for!? Is that really what you''re supposed to be assumed to the guy who kept watch for you?!" John asked.


    "But it''s precisely because you''re a guy that I''m assuming that!" She replied.


    "I didn''t do anything to you in the inn before, so why would I do it now!?" John added.


    "Y-You have a point... And you''re a kid too... Sorry, I was getting worried for nothing." She said.


    "I''m 3 years younger than you..." John replied.


    His body was 12 after all. Although since John was 14, he guessed spiritually that made him one year younger.


    "A kid is still a kid." She replied.


    "That''s quite a lot of talking from someone who even adults mistake for a kid," John replied.


    "Y-You! You did not just go there!" She said with an embarrassed expression.


    "I wanna join too!" Said, Ariel.


    The two of them were taken aback at the suddenment of Ariel.


    "Wha- What do you mean by that Ariel?" John asked.


    "I said, I want to join too. You guys always look like you''re having fun whenever you''re arguing so..." She replied.


    "I-Is that so..." John muttered.


    Thanks to Ariel''s suddenment, John no longer felt like arguing. He looked over to Serena and even she looked surprised.


    "M-Maybe next time. I-If you want to join in an argument you need to find a reason... It doesn''t just happen naturally." John replied.


    "O-Okay..." Said Ariel with a saddened expression.


    "More importantly, are you sure you don''t need any rest? You were awake all this time, weren''t you?" Ariel questioned.


    "Not really, I got to sleep too. Look." John said as he pointed towards the Ice.


    "We''re inside your Ice sphere move?" Ariel asked.


    "Yeah, didn''t you notice earlier?" John asked.


    "No, because it didn''t get cold at all... And I was only looking at John." She said.


    ''How can she admit that so easily¡­ ?'' John wondered.


    "Y-Yeah. I was converting magic to the thermal energy store in the air me so we wouldn''t feel as cold." John said.


    "There goes John with hisplicated logic." Serena added.


    "Well, in other words, we''ve all gotten enough rest. Let''s start moving to the next floor," John said as he got up and undid the ice.


    They nodded, and then they moved on.


    ***


    The 8th floor had monsters called Werebears. Their body were full of fur and they were around 8 feet tall. Their face looked a lot like a goblin''s and they would carry around Iron weapons and armour.


    Rose was the one who told John their names. She also told him that they were rted to goblins and hobgoblins, like some sort of superior race.


    They could easily fight them off, but decided to save their energy and use furtim to head straight to the boss'' room. They didn''t need their magic stones, and the bosses were worth a lot more.


    However, as they moved on. They decided to kill a few. They were easy to kill and dropped medium size stones.


    After 30 minutes of rushing, they finally reached the boss'' room.


    "Hey don''t you two find it weird? These monsters are weaker than Minotaurs yet their magic stones are bigger and they''re part of the 8th floor..." John said.


    "It might have something to do with individual magic power, for example, Minotaurs are strong physically and they''re magical resistance is slightly high but they can''t use magic themselves. And they have a low amount of magical power." Serena said.


    ''That''s urate.'' John inferred.


    "Meanwhile, Werebears contain a lot more magical power within them, we can tell thanks to the magic stones that they dropped whenever we killed them." Serena exined.


    "That makes a lot more sense than my previous theory. Thanks." John replied.


    "What was your theory?" Serena asked as she opened the door.


    "It was that the boss was simply a lot stronger than the Minotaur boss, and this strong boss might prefer Werebears as its minions," John said as they walked in.


    In the middle of the boss room stood a big creature which resembled a Minotaur, it appeared to be 20 feet tall. It didn''t have any armour, but it carried a big long curved sword. Fur seemed to cover it''s whole muscr body.


    Intimidating was the perfect word to describe it.


    "Do you know what that is?" John asked.


    "Not really... But doesn''t it sound like that monster Rose talked about when we were on the 9th floor?" Serena asked.


    "That''s right! The Minoboar, right? It''s the 8th-floor boss and has high magical resistance, so we should be careful if we ever fought it." John said.


    "It''s Goristo! And yeah, It''s fur is highly resistant against magic. So we should focus on physical attacks from your de." Said Serena.


    "Understood," John said as he lept at it.


    Serena and Ariel followed behind and got into their positions, waiting for the right moment to strike.


    "Ventus!" Said Serena.


    The wind de flew past John and hit the Goristo. A cut appeared on the location the Goristo was hit and it let out a roar.


    "Oi, if you focus on singing, you won''t be able to fight back," John said as he shed at its right arm with his right de.


    The dagger seeped into the hand, causing him to let out a scream. It hadn''t noticed John earlier since he had activated Furtim before his attack.


    "Cancel. Is that the best a surprise attack can do? Darn... I knew I should have added more mana into my de." John said as he transferred more magic into his left de and arm and swung at it.


    The momentum and force were enough to fully cut off his arm. It let out another scream and moved to grab John with its remaining arm. John easily dodged it by stepping back.


    "Is that all, it''s weaker tha-"


    Before John could finish, the boss jumped at him and tried grabbing him again with his remaining arm. From tilting his body to jumping around, John continued to dodge his grab attempts as he persisted in trying to grab him.


    "This... How persistent." John said.


    "John, move!" Shouted Ariel.


    "Huh?" John said as he lept away from it.


    In that moment Ariel, who had been gathering the air in front of her, cast a spell. The wind which was being gathered gained a form of a spear and went straight at the Goristo.


    Despite being overly resistant to magic, it was pierced by the spear in seconds. It tried dodging, but the spear was too fast, almost as if it was the wind itself.


    It let out a scream and turned into a magic stone. The entrance to the 9th floor was opened shortly after.


    "U-Um... Ariel... What was that? John asked.


    Both John and Serena were surprised at Ariel''s recent spell.


    "Um... I''ve been practising creating a new wind spell for the past 2 weeks, and this was the spell I managed toe up with." She said.


    "I-I see..." John muttered.


    He looked over at the magic stone formed from the death of the boss.


    "I better make sure I don''t get on her bad side." John muttered to myself.


    "Hm? Did you say something?" Serena asked.


    "You must''ve imagined it, anyway, let''s head to the 9th Floor. Also, I''d like it if you could tell me how that spell works if you don''t mind," John replied.


    "Sure!" Said Ariel.


    "Hey, Ariel..." Said Serena.


    "Yes?" Ariel asked.


    "Can you teach me thatter? I can use wind spells, but they''re not as strong as yours." Said Serena.


    "Sure, but you''ll have to teach me your new fire one too." Said Ariel.


    "Of course." Said Serena.


    ''These two girls... Has learning concept magic made them stronger than I expected? I wonder how many spells they didn''t use against me in our fight. Moreover, that wind spear... I''ll tell Ariel to call it Ventus Frameater..'' John thought.

 Chapter 34 - 35: Dark Knight

    "So this is the 9th floor... I''m not able to feel a hint of life from anywhere ahead of us with deprehendre." John muttered.


    They had entered the 9th floor after Ariel had defeated the boss. Even John didn''t see that Wind Spearing, and from the looks of it, Serena has also developed a simr spell.


    "Concept magic is so fun to learn, once youpletely understand an element, you can create different forms of a spell with it. But it takes training, dedication and magic power which the 3 of us are fortunate to have." John said.


    "Yeah, yeah, don''t forget the knowledge, which is something only you have. Sometimes I wish I could see what goes on inside of your head." Serena said.


    "Haha... I wish you wouldn''t do that, Mind reading magic doesn''t exist, right?" John asked.


    "It does, Most royals have at least one servant who can use it, however, you have to be thinking of it out loud for them to be able to read it. In other words, they can''t just read your concepts but they can make it so you think of them and they can read that." Said Serena.


    "Then that means... That king could have used it on me... No wonder he tried to kidnap me..." John muttered.


    "Did you just say, king!?" Asked Serena


    "Yeah, he wanted John to work for him, so we left," Ariel said.


    Wow, she just made that seem a lot simpler than I could imagine with no effort.


    "Wow, I can imagine that... But how were you able to get away?" Serena asked.


    "Like this, Furtim," John said.


    "Oh, I see... Yeah, I suppose that would work." Serena said.


    "But that won''t work against those guys," John said as he pointed at the piece of armour thatid on the floor.


    "Why not?" Serena asked.


    They had been walking for a while, and they finally encountered the first monster.


    "That is... I''m not sure, I didn''t test it out since Rose was with us back then. But I have a feeling they can feel us even through Furtim. Let''s find out." John said.


    The two girls nodded, and they quietly walked passed the armour.


    "It worke-?"


    Before Serena could finish, another Armour which was behind her got up and swung its sword at her. Seeing this, John pulled her towards him and it missed her.


    "Looks like it won''t work. What sucks, even more, is we''re going to have to physically break the armour, magic won''t be very effective. What the hell is wrong with this dungeon, why is magic bing less effective over the floors!?" John asked.


    "T-Thank you," Said Serena as she moved away from John, with slightly reddened cheeks.


    ''Hm... Why does she look embarrassed?'' John wondered.


    They were surrounded, 2 armours were blocking where they came from and 2 armours blocking their path forward.


    "Tch, I''ll handle the two at the back, you handle the two at the front," John said.


    "Yes!" They replied.


    John lept at the two Unanimated Armours blocking their return route and diagonally swung at one of them with his right dagger, he had already activated magic strengthening and supplied mana to his dagger so his swing would have been hard to parry.


    Instead of parrying them, John ended up cutting through the gaps within their armour. But thanks to that, he got to see where their core was.


    It took that moment to swing at John while he was still in the air. Without any way to dodge, John cast.


    "Velox"


    And propelled himself backwards, barely avoiding its swing. As John was sent back, before he bumped into Ariel and Serena, he cast Velox again, mid air and propelled himself back to the armour who missed its swing at him.


    John used his momentum to pierce the middle of its chest-te with his left dagger and muttered.


    "ignis iecit"


    In that moment, a ball of me which was formed from John''s magic travelled through the tip of the sword to the inside of the armour and hit the core directly.


    After that, the core of the Unanimated Armour broke, and the armour broke down to just pieces of good looking armour.


    While John''s dagger was still stuck inside of the broken armour, the other armour beside it swung its sword at him. It wasn''t fast, but it looked like it could hit hard. John dodged it by stepping back to Ariel and Serena''s side to see how they were doing.


    "How''s it going on your end?" John asked as he forcefully separated his dagger from the broken chest te.


    "It''s resistant to ignis and Ventus... I don''t want to waste energy using higher-level spells... Any idea on how to beat them?" Serena asked.


    "Yeah, the armour is resistant, but the core isn''t if you can find a way to get the spell through the gap."


    "Where''s the core?" Ariel asked.


    "In the middle of the chest-te," John replied.


    "Leave it to me," Serena said before casting a new fire spell.


    10... No, 15 Fire arrows were formed in front of the two girls and with a flick of the staff, they showed down on the armour. Most arrows were deflected by their armour, however, thanks to the angles some managed to get in through the gaps and pierced the core..


    With just one hit to the core, it ended up breaking, and both armours broke down


    "That''s pretty strong. Is that one of the spells you came up with during those 7 days?" John asked.


    "More like, the only one, aside from Ariel''s Combo Move," Serena replied


    "Oh yeah, the one you used against me. That was really strong." John said.


    "Wasn''t it!? Was that all of them?" Serena asked.


    "No, there''s still one more," John said as he pointed at the one watching them.


    "Why isn''t it moving? Is it scared?" Serena asked


    "No, I just happened to cast, gravitas on it, ahead of time so I could take care of the other one first," John said.


    "How can you say these things so casually? And why didn''t you just cast'' Gravitas on both?" Serena asked.


    "It takes a lot of energy to use it on even just one object, imagine using it on two," John replied.


    "Fair enough, aren''t you going to finish it?" Serena asked.


    "Right," John said as he walked towards it.


    He increased the amount of magic being supplied to his de, around 3x more than usual, and swung his de horizontally at it.


    Before his de hit, he muttered "Tonde mma"


    In a swift motion, as if it were cutting through butter, John''s de cut the armour vertically in half. There was a burn effect remaining on the area where the armour had been cut, thanks to his spell


    "J-John... What was that? You just cut through a special type of armour which is resistant to offensive magic..." Serena asked while trying to hide her shock.


    "This ore is a good thermal conductor, so when we were training, I tried increasing the temperature of the de by mixing it with Ignis, thanks I was able to cut through things a lot easier than before." Answered John.


    "C-Conductor?" Muttered Ariel with a confused expression.


    "W-Well... I''ll teach you two when we get back..." John replied.


    ''Should I have not used it?'' He wondered.


    The two silently nodded and moved on. Their reaction was a bit weird.


    ***


    They moved through the floor, either running past the armours or engaging them in fights in cases where they weren''t able to get through and wasted a moderate amount of energy.


    Finally, they reached the boss''s room after another hour of taking the wrong turns and reaching a dead-end.


    "Why are these dungeons designed as mazes? Why!?" John shouted as he punched the ground.


    When they reached the door entrance, their adrenaline ran out and all the hunger we had been holding back came crashing down at once. So they decided to have their very first meal in a while.


    "Mn! This is really good! John, who taught you how to cook?" Serena asked.


    They were eating a packed lunch of sandwiches, which he had made before they entered the dungeon. He had made around 20 boxes so it should be able tost them 5 days, if they ration it, it willst longer. John knew that just eating sandwiches isn''t healthy, so he added chicken to some of them and rice balls.


    "Life experience," John said with a hollow expression.


    "Wha-?"


    Before Ariel could finish, John repeated "Life experience."


    "O-Okay..." Serena muttered.


    The sandwiches were made with butter and ham. John was really surprised when they didn''t know what cheese was, but that''s fine. If he ever became a merchant, he''ll create ingredients and dishes they''ve never heard about.


    John knew how to process cheese thanks to all the tutorials he watched online. John was also a decent cook because his uncle would teach him and tell him that cooking is something one should learn from a young age.


    Although John wasn''t as good as modern-day chefs, he knew how to make sauces and omelette rice or tuna rice. On second thought, John might not be a cook, but he still knew how to make Sauces and cheese. If he couldn sell them, he should be able to make good revenue.


    "John, what are you thinking about? You have the creepy-looking grin on your face... Could it be? Puberty''s finally catching up to you? Are you starting to show interest in that?" Serena said as she teased him.


    "Funnying from someone who clearly hasn''t shown any signs of development despite going through puberty," John said with an annoyed expression.


    "W-What did you just say! I''m still growing!" Said Serena with an annoyed expression.


    "I know, It was a joke," John said as he chuckled.


    Having fun like this, Tends to make them feel less nervous before they head in to fight the boss, John was sure that''s the case.


    "Is everyone ready?" John said as he ced my hands on the door.


    "Yeah, Let''s go." Said Ariel.


    Serena remained quiet, it looked like she was still mad about that joke earlier.


    "Well, then. Stick to the formation." John said as he opened the door.


    The doors opened, and inside stood a single figure. The Darkness and bloodthirsty being emanated from that single Armoured being was insane, It was even stronger than the spider queens.


    "Is this the 9th floor?" John asked as he walked in.


    "That''s!?" Serena said.


    "Serena, do you recognise that?" John asked.


    In the middle of the boss room stood a being who wore armour which covered its entire body. Its hands were pure skeleton, and its helmet covered its face. They could only see its bright red eyes through the helmet.


    It wore a purple robe and carried a sheath containing a long sword on its back. With deprehendre, John couldn''t feel an ounce of lifeing from it.


    "That''s... A dark knight... An undead formed from the deep hate of a knight before he dies. Its strength is on par with A-Rank monsters, It doesn''t die no matter how many times you kill it, and it is definitely stronger than that spider on the 10th floor." Serena replied.


    "So what''s it doing here?" John asked.


    "While it''s strength is high, it''s considered a B-ss monster. Despite being immortal, since it''s extremely disadvantageous against priests, after they have been killed, before they can resurrect themselves, a priest can purify it, So their immortality won''t work." Said Serena.


    But in their case...


    "Do you get it? He''s the worst enemy for us, a party who doesn''t have a single mage who can use the holy element..." Serena continued.


    "Crap... I never expected us to meet an undead this soon. Well, I guess the armours are undead... Looks like we''re in trouble." John said as he tried to hide his worry.


    "Now isn''t the time to y around, Even if we beat him, he''ll just keeping back..." Serena said.


    "Do we retreat?" Ariel asked.


    "I''ll think of something, For now, let''s-"


    Before John could finish, The Knight stretched out its arms and cast a Fire orb at them. The orb was Small, but John could tell it was dangerous..


    "cies" he muttered.


    The size of the Ice spike was twice the amount than usual. John aimed at the orb and propelled it towards it before the orb hit them. The orb was fast, but the room was big so he had enough time to counter.


    Steam was formed when the two spells shed, but John''s cies hadpletely evaporated. He cast another cies at the orb and during that moment he grabbed on to Serena and Ariel and used Velox and Levite to bring them to the sky.


    His 2nd cies managed to weaken the fire orb, but it wasn''t enough. Despite being weakened, once it made contact with where they were standing, the fire orb caused a small explosion, but we managed to avoid it since he had already brought them up to the Air


    Once it noticed that they were in the air, it began to charge another fire orb to fire at them.


    "Oi... Are you serious? A Dark knight who can use magic?!" John eximed.


    ''Come on, Dungeon, Can''t you bnce your System!?! Why is the 9th Floor boss stronger than the 10th!?!'' John thought.

 Chapter 35 - 36: Stuck

    "So, what''s the n?" Asked Serena.


    The death knight was preparing another orb to fire at any second, so John had to think of something quick...


    "Honestly, we''re already at a huge disadvantage by not having a priest, the only thing we can do now, is to weaken it," John replied.


    The two girls nodded at his reply.


    "I''ll go fight in close and fight it, you two prepare strong range attacks to hit it. Weak ones won''t have any effect." John said.


    "Huh?! Are you crazy? That thing''s strength is on par with A-Rank monsters! I''m sure even Rose had difficulties fighting it!" Serena said.


    "I agree with Serena, I don''t think you should enter his range. I can feel it from here, he''s a lot stronger than the spider..." Ariel replied.


    "It''s fine, I may not be stronger than Rose, but I can use magic at close range. Now the problem is his armou-"


    John was interrupted by a bigger version of the previous fire Orb heading his way. It was twice the size of the previous one.


    "Furtim, Velox!"


    With Velox, John managed to propel the three of them to the other side of the room so that the st wouldn''t reach them. He also cast Furtim in hopes that he wouldn''t notice.


    "Anyway, that''s the n," John said.


    John could tell that despite being invisible, the death knight could see or sense them. It didn''t charge another orb, instead it faced their direction as if it was waiting.


    John deactivated furtim and descended to the ground along with Serena and Ariel.


    "If it gets too dangerous, we''ll retreat. Velox!" John spoke.


    John put a lot more power on Velox and increased the wind pressure to increase the speed and distance of when it would propel him. After it was ready, John propelled himself straight at the death knight with him daggers at hand.


    The Death knight, who saw Johning, pulled out his longsword from the scabbard on his back. The sword was shrouded in ck mes.


    While midair, once John was finally 3 meters away from it, he simultaneously swung both of his daggers diagonally at the death knight. He easily blocked both swings with his sword and with a single push, he sent John back 2 meters.


    Despite being pushed back, John remained bnced, but he had lost all his momentum. Seeing it as an opening, the Death knight swung at him diagonally, but John dodged it by taking a jumping back.


    John was sweating heavily due to the pressure and with his gloves, wiped a bit of it off his face, In the corner of his eyes John noticed a bit of red on my gloves.


    "Blood?" John muttered.


    He hadn''t been able topletely dodge his swing. If John was a second slower, he could have died.


    "If I keep holding back, I might die. I''m not sure I want to kick the bucket yet so..."


    John looked over at the death knight and he stood there as if he were waiting for his next attack.


    "Triple Cast: Ignis, cies, Ventus."


    The instant John cast that, the magic stones on his glove began to glow and 2 ice spikes, mes and wind des were formed around him.


    "How about we start round 2?" John asked as he lept at him.


    He swung his right dagger vertically, and the death knight parried it by swinging his sword. The parry made John lose his bnce and sent him back. Faster than before, he took the opportunity John had lost bnce to sh him in the air.


    The moment he was about to swing his de, John propelled one of his ice spikes at his shoulder. He easily broke the spike by swinging his fire sword. The swing was heading straight at his head, but before it reached it, John propelled himself straight to the ground and aimed at its open torso.


    John propelled all the of the Spikes, des and mes he had remaining at his torso in an attempt to blow him off, but because of that, John was open. Before his attacks reached him, he had already swung his sword vertically at John.


    Death, that was the only word that coulde to John''s mind. He was confused as to how he could change the directions of his swing that fast. As his sword was aimed with the intent to kill him, approached his head, John could feel time slow down once more.


    Even if time had slowed down, there was nothing John could do. He was going to die.


    As John saw his sword slowly getting inches closer to his head, he noticed him slow down after getting hit by his magic barrage. A small frozen hole was formed on his chest-te and John could see his magic core inside of his skeleton''s rib cage.


    The second he slowed down, a thought went past my head. ''Not yet'', and at that moment nearly all his magic power subconsciously burst out as if it were trying to protect him. Everything within his radius was frozen.


    The death knight and his sword werepletely frozen. A split secondter, a ming wind spear came flying out of Ariel and Serena''s direction and pierced the Death right in its core.


    The core''s colour changed from red to purple, and the glow in its eyes died out.


    Seeing this, John let out a relieved sigh and walked up to Ariel and Serena.


    As John got closer, he noticed that both Ariel and Serena had tears flowing down their faces.


    "Idiot! I thought that you were going to die! I told you that it was a bad idea!" Shouted Serena with puffy eyes as she lightly punched John.


    "I thought we weren''t going to make it..." Said Ariel as tears continued to flow down her face.


    "Hey, It''s fine, you were able to make it and that''s all that matters," John said.


    "Only because you managed to freeze it. Since when did you have a spell that strong?" Serena as she wiped her eyes.


    "I don''t know. My magic subconsciously burst out," John replied.


    "What? How do you-"


    "More importantly, I was able to save up a fair amount of magic thanks to the magic stones, but theypletely ran out of juice. How long until it resurrects?" John asked.


    "ording to what I''ve heard, it''s 5-10 minutes it gets longer the more you kill it. However, it''ll be significantly weaker after it resurrects itself." Serena said.


    "Weaker... When we were fighting, I wasn''t even able to enter a proper sh with it. It blocks every swing I threw and whenever it parried I would either get flung back or lose my bnce." John said.


    His strength was definitely higher than the B-Rank adventurer John fought. If John wanted to beat him, he''ll have to transfer even more magic to his body.


    "It''s strong, It''s a bad idea to try to take him on without a priest, I believe we should retreat." John suggested.


    "20 minutes is enough time... We''re retreating."


    "Okay, but before that, I wasn''t sure how to bring this up but..." Serena said


    "Your hair, Look at your reflection," Ariel said


    "O-Okay..? Aqua."


    A ball of water was formed in front of John and he used it to stare at my reflection.


    "What!?" He shouted.


    His recently short spiky blonde hair had turned a mixture of ck and white.


    "When? How?" John asked.


    "It happened right before you froze the death knight, I''ve heard side effects when something happens to your mana pool, or when a sudden event urs. This might be one of the effects of your magic bursting out at once..." Serena said.


    "So I''m guessing the reason why its colour is partly white because the element I used was ice?"


    "Probably..." Serena said.


    "Nevermind, Lets just get out of here," John said as they walked to the entrance.


    The giant door which led to the boss room had closed itself after they were all inside. He pulled at the door with magic strengthening and it wouldn''t budge. He tried cutting it open with his des, but there was barely a scratch.


    "Yep, we''re stuck inside," John said.


    "I thought as much... I''m guessing the only way to open the door is by beating the boss or if someone opens it from the other side." Said Serena as she let out a sigh.


    "Serena, what sort of holy spell do you need to truly beat it?" Ariel asked.


    "As long as it''s weakened or in the death state, any holy spell will do, even healing as it has an opposite effect on the undead." Said Serena.


    "Eh? Healing works?" John asked.


    "Yeah, but if you have a high level one, you won''t even need to fight it." Said Serena.


    "So healing works... Alright, I don''t have any time to waste." John said.


    John lept towards the frozen site where both the ground and the Death Knight had been frozen and in a rush, ced his arms in the direction of its core as he stood in front of the frozen knight.


    The core''s colour was hastily returning to its original red and fire was starting toe out of the sword. The surrounding ice began to melt.


    "Percuro," John muttered.


    His hand began to glow in a golden light. The Death Knight had now fully awoken and began to struggle in the ice. The light was working.


    "That light... When did he..?" Asked Serena.


    The ice around the sword hadpletely evaporated and with it his unfrozen arm, he tried to interrupt John''s spell.


    His movements were slower, so John was able to dodge his swings without interrupting the spell, however, with each swing he would end up hitting the ice which covered his body and eventually he managed to get out.


    However, by the time he got out, he was near the point of death; John was also running out of magic himself. Percuro is a heavy spell... John created it in case of emergencies. Back when he wasn''t able to heal Ariel, John realised that without a priest, the least he could do was to learn a healing spell.


    Its movements were much slower than before, the fire on the sword was dim, and whenever it would swing, it looked as if it was standing still. John was also getting slower and weaker, but he had more energy than it, so he didn''t deactivate the spell, even once.


    As it tried to lift its sword, it noticed that it couldn''t and at that moment; John increased the amount of power being poured into his healing spell and let it all out at once.


    The dim purple light in its core changed to ck, and the stone broke, releasing a ck miasma which disappeared into the air. The Death knight''s skeleton turned to ash, and all that remained was its armour.


    "W-We did it..." John muttered and gave a thumbs up to Ariel and Serena before copsing to the ground.


    The Adrenaline had finally caught up. John waspletely out of fuel. His magic capacity had definitely been getting bigger.. And for the first time, he didn''t faint after using it all up.

 Chapter 36 - 37: Rematch

    After the fight with the death knight, they decided to take another break before heading to the 10th floor and meeting the spider queen.


    This was because John hadpletely exhausted himself while using a healing spell to purify a death knight.


    "Hey, John" Said Ariel.


    "Yeah?"


    The three of them began to talk as theyid down inside of the ice sphere he had created using the little remaining magical power he had.


    "When did you create the healing spell?" She asked.


    "I''d also like to know, and how did you do it? The holy element is exclusive to those who have undergone a special training by the church." Said Serena.


    "Well... After our recent fight with the queen, I realised the weakness our party had. We''re not that strong, so if we''re going to be going to dungeons, then I''m going to have to do as much as I can to cover what we''re missing." John said.


    "Even if you say that..." Serena muttered.


    "I should go to a church, though. Especially since I have this ability. About how I thought of it... There are 4 In short when you think about healing something. I learnt this in biology." John said.


    "Bio-logy?" Said Ariel.


    ''Oh crap, I identally said it out loud.'' John cursed himself.


    "Y-Yeah, I-I recently gained a memory of being taught something called biology. Biology is the study of living organisms." John said.


    "You''ve been taught a lot of things... I''m d your memories are returning. You''ll be able to find out more about yourself." Said Serena.


    It was an excuse, but they seem convinced.


    "Y-Yeah, as I was saying, It''s the study of living organisms. When you gain a wound like a cut and it starts to bleed. Within minutes or seconds, blood cells start to clump together and clot, protecting the wound and preventing further blood loss. This is called hemostasis, the first process which is to stop the bleeding," John said.


    Ariel looked slightly confused and Serena... John was not sure.


    "I knew it was going to beplex, but seriously? Are you sure you''re 12 years old? Who teaches all of this to a kid?! I''d like to meet your master one day." Said Serena as she ced her hands on her face.


    "Y-Yeah..." John nervously let out.


    "John, you said blood cells start to clump together and clot, what are blood cells?" Ariel asked.


    ''Looks like she''s paying very close attention.'' John observed.


    "It''s a cell produced when you gain a wound, It''s mainly found in the blood. And a cell is the smallest unit of life," John said.


    "Hm... I sort of get it, but at the same time I don''t..." Said Ariel.


    "It''s fine, The concept of healing is hard, I practised it every day during the 7 days but I''ve only been able to make it strong enough to close cuts. Although that''s probably because I haven''t tried it on anything other than cuts. If I add enough magic, I should be able to heal severe wounds." John said.


    "I sort of get it too, In other words, they''re small beings produced in your body to help close your wound, right?" Serena asked.


    "Y-Yeah, sort of, That''s one way to look at it," John said.


    "Mhm... What are the other 3 processes?" Ariel asked.


    "Well, we have inmmation... Then growth and rebuilding... andstly strengthening. And of course each of them has its own process." John said.


    As he named each process, the fear on the faces of the two girls became more apparent.


    "John." Serena.


    "Yes?" John asked.


    "Could you actually be a smart person?" She asked.


    ''Not really, any kid my age from my previous world knows this. Although the ''me'' from the past might not have been able to remember the details as much as I can now... Did my memory get stronger after I reincarnated?'' John wondered.


    "Not really, What did you think I was?" John replied with an annoyed expression.


    "Nothing much." Said Serena as she looked away.


    "Oi, why did you turn your head? If you have something to say, By all means, go ahead." John said.


    "John... Healing is a lot moreplicated than I imagined... Do all people who have undergone training in the church know this?" Ariel asked.


    "I think not, They probably use chants like any other magician. My magic is a concept, after all, it requires knowledge in exchange for power. The more you know, the stronger the imagination. The stronger the spell." John replied.


    "I see... I... I want to be stronger... Strong enough to be able to help you, so that what happened today, never happens again... So I''ll focus on improving my control and understanding over the wind and fire element..." Ariel said.


    "Me too... I hate to admit it, but I wasn''t of much help in this fight... And you nearly died..." Said Serena.


    When John heard what these two had to say, he couldn''t help but smile.


    "But I didn''t, and it was thanks to your magicbo that we were able to win. I''m looking forward to it, I''ll do my best to help you two be stronger." John said with a smile.


    "Thank you." They replied with a happy smile.


    ***


    They rested for 5 hours before they decided to move on. John had replenished a moderate amount of magic and they charged up their magic stones with the stone of the 3rd-floor boss. The stone broke after, but they were going to gain a better one after killing the spider queen.


    Unfortunately, the Death knight didn''t drop a magic stone, but John ended up putting his sword and armour into his toolbox. John could feel that it was getting full, so the n was to head back after killing the spider queen.


    They entered the 10th floor and were greeted by an abundance of webs. There were webs all over the ce, just likest time. Rose cut the webs blocking their path with her sword. They should be able to cut them with ventus.


    They walked along straight to the boss'' room, encountering a few spider monsters. There were spiders of around their size and were not friendly. They managed to easily cut them with ventus so they weren''t much of a challenge, rather, the 9th floor monsters were more.


    John guessed that the reason why these monsters were considered stronger was because of their agility and poison attribute. Rose told him to never let either the spider queen or these monsters bite him. But thanks to that, he brought poison antidotes in case of emergencies.


    After 30 minutes, they reached the boss'' room without any difficulties. He didn''t use furtim this time because it was risky. If a spider did sense them as they walked passed and one of them got bitten, it would''ve been bad.


    "Is everyone ready?" John asked as he ced his hands on the boss door.


    "Yeah." They simultaneously replied with tense expressions.


    "I''ve recently realised, but you two are often in sync, are you lost sisters?" John said as a joke to ease the tension.


    "I''d love it if Ariel was my sister. She''s so cute." Said Serena as she hugged her.


    "Serenaaa, not now, we''re supposed to get ready..." Said Ariel with an embarrassed expression.


    ''Those two really do look like sisters. Also, that''s kind of cute.'' John thought.


    "Fine... " Said Serena with a saddened expression.


    "Alright, Let''s go." John said as he opened the door, while ignoring the cute moment that just passed.


    They walked inside and there was the Spider queen in the middle of the room. The eggs from before were gone, but there was a big web which blocked the path to the next floor.


    "What happened to the eggs?" Asked Serena.


    "I burned them allst time, remember. The traces of our fight are gone, so the room really did reset." John answered.


    The spider noticed them after the door entrance door closed. Unlike the previous one, which acted wary all the time, this one didn''t seem afraid at all and began to charge at them. The size was the same, and even the looks.


    "Oh? You''re not scared, even though we were the main reason your previous reincarnation died? Maybe that previous spider had survived many battles, which is why it was wary, this one has only recently spawned." John said as he leapt straight at it.


    ''So they don''t have memories of their previous life.'' John understood.


    "John, be careful, We''ll back you up!" Shouted Serena.


    "Yeah!" John replied.


    The spider and John rushed at each other. After they were around 10 meters away, he cast ''Velox'' and ''Ignis Iecit'' and was heading straight at it like a cannon, the daggers in his hands together forming an X-Cross.


    It had underestimated John and didn''t expect his sudden move. Despite it being faster, it wasn''t able topletely evade it. John ended up cutting half of its front left leg off.


    After losing its leg, it finally felt threatened by John and stepped back.


    "Seriously... Don''t underestimate me. I''m not the same guy as before, but I doubt you remember, anyway." John stated.


    The move he used against the spider just now was the same move he had used against the death knight.


    ''I''ll call it X Cannon.'' John decided.


    The spider''s fear appeared to have turned into anger as it came rushing straight at John shortly after losing its leg. It used its front right leg to stab at John, but it missed as he dodged it by jumping back.


    While John was in the air, the spider queen shot a web from its mouth to pierce him.


    ''The me 7 days ago, wouldn''t have been able to dodge it but¡­'' John thought.


    "Velox" John muttered.


    The instant he cast it, John was propelled downwards to the ground, allowing him to dodge the spider''s web.


    "Double cast: Gravitas, cies."


    John cast Gravitas on the spider to stop it from being able to move and cies to be able to freeze its remaining legs. 3 bigger versions of the normal cies were created and John propelled them at the spider.


    "From this distance, it shouldn''t be able to dodge-"


    John was proven wrong as the spider barely dodged it by jumping to the side, The second it dodged it, it rushed at him again and tried piercing him with its legs.


    "Woah, 20x gravity didn''t work... I guess I should have expected that. Spiders can lift up to 50x their body weight after all." John said as he avoided its legs by leaping around.


    "Then... Should I use magnum ignis like before? No... I have a better idea..." John muttered as he thought.


    John dodged its front leg again and at the same time cast and propelled a cies at it after it had barely missed him.


    The tip of its front leg was frozen, and it stepped back to break the ice. After smashing the ground with the tip, the ice broke. But all John needed was for it to step back for a moment.


    He cast ''Levite'' and ''Scutum cies''. Scutum cies takes time to form, so John needed a moment for the spider to step back from him so that he could properly form it. Now that it had formed, everything was ready.


    "Velox" John muttered as the spider rposed itself and began to rush at him.


    It stopped and jumped to the side after it saw John propel himself at it. It then looked over at its 3 left legs and noticed that they had ice slowly spreading around them.


    "Surprised?" John asked as he looked at it.


    It desperately tried getting rid of the ice by hitting the ground with its leg, but it wasn''t working.


    "That won''t work. Ever heard of the saying ''The best defense is more offense''? Scutum cies is a defense type spell, which spreads ice around whatever touches it. Let''s see if you can dodge all of these attacks." John taunted.


    The spider let out a shriek and slowly backed up from John. He cast Velox as he floated in the Air and propelled himself at it again. Thanks to Levite, John was much faster while using velox and went further.


    He missed the spider as it jumped to the right to dodge his sudden catapult at it, but it''s movements were slowly decreasing thanks to the ice. John propelled at it again and again and was only getting faster and faster thanks to velox.


    It was probably like an air cannon travelling through the air from Ariel and Serena''s perspective.


    "Concept Combination Magic: Verberare scutum est cies" Trantion: Barrage of the ice shield.


    If John went past the spider, he would propel himself back and try to hit it. He would keep doing this over and over again. Hence the name: Ice Shield Barrage.


    Eventually, thanks to the barrage, Ice hadpletely covered the spider. It could no longer move.


    "Checkmate. Ariel, Serena now!" John shouted.


    Ariel and Serena had been charging up their spell. Ariel had formed the wind spear, Serena had mixed it with Ignis and had cast fire arrows, which led to 10 being formed around the spear. Then, on John''s signal, they released it. Ariel propelled the Fire spear with 10 magic arrows around it at the frozen Spider.


    On impact, the spear went straight through the spider and ice and hit the magic resistant walls. A Bump was left on the wall. Shortly after, the spider turned into a magic stone. John melted the ice, put the stone in the toolbox and went over to Serena and Ariel.


    "We did it!" John said as he approached them.


    "Y-Yeah, Hey Serena, did we do that?" Asked Ariel as she pointed over at the wall and where the Spider had been pierced.


    "Did we..?" Asked Serena with a confused expression.


    "Why are you two in denial? Yes, you did." John replied.


    Ariel and Serena''s Eyes Lit up after hearing what he said.


    "We did... We''re getting stronger!" Said Ariel with an excited expression.


    "Did you only realise this now?" John asked.


    Ariel happily nodded at his question.


    Serena was quiet, but John could tell from her eyes that she was excited.


    "Hey Serena, are you sure, Oliver is stronger than that?" John asked as he pointed at the wall.


    "I-I wasn''t saying he''s stronger because I wanted to... You''ll know when you challenge him..." Said Serena.


    "I''m looking forward to it, I wonder what sort of spells he has..." John replied.


    "That''s just like you... Aren''t you afraid of losing?" Serena asked.


    "Not really, It shows you what you need to improve. It makes you stronger." John said.


    "As expected of you." Said Serena.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" John asked.


    "Hey, we had agreed to head back, but why don''t we check out the 11th floor?" He suggested.


    "Sure, we''ve saved up a lot more energy than I expected in that fight." Serena said.


    "What about you Ariel?" John asked.


    "E-Eh? A-Ah, Sure, I don''t mind." She replied.


    Ariel was still thinking about how she''s improving. She seems happy now that she''s realised that she''s improving.


    "Then, Let''s go."


    ***


    Looking back, John never could have imagined how bad this decision was.

 Chapter 37 - 38: Mistake?

    As they entered the eleventh floor, they noticed that something was different. The stairs were longer than usual, and there was a blue lighting from the bottom.


    "Am I the only one who thinks something feels off?" Asked Serena.


    "I feel it too..." Replied Ariel.


    "Yeah, it''s the first time we''ve descended so low when moving floors. Looks like Rose wasn''t joking, things may start to get dangerous." John said.


    After continuously walking down the stairs, they finally reached the bottom. What they saw was...


    "This is..."


    "I heard that the biome can change in a dungeon, but I never expected this..."


    A giant hall with only one path, besides it, was water and no matter how hard John tried to look, he couldn''t see the bottom.


    "So a water biome, huh?"


    The 11th floor was filled with water all around. There are no signs of monsters instead of a giant door which leads to the next room. It looked beautiful, especially that shadows formed due to the light being reflected from the water.


    ''It looks beautiful but... What''s the weird feeling in my chest? As if I should head back¡­'' John wondered.


    "What are you waiting for? Let''s go" Serena said as she pulled him towards to giant door.


    ''It''s probably my imagination¡­'' John thought.


    "Y-Yeah, let''s go," John said as he took the lead.


    "Don''t you think John''s acting a little weird?" Serena asked Ariel as the two walked behind.


    "Yeah, since we entered this floor, something''s been off, maybe we should turn back?" Ariel Said.


    As she said that, John opened the door to the next room, and inside was another hall, with a single path.


    They followed the path and entered the next room. And again there was another single path. They repeated this another 3 times and eventually stopped.


    "Okay, what''s going on? Usually, there would be some sort of maze or choice, but it feels as if we''re just walking in circles," Said Serena.


    The two girls looked intently at John as if expecting an answer.


    "Why are you two looking at me?" John asked.


    "You''ve been acting weird since we came here, so I thought you might have figured something out. That''s what you''re good at." Said Serena as she walked ahead through the path.


    ''Nheless, not encountering any monsters is this normal? A bottomless pit of water... Wait, I continuously stared at the water. It was clear and clean, not something you''d expect from an old dungeon.'' John thought.


    It was then that John noticed.


    "Don''t move." He calmly said.


    Both Serena and Ariel slowly stopped after they heard him.


    "What''s wrong?" Quietly asked Serena.


    ''Why didn''t I notice earlier?'' John questioned.


    "This path is a bridge, and under it. There are monsters." John said.


    "And? It''s not like they''ve attacked us." She replied.


    "What I''m trying to say is. There''s only one path to the boss room." John said.


    "Yeah, we''re standing on it." She said.


    "No, Serena, I think what John is trying to say is that we''re going to have to swim down to reach it," Ariel said.


    "So you realised it too... Yeah, if we continued walking we would just be stuck in a loop." John said.


    "Really? We''re going to have to fight water monsters in the water? Dungeon, why do you hate us!?" Shouted Serena.


    "But, she''s right, the only John can control the water element, the 2 of us might end up drowning." Said Ariel.


    "That''s fine, I can create a bubble of air big enough to fit the three of us." John replied.


    And he won''t have to worry about them running out of oxygen as he can just take some from the water molecules.


    "Is there anything you can''t do?" Asked Serena with an annoyed expression.


    "Either way, I think we should head back, I have a bad feeling about this."


    "Don''t ignore the question! But you''re right, we should head ba-"


    John interrupted Serena as he cast ''Velox'' and propelled himself to her. He caught her midair andnded with her in his arms near the other side of the bridge.


    "That was close." John said as he looked over at the water whip, which missed her.


    "Wha-What are you doing..?" Asked Serena.


    Her red face calmly stared straight at John. But that was not the reaction he was expecting. "Look over there," John said as he stared at the whip.


    The water had taken the shape of a whip andid motionless on the bridge. Serena looked at it and then looked at John waiting for an exnation..


    "That water whip thing moved out of the water and tried to attack you. Before it did, I used Velox to move you out of the way." John said.


    "Oh... Thank you..." Said Serena as she looked away.


    "Ventus"


    John cast Ventus and cut the whip in half, however, despite being separated from the water, the whip didn''t change its shape.


    "I see... So it''s not the water that''s alive... It was magic, there''s either a mage here who can use magic or..." John spoke.


    "Or..?" Serena asked.


    "Or, there''s a strong monster. Either way, we should start heading back. I used up too much magic today." John said.


    "I agree... Um... Can you put me down?" Asked Serena.


    "Oh, yeah, sorry," John said as he put her down.


    After he had stopped carrying her, she didn''t say anything else.


    "Is everything alright?" John asked.


    "Everything''s fine!" Said Serena as she faced the other direction.


    "O-Okay..?"


    They walked over to Ariel and noticed that her face was pouting.


    "A-Are you okay, Ariel?" John asked.


    "Yeah, why?" She replied.


    "Y-Your face," John said.


    "I don''t know, I just suddenly felt a bit annoyed. But I''m d that Serena''s fine, I didn''t even notice the spell," Said Ariel as her expression changed from a pouting one to a relieved one.


    "We''re a party, it''s natural. Let''s head back, any objections?" John asked.


    The two girls shook their heads, and they went back down the path they came from. They went back through the entrance after crossing the bridge, again and again, and again, until they eventually did it 10 times.


    "Didn''t we only enter the room 8 times? If we went back ten times, then doesn''t that mean..." Said Serena.


    "We''re stuck. We''re in a loop, Looks like it''s part of this floor." John said.


    "Then the only way out is..." Ariel said.


    "Yeah, we''re going to have to beat whatever''s down there, to get out. Otherwise, we''ll stay stuck here..." John replied.


    "So that''s the boss? It''s the first I''ve heard of this... Usually, we''re supposed to fight the weaker mobs before meeting the boss." Said, Serena.


    "That''s the only exnation that I can think of. Either way, it saves us a lot of time." John replied.


    "Why are you always so optimistic? Water is where that monster''s going to be at its strongest If we fight it in the water we probably won''t survive..." Serena surmised..


    "What other choice do we have?" John asked as he looked down at the water.


    "P aqua," He said as he looked over at the water.


    The water opened up and formed a sphere; John moved it around a few times and jumped inside. Serena and Ariel followed right after.


    "Yep, we can breathe and talk. This will do." John said as he slowly descended the sphere with them inside further and further down.


    "Not even surprised at this point." Said Serena.


    "So am I." Said Ariel.


    ''Let''s ignore that. Still, why can''t I get this bad feeling off my chest? I''m starting to think we should have turned back¡­ Even Rose herself said that there was a huge difference in levels from the 10th to 11th floor.. I hope I''m just overreacting¡­'' John wondered.

 Chapter 38 - 39: Regret

    As they descended, the amount of light that was passing through the water decreased. It was getting darker, at times like these night vision would be useful.


    "John, it''s been 3 minutes since we''ve started going down how much longer?" Serena asked.


    "I''m not sure. Would you rather us go faster?" John asked.


    They might as well speed up and head straight into the monster''s mouth if she''d like.


    "T-This speed is good." She replied.


    "Do you have any illumination spells? If the monster gets through our perception, we''ll be in trouble." Ariel said.


    "The one we''ve been using so far in the dungeon, doesn''t work in water," Serena replied.


    "Lux" John muttered.


    A bright ball of light was formed outside of the Air bubble and illuminated inside of the water, making it easier for them to see. They looked around and didn''t see any monsters.


    "Looks like we''re approaching the ground." Said Serena as she pointed down.


    John looked down to see what the ground was like and froze.


    "Serena... That''s not-"


    Before he could finish, the dark figure underneath them moved, and they still could barely make out the bottom under it. The dark figure moved around in the water.


    "Deprehendre didn''t detect it..?" John said.


    "What''s that?" Serena asked.


    The figure approached the radius of the area illuminated, and John was starting to make out what it looked like, it was a giant eel. Its length looked to be around 18 meters long and it looked angry at them.


    ''An eel can produce electricity. This water isn''t pure, so electricity can pass through it,'' John analyzed.


    "Stick together. If that''s the same monster I know, then no matter what, stay in the air bub-" He said.


    Before John could finish the Eel rushed at them. It was fast, a lot faster than you''d expect from its size.


    "cio!" John shouted as he stretched out his right hand.


    From the tip of his palm, the water began to freeze and in an instant; it formed an ice wall. The eel charged straight at the ice and hit it head on, but it didn''t break.


    While the monster was upied with the wall, John grabbed on to Ariel and Serena and created small Air bubbles around their heads so that they could breathe. He then gathered the water on his back and used it to propel them downwards to the floor like a jet canon.


    Once they reached the floor, John noticed on the wall that there was a door to another room. He froze the water and created an ice cube around them. John made sure that it was durable.


    "You two, Stay in here, on my signal I want you both to cast your strongest wind spell," John said as he looked over at them.


    "But-"


    Ariel was interrupted by Serena who said, "This is the best option, otherwise, we''ll only slow him down..."


    "O-Okay... John, I''ll do my best to back you up so don''t die!" Ariel replied.


    "I''ll be back," John said as he made a small hole in the ice cube and left.


    John made sure to close the hole and remove the water inside so that they''d be able to concentrate.


    "Lux."


    He cast another illumination spell and left it by the ice cube so that they would be able to aim their spell.


    John then propelled himself back to where he had formed his ice wall and noticed that it had been broken. John looked around but couldn''t find the eel, he also couldn''t sense it.


    "Is the water messing up my detection?" John muttered in the small air bubble he had formed.


    He still had an air bubble formed around his head so that he could breathe, but the rest of his body wasn''t covered so he had to find a way to inste my body.


    As John thought that, he felt a chill go down his spine and propelled himself forward as fast as he could. A split secondter, the giant eel, from above, charged straight down at the area John was.


    ''Sixth sense and rose, thank you.'' Thanked John.


    The eel looked at John and then disappeared again into the darkness.


    The eel was strong, big, can probably use magic and is inside his territory. But...


    "Looks like we''re ying hide and seek. I wonder who will find who first. Furtim." John said.


    After that trace of his location disappeared, he formed an air bubble in a different location from him and began to move it around. As expected, the Eel went out of hiding and charged at the bubbles, thinking that it was John.


    "Checkmate."


    John cast magnum cies'' and propelled it at the Eel. He used water to propel the spike, so it was much faster than when it is in the air. The eel was too focused on the bubble and didn''t notice the cies.


    On impact, nothing happened, the ice slipped right through the eel''s skin.


    While John was surprised at the sudden turn of events, the eel''s head moved from the bubble he had formed and faced his direction as if it had noticed his presence.


    As John was about to propel himself backwards, he was hit by a shockwave which paralyzed him and caused my furtim to deactivate.


    ''I knew I should have found a way to defend against that lightning earlier¡­'' John thought.


    The eel, who could finally see John, charged straight at him.


    ''We should have turned back when we had the chance... If I die, what''s going to happen to them?'' John wondered.


    "Ariel... Serena... I''m sorry..." John said as he looked over at them.


    As they watched him float motionless on the water, they noticed that John was in trouble and with tears on their faces they began to charge up their wind spell.


    "Stop... If you cast that the ice will bre-"


    Before John could finish he was gobbled up by the Eel.

 Chapter 39 - 40: Resolve

    "JOHN!!!" Cried out Ariel as she stretched out her hand.


    Tears streamed down her face as she began to charge up her spell in sadness and anger. The little remaining oxygen inside of the ice cube began to gather and took the form of a spear.


    Serena who saw this began to charge up her own spell and formed 5 wind Arrows around the spear. As Ariel was about to shoot the spell, Serena stopped her.


    "Wait, Ariel, not now."


    "What do you mean not now!? It ate John!!" She shouted back.


    Ariel was full of anger and was in no position to think logically.


    "If we attack it now, then we''ll also die! It''s too far from us, I also want to avenge John! So we''ll have to wait!" Shouted Serena as tears slowly streamed down her face.


    "But we can still sav-"


    Ariel was interrupted by Serena who quietly said, "It''s toote..."


    Ariel got her staff and began to pour even more magic power into her spear.


    "What are you doing?" Asked Serena.


    "I''m waiting..." Said Ariel as she wiped her tears.


    "I already told you! John won''t-"


    Serena was interrupted by a bright sh which came from the mouth of the eel. The eel''s behaviour changed, and it started swimming around as if it were trying to get something off of its body. Then again, another sh came from the inside.


    Ariel and Serena Stared at the eel as hope slowly began to fill their eyes.


    A 3rd sh came from inside of the body and the eel''s movements slowed down. It seemed weaker. Shortly after, something had pierced it from the inside and blood began to spill out. Then another bright sh followed.


    The recently active eel had be motionless... Then slowly, from the mouth, you could see signs of the inside being slowly frozen.


    Seeing this, the sad look on Ariel''s and Serena''s faces changed into a teary smile.


    "That idiot... he didn''t give up..." Said Serena as she wiped her tears.


    "Mn.." Nodded Ariel as she also wiped her tears.


    Momentster from the inside of the mouth crawled out a young boy who they all recognised.


    "It''s John! I told you he was fine!" Said, Ariel with a happy and excited expression.


    "Yeah... I forgot how abnormal he was..." Said Serena with a small smile


    John slowly floated downwards towards the ice cube without moving. His consciousness slowly began to fade as he fell deeper and deeper.


    "Where is John''s ball of air? He won''t be able to breathe..." Asked Ariel


    "He''s going to drown at this rate..." Said Serena as she looked up at him.


    Fear filled Ariel''s and Serena''s faces as they shouted out John''s name from inside of the ice.


    [Serena..? Ariel..? Ah... That''s right... I''m underwater right now...] John thought hazily.


    Right before Serena and Ariel were about to put a hole in the ice to pick up John as he barely hanged on to his consciousness, he propelled himself straight down onto the ice cube.


    Once he reached it, he opened a hole and fell inside before using his remaining energy to close it and remove the water which had gone in.


    After he had finished, he fell unconscious. Ariel and Serena who were frozen and surprised at what had just happened snapped back to reality and instantly went to see John''s condition


    John had a few burns and cuts on his skin, so Ariel''s face was filled with tension as she saw that. Ariel ced her head on his chest and made a relieved expression as his heart was beating. She then ced her hand above his nose and the tension returned.


    "Ariel, what''s wrong? Why aren''t you saying anything?" Asked Serena.


    "John, he''s not breathing..." Said, Ariel.


    "What? Then can you-"


    Serena was stopped by Ariel''s sudden action where she slightly tilted John''s head back and kissed him. That''s how it looked from the perspective of Serena.


    Ariel, however, was performing rescue breaths on John. She had tilted his head to open his airways, pinched his nose, took a deep breath and while her mouth was ced above his, she blew air into his chest and watched it rise after it fell she repeated the process 5 times.


    "Wha- What are you doing?!" Asked Serena with a red face.


    Ariel didn''t hear her, she couldn''t hear anything. She remained focused without saying anything and moved on to chestpressions.


    At a steady pace, she pressed down at John''s chest 30 times. After that, she gave him another 2 rescue breaths


    Serena realised what she was doing and didn''t say anything as to not break Ariel''s concentration. She knew that John''s life could only be saved by Ariel.


    "Wake up... John..." Quietly muttered Ariel as she did Chestpressions.


    After two tries, her hands were starting to feel tired, but she didn''t stop. She had deactivated magic strengthening so that she wouldn''t identally harm him, so the only thing that kept her going without stopping was her will.


    "Please..." Said Ariel as she began to cry.


    On the third tries after she ced her lips above his and blew into his mouth, as his chest fell he finally coughed out water...


    "Huh? *Cough* Ariel..? *Cough*" Said John as he woke up.


    Ariel and Serena''s face lit up as John woke up and Ariel gave him a tight hug.


    She then started crying as she held on to John.


    "You idiot..." Quietly muttered Ariel as tears streamed down her face.


    Confused, John didn''t say anything and hugged her back.

 Chapter 40 - 41: Trust

    After what felt like minutes, Ariel let go of the hug. Her eyes were puffed up,


    ''Looks like I messed up again¡­'' John thought.


    "So John, aren''t you going to say thank you?" Asked Serena as she looked at Ariel.


    ''Thank you..? Speaking of which, what happened after I killed the eel?'' John wondered.


    "Why do you have that confused look on your face? Ariel saved your life, you drowned she-"


    "Serena, you don''t have to talk about it..." Interrupted Ariel with a reddened expression.


    "No, he deserves to know who saved him." Said Serena with a straight face.


    "But he saved us too." Said Ariel.


    "That''s exactly why, if he always saves us and we don''t do anything, he''ll think we''re useless, so tell it to him in a straight face that you saved him!" Argued Serena.


    "Wha- What''s gotten into you?!" Said Ariel while flustered.


    "U-Um... I''m confused, but Ariel has already saved my life countless times so I''ll always need her help. The same goes for you Serena, you''ve also been a great help, more than I''d like to admit." John said.


    "John... Wait, what was thatst part?" Asked Serena as her expression changed from a proud smile to an annoyed expression.


    "You''ve also been a great help?" John said with a confused expression.


    "Ah, never mind, I must have imagined it." Said Serena as she looked away.


    "But yeah, what was that about drowning?" John asked.


    "Oh yeah, listen to this, Ariel she-"


    Serena was interrupted by Ariel, who forcefully covered her mouth.


    "Serena... Please..." Said Ariel as she desperately tried to stop her.


    "A-Ariel, C-Calm down, O-Okay! I won''t tell him. How are you so strong!?" Said Serena as she desperately tried to hold back Ariel.


    "Thank you..." Muttered Ariel.


    "Uh, I could hear you two... I don''t know why you want to hide it from me, but thanks for saving me, Ariel." John replied.


    "I hate to admit it, but I wasn''t of much help this time..." Muttered Serena.


    ''Since she doesn''t want to talk about it, I won''t ask how. She probably removed water from my lungs using magic, but when did she learn the concept behind the water element¡­'' John wondered.


    ''Another theory is CPR, but she probably doesn''t know how to do it... But if she tried, then that means we kissed? But who could have taught her it... Wait.'' He further thought.


    "Um, Ariel... Was your uncle something like a doctor?" John asked.


    "H-How did you know?" Asked Ariel with a surprised expression.


    "Just a guess... Did he ever teach you first-aid?" John curiously asked.


    Ariel who had realised my intentions quietly nodded.


    "Ah, I''m very grateful, thanks to those lessons you saved my life," John said.


    "You''re not mad..?" Quietly asked Ariel as she looked at him.


    "Why would I be mad? I''d rather be alive." John said as he started tough.


    "I-It''s not funny..!" Said Ariel as she hid her embarrassed expression.


    "John, I''ve been wondering. Why did you stay still when the Eel went to eat you?" Asked Serena.


    "Oh, it managed to stun me with its shock wave and so I couldn''t move," John said.


    "But, weren''t you still able to cast your spell inside of its mouth even though you were paralyzed? Why didn''t you just propel yourself around the water and wait until you''d be able to move again?" Asked Serena.


    "I could have done that but... Its skin was anti-magic, you see, so I thought it''d be better to attack it from the inside" John answered.


    As John said that both Serena and Ariel stared at him with dumbfounded expressions.


    "So... What you''re saying is... You made us worry for nothing..?" Asked Serena as she ced her palm on her face.


    Ariel remained frozen with a dumbfounded expression.


    "I wouldn''t say you worried for nothing, there was a low chance of it seeding. In fact, that eel had very sharp teeth, if I was a second slower at propelling myself straight onto its tongue without.. getting... bitten...-"


    John stopped as Ariel quietly got up and walked up to him.


    "You idiot!!! Do you have any idea how much you made us worry?! Why do you always take these sorts of risks? Do you not value your life? Me and Serena are here... You can rely on us more... So stop taking risks like that..." Said Ariel as she hung her head.


    This was the first time John had ever seen her this mad.


    "Why are you always so reckless? We''re a party so if one of our members is reckless then naturally we have to join in... Don''t underestimate us..." Said Serena as she made an annoyed expression.


    "Take more care of yourself... You don''t have to always worry about us... Aren''t we partners?!" Asked Ariel as she lifted up her head.


    Despite having puffy eyes from all that crying, her eyes once again started to water up. Seeing this even John began to tear up.


    After a few seconds, which felt like minutes, John spoke up.


    "You''re right... I''m sorry I made you two worry. Next time I promise to rely on you two more... So.. Um... Can you two cheer up?"


    ''I''m not good at cheering people up, and honestly, I was taken aback by everything that just happened and didn''t know what to say¡­'' John thought.


    "On one condition..." Said Serena as she looked over at Ariel.


    "What is it..?" John asked.


    "Take us on another date, when we get back, I''d like to see that view we saw before." Said Serena with a bright smile.


    Ariel''s eyes lit up at what Serena said and paid close attention to their conversation.


    "Don''t you think you''d cheer up if he did that Ariel?" Asked Serena as she looked over at her.


    Ariel hastily nodded her head at Serena''s question.


    ''These two... Can''t you be more considerate of my feelings? Ah, that''s right, I didn''t tell them a date was supposed to be between lovers.'' John realised.


    ''Speaking of Feelings... I never really thought about it before but... How do I feel about Serena and Ariel..?'' He wondered.


    ''They''re important to me, but my feelings... I guess they''re like family..? But what if¡­'' John thought.


    "So, John, what do you say?" Asked Serena with the same innocent smile.


    "Y-Yeah, if it''ll cheer you two up," John said with a flustered expression.


    Ariel''s face changed into a smile as she heard a reply and Serena remained with her smile as if everything had gone ording to her n.


    "Now, let''s get out of here. I should''ve mentioned this earlier, but I''m really tired and I''m running out of Power. I''m not sure how long I''dst if I tried to cast air bubbles." John said.


    Serena and Ariel stretched out their staffs, and each poured part of their magic power into his gloves.


    "When did you- Nevermind," John muttered.


    After having some of his mana recharged, John created air balls and a hole in the ice cube before propelling them to the big blue magic stone which was from killing the eel.


    After He put the stone in his toolbox, John propelled himself over to the door to the next floor to see if it had opened and to our surprise it did, the door was open but the water wasn''t passing through the other floor, as if there were some sort of invisible wall blocking it.


    After confirming that the door had indeed opened, they headed straight up; John increased the speed, and they reached the top within a minute.


    After they reached the top, they went straight towards the door which led to the previous floor. As they arrived, they were surprised at how the door was shut close. It automatically opens after the boss is beaten.


    John poured his strength into trying to open it, but it wouldn''t budge. Worry began to fill Ariel and Serena''s face as they began to grasp the situation they were in.


    "cies" John muttered.


    John propelled the ice spike at the door and it evaporated.


    "Looks like we''re trapped, we have no choice but to head to the next floor...." John said with a worried expression.

 Chapter 41 - 42: 12th Floor

    Ariel and Serena both had worried looks on their faces as they descended towards the door leading to the 12th floor, but they didn''t say anything about it.


    "Is everything okay, with you two?" John asked as they descended.


    "E-Everything''s fine..." Said Serena with a nervous expression.


    Ariel slowly nodded with an equally nervous expression.


    "I''ll take that as a no. But it makes sense, we''re heading into a floor where we''ll encounter monsters even stronger than the one we just beat." John said.


    Right now would be a good time to try to calm them down, but John was not sure if he should. Ever since they entered this dungeon, it felt as if it had been targeting them. They need to be on alert if they want to survive this.


    Even if they do manage to survive,ing back would be risky. They could start going to the other 3 dungeons, but if they target them, they might really be goners. Honestly, it was starting to annoy John how they were getting targeted. But for now, there''s nothing he could do about it.


    "Can''t you try making it sound less scary?!" Said Serena as she started trembling.


    Ariel nodded at what Serena said and they stood close together. Now that John thought about it, as far as he could remember, Serena and Ariel have been close. They sort of resemble sisters. A ck-haired angel and a silver-haired half-elf.


    "Pfff" John identally let out.


    "I-It''s not funny!!" Shouted Serena.


    "Y-Yes!" Added Ariel.


    "It''s not that, I just finally realised that you two are like sisters," John said.


    "Sis-ters?" Muttered Ariel as she looked over at Serena with lit eyes.


    "W-Well, I suppose we are like sisters..." Muttered Serena.


    At Serena''s words, Ariel let out a bright smile as she nodded and said, "Big sister. Serena is a great big sister"


    Hearing this, Serena gave Ariel a big hug.


    "That''s right, you can count on your big sister to protect you." Said Serena with a happy expression as she continued to hug Ariel.


    "Yeah, but in this case, I wonder who would be the older sister... Serena''s slightly taller but..."


    "Oi, what were you just about to say?" Asked Serena as she stared straight at John.


    "Haha, nothing," He said.


    "You were going to say something insulting, weren''t you!?" Asked Serena as she started pulling his cheeks.


    "I-It''s fine, Serena, You can be the older sister so..." Said Ariel as she tried stopping her.


    "T-Thanks Ariel, but when you say it like that it sounds like you''re pitying me..." Said Serena as she made a dejected expression.


    Seeing these two act this way, John felt his fear and nervousness get washed away. They also looked as if they had calmed down and were having fun. He couldn''t help but let out a smile.


    "What''s gotten you so happy?" Asked Serena as she continued to pull his cheeks.


    "I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you two here," John said.


    If he were alone in a situation like this, he didn''t know what he''d do. But with these two here, John could feel most of his worries disappear. ''


    No matter what... I can''t do anything that will put their lives at risk. That is my responsibility as their leader and¡­'' John decided.


    "W-Why do you always say these things at these moments..." Asked Serena with a reddened expression.


    "W-We''re lucky to have you here too..." Said Ariel with blushed cheeks.


    "Thanks," John replied with a smile.


    ''But she''s right... Did I make a mistake saying that...? In most books I''ve read, usually when a person does that, doesn''t something bad usually happen afterwards..? Isn''t this called setting up a g..? Nah, there''s no way, this is reality after all... There''s no such thing as gs... right..?. John wondered.


    "Sorry, I am very sorry," John said as he bowed his head.


    "Why are you suddenly apologising?!" Asked Serena with a shocked expression.


    "Y-You don''t have to apologise! What''s wrong?" asked Ariel while startled.


    "No, I''ve just been doing something stupid this whole time, and only realised it now," John said with a straight expression.


    "O-Okay..?" Muttered Serena.


    After that interaction, they had finally reached the door to the 11th floor. They entered the 11th floor and slowly climbed down the stairs. John could feel that the girls were nervous, but it wasn''t as much as before.


    They continued to walk down the stairs for what felt like minutes until they finally reached the floor. There were rocks everywhere, and it looked like a giant cave.


    John cast deprehendre and didn''t spot anything unusual.


    "Let''s go," John said as he began to walk forward.


    The two girls silently nodded and followed behind him.


    At the end of the cave stood a door to the next room, which was most likely the boss'' room.


    ''That being said, do monsters that aren''t the boss stop appearing after the 10th floor? There weren''t any on the 11th floor. Unless¡­''


    Just as John thought that most of the giant boulders around them turned into a humanoid looking golem which carried stone weapons. They werepletely surrounded.


    "Looks like I was right..." John muttered.


    "About what?" Asked Serena.


    "The reason we didn''t encounter any monsters aside from the Boss in the previous floor, was because the eel ate them all," John said.


    ''Speaking of eating... We should have our lunch after we deal with these golems. We also need to rest up... I haven''t gotten any rest from the fight with the eel... My muscles feel sore and I can still feel the fatigue from the fight... Maybeing down here without resting wasn''t such a good idea¡­'' John thought.


    The golems approached them, and they stuck close together. They were using the back to back-formation, which they practised in cases they get surrounded. Each one of the, will face a direction and attack anything that gets close. With the 3 of them, they were able to cover 360 degrees.


    ''With this we should be fine, they''re obviously weaker than the previous boss.... Let''s just hope I have enough magic power¡­'' John thought.

 Chapter 42 - 43: Warning

    "Ignis! Ignis! Ignis!" Said Ariel as she rained downed spells on the golems.


    Ventus wasn''t very effective against the golems, so she changed to Fire as we fought. The fire spells weren''t that effective either, but it was the only other options. The golems would get hit by her ignis but wouldn''t stop.


    They were slow but John could tell, getting hit by that thing in our current condition would be game over.


    "Fire arrows!" Said Serena.


    20 Arrows of me were formed in the air. Each 2 arrows were aimed at a single golem, she was targeting the 10 in front of her and Ariel. There were at least 15 golems in total surrounding us.


    "Ariel!" Said Serena.


    "I got it!" Replied Ariel.


    As she said that, air began to gather behind each of the arrows. And with the wind as a propeller, the arrows overall strength had increased two-fold.


    ''Ariel has really good uracy... To be able to pinpoint and gather air that far away from her... She must have been practising hard.'' John realized.


    "Now!" Shouted Serena.


    As she said that, Ariel propelled the arrows simultaneously at the 5 golems facing each of their directions. The moment there was contact, a small explosion was made and fog was formed thanks to the dust.


    "Did we get him?" Asked Serena.


    "Why are you raising a g!?!" John shouted he cut down one of the golems in front of him.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?!" Asked Serena.


    "Nevermind. Tonde mma" John said as he lept at another golem.


    ''They''re durable... It''s taking me two-fold a constant supply of magic to my daggers to just be able to cut them and Tonde mma for the cut to reach their core. If you don''t get their core, they won''t die... Which is why¡­'' John decided.


    "We''re Retreating!" Shouted John.


    "Why? And How? We just finished dealing with ours," Said Serena.


    "Check Again!" John replied.


    She turned around and noticed that despite being damaged; the golems were still moving. Parts of their body were broken, but they were already only around 10 meters away from them.


    "Crap... We have no choice! Levite! Velox!" John chanted.


    As he cast those John grabbed on to Serena who was the closest, then Ariel and flew them over the golems straight to the giant door connected to the next room. As he did that more rocks which were on the path turned into golems.


    There were now over 4 x times the amount they were originally fighting. Around 60 golems formed underneath them. But John didn''t stop, he flew straight at the door and arrived there within seconds.


    "Why didn''t you do this earlier?" Asked Serena.


    "Because of that." John said as he pointed over at the 60 golems in heading towards them.


    The two hadn''t realised earlier because they were more focused on the door rather than what was under them, and the golems blended in quite nicely from above.


    "W-Wha-What!? That many?! Isn''t that overkill!?" Shouted Serena.


    Ariel hastily nodded at what Serena said.


    "Tch, looks like we won''t get any time to rest at all, our options are either to kill all of these and rest, or fight the boss. We haven''t even had our lunch yet, Give us a break!" John shouted at the ceiling.


    The golems continued to approach them without showing any signs of stopping.


    "Let''s fight the boss." Said Ariel with a resolved look.


    She''s had a different air around her for a while.


    "I agree with Ariel, there''s no way we''re taking that many on. Also, we haven''t eaten anything in a while, let''s quickly deal with the boss and rest. At least here, we won''t have to be worried about drowning." Said Serena.


    "Alright, let''s go." John said as he pushed open the door.


    John was only able to take down 2 Golems, and that took an annoying amount of power. He was in no position to fight.


    They entered inside, and the door closed by itself. The room was full of lightning and it was just like most of the first to tenth floor boss rooms. The only difference was that the background was simr to a cave and in the middle stood a weird-looking monster. It faced the entrance to the next room.


    John looked around the room and found stone statues, highly detailed statues.


    ''How could a person and why would a person make these in the boss'' room? It''s almost as if-'' He thought.


    Worry filled his face as John began to realise what happened.


    The monster turned around and John felt a horrible feeling. A feeling of fear and disgust. As he felt that, he heard a voice resounding in his head ''Clo-se yo-ur ey-es'' Said the voice before fading out.


    "SERENA! ARIEL! CLOSE YOUR EYES!" John said as he moved his hands to cover them.


    Surprised, they looked over at him, with a worried expression without closing their eyes. It was toote, John wasn''t looking but he could tell the monster was looking straight at them.


    The moment John walked in, he could tell something was wrong. Sculptures of stone in the middle of a boss room which was designed and looked like people?


    No, something had to have happened. These were people that were turned to sculptures. This reminds John of the Medusa myth. There was a woman who could turn people to stone if they gazed at her.


    As they were about to turn their head to face the monster, in a hurry John grabbed on to their hands and pulled them towards him. Thanks to that, they were facing the entrance they had juste from.


    John then put his arms around them so that they wouldn''t turn around. As he was about to whisper in their ear, Serena spoke up


    "J-John..?" Said Ariel with a confused tone as she looked up at him.


    "Wha-What are you doing?!" Said Serena as she lightly tried to push him away.


    John''s eyes were closed, so he couldn''t tell what sort of expression they were making, but he was sure they were both mad.


    "Sorry, but I had no other choice... whatever you do, don''t turn around," John whispered quietly in their ears.


    He could feel her ear twitch as John whispered that. This was the first time he had been this close to Serena''s pointy ears, he kind of wanted to open his eyes.


    "O-Okay... What sort of monster is it?" Asked Serena.


    "Did you notice the sculptures around us? It was done by it. Judging by the fact that we didn''t turn to stone despite being looked at. I''m guessing it only works if we look at its gaze." John said.


    There was no need to whisper anymore, they understood the situation. Nheless, what a frightening monster. John checked with deprehendre and it hadn''t moved from its position. All the other stone sculptures here are from adventurers who were taken by surprise.


    "That sounds a lot like a basilisk..." Muttered Serena.


    "Basilisk?" John asked


    "Yeah, they''re monsters which can turn you to stone if you look directly at them. Although their fighting power is weak, their ability makes up for it. its power is that of a C-Rank but it''s ability boosts its rank all the way to A rank." Said Serena.


    ''It''s a higher rank than the death knight... This is not good... But that''s only with its ability¡­'' John thought.


    "If it wasn''t for that voice, we might have been dead by now..." John muttered.


    "Voice?" Asked Ariel.


    "Yeah, don''t worry about it. I have a n, but the three of us are going to have to work together. Can you guys please lend me your strength?" John asked.


    "Obviously, you don''t have to ask." Replied Serena.


    "Exactly." Replied Ariel.


    "Alright, let''s do it!" John said as he whispered the n to them.


    Back then, when they didn''t close their eyes and they looked at him, John felt his heart drop. Thankfully, nothing bad happened as they weren''t looking at it but...


    ''Is it testing us? Instead of making the monster face the door and petrify the 3 of us by surprise. It gave us enough time to figure out its ability.'' John thought.


    ''Being led around like this is infuriating, but what''s worse is how they''re ying the lives of my preciousrades as if it were some sort of game.'' John thought


    ''Whatever is doing this. I hope you''re prepared because I won''t forgive you..'' John decided.

 Chapter 43 - 44: Earthdusa

    John had gone over the n with the two girls, but they denied it. It was a rather simple n, and it was one of their best options.


    "Why not?" John asked.


    "Fighting that thing without looking? Are you out of your mind?" Asked Serena.


    "No, I told you. I have deprehendre. I can sense it." John replied.


    "But John, What if you''re hit, and the shock causes you to open your eyes?" Asked Ariel.


    "That won''t happen," John said.


    "Let''s leave it, Ariel. We don''t have any better ns and he won''t budge now that he''s decided on it." Serena spoke.


    "Fine..." Muttered Ariel.


    "I''m sorry Ariel, but we don''t have much of a choice..." John said.


    "I get it... I just hate how your life is constantly at risk, in the front and we''re not able to offer much support..." Said Ariel.


    "You''ve been doing a great job with Serena supporting me from medium range, Thanks to you two I feel a lot safer at the front," John said.


    "I-Is that so..." Muttered Ariel.


    Ariel cast Wind Spear. She had been casting many spells today, so John was really surprised by her recent growth in both strength and magic capacity.


    The wind began to gather where a me had been formed thanks to Serena. That caused The Wind spear to turn into a me-wind Spear.


    After that, Serena cast 20 fire arrows and Ariel gathered air behind them, to propel them at any moment''s notice.


    "We''re ready." Said Ariel.


    Amazing. Their teamwork is amazing. Despite not being able to look, they were able to sense where the other was gathering the mana. Most of it is thanks to magic perception, but it''s also something you can''t pull off unless you''ve had a lot of practice.


    "Well done, you two have really improved your control over concept magic." John praised.


    "T-Thanks to you..." Serena replied.


    "John is a great teacher!" Said Ariel.


    "Y-Yeah, no problem, I''m also grateful to you two, despite being annoying. Serena is very wise. Ariel is hardworking and a great learner. You two have both saved me and I owe you a lot." John replied.


    "Of course you do... While I''m d about being called wise, Ariel''s the one who''s saved you, I haven''t managed to do much..." Said Serena.


    "That''s not true," Said Ariel.


    "Remember when I was cursed and was losing myself when we fought the spider queen? You noticed it and stopped me from getting possessed. And that time where you held back the spider queen when Ariel was hurt? Oh, and-" John said.


    "A-Alright! I get it! C-Can we have this talkter..? T-The monster''s still standing there..." Said Serena with an embarrassed tone.


    "Alright, Stick to the n. Velox! Gravitas! Levite!"


    John cast Velox and Levite to boost himself straight towards the monster. His eyes were closed and he couldn''t see it, but he could feel it thanks to magic perception and deprehendre. He cast Gravitas so that it wouldn''t move.


    Once John reached it. He deactivated Levite as it''s hard to get precise movements while he flew. With the momentum from when levite was active, John charged straight towards the Earthdusa head-on like a cannon.


    Despite being under 20x Gravity, it managed to turn its body, and John ended up swinging at the side of its body.


    "Hard," John said as he barely cut at its skin.


    John propelled himself back with velox when he felt its tail head towards him. Hard skin and slow. If not for its eyes, it wouldn''t pose any threat.


    ''Then why don''t I¡­'' He thought.


    "Velox"


    John propelled himself over to where it was facing, and he propelled himself straight at its face. It turned its head again and swung its tail at him.


    "As expected. Velox Duplici" Trantion: Double Swift


    In nearly an instant, John''s daggers were pierced in each of its eyes. It happened a lot faster than he expected. John propelled himself twice at once. First, he propelled himself over to the direction he moved to, and then while he was still being propelled John propelled himself straight at it.


    "Ignis iecit" John said while my daggers were inside of his eyes. Trantion: Fire Shot


    Fire passed from his daggers straight through its eyes and fried it along with the inside of its head. It let out a loud shriek indicating pain and began to uncontrobly swing its tail.


    "Ariel, Serena. Now!!! Aim at my voice!!" John shouted.


    Ariel was nervous of missing. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn''t used to aiming without her sight. But she forced herself to calm down and took the shot.


    20 mes arrows along with a fire spear went straight towards John. The Earthdusa who could feel it tried moving away, but couldn''t as John kept gravitas activated on it.


    Once it reached it, the Fire spear pierced through its skin to the inside of its side belly. The arrows managed to pierce the skin but didn''t go too far inside.


    It let out a scream of pain before its body turned into a magic stone. John could tell thanks to magic perception. With hesitation, he slowly opened his eyes and... Nothing happened. He was fine.


    John stared at the Cyan blue Stone, who radiated a beautiful aura. It was smaller than the spider queen''s but it looked nice so John was sure it was worth quite a lot.


    He picked up the stone and put it in the magic tool box, before looking over at Serena and Ariel. Their eyes were still closed, and they had confused looks on their faces as they tried to understand what had happened.


    "We got it!" John shouted out.


    "Thank god!" Shouted Serena.


    "Can we open our eyes now?" Shouted Ariel.


    "Yeah!" John shouted back.


    The two girls rushed over to him after opening their eyes. Once they arrived, Both Ariel and Serena fell on top of John. He had no more strength thanks to the fight, so the momentum caused him to fall over as well.


    Without moving, the two girlsid on top of him as theyid on the ground. They were fast asleep.


    "So you used up all of your mana, huh... Ah, I''m getting deja vu. It''s not good to sleep on an empty stomach but you''re tired, so we''ll eat when you wake up." John said as he ced his hands around them.


    ''Warm... They were warm and soft. Even if I wanted to move them, I don''t have any strength left. So i''ll let myself be spoiled by this warmth for a little longer¡­'' John thought.


    "Sphaera cies" he muttered.


    An Ice sphere was formed around them, and John began feeling sleepy.


    ''The monsters are getting stronger... How much longer will we have to endure this? Either way, no matter what I have to keep them safe... Because I''m the leader and..''.


    As John thought of such things he fell asleep.

 Chapter 44 - 45: Relax

    "Mnn..."


    John woke up to a familiar soft sensation on both sides of his arm.


    "Ah, that''s right. We exhausted all our energy and fainted." John said as he looked at his arms.


    His left arm was being tightly held by a sleeping Serena, while his right arm was being held by Ariel.


    "I''m surprised I managed to fall asleep in this situation..." John muttered as he looked over at the two girls.


    Serena''s sleeping face was both beautiful and cute. She had the genes of an elf, after all. A proud race which lives on for hundreds of years and maintains their teenage looks throughout those years. At least that''s what John had read.


    "If only you always stayed quiet..." John muttered.


    As he said that, John looked over at Ariel. Her sleeping face was adorable. She''s a human, and in most cases people''s looks are above average herepared to his previous world. But her''s were beyond that.


    ''Am I being tested? Why do I have these two cute girls each clinging on to one of my arms? I''m a boy, you know... A boy going through puberty. My heart can''t take it¡­'' John wondered.


    Even if John had never had a girlfriend before, or barely talked to girls aside from his cousins. He was still interested in getting one. Although he never really found a crush or fell in love.


    There were plenty of beautiful girls in his old school, but none of them made him feel that way. John wondered what it felt like when you do.


    "Well, I can think about these things in the future. Right now, what matters the most is surviving and keeping these two safe." John muttered to himself.


    Half an hourter, the two girls woke up


    "Hey, John... Me and Ariel were wondering... Could you please set up a bath for us? There are a few cylinders-shaped rocks over there which we could fill with water. It''ll feel like a hot-spring." Asked Serena.


    "Sure," John straightforwardly said.


    "Really?" Asked Serena.


    "Yeah, why not? I''d also like to take a shower. Also, while you''re taking a shower, here''s 2 toothbrushes and toothpaste. This is for you and Ariel," John replied as he pulled them out from his toolbox.


    "Why do you have a toothbrush and toothpaste?" Asked Serena.


    "Well, I thought we might need them, which is why I also brought a towel and toilet paper," John replied.


    "Of course you did. You''re always prepared."


    ''Why d''you say it with a sarcastic tone'' John thought.


    "This is going too smoothly... Wait. You''re not nning on peeping, are you!?" Asked Serena with a surprised expression.


    Ariel who overheard made an embarrassed expression.


    "Alright, I guess you don''t want to take a shower," John replied as he began to create his own.


    "Wait! Wait! I was joking, I''m sorry." Said Serena as she pulled his hand.


    "It''s fine." John said as he walked over to their side and began creating a bath.


    ''I''d be lying if I said I wasn''t interested. I want to, but it''s not like I''ll die if I don''t, and it''s not right¡­'' He thought.


    "Is everything okay, join?" Asked Ariel with a worried look as she wiped John''s tear off his face.


    ''Close... We''re a hand''s width away from each other. Her small eyes look as if they''re staring right through me'' John thought.


    "Y-Yeah, E-Everything''s okay," John said as he hastily turned his face.


    ''T-That was close... Wait, why am I always getting flustered whenever we make eye contact¡­''


    Ariel tilted her head in a confused manner at John''s sudden reaction.


    "W-Well, I''m going to go add water and heat up the spring," John said as he walked off.


    Ariel nodded and continued practising her wind control. Whenever she has time, she ys around with the wind. John was d she enjoys using magic.


    Once he reached the rocks, John noticed that Serena was waiting there.


    "Hey." John said as he cast Aqua.


    He then began filling the cylinder-shaped rocks with water. When Serena suddenly got closer to him.


    "Hey, John. Are you sure you wouldn''t want to peep..? Aren''t boys usually interested in that sort of thing?" Asked Serena.


    John didn''t reply to her question. More like he didn''t know what to say.


    "Are you, not into girls?" Asked Serena with a surprised expression.


    "What? No. I''m straight." John replied.


    "Then do you not find us interesting..?" Asked Serena dejected expression


    "It''s not that!" John suddenly replied.


    Serena''s expression changed from a dejected one to a surprised one at his sudden reaction. As they stared at each other, face-to-face John continued.


    "So you are?" Asked Serena.


    "Argh... Fine, Yes I am. Are you happy? What kind of guy wouldn''t want to peep at two cute girls taking a shower? Now stop asking, you''re ruining my innocent mind," He straightforwardly said.


    Serena who didn''t expect thising, felt embarrassed. Her cheeks were bright red as she said, "I-I see..." as she stared at him.


    John did not expect her reaction at all. His heart once again began beating even faster as they looked at each other. And he could feel his cheeks turning red as he looked away. And tried focusing on heating up the water.


    Seeing this, Serena slowly and quietly got up without saying anything and walked towards Ariel''s direction, before she turned around and called his name.


    "John." Said Serena.


    "What?" John asked as he turned around, still embarrassed from what he had just said.


    "You''re a Pervert." Said Serena as she showed him a cute, mischievous smile while she blushed.


    "Wha-" He said as his face showed an, even more, embarrassed expression.


    Before John could say anything, she turned around and headed towards Ariel and practiced with her.


    ''First Ariel, now Serena... Stop messing with my feelings!'' John internally shouted.


    ***


    The showers were finally ready. John called the girls over and made an Ice Wall, which split the sides so that they wouldn''tin or use him of peeping.


    "Ah... It feels nice..." John let out as he entered the spring of water that he had made.


    It was just the right temperature and felt amazing. It was heated up by John, after all. As he indulged in the rxing sensation of the spring, he overheard a few things.


    "Ahh... this is bliss..." Said Serena.


    "Yeah... It''s warm." Muttered Ariel as she got in.


    "Is everything okay, ariel?" Asked Serena.


    "E-Everything''s fine..." she replied.


    "Hmm, is that so?"


    "Serena... S-Stop... it''s ticklish¡­" Said Ariel as she startedughing.


    "Call me Bi-g-sis-ter" Said Serena as she continued to y around with Ariel.


    "Okay, Okay! Big sister, S-Stop, hahaha" Said Ariel as she continuedughing.


    "Then tell me what''s wrong, sisters help each other." Said Serena.


    "O-Okay, Stop, hahaha," Said Ariel.


    Serena seemed to have stopped as Ariel began panting for air shortly after she said that.


    "I''m just not sure... It''s just... We''re stuck in this dungeon and we don''t know what might happen. Also John... He''s always so reckless even though he knows it''s dangerous..." Muttered Ariel.


    "Reckless is too much, more like brave... Even if he doesn''t show it, John has been afraid of the monsters quite a few times. I noticed this as I watched him." Serena replied.


    ''She noticed..?'' John heard.


    "There are times where he''s trembling, sweating nervously or stuttering as he gives directions. I''m sure you''ve noticed too, right?" Asked Serena.


    ''Ah... Stop, please stop. This is too embarrassing¡­'' John thought.


    "Yeah... So then why? If he''s scared why does he take the lead?" Asked Ariel.


    "Cause he''s a jerk, and he''s overprotective!" Said Serena.


    ''Haha, of course you want to be me.'' John thought.


    "Pfff, that''s right. John is overprotective." Said Ariel as she held back herugh.


    "I know right. He''s being cautious because he cares about us and doesn''t want us in danger but he worries too much, who does he think he is our dad?" Asked Serena.


    "That''s true, he''s always worrying about us. But you know... I like that part of him... He helped me, someone who lost everything and took me on an adventurer with him. John is too kind... What do you think, serene?" Asked Ariel.


    ''Like? Ariel likes me? No wait, she said that part about me, which means it might not be me, which means... I''m just imagining it... Y-Yeah, she said part, doesn''t mean me. Wait, why am I panicking?'' John wondered in his sea of thoughts.


    "W-Well, I-I Guess I don''t dislike that part of him... But he''s too kind! He needs to be more selfish and look more intimidating. His looks arepletely contradictory to his strength, he always has that innocent and fragile look on his face when he''s not fighting." Said Serena.


    ''Dislike... I guess that means she doesn''t hate me.'' John thought.


    "Even though I thought a breeze could blow him over when I first saw him. But he was unexpectedly super strong!" Said Serena.


    "I know right! John is super strong! But he can sometimes be arrogant thinking things will go the way he ns, which makes him do even more reckless things." Replied Ariel.


    "Which is why as his party members..." Said Serena.


    "We have to help him." Carried on Ariel.


    "Yeah." Said Serena.


    "By the way Serena, you were tickling me earlier, weren''t you? Then it''s my turn!" Said Ariel.


    "W-Wait, Pfff, Ariel! Hahaha, I''m not good at, Pfff, hahaha, I-I can''t breathe!" Said, Serena.


    ...


    "No matter what, I''ll get us out of here safely... I promise." John muttered to himself.


    ***


    After the showers. John sat by where he had formed the ice Sphere and waited for Serena and Ariel.


    "John, the shower felt great. I knew we could count on you." Said Serena as she sat beside him.


    Ariel''s face was bright red as she got out of the shower with Serena. Thanks to the wall, John couldn''t see what was happening, but he could hear it.


    "Yeah, no problem," John said as he remained on the ground.


    "Your face is bright red. Did you spend too much time in the water?" Asked Ariel as she ced her hand on John''s forehead.


    "I-I''m good. I just ended up putting my head underwater for too long." John replied.


    "Eh? Why..?" Asked Ariel as she also sat beside him.


    "He was probably practising some sort of magic?" Said Serena.


    "I guess..." John replied.


    "I-I see... That''s dangerous, so please be more careful next time." Said Ariel.


    "Alright, I will, anyway.. Let''s eat and get some rest," John said as he pulled out 3 lunch boxes from the toolbox.

 Chapter 45 - 46: 13th Floor

    After they had lunch and filled their stomachs, they checked the door which they hade from. The door was shut tight, even though they killed the boss. Although John had already expected that.


    Their lunch was cooked chicken and potatoes. Yeah, it wasn''t amazing, but it was really good. It was the tastiest potato John had ever eaten in his life.


    "Are you guys sure you don''t need any more rest?" John asked as they walked towards the door.


    "Yeah, I''m sure." Said Serena.


    "Our provisions won''tst long, we don''t have time to waste so we don''t have any other choice." Replied Ariel.


    ''Yeah, you''re right about that.'' John thought.


    "Alright, is everyone ready?" He asked as they reached the door.


    "Yeah." Said Serena.


    "Let''s go." Said Ariel with a resolved look on her face.


    "Alright," John said as they walked through the door.


    Again, like any other floor, there are stairs which lead downwards. They slowly walked down the stairs as they were hit by a fresh breeze.


    "Wind..?" John muttered.


    The further they went down, the stronger it got. Once they finally reached the floor, the amount of wind pressure inside was a lot higherpared to outside. If they didn''t have magic strengthening, they would probably all be blown away.


    The floor was just like the 12th one, a giant room. The only difference is that instead of looking like a cave, it looked like the halls of a pce. Sort of like a clean boss room. But they could tell that it wasn''t the boss'' room. Why? Because...


    "Those giant birds flying around, you don''t suppose they''re friendly do you?" Asked Serena.


    "Haha, I''m not sure. Should we go and ask them?" John asked.


    As he said that, the giant birds flying around in the hall noticed them. Shortly after that they let out a shriek which resembled a signal to attack and flew straight at them. There were at least 20 of them, that''s how big the hall was.


    The first 10 flew straight at them, and the other 10 just watched. They were giant birds with feathers all over their bodies. They resembled a monster John knew all too well in a game I used to y.


    "Argentavis..." John and Serena muttered at the same time.


    "They don''t look like they want to talk..." Muttered Ariel as she began gathering air in front of her.


    As she did that, she made a surprised expression.


    "The air in here... It''s easier to gather, and it''s strong..." She muttered.


    "John, have you seen an Argentavis before?" Asked Serena.


    ''Why does this world have the same name as the one from the one in my previous world? Coincidence?'' John wondered.


    "I''ve heard about one. But it''s my first time seeing one in person." John muttered to himself.


    "Uhh, guys, a little help?" Asked Ariel as she simultaneously fired off 3 ventuses at the birds.


    The first 2 ventuses missed, but the third onended a hit. It managed to cut off the bird''s wings, causing it to fall straight down and crash into the ground. It couldn''t move after that but John wasn''t sure if it was dead or not.


    "That''s one down..." John muttered as he cast levite and velox.


    "19 to go..." Muttered Serena as they all jumped back.


    Thanks to the jump, they ended up avoiding getting hit by 2 beaks. As the birds crashed into the ground head first with their beaks. They got stuck. They used that moment to attack them.


    "Ventus..." Muttered Serena as she also began to gather air in front of her.


    Ignis won''t work as well as Ventus. When ites to damage and range, a wind de is the best bet. John had also taught both of them how to use Fire and Air in case where one element wouldn''t help.


    The Ventus Serena cast hit one of the bird''s wings head-on from close range, causing there to be a deep cut on the wing. However, since she still wasn''t as good as controlling windpared to Ariel. She wasn''t able to fully cut off the wing.


    "But that''s good enough." John muttered as he leapt at the birds and cast cio on them.


    The instant he activated the spell, it spread from his hands and engulfed their entire body in seconds. They tried to struggle, but it was futile.


    "That''s three down..." John muttered as he looked over at the 7 above them.


    There were another 10 above them, but those were just observing them.


    "You guys gonnae down here, or what? Or do you mind letting us through?"


    As John asked that another 3 birds charged at him. Serena and Ariel, who had been gathering wind, cast Ventus at the two on the sides and managed to break their control.


    However, along with the one in the middle, they kept their momentum and charged at John head first with their beak.


    He dodged it by jumping and leaping forwards. The birds crashed straight down. The two who each had one of their wings cut off got up from the ground. They let out a screech as they charged at him, all three.


    "Why are you trying so hard to kill us? I get that we''re invading your territory, but don''t you realise it''s pointless?" John said as he dodged their beaks by jumping around.


    Serena and Ariel watched as he continued his talk.


    "I''ve always wanted to meet an argentavis so this leaves a bad taste in my mouth..." John muttered as he cast cies.


    John created 6 at once and propelled two at each of them. They tried to dodge, but from this range, they were only able to dodge the first one. Without being able to do anything. They were hit by the Second spike.


    The ice spread through where they were hit to their wings to eventually their entire body. Eventually, they froze up.


    John looked up at the remaining birds in the sky and shouted.


    "You guys wanna live, right?! Don''t get in our way!"


    After He shouted at them. One of the birds that watched, let out a loud screech.. It appeared to be a signal to fall back as the birds, which were flying above them, went flew back up to where the others who were watching were.

 Chapter 46 - 47: Griffon

    The Argentavis birds ascended back to the ceiling of the giant hall and continued flying around as they observed them.


    "I''m guessing they''re giving us permission to pass..." Said Serena.


    "Yeah, let''s not waste this chance," John said as he headed towards the giant door.


    Ariel and Serena followed behind as they kept their guards up. However, to their surprise, the birds didn''t do anything.


    "If only every other monster were like you guys..." John muttered.


    They reached the door, and John looked back at them.


    "Sorry we hurt your family!" He shouted at the bird which gave the signal to fall back.


    The bird looked at him as it continued to fly around and didn''t say anything. But It didn''t look like it harboured any hate within its look.


    "Thanks..." John muttered as he opened the door.


    The three of them all took a look inside the room without carelessly walking in like before. It was a giant room, just like the one they were in. But unlike this one, the middle of the boss''s room was empty.


    It was two rock edges connected by a bridge, John couldn''t tell from where he stood what was under the bridge, but he could tell falling in there would be a bad idea.


    There was nothing in the middle of the room like there normally is. But in the air, they could see a single giant bird flying around.


    "Boss room again... What happened to all of the mazes?" muttered Serena as she walked in.


    ''She just casually walked in. Does this girl not know fear? Even when we were fighting the Spider queen... does that have something to do with her race, or is she just fearless? Ah wait, she got scared when we fought the death knight'' John thought.


    But she still kept fighting, so John was guessing the word isn''t fearless but brave.


    "What are you waiting for? Aren''t youing?" Asked Serena.


    "You''re quite brave" John said as he and Ariel followed behind her.


    "O-Obviously." Said Serena.


    "Hehe..." John unintentionally let out.


    "Why are youughing?" Serena asked with an embarrassed expression.


    "Nothing," John replied.


    "Guys, not now. Let''s go." Said Ariel.


    "Fine..." They Replied.


    They walked inside and like always the doors closed on their own.


    The giant flying bird in the ceiling stopped flying around and looked at them. It wasn''t an Argentavis. It was another monster type of bird John was familiar with from a game he used to y.


    "A Griffin..." He said.


    "Yeah, you know quite a bit about these monsters despite having lost your memories, did your master teach you that too?" Asked Serena.


    "Yeah. More importantly, that thing is strong." John said out loud.


    "Yeah..." Said Ariel.


    Each time it pped its wing, a gust of wind would hit them. It remained in the air without doing anything and just watched them.


    Its body, tail, and back legs resembled that of a lion. Its head and wings resembled that of an eagle, and its front feet resembled an eagle''s talon. It had an intimidating aura around it, and it seemed fairly intelligent.


    As John thought about that, 10 Wind Arrows were formed in front of the Griffin. He called them arrows but they really just looked like long sharp wind poles.


    The door to the previous room had closed, and they had limited space to dodge as the edge they stood on had little room. The edge on the other side however had more space and these two would be able to move around freely there.


    It probably wanted them to try crossing the bridge, and then it''ll deal with them when they have no room to move. A strategy which would work against most adventurers, but...


    "Levite, Velox." John muttered as he grabbed on to both Ariel and Serena''s hands.


    ''I don''t usually pay attention to it since I usually do this in emergencies, but their hands are really soft¡­'' John thought.


    "Wait, why am I thinking about this now...?" John said as he shook his head.


    The Griffin propelled the Arrows at them and pped its wings at the same time. Thanks to the boost its wings gave, the arrows were travelling super-fast. But from this distance...


    "It''ll never hit." John said as he propelled them over to the other side with Velox.


    As they flew over the bridge, John looked down to see what was underneath it. There were earth spikes everywhere.


    Made of rock, but even with magic strengthening, unless theypletely reinforced their whole body... It would be a miracle to survive from this fall.


    After they flew over, the griffin let off a screech as if it was angry that things didn''t go as it nned. It then began pping its wings, faster and faster.


    John put Ariel and Serena on the ground and looked over at the griffin.


    "Something''sing. I''ll stop it before it finishes it."


    As John said that, he cast ''Velox Dupilici'' and propelled himself upwards, at two-fold his current speed.


    ''Nearly there¡­''


    Just as John thought that, a tornado was formed. Slightly underneath the griffin, the wind began visible wind began gathering and rotating in a manner simr to that of tornado. Its shape also resembled one


    The tornado grew bigger and bigger as it descended. Since he was close to the griffin, it reached him in seconds. However, John wasn''t worried about that. He had no problems dealing with the rotation of the tornado.


    John easily flew out of the radius of the tornado by moving away before it could sweep him in. What he was worried about was Serena and Ariel.


    "Damn it... From here I won''t make it!" John shouted.


    ''Will they be able to handle it?'' He wondered.


    As John thought that, the tornado reached where Serena and Ariel were and engulfed them.


    "Ariel!! Serena!!" John shouted as he propelled himself straight into the tornado.


    There aren''t any debris or objects around which can hit them after they''re caught in the wind''s rotation. The problem is the rotation might cause them to fall under the bridge andnd in the spikes.


    "Damn it!! Let me make it in time!"

 Chapter 47 - 48: Wind

    John entered the tornado and was swept up in its rotation. Since he wasn''t being affected by gravity, it made him a lot lighter and easier to move around.


    Using his control over the wind element, John forcefully made the wind go around him. It was hard to do but possible. Using this method, John descended further and further down to where Ariel and Serena were.


    "Please be safe..." John muttered as he continued to descend.


    The tornado was pushing him back up, and it was hard to gather wind and use Velox inside of it. John instinctively went inside as the tornado lifted people up and rotated them on the inside. Now he was regretting that decision.


    "I should have gone from the outside..."


    Just as John said that he spotted Serena and Ariel. They were back to back and had their arm stretched out. The tornado was big; they had no space to avoid it, so it looks like they''re fighting back.


    They were using the same method John did. They were making the wind go around them rather than through them. They were concentrated, but it didn''t look like they''ll be able to keep it up for long.


    "Try to hold on a little longer... I''ll go deal with it..." John muttered as he propelled himself out of the tornado and then up.


    It was a tornado, but it wasn''t as strong as a real one. The reason why he knew this was because the rotation of this one is slower. It isn''t going 300 Mph it''s a lot slower.


    Furthermore, the tornado isn''ting from the ground up like it does naturally. It''sing from the griffin in the ceiling, and it''s upside down.


    Lastly, to maintain the tornado, the griffin has to keep pping its wings. John noticed this as he was going up the tornado.


    ''It''ll be defenceless while it keeps this up... Then¡­''


    As John thought this he arrived at the top. The bird didn''t notice him because he had cast furtim beforehand.


    Without it noticing, John quietly and hastily approached it using velox. And in seconds was right beside it.


    John pulled out his dagger and began supplying magic through it 3 fold more than usual. He then cast ''Tonde mma". As he swung both daggers diagonally, it noticed and tried to move away. But by then it was toote.


    In a swift motion, with the form of a cross as John swung his daggers. He cut off its head from the neck, separating it from the body.


    Shortly after that, the tornado dispersed and the griffon''s body along with its head fell straight down under the bridge.


    John looked over at Serena and Ariel, whoid exhaustively on the ground.


    John flew down over to them to check on how they were doing.


    "When did you two learn how to do that?" John asked.


    "You saw us?" Asked Ariel.


    "Yeah." John replied.


    "Aw, were you worried about us?" Teased Serena.


    "Obviously," John said.


    "I-I see... Me too..." Said, Ariel as she blushed.


    "Y-Yeah..." John replied as he looked over at Serena''s direction.


    "I-I was w-worried too..." said Serena who was also blushing.


    "T-Thanks... W-Well, I''m going to go pick up that Griffins magic stone and check the door while I''m at it." John said as he got up.


    "Y-Yes." Replied Serena.


    "Y-Yeah, we''ll check out the entrance to the next floor. It opened a while ago." Replied Ariel.


    "Alright, are you guys sure you don''t need to rest? We''re going straight to the 14th floor?" John asked before he went off.


    "Yeah, we still have enough power left, and if we spend too much time resting. We''ll run out of food... Not to mention, we might end up starving if we don''t find a way back. Our only option is to keep advancing..." Said Ariel.


    ''So she was thinking that far ahead.'' John thought.


    "Alright, you guys get ready then, after I check the door and pick up the stone, we''re heading straight to the next floor." John said.


    The two girls nodded and walked towards the door.


    John flew over to the spikes and picked up the magic stone. It was a giant purple stone, at least 1.5x bigger than the spider one. He struggled to put the stone in the toolbox and had to force it inside.


    "Looks like I''m running out of space..." John muttered as he flew back up and towards the door, they hade from.


    The door waspletely shut. John tried opening it and it wouldn''t budge.


    "As expected. Man... I can''t wait to find out who''s responsible for this..." John muttered as he flew over to the entrance of the next floor where Ariel and Serena waited.


    "Did it open?" Serena asked.


    "No, even if it did, we wouldn''t be able to go back through the same route we came either ways. It''d probably just end up being a waste of time. The 11th floor and 12th floor doors are closed after all." John said.


    "You''re right... anyway, shall we go?" Asked Serena.


    "Is everyone ready?" He asked.


    The two girls nodded.


    "Then let''s go." John said as he took the lead.


    Just like any other floor, they went down the stairs. Only this time, instead of being hit by a breeze, they were hit by a heat wave.


    "Now that I think about it... The 11th floor was water... The 12th floor was Earth... The 13th floor was Air... Then that means thest floor is..." John said.


    "Fire." Said Ariel.


    They continued to descend, and it started getting hotter and hotter. After they reached the floor, they were greeted by a giant dimly lit hall. What illuminated the hall was fire connected on top of polls.


    "Yeah, Now I''m curious as to what we''ll see on the 15th floor? A dungeon has 30 floors, so could it be a different element?" John muttered.

 Chapter 48 - 49: Fire

    They looked around the giant hall that was lit with mes and noticed the red door in the middle, inscribed with weird patterns.


    "That must be the boss'' room. What are those patterns...?" John muttered to himself.


    "Hey John, we gotpany." Said Serena as she pointed over at the angry-looking dogs which had jumped out of the fire pole.


    There were around 20 poles which were lit up and a dog came out of each one, meaning there were around 20 dogs


    "Anyone have any dog food?" John asked as he cast cies and formed 8 Ice spikes around him.


    "I think we''re the dog food!" Said Ariel as she began to gather air in front of her.


    The dogs started to growl as they slowly approached them.


    "Hell hounds..." Muttered Serena.


    John wondered where her monster knowledge came from. ''Probably her master?'' He thought.


    The dogs wore an intimidating, evil expression as they continued to approach us. Their jaws looked big and heavy. Getting bitten by that thing would probably be bad.


    Light and heat radiated from the inside of their mouth straight to their chest as they all simultaneously charged at them, as they barked with rage.


    "John, should we start flying up?" Asked Serena.


    "Eh? Why?" John asked as he stomped the ground with his right foot.


    From where his footnded, ice spikes began to rise and spread forwards towards the hell hound. They were around 10 meters away from them, and the Ice spike spread and grew faster than he expected. The momentum from the dash dragged most of them straight into the spike.


    The spikes pierced their bodies as they drove right into them.


    As John kept his right foot imnted on the ground and continued supplying energy to the spike, the ice continued to spread until eventually it pierced and engulfed all the remaining hell hounds.


    John took a deep breath and let it out as he watched his breath turn into a cloud simr to fog. The entire room''s temperature hadpletely changed.


    "J-John... Are you sure this wasn''t overkill? It''s cold..." Asked Serena as she shivered.


    "Y-Yeah... That... That took a lot more magic than I expected." John said as he sat down on the ground.


    "Well done, John!" Said Ariel.


    ''They weren''t even surprised!?'' He thought.


    "T-Thanks," John replied.


    As he went down John noticed that his right foot which he had stomped the ground with waspletely frozen and stuck. It hurt to move it, and it looked like he won''t be able to properly sit down in this situation. Otherwise, it''ll just look weird.


    The fatigue from using all that magic power caught up and John began panting heavily. He watched each breath turn into a small fog. The room must have been really cold for this to have happened.


    ''Why did I think it would be a good idea to use my own power instead of the magic stones on my gloves?'' John wondered.


    "John, are you alright? Do you need a break?" Asked Ariel as she cast ignis and began to heat up the ice around John''s leg.


    "I''m good. That attack just took more out of me than I expected." John said.


    "God, when are you going to stop being so reckless?" Asked Serena as she did the same.


    "Hehe... Thank you." John replied.


    "That wasn''t apliment!" Said Serena.


    With their help, John''s leg unfroze, and heid on the ground for a few seconds.


    John stared at the ceiling as he muttered, "I wonder if you''re having fun watching us... Enjoy the show, while you can..."


    "Who are you talking to?" asked Serena.


    "Just whoever is responsible for what''s happening to us." John replied.


    "So you don''t think it''s a coincidence either?" Asked Ariel.


    "Coincidence? Us getting shut in the dungeon with no option to retreat, only to be able to move forward... I doubt it''s a coincidence. Even Rose said it was unusual when we were taken straight to the 10th floor," John said.


    "You have a point. Everything feels wrong about this. We haven''t fallen into any traps; it''s the dungeon itself that won''t let us return."


    "Well... That''s fine, isn''t it?" John asked as he got up.


    A smile was formed on the faces of the two girls who understood what he meant.


    "It''s simple If it''s going to keep us in here. Then We''re going to end it." he said.


    Rather than thinking negative thoughts, they should be as optimistic as they can.


    ***


    Since the ice was formed using John''s power, it was easy to open up a path inside. 90% of the hall all the way to the door was covered in ice spikes thanks to him. So unless they made a path, they wouldn''t be able to reach the door.


    John could have gotten rid of the ice on my leg, but that wasn''t only due to magic, it was due to how cold his magic was. Meaning if he wanted to unfreeze it, he wouldn''t be able to do it by just removing his magic power from that area.


    John would have to heat it up as Ariel and Serena did.


    "Are you sure, we won''t need to collect the magic stones?" Asked Ariel.


    "Hell hounds are C rank individually but B-rank when they travel in packs. John also said we don''t have enough space, and it''s a waste of energy to look for small stones inside of all this ice." Replied Serena.


    "You''re right..." Said Ariel.


    After a while longer, they finally reached the door.


    "These patterns, I''m guessing he''s on a totally different levelpared to the other bosses we''ve faced. It would have been more frightening if he wasn''t the element I''m strongest against." John stated.


    "Don''t drop your guard even if it''s a weaker element." Said Ariel.


    "Understood, is everyone ready?" John asked.


    They both nodded, upon which John opened the door, and they walked inside.

 Chapter 49 - 50: HellFlame Horse

    They walked inside and were greeted by darkness, apletely dark hall. However, even inside of that darkness, there was a bright light which stood out. A light which they could see clearly. A lighting from the mes of the monster in the middle of the room.


    As John was about to cast Lumine to light everything up. The mes around the hall began to light up.


    They could clearly see the figure which stood in the middle of the room. A humanoid-shaped fire spirit, riding a horse. A horse that looks like it came straight from hell. With cracks on its skin leaking out me, its mane, tails and hooves wreathed in mes.


    John called it a spirit, but he didn''t know what it was. Its body resembled magma or molten rocks with cracks on it simr to the horses. Even without his instincts telling him it''s dangerous, John knew.


    "H-Hellme Horse... And Hellme Rider..?" Muttered Serena as she slightly trembled.


    ''Well, I got to give it to whoever named them. It sure sounds terrifying.'' John thought.


    "Serena, what do you know about them?" John asked.


    "Hellme horse... They''re rare to find. A creature which moves with supernatural speed, some call it death horse or a demon horse..." Replied Serena with a nervous look on her face


    Ariel as well who heard this, seemed shaken


    John looked over at Ariel, who seemed to recognise the horse.


    "Have you seen it before?" John asked.


    "No... But I''ve read tales on it... But that''s not the worst part..." Said Ariel.


    "The being which sits on top of the horse... It''s called a Hellme Rider... It has high control over fire magic and can create weapons made of me... A monster to fight against... It''s Rank is A In both strength and skill." Said Serena.


    ''So from the 15th floor, we''re already meeting A-Rank monsters. Is the dungeon really 30 floors? If so, then I can''t see uspleting it anytime soon... Will our food evenst until we can..?'' John pondered.


    "What I don''t get is why there are two High-ranked monsters working together... Hellme horse is a B-Rank monster, but it''s faster than an A-Rank. The reason its rank isn''t higher is because it usually doesn''t engage in fights and disappears... But if they were ordered to fight..." Said Serena.


    John was the only one in the party who could use water, so he was the only one here who has the biggest advantage. Then...


    John took a few leaps towards the two monsters who just sat there and watched. Midway there, he cast velox duplici and propelled himself straight at it.


    "You idiot! Don''t just charge in!" Shouted Serena from behind.


    They also followed behind him, keeping a distance which was enough so that they wouldn''t hinder him and provide support with their attacks.


    Right before John reached the horse, he aimed the cies he had formed around him right before he fought the hell hounds. John decided to keep it activated as it doesn''t waste energy after you cast it, only when you cast it.


    Ariel and Serena were curious about why John didn''t remove it but didn''t question it.


    As he reached the Hell boss, John propelled 3 cieses at it at point-nk range as he simultaneously swung both daggers in a diagonal manner. Right before the cies and John''s daggers hit it, it disappeared.


    No, it didn''t disappear, it just moved faster than John could-


    As he thought that John noticed a kick flying straight at him, from his left and he positioned his arms to block it.


    "Scutum -"


    Before John could cast it, the kick reached him, so he put more power into my arm and reinforced it more than before. The kick dragged him a few meters to the side, but it wasn''t as strong as he had expected.


    Before John could counter, the horse disappeared again and attacked him in his blind spot. Its attacks were strong, but what was worse was its speed. Before John realised it, he was hit by a series of kicks and had suffered burns around his hands and back.


    As he continued getting hit by a barrage of attacks, John looked over at Serena and Ariel, who were filled with a worried expression. Ariel hadpletely charged up her wind spear, but the horse was too fast, it was going to dodge it.


    Serena had managed to form around 5 wind arrows and was also trying to get a good aim on the horse. If only it could stop for one second.


    The horse continued its barrage and John was starting to get ustomed to its speed.


    As he dropped down to my knees, the horse took that opportunity tond a clean hit.


    It disappeared once more and is going to appear... ''Behind!''


    John turned as he ducked and saw the horse''s back legs stretched out above him. It had missed. Its two legs were in the air and its speed was pointless at this point. John used this opportunity and stabbed it under its belly with both of his daggers.


    Before it could struggle around, John cast cio and made ice travel through the tip of his dagger. The horse let out a neigh as he struggled around, but it was pointless.


    John''s ice was constantly spreading on the inside of its body. Even if its fire melted it, it would simply turn into water and cool him down from the inside.


    The Hellme rider, which was mounted on top of the horse, formed a fire spear and thrust it at John. Its thrust was fast. If John pulled out his daggers and jumped back the moment it materialized that spear, he would have definitely been stabbed.


    As John stood a few feet away from the two bosses he regretted not finishing off that horse.


    "Well, it''s fine, you cane for another barrage if you''d like, you''re easy to read." John said as he looked over at the hellme rider.


    As John said that, the horse''s light grew fainter and fainter, and the cracks in its skin changed from a illuminating fire one to a while worn-out one.


    It looked like the ice worked. The hellfme rider got off the horse, and the horse fell on the ground. The fire which was lighted up all over its body grew dimmer and dimmer until it eventually disappeared.


    "I wish I could''ve tamed it... It was so cool... Well then, hell uhh, Hellme rider. Come at me.." John said as he motioned it with his hands.

 Chapter 50 - 51: Hell Spirit

    John and the spirit stared at each other with their weapons at hand, and right before they were about to engage in a fight, Ariel called out to John


    "John! Duck!" Shouted Ariel.


    The instant he heard those words John ducked down and a secondter, a wind spear travelled slightly above him towards the hell spirit.


    Instead of dodging, the spirit simply cut the wind spear by thrusting his. The three of them were surprised at what just happened, and that performance that he just performed made John feel slightly nervous.


    ''Water beats fire, right..? It can''t be that hard¡­'' John thought.


    "Velox!"


    He propelled himself straight at it, at point nk distance. It thrust its spear at John but didn''t hit. John cast furtim midair, and the spirit lost sight of him. As John managed to get behind him, he propelled himself once more in an attempt to pierce his back and freeze him like he did to do the horse.


    But before John could, he did a full 360 turn and swung his spear with a momentum. John barely managed to dodge it by propelling himself downwards the instant he saw him going for that.


    Now that John was only a few steps away from him, without turning back, he lept at him as he stretched out his dagger in the form of a thrust.


    Right before it pierced him, the spirit turned his body, causing John''s dagger to go right past him. Midair, while John was still being carried by the momentum, the spirit turned his body to where he was at and thrust downwards.


    Despite being so close to death, John didn''t give up. He cast velox'' and propelled himself to the side. It was a battle to see who was faster.


    If John''s velox was slower he would get pierced right then and there. If his velox was faster then he''d live.


    ''Make it in time!!'' John eximed.


    He barely escaped and ended up with a small cut wound on the side of his stomach. It also felt as if it got burnt at the same time.


    John took a leap away from it and the spirit thrust its spear and as he did, luckily it only grazed his chest.


    ''What the hell is wrong with that thing? It''s automatically attacking me... Doesn''t that spirit have a soul? What''s worse is how it was able to attack me, even though I''ve activated furtim, my strongest stealth spell?'' John wondered.


    ''Damn it... What should I do? Should I spam cies on it? No... It''ll just deflect them with its speed... If only it were bigger... That''s right! Bigger! I need something bigger! Something it can''t deflect!''


    As John thought of such things, the Hell spirit changed its target from him the two girls who had attacked it earlier on as it couldn''t see him.


    It rushed at Serena and Ariel and Serena propelled the 5 arrows at it while Ariel propelled ventuses hidden right behind them.


    It underestimated the strength of the arrows and just avoided them, but before it realised it was hit by something more than arrows.


    Ariel''s hidden ventures hit him straight on, while Serena''s Arrows had fooled him. What''s more is that it noticed that it wasn''t able to move.


    John had cast gravitas on it. As it sensed danger, it turned around to find the cause only to be greeted by a giant ball of water floating right above its head.


    "Thank you for distracting it, Serena, Ariel. Now then, Magnum aqua!" John said as he propelled the giant ball of water straight at it.


    The ball was very big. If Serena and Ariel hadn''t brought John time by attacking it and if it hadn''t changed, it''s aggro on to them, he wouldn''t have been able to do this.


    "Man, you sure are unlucky. But in the end, water always beats fire." John uttered.


    It tried moving away from the attack but couldn''t. It didn''t have as much strength as the spider queen, so it wasn''t able to move properly in 20x gravity, so it ended up getting hit head-on by the water.


    The instant the water hit it, lots of steam filled the room as its body''s fire continued to evaporate the water.


    A wave was created by some of the water that hadn''t evaporated and hit both Ariel and Serena, who were within the radius.


    John flew over to them and dried them as they waited for the steam to disperse. As it slowly dispersed, they could see a silhouette of his figure. It was still standing


    "Don''t tell me he survived that too..." John muttered.


    Ariel and Serena, who heard that made nervous expressions as they continued to stare at the silhouette.


    If it had survived that, then they were all in deep trouble. John had used up all the remaining magic in his stones. They were out of charge for the day.


    Once the steam dispersed, they could clearly see the hell spirit.


    "It still wants to fight?" Asked Serena as she tightly gripped her staff.


    "No, it''s already dead." John replied.


    Its mes, which were dim a second ago, had extinguished, at the same time white cracks appeared on its skin like the Nightmare horse and it turned to ash.


    "It went out like a true warrior..." John muttered.


    "Maybe hell spirits are warriors who died in battle and came back from hell," Said Ariel.


    They both looked at Ariel with surprised expressions.


    "Eh- Ah- N-Nevermind..." Said Ariel.


    "No, that actually makes sense. Whatever it was, I hope it found peace." Said Serena.


    "Yeah, me too..." Said Ariel.


    After it turned to ash, the nightmare horse who hadn''t turned into a magic core yet also turned into ash.. Shortly after, a single magic core was formed in the middle of the room and the door to the next room opened.

 Chapter 51 - 52: 15th Floor

    "I''ll go get the magic stone in the middle of the room, here you two use this to recharge your stones," John said as he handed them the magic stone from the 6th-floor boss.


    "Are you sure? After we use it to recharge our mana and staff''s mana, we won''t be able to sell it." Said Ariel.


    "It''s fine, that stone over there should be at least worth at least 10x more. Besides, we don''t have any extra space to fit that stone in the toolbox if we don''t get rid of this one. I''ll use the 5th floor boss''s and recharge mine." John replied as he headed towards the stone.


    "O-Okay! Are we heading to the next floor now?" Asked Ariel.


    "Yeah, we''re rushing through the floors of the dungeon. If we ration we may be able tost another week at most... So our only option is toplete it." John said.


    Now''s not that time to be hiding, and John was sure they knew how bad the situation they were in is. They''ve been doing great, but if they were to encounter something like an even stronger A-rank monster or possibly an S-Rank then...


    "Alright, We''ll meet you at the entrance," Said Serena.


    Ariel also nodded.


    John nodded at them and went over to pick up the magic stone. It''s colour was orange and red. A nice-looking mix.


    He removed the 5th floor boss''s magic stone from the toolbox and absorbed its magic power. John managed to fully charge his magic stones in his hand and recharged with a bit of his own energy with what remained in the stone. Shortly after he was finished, the stone broke.


    After that John picked up the hell fire''s magic stone, which was just as big as the spider queen''s one and put it inside his tool box.


    "It''s size is as big as the 10th floor''s boss but the powering out of it is a lot higher..." John muttered to himself.


    After that, he checked the door which they had originally walked through to enter the boss''s room and as expected it was locked.


    John went over to Ariel and Serena''s location after he had sorted out everything he needed to.


    "Did you get everything? Was the door locked?" Serena asked.


    "Yeah and Yeah," John replied.


    "Of course it was." Said Serena with her arms crossed.


    "Is everyone ready?" John asked.


    "Yeah" Said Ariel as she nodded.


    Serena also nodded when John looked over at her.


    "Alright, let''s go." John said as he took the lead.


    They descended the long stairs and like before; they were hit by a heat wave. As they went down the stairs, the one thing that stood out the most was grains of sands lying around.


    "I hope this isn''t what I think it is..." John said as they continued walking down.


    "A desert..." Said Serena.


    "Of course it is, a dungeon is going to magically have a desert underground." John said.


    "You don''t believe me?" Asked Serena.


    "No, it''s precisely because I believe you that I''m reacting this way." He replied.


    "Ah, I see..." muttered Serena.


    "By the way, how did you find out it was a desert?" Asked Ariel.


    "I can feel it, I''ve been to a desert before and there''s sand lying down. Most elves usually live in forests, so we have good instincts." Said Serena.


    Just as she said that, they had finally reached the floor. The view of the blue sky filled John''s eyes. Both Ariel and Serena''s foul mood seemed temporarily gone as their eyes lit up once they saw the sky.


    It was obviously artificial, and they knew, it''s been a few days since they''ve seen the sky so they couldn''t help but be happy even if it''s fake.


    "Let''s go, we need to find the boss room."


    John said as he grabbed onto their arms and pulled them towards the floor. After they left the staircase, it vanished. The door which was open behind thempletely disappeared.


    John tried touching the air around where they stood before they entered the desert, but it was gone. There was nothing there, it hadn''t turned invisible, their way back justpletely disappeared.


    "Oi... Are you serious..?" John asked.


    "Our way back is gone!? So we have no other choice but to move forward." Said, Serena as she ced her palm on her face.


    "A-At least the 3 of us are still together!" Said Ariel with a worried expression.


    "That''s a pretty optimistic point of view..." Said Serena.


    "Yeah, that''s Ariel after all, hahaha," John said as he startedughing.


    "It''s not funny!" Said Ariel.


    "You''re right about that." Said Serena.


    "Not you too, Serena!" Said Ariel.


    "No, but yeah, She''s right. We should be fine as long as we don''t get separated." John said.


    "Yeah, so don''t do any reckless things, John." Said Serena.


    "Do I look like a battle maniac to you too? I''m not always fighting because I want to."


    The two girls looked away as John said that.


    "Ah is that so... Okay." John said as he grabbed on to their hands and cast'' levite and velox.


    John ascended them straight up. They could see the sun, but they couldn''t go higher than a certain point with Levite.


    "As I expected it''s artificial, but wow, how can a desert this big fit in a floor?" John asked as he looked around.


    "Even I''m surprised." Said Serena.


    "It''s like a real desert." Said Serena.


    Sand everywhere, as far as the eye could see. Water won''t be a problem with water magic. The problem was food.. They could not spend too much time here.

 Chapter 52 - 53: Mastermind

    After they scouted the desert, they flew around for a while and found nothing. They decided to walk so as to not waste any more magic in case they had to fight.


    Walking on the sand was rough. John could feel his feet sinking on every step, but it would be good endurance training.


    After half an hour of walking, we encountered the first problem.


    At first everything seemed normal, sand everywhere as far as they could see, then eventually they spotted a ruin. But as they walked over to it, the sand around them began to sink.


    As they tried to climb out, the sand began to rotate and in the middle was the mouth of a sand monster. They tried climbing out, but that slope was too slippery and there was nothing they could hold on to.


    John could have flown them out of it, but he got a better idea.


    "Let''s attack it. It''s basically defenceless at this point." John said as he cast cies.


    John formed 3 cieses and propelled them at its open mouth. Serena and Ariel did the same with their own spells.


    The monster who waspletely defenceless was hit head on by their attacks. It let out a loud shriek before dying. Once it was dead, the sand stopped spinning and it was easier for them to climb back up.


    "Alright, let''s go back up. How''s everyone holding up?" John asked as they climbed up.


    "*I-I''m good." Replied Serena.


    "M-Me too." Replied Ariel.


    "Is that so," John said.


    It''s been around 2 hours since they had entered the desert. The heat was starting to get to them. Shortly after, they made it back up, John thought of something.


    "Hey, you two,e over here for a moment." He said.


    "Huh? What is it?" Asked Serena as they came over.


    Once they were right next to John, they noticed.


    "What? It doesn''t feel hot around here?" Said Serena.


    "H-How?" Asked Ariel.


    "I just mixed wind Magic with ice magic and created a frosty area around us. If you stay near me, you shouldn''t be affected by the heat." John replied.


    "Thanks..." Said Serena as she got slightly closer.


    "This breeze feels nice," Said Ariel, who also got closer.


    ''You girls don''t have to be that close... It should have a radius of 2 meters around me. But I guess it''s fine, It''ll be easier for us to help each other like this.'' John internally spoke.


    After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached the ruin. It was made of stone bricks which had been dyed ck, almost as if it was made to stand out within this sea of yellow sand.


    There was a broken down entrance. They walked inside and looked around. There was nothing special inside, just stone lying everywhere.


    "What do you suppose this ce is?" Asked Serena.


    "Not sure, probably a ce where monsters won''t attack?" John Said.


    "What makes you say that?" Asked Ariel.


    "Well, I mean, this must have been here for a long time. Why haven''t the monsters destroyed it yet? It''s a bit strange." John said.


    "True... There''s probably a reason why they can''t... Maybe we''ll find out if we go down there?" Said Ariel.


    Ariel pointed at a staircase which led down to a basement..


    "Was that always there?" John asked.


    "Ah, I''m not sure. I didn''t notice it when we had walked in, I only noticed it now." Ariel replied.


    "A spell was probably ced to keep it out of sight." Said Serena.


    ''So like furtim¡­'' John thought.


    There were footprints formed thanks to the sand lying on the stairs.


    "Someone''s been here recently." John said as he began going down the stairs.


    Ariel quietly followed behind with her guard up.


    "If someone''s here, why are you going?" Said Serena as she followed behind him.


    Once they reached the bottom, they couldn''t see anything. It was too dark, so John cast Lumine. The room lighted up and once he could finally see things; he felt a shiver go down his spine.


    They stood right on top of a magic circle. It hadn''t activated, so they were still doing fine. John was about to warn the two girls who hadn''t noticed.


    Footsteps resounded as someone walked down the stairs. The person stopped once only his torso and legs were visible. They couldn''t see his head.


    "John... Do you think that person is friendly?" Asked Ariel.


    "I don''t know. Hey who are you?" John asked the person who stood there..


    Without replying to his question, the person muttered 5 short words and the magic circle under them began glowing. His voice sounded like a guy''s.


    "This! It''s a teleportation magic circle!" Said Serena.


    ''Why did he set us up?'' As John thought about that he ced his hands on the stone and began to pour magic inside to prevent it from activating.


    John thought it wouldn''t work, but to his surprise, they still hadn''t been teleported.


    "Ariel, Serena, grab on to me! I''ll ask again? Who are you?" John asked as he cast cies.


    "Resisting teleportation magic, you never cease to amaze me." Said the person.


    "Amaze you? I don''t recognise your voice. I''m sorry but have we met before?" John asked.


    John was talking normally, but his magic was being sucked out of him as if it were a broken tap.


    ''I won''tst long at this rate... I need to find a way to get us out of this circle¡­'' John thought.


    "Oh, we haven''t met. But since you''ve managed tost this long, I''ll give you a reward and answer your question." He replied.


    ''Where does he want to teleport us?! Damn it... I can''t move... If Serena and Ariel let go of me, they might be teleported elsewhere, John thought.


    "I''m the one who put a curse on you and sent you to the 10th floor. I do it to quite a few people, but you were the first ones that survived." He casually said.


    ''It was in a dungeon, so I''m guessing he could do that and get rid of the proof¡­''John thought.


    "Can you imagine? 3 Kids, survived a boss hundreds of adults I sent failed to kill? Although I''m guessing you were also lucky that the A-Rank party helped you. But Luck is also part of strength."


    John continued to listen to the man go on without speaking a word.


    "I''m also the one who trapped you and your friends inside." He said.


    "So you''re the one... Because of you... Ariel nearly died..." John muttered.


    "And? Why does that matter? Rather than that, it was more amusing watching you three climb through the tower. Ah well, if she did die I guess I wouldn''t be able to watch you three anymore..." He said.


    As John heard his words, he felt something inside of him start to snap.


    "Are people''s lives just a game to you..?" John quietly asked.


    "Hm? Yeah" he casually replied.


    John lost it.


    The instant he said that, John formed over 20 Ice spikes around the room. John aimed all of them at him. And began to gather air behind each one.


    As John was about to propel them at him he spoke again.


    "Oh, I think that''s a new record! But In the end, it only amounts to decorations."


    After he finished, John propelled them all straight up the stairs where he was at. But right before it reached him, he muttered a few words and all his spikes dispersed.


    ''He spoke faster than my wind propelled cies?'' John thought with surprise.


    As he thought that, the man spoke again.


    "Come back and challenge me once you''re stronger. I''m quite interested in you, you see."


    As he began muttering words again John started to panic, but before he finished Ariel spoke up.


    "Why..? Why do you y around with people''s lives like this? Everyone''s trying to make a living so they can support those they care about... Why do you treat it like a game?" Asked Ariel as tears streamed down her face.


    "Why... Well if you ask me... I guess it''s because it''s fun?" He replied with a casual tone.


    At his reply, Ariel got truly angry. She began gathering air in front of her to fire off her spell. Serena remained quiet, but I could tell she was even angrier than Ariel. Without saying anything, she simply began gathering Fire in front of her hand.


    "Oh, Serena, is that a new spell? I''d love to see it, but maybe another day." He said.


    After he finished, he muttered another set of words at speeds you wouldn''t expect possibleing from a mouth.


    After he finished, Serena dropped to the ground, then Ariel, and finally John could feel my consciousness fading.


    "You''re still not down? Just give up. There''s nothing you can d-"


    Before he finished, he stopped when he noticed that his right shoe was frozen.


    "Surprised? You must not be that special if it was this easy tond a hit on you."


    ''Crap... I can''t hold on any longer... Sorry Ariel... Serena¡­'' John internally muttered.


    "Tch, don''t get cocky." He said with an annoyed tone.


    "Likewise. I''ming back for you... And soon... So... Until... Then... Enjoy..."


    Those were thest words John said before he fainted. A bit of my anger was satisfied as he managed tond a hit on him. But that wasn''t enough¡­


    ''I''ll get back at him¡­''


    And just like that, all traces of the trio disappeared from the dungeon.

 Chapter 53 - 1: Ruins

    "Argh..." John muttered as he opened his eyes.


    He felt the light which was emanating from the sun slowly blind him as he stared at it.


    "Where am I..?" John asked himself as he slowly got up from the ground.


    ''That''s right... That guy was there and... We fell into a teleportation circle... What did he do..? Did he send us to a lower floor?'' John remembered.


    "Damn it! I wasn''t able to do anything..." John said as he punched the ground in anger.


    ''No... He didn''t send us to a lower floor... I recall him saying he wanted me to get stronger... Sending us to a lower floor would have killed us and this doesn''t seem like any of the upper floors we''ve been to, which means¡­'' John realised.


    "We''re outside! Where shou-" John shouted.


    Before he finished, he realised Serena and Ariel weren''t there. He looked around in haste and couldn''t find anyone.


    "We weren''t teleported to the same ce..? Serena!!! Ariel!!! Where are you guys!?" John shouted out loud as he got up.


    John began searching around the ruin. It was a broken building which had ck painted stones on the walls. It was missing a roof and had a few cracks. As he searched around the ruin, he finally noticed.


    "You''re kidding me, right..?" John muttered as he stared at what was outside of the ruins.


    There were trees everywhere, and the ruin was beside a giant tropical forest.


    -------------------------------------------


    "Where am I..?" Muttered Ariel as she opened her eyes.


    She had just woken up on top of a tree branch.


    "A forest..? Where''s John and Serena..?" She asked as she looked around.


    Ariel, who had just realised that her friends were missing, did her best to stay calm.


    "Serena said something about a teleportation circle... Meaning we were all teleported somewhere... Are we still in the dungeon..? Or..." Ariel muttered to herself.


    She then looked down and surveyed the area.


    "No monsters... It should be safe... I still have my staff with me... So I should be fine..." She muttered again.


    ''John and Serena were probably teleported elsewhere... I don''t have any time to waste... I need to find them¡­'' Ariel surmised.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    "Mn..." Muttered Serena as she opened her eyes.


    She opened her eyes and began to hastily look around.


    It looked like she was on top of a tree branch in the middle of a forest, which she didn''t recognise. However, that was the least of her worries.


    "I can''t sense John or Ariel... Looks like they''re not nearby... I knew it was a trap... I mean, why would we just enter a random basement which had no lighting..." She muttered to herself as she let out a sigh.


    She then stretched out her arms and jumped down.


    "Looks like I''ll have to find them... They can handle themselves so I don''t have anything to worry about..." She muttered as shended.


    Serena had spent most of her life living in a forest. The elf vige she used to live in was isted from other races, but she was rather grateful for that because it was what kept her calm in her current situation.


    "Am I still in a dungeon..? No... It doesn''t feel artificial... And I can feel the forest spirits in the air... That means we got away..." She said.


    Serena began to look around and got an idea.


    "Forest spirits, can you help me..? I''m looking for my friends... They should''ve been teleported to this Area at the same time as me..." Serena said with hope.


    Serena also had elf blood coursing through her veins, even if it was half, Elves have the ability tomunicate with spirits, and with enough practice they''d be able to ask them for help or even directions.


    "I found Ariel... But where''s John..? Who cares, he can take care of himself..." She muttered as she rushed towards Ariel''s location.


    Serena was both happy and hopeful once she found Ariel but at the same time was worried about John.


    As Serena rushed, the Forest spirits informed her of something.


    "What?! Isn''t that? Ariel... Please until I get there... Stay safe..." Serena muttered with concern.


    -----------------------------------------


    "Levite, Velox." John muttered as he flew up into the air.


    John looked around and found out that he was right. John was in the middle of a giant tropical forest. The size was slightly bigger than the one on Halfausts and this one looked much more like a forestpared to that one.


    "Deprehendre" John muttered.


    He set it to scan for every life form within a radius of 500 meters. John''s eyes were filled with lights as he looked around.


    "Deprehendre" John muttered again.


    This time John set it to scan for every human within a radius of 500 meters.


    "10... 20... There''s around 100... Most of them are focused in that particr area... Maybe it''s a human settlement?" John said as he focused on it.


    ''How will I find Ariel and Serena like this..? Looking through every settlement will take too long. Think... Focus on solely detecting both of them¡­'' John thought.


    "Deprehendre," John muttered a third time.


    This time 50 lights popped up around the forest.


    ''Come on... Not good enough... Think harder... Focus¡­'' John thought.


    "Deprehendre," He muttered a fourth time.


    20 lights popped up around the forest, but it still wasn''t precise enough.


    ''Think... Remember the flow of mana inside of Ariel and Serena... Think about their characteristics... Looks personality... Anything... Just try to get a precise image of them so that deprehendre can do its thing¡­'' John pondered.


    "Deprehendre!" He shouted for the 5th time.


    ''Come on... Work... Please¡­'' John thought to himself as he ced all his hope in this spell.


    As John thought that, two lights appeared, one heading towards the other. They were around 400 meters away from him.


    Shortly after, He let out a short sigh of relief as he seemed to grab on to their location.


    "Found them."

 Chapter 54 - 2: Gobrigas

    "I know I said I should look for them... But where do I start..?" Muttered Ariel as she walked around with a saddened expression on her face.


    She was in an unfamiliar environment which she didn''t recogniserecognize, with no way tomunicate with her friends.


    [''Did we all get teleported to the same area..? Maybe they were teleported elsewhere... Maybe I won''t be able to find them... No, I can''t think that. I have to stay positive.]'' She thought as she continued walking.


    The forest was vast; the trees were giant and little light managed to get through the gaps of the branches, giving it asome sort of an exotic look.


    "John... Serena..." She muttered.


    After a few minutes of walking, she felt a chill go down her spine,. It was as if something was watching her. She looked around in haste and didn''t notice anything off.


    Without paying much attention to it, she continued walking. The more she walked, the worse the feeling got, until eventually.


    "Grr..."


    SheAriel heard a growl and at the same time, the sound of branches being broken and something heavy approaching increasedsounded.


    Ariel began to feel afraid as she was truly alone and there was no one to support her in the chance that she got attacked...


    "John..." She muttered with a scared look on her face as she closed her eyes.


    The sound got closer and closer until it eventually reached her. From one of the tree branches hung a gori, which gave off an intimidating re.


    Ariel continued to stare at the ground beneath her as the gori approached her.


    The gori had orange fur which covered its entire body and also had blue skin. It wore a cloth around its hips.


    Once it stood right in front of her, it pounded its chest in anger as it let out a loud roar whichthat resonated throughout the forest. Ariel, who stood in front of it, began to slowly tremble after she heard it, but she remained still without saying anything.


    It then hastily swung its giant arms at Ariel. The arms which were swung with the intention to hit Ariel missed. Right before the hand was about to hit her, Ariel ducked and jumped back. It was Aa move she had learntlearned from watching John.


    "Ventus tormentum" She muttered while in mid-air.


    Air gathered in front of her hands in haste and burst out like a bubble. The Gori, who had underestimated its target, was surprised by her sudden action and wasn''t able to react in time. It was then sent flying straight through a tree thanks to the air pressure.


    "Fast... I''ve never been able to cast it that fast before..." SheAriel muttered as she had a realization.


    [''I don''t have time to waste being depressed... I need to find John and Serena...] S¡­'' heAriel thought to herself with a determined look in her eyes.


    Her determined expression then changed into a surprised one, as the gori got up, seemingly unphased by her attack. It pounded its chest in rage as it charged straight at her.


    "Ventus!" She shouted and took a few leaps back.


    4 Wind des were propelled at the gori and barely scratched it. It continued its charge without stopping, and Ariel tried getting away.


    Once it reached her, it swung both of its giant arms at her. The moment she jumped back, her leg hit one of the vines on the ground, which caused her to lose both her bnce and momentum.


    As the Gori''s fist got closer to her, she thought she was going to die. It was Not like the time when she was doing it for John, this time she was going to die alone without seeing him again. As she thought of such things, she was hit by the Gori and propelled straight at the tree.


    She hit the tree and leaned on it with her back without falling down.


    "Scutum Ventus..." She muttered.


    The reason why she was still standing was becausethat the moment the gori swung at her, she gathered air pressure in the spot in front of her and blocked most of the impact. Right before she hit the tree she also gathered air on her back to weaken the impact.


    "I won''t lose... He never stopped trying, so I won''t either." SheAriel muttered with determination.


    Despite saying that, she didn''t know what to do. Weak level spells won''tdidn''t work on it, and she probably wouldn''t have enough time to cast a more powerful one.


    The gori pounded its chest again and charged at her once again full of frustration.


    As Ariel thought deeply about what to do, a familiar voice called out to her.


    "Ariel!" Shouted Serena.


    "Serena!" Shouted Ariel with a joyful expression.


    Serena held back her tears of happiness and joy at meeting Ariel and decided to leave it forter once she saw her getting attacked.


    She cast 10 wind arrows and propelled them straight at the gori. Once it hit its skin, there was no effect, but thanks to that it changed its aggro from Ariel to Serena.


    It let out another roar as it charged straight at Serena.


    "Forest spirits... Lend me your support... Ariel! I''ll hold him off, start charging up your spell!" Shouted Serena.


    "Yes!" Replied Ariel.


    The gori swung its arms at Serena and tried biting on to her, but she easily avoided them, even when she wasn''t looking, it was as if there was something telling her what its next move would be.


    From Ariel''s perspective, the way Serena avoided its attacks was amazing. Not only was she perfectly controlling her movements, but she predicted its attacks. It was something she hadn''t seen from Serena in the dungeon.


    Ariel cast a wind spear and propelled it straight at the gori while it was distracted by Serena. It was hit directly and let out a roar of pain. Serena took that chance and grouped up with Ariel.


    "Was that enough?" Ariel asked.


    "No... That''s considered the king of the jungle... An A-Rank monster called the Gobrigas, its magic resistance is very high, but it has low intelligence... More importantly, i''mI''m d you''re safe!" Said Serena as she gave Ariel a tight hug.


    "Serena... Not now..." Muttered Ariel, who hugged her back.


    "Alright, that attack should hold it back, let''s-"


    Serena was interrupted by Ariel, who jumped with her to the sides. Thanks to Ariel''s quick reaction, they both barely avoided getting hit head on by the gori.


    "It''s still fighting? That should have given us enough time... W-Wait... It went berserk..." Said Serena.


    The gori''s eyes were bright red, it started rampaging around and swinging at everything beingwithin ints sight. It consecutively swung its arms at Serena and Ariel, who were having difficulty dodge it.


    Berserk, an ability some monsters have which temporarily increases their power and speed at the cost of their consciousness.


    Once again, SerenaAriel who wasn''t used to fighting in the forest, got caught up by one of the vines on the ground when she jumped, and again, she was about to cast Scutum Ventus as the gorisgori''s arms approached her, but only this time, it was much faster and she wouldn''t be able to make it in time.


    A loud thud resonated as there was impact. However, what was hit wasn''t Ariel but a wall of Ice.


    "Murum cies," John said Trantion: Ice wall.


    Serena and Ariel both looked up to find the source of the voice and found him floating slightly above their heads.


    "Looks like I made it, just in time."

 Chapter 55 - 3: Shadow Wolf

    "Just in time," John said with relief as he floated above them.


    "John..." Muttered Ariel with a happy expression.


    "You''rete..." Said Serena with an unexpected smile on her face.


    The gori got seemingly more furious as it began to roar and pound its chest rapidly in anger once it noticed that it hadn''tnded a hit.


    "John, its fur is magic resistant, and it gets stronger the angrier it gets, it''s a B-ranked Monster. The king of the jungle, Barlgura." Said Serena.


    "It doesn''t look that strong.," John muttered as he stared at it.


    It was rampaging around but wasn''t really attacking them.


    "Gravitas." John muttered.


    The 20x gravity over the Barlgura caused its movements to slow down but didn''t immobilise it. It looked up at John, who floated above it and jumped straight at him.


    John avoided it by moving back, and after it missed, it fell straight down.


    "Let''s go while it''s slowed down." John said as he grabbed on to Serena and Ariel''s hands.


    He coated them in anti-gravity as they held onto his hands and they flew straight up, leaving the Gori child behind.


    "I''m d you two were fin-"


    Just as he was speaking, John was interrupted by Ariel, who suddenly hugged him. Her sudden action caused him to slightly lose his bnce and his concentration, and it made them hastily descend.


    "Eek! Ariel!!" Said Serena with a frightened expression.


    "A-Ariel, it''s hard to fly around like this," John said. while trying to bnce them.


    Without saying anything, Ariel continued to hold on. It was surprisingly cute and felt nice, so John didn''t say anything else. Serena also appeared slightly annoyed by it, but held back.


    "Serena, that ''eek'' that I heard," John spoke teasingly.


    "You imagined it" She replied as she looked away.


    Shortly after, Ariel let go of the hug and went back to holding John''s hands.


    "S-Sorry! I just thought I''d never see John again so when you came I was just so happy and- Sorry..." Said Ariel with a dejected expression.


    "Hm? I don''t mind. You''re free to hug me whenever you''d like," John replied.


    Ariel''s expression changed to a happy one, and Serena said.


    "Is that so..." She muttered.


    Shortly after, she suddenly hugged him too. They hastily descended again, but like before, John managed to concentrate on time.


    "Eek!" Said Serena again as they descended.


    "S-Serena... Are you afraid of heights?" John asked.


    "No! Who wouldn''t get scared if we suddenly started falling? Even Ariel is shaking," Said Serena.


    John looked over at Ariel and just as Serena said, she was trembling.


    "Ah, I see... But you don''t have to force yourself to hold on to me. It''s safe even if you''re just holding on to my hands," John said. with concern.


    "I''m... not just hugging you because I''m scared." She whispered.


    "What was that?" John asked.


    She spoke too low for John to hear it, and he wasn''t strengthening his hearing with magic.


    "I Said... I missed you too!" shouted Serena as she let go of the hug and looked away.


    "Haha, I missed you both too, I''m d I had deprehendre, otherwise I wouldn''t have found you two. Speaking of finding, how did you know where Ariel was Serena?" John asked.


    "I asked the spirits for help, and how did you know I knew where she was?" Serena asked.


    "Well, because I saw you rushing towards her with deprehendre, and did you say spirits? You canmunicate with spirits?" John replied.


    Ariel looked over at Serena with a curious and interested expression.


    "Well yeah, it doesn''t work in dungeons because they''re artificial, but I''m able to freelymunicate with forest spirits once I put my mind to it. More importantly, where are we heading?" Serena asked.


    They had been flying in one direction for the past few minutes at a moderate speed, but John hadn''t told them anything about where they were going.


    "Well, for starters, we''re getting out of this forest and finding the nearest town. Did your forest spirits tell you anything about where we were?" John asked.


    "Not really, they only told me I was inside of a dangerous forest." She replied.


    They continued flying above the trees until 20 minutester, when they finally managed to leave the vicinity of the forest.


    "Hey, I think I saw something.," John said.


    With enhanced vision and deprehendre, John noticed around 100 meters away from them a carriage being attacked by a pack of dark wolves. They had a strange evil air around them, John could feel it straight from where he was at.


    "What?" Asked Serena.


    "A carriage getting attacked by shadow wolves." Said Serena.


    "Let''s go help them," John said.


    "Okay." Said Ariel.


    "Sure" Said Serena as she let out a sigh.


    John wasn''t helping them just for kindness. He needed information, and right now, the best way to get it would be by helping whoever is in that carriage.


    As John got them closer to the site, he could see a male mage fighting back the shadow wolves. He was making sure none of them would get close to whatever that was in that carriage. Seeing that, John increased his speed.


    "That''s weird." Said Serena. as she tilted her head.


    "What?" Ariel Asked.


    "Shadow wolves don''t live in forests, and it''s weird for them to be on ins such as these. They''re moremon as familiars, meaning..." Serena spoke.


    "Someone plotted this... It''s most likely an assassination attemptofn whoever or whatever is in there." John muttered.


    ''Hm.... Can''t we watch a break? We just got out of the dungeon¡­'' John thought with helplessness.

 Chapter 56 - 4: Antidote

    John made sure to cast furtim while they flew there so that they wouldn''t notice, and once they finally reached them, he decided to keep it activated and observed the situation.


    Before they hade, the mage was keeping the wolves at bay by casting and chanting Fire Wall spells and attacking them with me des. He was running out of power, but their numbers were drastically decreasing.


    Whenever the wolves sustained enough damage, they would disperse into thin air. There were around 20 and now only 10 remained.


    "Advanced Fire magic: ming Sphere," He muttered.


    John was surprised. Not by the fact that he formed a sphere of mes which engulfed around 4 of the wolves, or because he still had that much energy in him, but because he called it ''Advanced Fire Magic''


    ''Magic spells are given ranks... Then I wonder what my Ice Sphere would be... Probably advanced Ice magic... What about cies... Elementary magic?'' John wondered.


    As John thought of such things, the man suddenly copsed.


    "And that''s our cue.," John muttered.


    The wolves slowly approached the man with caution, they seemed smarter than they looked. They had also lost the majority of their group.


    As they were about to move in to save the poor man, a girl came out of the back of the carriage, she wore noble clean clothes and had long golden hair. She seemed to be around their age if not older.


    The three of them just watched as she stood beside the man and began chanting.


    "Young Lady, It''s dangerous...." He muttered.


    Now that John got a closer look at him, the man didn''t seem like a magician or adventurer at all. In fact, he wore a ck suit which gave him the appearance of a butler.


    It was just the two of them here, John couldn''t feel the presence of anyone else.


    As she was about to finish her chant, 3 of the shadow wolves jumped straight at her


    "Youngdy!!" Shouted the man on the ground.


    "cies Murum" Trantion: Ice Wall.


    A wall of ice was formed right in front of the trembling girl who had her chant interrupted. The Shadow 3 shadow wolves hit directly at it, which formed a giant crack.


    "Ariel, Serena, let''s go." John said as he leaptleaped straight at the 3 wolves whichwho were about to go around the wall.


    The teary girl looked around to find the source of the voice of the one who saved her.


    Once Serena and Ariel left his radius, they became visible, and the girl looked at them with a confused expression but didn''t question it. She began chanting her spell again.


    John deactivated furtim and he and hershe made eye contact as he swung his dagger at the shadow wolf., but Iit went straight through.


    "Physical attacks don''t work on them!" Said Serena as she cast ignis and propelled it to one of the 3 shadow wolves which were on her and Ariel''s side.


    John was handling the 3 in front of the girl and the copsed man, meaning he would protect them while Serena and Ariel would fire ranged attacks at the wolves at the back.


    "And you only tell me this now?!" John said. with frustration.


    The wolf which his dagger had gone through, tried biting on toonto his hand so John decided he''d let it.


    "cio." John muttered as he moved his hand to avoid its bite and ced it on its head.


    Shortly after, the head of the wolf froze up, and it disappeared into thin air.


    "That''s one..." John muttered as he looked over at the other two in front of him.


    The wolves began to growl as they jumped straight at John.


    They jumped at him, but John could tell he wasn''t their target. If he had dodged it, they would have gone straight for the girl who was chanting. So instead... he started chanting.


    "Gravitas." John muttered.


    He stopped the furthest one from moving and jumped straight at the closest one. As it opened, its dark mouth with the objective totch on to mehim, John cast cies and propelled it straight at its head.


    Without being able to avoid it, it was hit head onhead-on in the face and ice slowly engulfed it and spread through its whole body before it dispersed.


    As John was about to end to thest one, which was stuck without being able to move thanks to gravitas, the girl behind him had finished chanting.


    "Intermediate Holy Magic: Holy Light," She said.


    A bright light radiated from her hands and made the remaining Wolves Screech. While they were distracted, the three of them ended them. John finished off thest of the 3 in front of him with cies.


    Serena and Ariel finished off the 3 on their side shortly after, John hadn''t been watching their fight, but they were doing well, they''d either use Ignis or Ventus against them and after around 3 hits they''d go down.


    Shortly after that, the girl fell on her knees beside the butler and began to cry.


    "Don''t die, Alfred... Please..."


    "Of course I won''t *Cough* I won''t kick the bucket until I get the youngdy back to the city... I promise your father, after all..." He muttered as he struggled to get up.


    The butler didn''t look like he copsed just because he used up too much magic... Magic doesn''t make you cough out blood.


    "What''s wrong with him?" John asked as he approached her.


    "I don''t know... He was bitten by one of those wolves a while back and started growing weaker..." The girl uttered.


    The man looked like he was in a lot of pain.


    ''Poison?'' John wondered.


    "Hm, I''m guessing he was poisoned" Said Serena as she got a closer look at him.


    "No..." She muttered as she grabbed on to his hand.


    "I''ll be fine... *Cough*," He said.


    ''Fine? How? You''re coughing out blood, you clearly don''t look fine,'' John thought.


    "I have an antidote I can give it to you if you''d like," John casually said.


    ''They''re not that expensive, and there''s a chance that it won''t work, but it''s better than nothing,'' John was curious to see how healing potions work in this world too. And Iif he dies, they won''t be able to gain any information.


    "Really?!" She asked.


    "Yeah, I have more than necessary." John replied.


    "T-Thank you! I promise that I''ll be sure to reward you and your friends for this. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Eleanor Van Mira, Thank you very much for saving us." She said as she made a noble gesture, or at least she tried.


    It didn''t seem like she realisedrealized she wasn''t wearing a dress as when she motioned her hand to slightly lift it up, there was nothing but air.


    "No problem..." John said as he pulled out an antidote potion from his magic tool boxtoolbox and gave it for him to drink straight away.


    ''Let''s hope this works I guess... But why do I feel like I''m forgetting something¡­'' John wondered.


    As the man drank the contents of the potion John felt a chill go down his spine. He turned around and instantly cast ''cies Murum'' and ''Sphaera cies'' with haste as he felt his heart skip a beat.


    Everyone was surprised by his sudden action, but they''ll shortly knoew why.

 Chapter 57 - 5: Unknown Attack?

    "What''s wrong?!" Asked Serena.


    A loud bang resounded and something crashed into the wall that was in front of John''s ice sphere.


    "W-What''s going on?" Asked Eleanor.


    Arge howl resounded from outside of the ice sphere and pierced their ears.


    "Silentium" John muttered.


    It continued howling, but they could no longer hear it thanks to silentium. John blocked out any sound waves that wereing from outside of the surrounding radius.


    "John, what was that thing?" Asked Ariel.


    "So you saw it too..? I don''t know... But it seems to be after you two." John said as he looked over at Eleanor and her butler who was on the ground.


    The butler seemed to be doing slightly better but was still in a bad condition.


    John could still sense it out there, and it gave off the same feeling as the shadow wolves, only much stronger. He wasn''t able to properly see its figure.


    The ice wall broke after two hits and the thing stopped moving.


    "Why... What did Alfred do wrong...? He was only trying to help me..." Eleanor muttered with tears on her face as she got up.


    The girl slowly made her way to the side of the sphere where his wall was broken.


    "Where are you going?" John asked as he stopped her.


    "I''m going to get rid of whatever is out there..." She replied.


    "And how are you going to do that?" Asked Serena.


    "I- I''ll..." Muttered Eleanor.


    "Exactly, I''m sure you know you''re being targeted, your butler sacrificed himself to help you, are you really just going to go outside under these conditions?" Asked Serena.


    "B-But..." Eleanor stuttered.


    Serena looked over at John with a look that said she wanted to help her.


    "Don''t worry, it''s gone. Cancel." John said.


    He cancelled out the ice sphere and there was nothing outside.


    "Where is it??" Asked Eleanor as she looked around.


    "It disappeared," John replied.


    "Does that mean we''re safe..?" She asked.


    "Whatever summoned it is probably going to chase you again, so..." John replied.


    "I See... Well, thank you for helping us... but it''s best if we part ways here..." She said as she tried pulling Alfred to the carriage.


    He had fainted after taking the antidote and was barely moving despite her look of struggle on her face as she tried to pull him.


    John let out a sigh as he picked him up for her and put him in the back of the carriage.


    "Um..?" She muttered.


    "Do you know how to ride a carriage?" John asked.


    "What? Um... no." She said.


    John went over to Serena and Ariel and told them his idea and then shortly after came back.


    Ariel looked over at John with a smile which was as if it was something she expected to happen and Serena let out a sigh.


    "Alright, then how about you employ us? We''ll drive and protect you until you reach the city you were heading to, and you can pay uster. How about that?" John asked with an expectant tone.


    "Eh?! You''d do that!? Really?!" She asked with a joyful expression.


    "Sure..? But you''ll have to guide us," John asked.


    "O-Of Course! I can''t ask you to risk your lives to help us... You already saved us once... That''s enough..." She replied.


    "Don''t worry, something of that level won''t be a threat to us." John stated.


    ''Besides, we''ll be able to bait him out, we''re only 4 kids and an injured man after all.'' John thought.


    "W-Who are you guys?" She asked.


    ''Us? We''re just 3 kids? Should we make a party name? Hm... A good name¡­'' John wondered.


    "Um..." She muttered.


    "Ah, sorry, I was thinking of a name. We''re no one important really, we''re just 3 travelling kids..." John replied.


    "Who are you calling a kid?!" Asked Serena.


    "Except for her, she''s an adult." John said.


    "Why d''you say it like that?" She asked.


    "Nothing," He replied.


    "Hmph" Serena grunted..


    She looked straight at John as if she was thinking of something and then decided not to ask it.


    "I see, you have your circumstances. But do any of you know how to ride a carriage?" She asked.


    "Uhm..." John looked over at Serena and Ariel for help.


    "Yeah, I do," Replied Serena.


    She walked over to the horses and ced her hand on their face; it was as if she wasmunicating with them.


    ''Elves are really something else.'' John thought.


    "Good, then with everything ready, let''s go." She said.


    "Eh? Now?" Eleanor asked.


    "I-If we waste more time we might suffer another attack so..." Said Ariel with concern in her voice.


    "You''re right... Um..." Said Eleanor.


    "Ah that''s right, you can call me John, she''s Ariel and that girl with the hat talking to the horses is Serena." John said.


    "I''m not talking to them!" Said Serena with an embarrassed expression.


    "W-Well, John, Ariel and Serena, it''s nice to meet you three... Once again, I thank you all for your help..." She said as she bowed her head.


    "You don''t have to do that, you''re employing us after all. Also, there''s no need to be so formal." John said.


    "But"


    "It''s fine, it makes me feel ufortable when someone my age talks formally like that." John replied.


    "I see... Very well then, I''ll try speaking normally, also speaking of age, how old are you?" Eleanor asked.


    "12" replied John.


    "Ehhh?!" Eleanor eximed.


    ***


    After Serena prepared what she needed to, without saying anything, she got the carriage back on the path and it''s been an hour since they had started their journey.


    "Serena, aren''t your hands getting tired?" John asked.


    "It''s fine, I have magic strengthening after all,"


    "I see... Speaking of which, I never asked Eleanor where we were, she told us that if we followed this path we''d reach the city but which continent are we in?" John asked.


    "I don''t know, I''ve never seen it before, if you''re so curious why don''t you go and ask her? You don''t have to stay here." she said with an uninterested expression.


    ''What''s with her? I just didn''t want to leave her here alone, Ariel is happily talking with Eleanor, they both seem to be in a good mood so I thought I''d do the same for Serena, but as always she''s in a bad mood.'' John thought.


    ''Was Ariel always this good at socialising?'' He wondered.


    "I like it here, we can feel the breeze, even though flying around has a much better breeze to it," John said.


    "Don''t just casually say that!" Said, Serena.


    ''Am I that bad at dealing with this girl? I mean, I know she hates me but-'' John thought with confusion.


    "Thanks." She said out of nowhere.


    "For what?" John asked.


    "You know wha- John!" She said.


    "Yes, I know, Ariel, we gotpany, ready up." John said as he turned around.


    "We just found our prey...." He muttered.

 Chapter 58 - 6: Protect

    "Why did we stop?" Asked Eleanor who was at the back.


    "Sphaera cies," John muttered.


    The moment he said that, an Ice sphere was formed around them and engulfed the entire carriage.


    "We havepany. Serena, Ariel are you ready?" John asked as he hopped off the carriage.


    "Of course" Serena replied.


    Ariel hastily nodded as she followed behind him.


    "Okay, let''s go," John responded.


    As John was about to create a hole in the ice for them to pass through, they were stopped by Eleanor who said, "Wait!"


    "What''s wrong?" Serena asked.


    "I-I want to help..." She muttered.


    "He''s after you. He''s not someone you would be able to beat, in fact, you''d only slow us down." John bluntly said.


    They were harsh words, but it''s the truth. She''s the target. It didn''t matter if they got him, if she died, they would lose their benefactor and it would be his win.


    "B-But... Because of me Alfred was hurt... I want to be able to protect him..." She said as she started to cry again.


    John went up to her and said, "But, you need to stay in here and make sure nothing gets inside, your job is already to protect him, can I count on you to do that?" as he patted her head.


    "I''ll be able to protect him..?" She asked as tears streamed down her face.


    Seeing her like this sort of reminded John of Ariel, she wanted to protect him too. It had made him really happy back then.


    "Yeah, I''m sure he''ll be d once he hears you did your best to help him," John said as he continued patting her head.


    "John? How much longer?" Asked Serena with an annoyed expression as she looked at his hand.


    "Ah! Sorry! I got carried away..." John said as he lifted up his hand.


    John was so used to giving Ariel head pats that he didn''t even notice.


    "I-It''s fine... It helped me calm down, Thank you..." She said with a smile as she wiped her tears off her face.


    "I don''t know why, but seeing John acting kind like that ticks me off... Don''t you think so too, Ariel?" Serena whispered.


    "John is always kind and I like that part of him, but..." Muttered Ariel as she ced her hands on her chest.


    "Sorry if I made you two wait long," John said as he went back to the ice.


    "It''s fine, why don''t you go enjoy yourself more, we won''t mind waiting more if you''d like." Said Serena as she made a Hmph sound and turned her head.


    ''Eh?'' He wondered.


    "Uhm... Ariel, what''s wrong with Serena?" John asked as he looked over at her.


    "N-Nothing''s wrong, L-Lets just go." Said Ariel while flustered.


    ''That reaction... What''s she hiding...? Argh, I''ll just ask when the fight is over? Did I forget a promise or something...? Could it have been her birthday? Wait, how would I even know what day it is? Is there a calendar in this country, Argh! I''m overthinking again!'' John thought with.


    "John..?" Muttered Serena with a confused tone.


    "Nothing, let''s go." John said as he opened a hole in the ice sphere.


    "Stay safe!" Said Eleanor as she waved at them from the back of the carriage.


    "Yeah!" John replied as they walked through and closed the gap.


    Now that they were outside, they could finally start.


    "Deprehendre." John muttered.


    ''2... 10... 20... Where''s the person behind it? I felt them earlier with deprehendre. How are they avoiding it now?'' John wondered..


    "How many?" Asked Ariel with an unphased expression.


    "Around 20, approaching us, from the side." John said.


    "What about the other feeling we sensed?" Asked Serena.


    "Don''t worry, it''ll show up, eventually." John said as he cast levite and furtim.


    John grabbed on to Serena and Ariel and flew them to the top of the ice sphere. After that, he deactivated levite and furtim.


    From an outsider''s perspective, it looked like they teleported.


    ''Maybe I should try to create a teleportation spell... But I doubt it''d work, I don''t understand much about teleportation either, let''s leave this forter.'' John thought.


    "Furtim cies," He muttered.


    4 Walls of ice were formed around the Ice sphere that they stood on. There were no openings, and the ice sphere was protected from all sides by the walls.


    "We''re ready, why don''t youe out of hiding?" John said out loud.


    Shortly after he said that, shadow wolves started pouring out of the shadows of the rocks beside them. They were in a in close to the forest, thus they were pretty much in the open.


    "Serena and Ariel, back me up!" John said as he leapt straight into the pack.


    Midair John propelled himself with velox to increase his speed. He was heading straight for the middle. Like John had guessed, there were 20 shadow wolves. That was probably this person''s limit.


    ''Wait... Maybe I shouldn''t have-'' John doubted himself.


    John crashed straight into the middle of their group and made a loud thud, smoke was formed from the dust of the ground and Serena and Ariel couldn''t see what happened.


    "John! That idiot, why does he always just charge in?!" Asked Serena as she cast ignis.


    "It''ll be fine, he always does this." Said Ariel with a smile on her face as she began gathering air in front of her.


    Shortly after, John had crashed into them, a crackling sound could be heard. Once the smoke dispersed, it was visible; he hadnded safely, and around half of the wolves were frozen.


    Right as he crashed, John froze the ground beneath him and made the ice spread to the surrounding wolves. He thought of trying this but didn''t expect things to work this smoothly.


    "What should I call it..? Ice and I crashed down... Ice crash... so... Credo cies?" John asked himself.


    While he was distracted thinking of a name for his new move, 2 of the shadow wolves jumped right at him.


    Before they managed to hit him, one of them was burnt by Serena''s ignis and dispersed into thin air while the other was cut into 4 pieces by Ariel''s Ventus and disappeared.


    "Don''t get distracted! What are you even thinking about?!" Asked Serena.


    "Uhh, Things! And Thanks for the help!" John said as he dispersed the 2 ice spikes he had formed right before they attacked him.


    John was going to deal with them himself, but it was good to know that they were constantly on the lookout. They were improving.


    ''Now then, to deal with these 8 wolves... How should I do that?'' John wondered.


    As he thought that, the wolves started to howl as they backed away from him. Shortly after, an even louder howl came from within the shadow of one of the trees in the distance.


    "So that''s the thing that attacked us earlier..." John said as he looked over at the shadows.


    The shadows of the trees were mixed together and a bigger wolf wasing out of it.


    "Is it just me.... Or does it seem stronger than before?" John said as he made a nervous smile.

 Chapter 59 - 7: Monarch Wolf

    The shadows merged and from within came out a Dark Wolf that was at least 3 times the size of a regr one. Its length was slightly over 5 meters, and it emanated bloodlust as it stared at them.


    "Serena, any idea what that is?" John asked.


    "No... It''s probably just a stronger version of the regr shadow wolf..?" She asked in a confused tone.


    "Yeah, jumping straight on might not be a good idea for this one..." John muttered as he cast levite.


    The wolf charged straight at them as it saw him slowly ascend into the air and tried changing its target to John as he flew closer to it while he stayed above it.


    At first the wolf ignored him and was about to move on, but before it could John cast gravitas on it.


    "Gravitas x 25 and cies," John said.


    10 Ice spikes were formed around him, a number he never expected to be able to freely use.


    The wolf stopped on its tracks, turned around and watched John as he descended back on to the ground.


    "Here, now we can have a fair-"


    Before John could finish, the wolf charged at him with intense bloodlust. It was as if everything it was containing burst out, containing and burst.


    ''I just got an idea for a new spell,'' John thought.


    As John thought that he leapt back away from the ice sphere to dodge it, despite trying to shake it off by leaping it around it stayed on him and was getting closer and closer.


    Once they were a moderate distance away from the sphere, a distance where Serena and Ariel could still attack it, it caught up to John. The instant it did, it took a bite straight at him.


    John barely managed to dodge by propelling himself back with a ventus and while he was inches away from its teeth John propelled the 10 ice spikes around him, straight at it from point nk.


    Crackling sounds could be heard as each spike made contact, and John sessfully managed tond all 10 spikes on it, 4 on the face and the rest on the body.


    "What?!" John eximed in surprise.


    Ice made contact, but it didn''t spread, it simply froze the area it hit.


    "Awooooo!"


    The wolf let out a loud howl which resounded throughout the Area. once it stopped. It turned its head back to the direction of the ice sphere.


    "Velox Duplici!"


    John propelled himself straight in front of the direction he was facing once he realised his intentions.


    "You''re not getting past me."


    As if ignoring John, the wolf began to charge straight at him.


    "cies Murum," John muttered.


    4 Ice Walls were formed behind him. John put them each side by side, to prevent the wolf from being able to go around.


    The wolf charged straight with the intention of breaking through.


    "Just like that..." John muttered.


    ''If I can''t freeze you or hit you, then I guess I''ll try what I didn''t get to in the dungeon.'' John thought.


    "Ignis," John said as he pointed his finger to the sky.


    A Blue me was formed slightly above it.


    "Aqua, "


    A Sphere of water was formed on top of the me. John merged them together, and the water began to let off steam as it evaporated from the mes.


    "Ventus"


    While continuously forming mes and Water spheres and evaporating them, John began to gather the gases and steam formed from the sudden reactions andpressed them.


    John moved the burning water and steam from the top of his finger to a moderate distance away from the palms of his stretched out hands.


    The wolf began to growl once it noticed that John was charging up an attack.


    If you mix up the right gases and ignite it, you can create something called a gas explosion. For example, butane a gas at room temperature and highly mmable, chemicallyposed of 4 Carbon atoms and 10 Hydrogen atoms


    ''If I keep heating up water like this, I''ll be able to create this gas at a faster rate than just simply gathering it from the air,'' John thought.


    After it was ready John stopped burning the water chemicals so as to not ignite the gases identally. He had gathered them and now began topress them; hepressed it andpressed it andpressed it until it was about the size of a marble. John could tell it was ready to burst at any minute


    By the time John had finished, before he even realised the wolf had already jumped at him with its mouth opened ready to gobble me up.


    ''I won''t make it in time-'' John thought.


    "Cra- ARGH!!!" John shouted in pain as he failed to propel himself away fast enough.


    John wasn''t fast enough, and it ended up biting into his arm while he was propelling himself.


    As pain pulsated through his right arm, a grin formed on his face as John propelled the small explosive marble which was in the palm of his hand that it bit further inside of its body.


    "Drop... Dead... Ignis," John muttered.


    A split secondter, a faint light was formed on the inside of its belly, that light was followed by a loud *BOOM!*

 Chapter 60 - 8: Shadow Mage

    From the inside out, the wolf exploded, John had expected to get caught up in the st, but its body absorbed all of the impact and it dispersed into the air.


    John''s hand was freed, but the pain remained. A consistent surge of pain passed through his arm as blood dripped out of the hole formed due to the bite. Its canines had managed to prate through his skin and formed a hole.


    "Ahhhh!" John unintentionally let out as he tried to resist the pain.


    He ced his unwounded hand slightly above his injured arm and cast ''sana'' Trantion: Heal.


    The amount of blood pouring out of John''s arm decreased and the wound slowly began to close up.


    "Around 10 minutes huh..." John muttered as he looked over at Ariel and Serena''s direction.


    They were waving at him toe over, so he waited a minute for the blood to stop pouring out like a stream, and flew over to them with levite.


    Johnnded safely on top of the ice, and both Serena and Ariel rushed to see his wound.


    He made sure to put a cloth over it, because it wasn''t something you''d want to show to others.


    "John, how''s your wound?" Asked Ariel as she tried to see it.


    "It''s fine, It''s healing up with ''Sana" John replied as he moved his arm so that she wouldn''t see it.


    He really didn''t want to show this to them. It managed to pierce its fangs pretty deep into his arm, and although blood had stopped pouring out of it and it was already starting to close nicely, it still looks unpleasant.


    "We saw the fight, it bit pretty hard into your arm, can you move it?" Asked Serena as she tried not to show that she was worried.


    "I can''t move it, it probably broke my bone even with magic reinforcement, but It wasn''t able to pierce through it"


    The human bone is obviously more durable than the skin. Once he reinforced it with magic, it''s much harder to pierce through or break. Although its jaw strength was very high, all John had to do was reinforce more magic into his arm, but his bone didn''t break because of its jaw bite.


    "Thank god... I-I mean, that''s good!" Said Serena with an embarrassed expression.


    John and Ariel looked at each other and thenughed.


    "Pff"


    "Serena, you should be more honest," Said Ariel.


    "Ariel, are youughing at your big sister?" Asked Serena with an evil smile as she began to tickle Ariel.


    "W-Wait, S-Serena I''m sowwy! pff- hahaha, Sewena!!" Ariel protested.


    "Can you two save this forter? There''s still a guy trying to kill us out there." Said John.


    "Right, Sorry," They simultaneously replied.


    "How can you two be in sync so often?" John asked.


    "You''re only asking this now?" Serena asked.


    "Why does the timing matter-"


    John stopped once he noticed a presence near one of the trees. It wasn''t an animal; it was a person. He had been silently casting deprehendre in case they decided to show up.


    Perhaps through his expression, Serena and Ariel noticed that something was wrong.


    "How many?" Serena asked.


    "Just one." John replied.


    "If it took only one could summon all of these wolves, then they must be strong." She deduced.


    "Yeah..."


    John''s arm, he could slightly move it, but it''ll take around 4 more minutes until it could return to a condition that he can fight with.


    "Magnum Ventus," John muttered.


    Air began to gather in front of him and he directed it straight at the direction where the person was standing.


    He had noticed it beforehand and managed to get away in time, so John ended up only cutting down a few trees, but thanks to that, he had nowhere to hide.


    "I''ll be back." John said as he cast levite and was about to head towards him.


    "No, you don''t" Said Serena as she grabbed on to his uninjured arm.


    "What? We don''t have time for this," John said.


    "We''reing with you" Said Ariel as she grabbed on to Serena.


    "Fine..." John said as he let out a sigh.


    ''Honestly, these two¡­'' He thought.


    "Furtim"


    The person simply stood there wearing a cloak which covered his face and figure. He was taller than them and didn''t seem scared at all once he appeared a few meters in front of him out of nowhere.


    "You can teleport?" The person asked.


    It was the voice of a man.


    "I guess." John replied.


    It wasn''t really teleportation, he just cast Furtim, and flew over. Serena and Ariel were next to him but didn''t say anything, they were prepared to fight at any moment.


    "You... I didn''t see you using any chants, Earlier, How did you hide it?" The man asked.


    "I don''t know, Maybe the wind covered my mouth?" John asked in a questionable tone.


    "So you won''t talk?" Said the man.


    "I don''t know, I''m talking right now, aren''t I?" John asked.


    "Guess I''ll just have to force you."


    The man began muttering a few words in a low tone, John couldn''t hear it, but he was sure he was chanting something.


    "Velox Duplici." John muttered and propelled himself straight at him.


    John only had one hand, so if the man dodged this it would be problematic..


    John went straight at him at high speeds and he jumped to the side to dodge it. Right before John went past him, he cast it again while mid-air, and changed the direction of the attack to the area he jumped to while keeping the momentum.


    John shed at him, and he had no opportunity to dodge.


    To his surprise, his dagger went right through him, more like his body dispersed.


    "He disappeared?!"


    John stopped himself by creating an air cushion in front of him and turned around.


    The man had finished chanting and said the words "Dark Domain".


    After that, everything around him became pitch ck, John could only see himself and couldn''t hear anything.. Everything was shrouded in darkness.

 Chapter 61 - 9: Serena... Ariel..?

    "John?!" Shouted Serena.


    John had stopped moving, and a dark mist now surrounded him, andpletely covered him. Serena and Ariel couldn''t see John and he couldn''t hear or see them.


    "Ventus hastam!" Said Ariel Trantion: Wind Spear.


    A wind spear was formed and propelled straight at the man, but instead of dodging, he simply created a dark shield and blocked it with a sturdy shield that was simr to John''s Ice shield but sinister.


    "Serena... Try to get John... I''ll hold him back..." Spoke Ariel.


    "Understood, I haven''t used this in a while but..." Serena replied.


    Serena started chanting, and the man simply watched. He seemed curious about what the two girls before him would pull off.


    "Fire lion" Said Serena once she finished her chant.


    A lion made of pure fire was formed beside Ariel.


    "It''ll help you, I''ll get John and be-"


    Serena was interrupted by the man who leapt straight at her with his right arm stretched out as if trying to grab her.


    She leapt to Ariel''s side and looked straight at him.


    "Doesn''t look like he''ll let us approach John..." Said Serena.


    "But... If we don''t do something... John might..." Ariel replied.


    "Calm down, Ariel. He won''t hurt John... He needs him for information..." Spoke Serena.


    "That''s correct, but it appears that your ck-haired friend can use it too, I wonder if you can use it yourself, Silver-haired elf." He said as he looked straight at Serena.


    "Ariel... This guy''s dangerous... Let''s use that..." Said Serena.


    Ariel nodded.


    "Very well, I won''t move an inch off of this location, Go on." Said the man.


    The man''s shield only protected attacks from one direction, so Serena and Ariel decided to go with a multi-direction attack.


    "Sagitta ignis" Muttered Serena Trantion: Fire Arrow.


    Shortly after, arrows made of me began to form themselves around 10 feet away from the man. 30 Arrows were formed. Ariel began to gather air behind each individual arrow/


    "Now!" Said Serena.


    With the help of Ariel, Serena propelled the fire arrows straight at him. Yet the man didn''t move, all 20 Arrows pierced him while the rest were deflected by the shield. They seemed worried about whether or not they had killed him, but were still more concerned about John.


    As Serena and Ariel lowered their guards, thinking that they had won, a voice came from behind them.


    "So you can both use magic without chanting..." Said the man.


    Chills went down their spine as they hastily turned around.


    As they did, he stretched out his hand to try to grab on to their necks. But thanks to the harsh conditions and battles they fought in the dungeon, they instinctively jumped back at the same time and avoided him.


    "That''s not good... You''re supposed to sit still..." Said the man as he stared at the sky.


    Serena and Ariel looked over at the body that they had hit with the Arrows, and it dispersed into the air.


    "A spell which creates some sort of dummy... What do we do..?" Asked Ariel.


    "We got stronger a lot strongerpared to when we first entered the dungeon... But this is another person... Fighting a person ispletely different... Not to mention, he''s a strong mage..." Said Serena.


    Serena and Ariel looked back over to where the man was a while ago, but this time, he was gone. They couldn''t feel his presence or anything.


    "Don''t drop your guard..." Said Serena


    "I know... There''s no way he''d just leave us like that..." Said Ariel as she hastily looked around.


    [Where is he? Left? Right? Above us?]


    They looked around but found no traces of him; he had eitherpletely sealed his presence or left.


    They slowly approached John as they stood side by side, right when they were just a few steps away from the John who had been cloaked inside of a dark sphere. Serena felt it.


    "Ariel! Jum-"


    An elf''s senses were higher than a human''s, a human can achieve senses higher than an elf if they trained enough. Serena not only had sharp senses, but she trained them, making her notice things, considerably faster than others.


    But by the time she realised it was toote. The man rose up from their shadows and grabbed on to their necks.


    "Caught you~," He said.


    Serena struggled to release his grip off of her neck but it was tight, Ariel struggled just as much but even with magic strengthening, he wouldn''t let go.


    "You know... originally I came here on an assassination request of the merchant Floyd''s daughter... But you three are clearly worth a lot more than that..."


    Serena began to move her mouth, forcing herself to say something.


    "Hm? What''s that?"


    "D..rop... Dead..." She said as she cast ignis in front of her arms.


    She then mmed the Ignis and her hand on to his arm, which resulted in it being burnt, He slightly loosened his grip once it happened, but it wasn''t enough.


    "Interesting... So you can cast without being able to talk... A magician''s greatest weakness is to only be able to cast once he''s said the words... You are truly interesting." The man spoke.


    Ariel gathered air a few feet behind them and secretly propelled it at him as she did her best not to let him notice. She propelled 5 of them straight at his back, and also subconsciously lowered the power so that it wouldn''t kill him.


    [Just a bit more...] She thought to herself as they were about to hit him.


    There was contact, the 5 wind des all managed to hit, but it wasn''t what she wanted. It hit a shield he had formed on his back, shortly after she propelled them.


    "Was that your doing?" He asked as he looked at Serena.


    Serena smiled at him as she nodded.


    "Lying won''t work on me. It was you, wasn''t it?" He asked as he looked at Ariel.


    Ariel nodded as she had run out of air, her consciousness was fading.


    "Lea..ve... her... al...one..."


    [Damn it... I''m the older one... Why am I so useless... John... Sorry...] Thought Serena, as tears streamed down her eyes.


    "P...lease... Don''t... Hur...t... the...m..." Said Ariel as tears flowed down her face.


    Shortly after that, they both fainted.


    "What? Done, Already, how boring?"


    The man let go of Serena, and Ariel and they fell straight to the ground.


    "Hopefully this wasn''t enough to kill you. Ah well, it''s fine, there''s still that kid, speaking of him, I wonder how he''s-"


    The man was interrupted by John who said, "Serena... Ariel..?" as he walked over to them.


    "You... How did you break through my dark domain?"


    John ignored the man and walked over to them, it was clear that he was drained from the way he was walking. He had used up most of his magic to break out of the Dark Domain.


    The man simply watched as John kneeled down beside them.


    "Serena... Oi... Wake up... Ariel... Come on... Stop joking around..."


    John''s mind wasn''t in the right ce. He had spent time in a domain which consumed the person''s mind and exhausted his mana. He didn''t even check to see if Ariel and Serena were still breathing.


    "Can''t you see? They''re dead," Said the man.


    "They''re not... They''ll be fine..." Said John as tears began to stream down his face.


    "No, they''re dead, I killed them"


    John turned his head and faced the man as he stared straight at him with a nk expression.


    The man stared back with a nervous expression.


    Shortly after, John fainted and copsed onto the ground.


    "Did I really feel threatened by a kid..." muttered the man.


    Dark clouds began to gather above them, and a storm wasing..


    "Well, time to take these three back..." He muttered as he moved his hand to grab them.


    Before he grabbed them, his hand was stopped. It was John; he grabbed on to his hand. John''s grip was strong. The man tried but couldn''t shake it off. As he was distracted by that, he failed to notice that John was mumbling something.


    "Earth Spike," Said John.


    Once the man heard that, he felt a chill go down his spine. The man used all of his strength and managed to break free of the grip, and took that opportunity to leap back.


    A split second after his jump, the earth rose in the form of a spike in the location where he was at. Shortly after the earth regressed back to normal and John stood up.


    His eyes were closed, and he began muttering something again.


    "He''s unconscious?!"

 Chapter 62 - 10: Youre Not... John?

    "He''s unconscious?! What''s more, he''s chanting!?"


    By the time he had said that, John had already finished his chant.


    "Advanced Earth Magic: Quagmire"


    The solid earth under the shadow mage''s feet turned soft, and his legs got sucked in, once they were, it regressed back to solid state and his legs werepletely stuck underground.


    As the man struggled to get out, John had started chanting once again. The dark clouds got closer and closer to one another.


    [What''s going on...? He''s supposed to be out of magic... How can he do this!?] Thought the man as he began punching the ground to break it.


    But it was no use, John had reinforced that ground and made it much harder than it should be. Once John had finished chanting, the sound of thunder could be heard.


    "Saint ss Thunder Magic: Wrath of the thunder dragon." Muttered John.


    A split secondter, Lightning came crashing down at the speed of light on the man. He had formed a Dark Shield Above his head, but the lighting passed through it and hit him directly. He waspletely evaporated.


    After that, John turned around and took a look at Serena and Ariel, with his eyes still closed, he began to chant, and a pure light was being emitted from his hand. He ced his hands slightly over the necks as he said.


    "Saint ss Holy Magic: Sacred Heal"


    In seconds, the strangtion marks on their necks disappeared, and they woke up.


    Seeing this, a small smile was formed on John''s face.


    "Mn... John..? John!" Shouted Ariel as she jumped to hug him.


    Ariel gave John a big hug, with his eyes still closed, John simply smiled at Ariel.


    "Ariel, get away from him," Said Serena.


    "What?" Asked Ariel.


    "Get Away from him! That''s not John!"


    Ariel looked over at John and finally noticed, His eyes were closed and the air about him was different.


    Ariel let go of the hug as she asked, "You''re John, right?"


    As she asked that, John turned around as if he had noticed something and began muttering.


    "John is chanting? Ariel Get back!" Said Serena.


    Ariel slowly walked back towards Serena as she looked at him.


    "Cancel." Said John once he finished his chants.


    Serena and Ariel both realised that John''s voice wasn''t the same as usual. It sounded like someone else was talking...


    Shortly after that, the man rose from the ground a few feet away from them.


    "So you noticed me..." Said the man as he was forced out of the ground.


    His face was no longer being covered by a cloak, and he was wearing light clothes. His arm and face seemed to have been recently burned.


    "What did you do to John!?" Shouted Serena.


    "What did I do to him..? Haha... Look at what he did to me! My face... I''ll kill him... No... I''ll slowly torture you two in front of him... and..."


    The man suddenly stopped talking and began to chant. John simply watched.


    "Advanced Dark Magic: Dark Lances" Said the man once his chant was finished.


    The man propelled these 2nces straight at the three kids.


    John muttered 5 short words, and thences dispersed midair before it reached them. Once the man saw that he began chanting again.


    "Dark Domai-"


    "Cancel,"


    The man had finally realised the difference in their strength.


    "Even if I can''t kill you, they will... Once I tell them about you three, they''ll torture you until you tell them..." He said that as his body slowly sunk into the ground.


    Once he was finished he was gone, or so it seemed


    "John, he hasn''t left yet. His body simply entered his own shadow. I noticed it when he snuck up behind us..." Said Serena.


    John, who heard what she said, turned around and smiled at her with his eyes closed as he muttered something and said "Stop."


    While Serena and Ariel were both confused and what he meant by that. John began to chant again, and this time he said "Cancel"


    Around 15 meters away from them, a man rose up from the ground, he stoodpletely still.


    Serena and Ariel both realised what had happened.


    [He already knew? Since when could John do this? What''s going on..?] Thought Serena.


    Ariel and Serena just watched as John slowly approached the man. With each step, the man was filled with more and more dread. The man desperately tried to get away, but not even his voice woulde out


    [W-What is this...? Why can''t I move..? What''s going on..? I must be dreaming... Kids... A mere Kid would do this to me..?] Thought the man as John got closer and closer.


    Eventually gone was only a few steps from him.


    "W-Wait!" Said the man.


    [I can talk!?]


    "You, who I had spared, why did you try once more to attack?" Asked John.


    "L-Let me apologise, I''m sorry! I didn''t want to hurt them, I had no choice! I didn''t voluntarily take this job, I was forced to! I''m sorry! I promise I won''t tell anyone anything, so please!" Said the man.


    [This feeling of humiliation... Me? Begging to be spared..? Me? To a mere kid..? When I''m free, I''ll indulge in screams of anyone precious to you... I''ll watch you suffer, over until I eventually kill you]


    John started chanting one final time.


    [W-What is he doing?] Thought the man as his bones trembled in fear.


    "W-Wait! We can talk about this! I''m Sorry! I swear I''ll never do anything again!"


    "Forbidden Lost Magic: ck Hole"


    A distortion was formed in the space next to the man, and the air in the area started getting sucked into it. The distortion was taking the form of a ball and began to suck the man into it.


    "A-AAAHHH!!" Shouted the man as his body was sucked into the ck hole.


    "Close." Said John after no trace of the man remained.


    Ariel and Serena, who saw that, felt slightly terrified as they watched it all happen.


    With his eyes still closed, John turned around and walked over to Serena and Ariel. Once he reached them, they stepped away from him.


    "Where is John?" Asked Serena as she lifted up her staff


    "Thank you for saving us... But give him back..." Said Ariel who began to gather air in front of her with her staff.


    With his eyes still closed, he gave them a small smile, and copsed onto the ground.

 Chapter 63 - 11: Consciousness

    "Argh... Where... Am I..?" John asked as he opened his eyes.


    It was pitch white, as far as John could see, everything was a pure white colour, he couldn''t understand what he was looking at. The room was big, endless even. He couldn''t see the end, but he could still see light.


    Then a part of the room, which John hadn''t noticed earlier, came into his view. There was darkness there, it didn''t move despite all the lights and just stayed there silently as if it were waiting for something.


    "Darkness..?" I muttered.


    ''There''s still darkness, even where there''s all this light?'' John wondered.


    "Speaking of which... Wasn''t I inside of something called a ''Dark Domain''? I remember being trapped in darkness..." He spoke.


    "This isn''t the dark domain." Replied a voice in the distance.


    Surprised, John looked around to find the voice, and noticed the figure of a woman standing a few feet away from him. Her entire figure was white, just like the room, and John only noticed her now after looking at the darkness.


    "Where is it then..?" John asked as he looked towards her direction.


    Her back, which was originally turned towards John, faced the other way as she faced him. John could only see the outline of her face, he could see her mouth moving, but that was all.


    "We''re inside of you," She said as she approached John.


    ''Inside of me..? My consciousness?'' John wondered.


    "This voice... This is the same voice I heard telling me to wake up when I first came to this world..." John realised.


    "I didn''t expect you to remember..." She replied.


    "So... Are you the person that brought me to this world..?" John asked.


    "Hm... I''m afraid, I don''t have the power to do that," She replied.


    "Then tell me, Who are you..? And what are you doing inside of me?" John questioned further.


    "You''ll know... Once you''re stronger, that is. Nheless, I''m disappointed. Getting caught in an enemy''s trap, if I hadn''t helped you again... Your friends, they would''ve been killed." The woman spoke.


    ''Again..? She''s helped me before? And my friends¡­'' John pondered.


    "What happened to them!? Are they safe?! Where''s the shad-"


    John was then interrupted by the women who said. "They''re waiting for you."


    After she said that, John could feel something pulling him out of this Area.


    "Remember John, you must strengthen your body, otherwise you won''t be able to control ''It''."


    ''Control what..? More importantly.'' John thought.


    "Wait! Before I go, please tell me your name!" John requested.


    The woman who heard that made a surprised expression which changed into a smile and said, "My name... It''s..."


    --------------------------------------------


    "Mn..." John muttered as he opened his eyes.


    Once opened, the first thing he saw was the face of two surprised, beautiful girls crying.


    "Uhm... I''m back?" John muttered.


    "John..." They both said as they hugged him.


    "O-Ow... my body hurts all over... Can you guys make the hug a little less tight? I''m struggling to breathe..." John protested.


    "No..." Muttered Ariel as she continued to hug him.


    "Idiot..." Said, Serena as she hugged him even tighter.


    "O-Okay..." John replied, giving in.


    ***


    "Are you two feeling better now..?"John asked as he patted both of them on their heads.


    "Don''t pat me..." Said Serena as she moved his hand.


    ''But you can hug me..? Ah, nevermind, she hates being treated like a kid.'' John thought as he gave up.


    Nheless, they wouldn''t let go of John no matter what he did. It was almost as if they thought he had died or something. After an unknown amount of timeter, they finally let go of him.


    "Wait... did I die? Is that it? Serena..? Ariel..? Come on, you two say something, What happened to me?" John questioned.


    Once he asked that Serena and Ariel looked at each and chuckled.


    "Looks like he''s back..." Said, Serena.


    "This is the john that we all know." Said, Ariel.


    "Eh? What''s that supposed to mean?" John wondered.


    Serena and Ariel both exined to him what happened, how after John was trapped inside of the sphere, the man managed to get them by surprise and made them lose consciousness, and about what had happened after that.


    "So after you woke up... You saw me fighting the man, and I was chanting..?" John asked, feeling stumped.


    "Yeah, it was like you were apletely different person..." Said, Ariel.


    ''So that''s what she meant by she helped me again¡­'' John realised.


    "More importantly, the chants you did... They were different from normal..." Said, Serena.


    "Different? How?" John asked.


    "Chanting is like praying to a spirit and requesting power in exchange for magic power. A spirit is wise also, it probably understands the concept of its element. Depending on what you chant, you can use stronger spells, but the thing about chanting is that they have to be urate." Serena exined.


    ''Hmm¡­''


    "And what happened with mine?" John questioned again.


    "Yours... It didn''t feel like you were making a prayer, It sort of felt like when that guy we met in the dungeon was chanting. You also used the same spell as him, you cancelled the dark mage''s spells. And your chants were getting shorter and shorter the more you would use them." Serena answered.


    ''So that woman is this powerful... I wonder why she''s so invested in me being stronger, Could it be, she wants me to fight something even stronger than her?'' John thought.


    "But if I was so strong? How could I let him get away? Wasn''t I able to stop his movements in thest second? So why did I let him go at the end?" John asked in confusion.


    Serena and Ariel nervously looked at each other, and Serena spoke.


    "I-I don''t know, maybe you felt like he could be spared," Said Serena.


    "Serena... What did I do to him, you''re not a very good liar..." John said.


    Serena let out a sigh and said, "Fine..."


    "We couldn''t hear what spell you used at the end, but whatever it was, a hole appeared out of nowhere, and sucked him inside. No traces of him remained..." Said, Serena.


    "A hole..? What colour was it?" John asked.


    "It was dark..." Said, Ariel.


    "A ck hole..." John understood.


    ''I created a ck hole..? And I killed him..? Maybe it was for the better, from what they said, if he had gotten away, he would''ve got more people to target us, and that would''ve been more dangerous¡­'' John thought.


    How strange it was, John thought he''d feel a little more guilty and regretful after killing someone, but surprisingly he didn''t feel the slightest bit guilty or regretful.


    ''Was it because I wasn''t the one in control, at the time I killed him, or¡­'' John wondered.

 Chapter 64 - Chaper 12: Asteria

    "John, is everything alright?" Asked Ariel once she noticed that John was staring at the small crater formed by his ck hole.


    "Everything''s fine, let''s head back to Eleanor," I replied.


    Ariel didn''t seem convinced, but she nodded.


    After that, they walked back to the ice sphere he had formed. It took a while to get there because John was out of magic. In fact, he couldn''t even use deprehendre.


    ''Is this an aftereffect from the possession..?'' John wondered.


    ''She seemed to be able to use chants, could she teach me them too..? But I don''t really want to have to chant, I like having something unique like chant-less magic... Maybe even I can make a ck hole¡­'' John thought.


    "John, why are you just staring at your hand? Let''s go," Said Serena.


    "Y-Yeah"


    ''Moreover, where did she find enough magic power to do that... The amount of pressure required... Unless she used her own magic power..? But she''s in my body... How would she¡­''


    ''Argh! I''m confused. There''s no point in asking so many questions about it.'' John cursed.


    ''More importantly, this sensation, my heart can''t calm down... The strange feeling in my stomach¡­'' John thought.


    "I''m getting excited..." he said with a weird grin on his face.


    Ariel and Serena, who happened to hear and notice me at that moment, both got startled and slightly scared.


    ''Man, I can''t believe I lost, I thought I would be unmatched for a long while after reaching the 15th floor, But I found someone that actually managed to beat me¡­'' John thought.


    "Looks like I''m about to encounter even stronger people... I can''t wait!" he said to himself.


    "Hey, Ariel, don''t you think John is a battle junkie?" Serena whispered to Ariel.


    "Eh?"


    Ariel looked over at the weird expressions of excitement John was making and looked back over at Serena.


    "Yes..." She said with a saddened tone.


    "What are those two whispering about?" John muttered.


    -----------------------------------------


    "John! Serena! Ariel! You''re all back!" Said Eleanor Joyfully as she grabbed on to his hands.


    "Yeah, told you I''d be back." John replied.


    "Says the guy who got caught in the enemy''s trap 10 seconds into the fight," interrupted Serena.


    "Can''t argue with that." John replied.


    "Hm? Shouldn''t this be the part where you disagree with me?" Asked Serena.


    "I guess some people just change," John replied with a bright smile on his face.


    "A-Ariel! Something''s wrong with John!"


    "Eh?!" Said Ariel with a panicked expression.


    "Serena, please, you''re embarrassing me, it''s obvious that I''m~ O~Kay~ Right~?" John said with a smile as he made weird poses.


    Ariel''s eyes lost life, and it seemed like her soul was slipping away.


    "Eh? Ariel, I was joking, "Come back, don''t leave us!!"


    "You''re creeping me out..." Muttered Serena as she stared at him..


    "Serena, please don''t stare at me like I''m some sort of creep, It was just a joke," John hastily said.


    "Pfff, hahaha- Ah, sorry, it''s just, it feels like you three really enjoy spending time with each other," Said Eleanor as she bowed.


    "That''s right!" Said Ariel with a proud expression.


    ''Looks like shepletely recovered.'' John thought.


    "Yeah! I really enjoy it, despite how they look they''re really strong and have saved me countless times," John said as he ced his arm on Serena and Ariel''s shoulders.


    They were startled by it, but didn''t seem bothered.


    "As weird as he can be, He''s pretty fun to be around," Said Serena.


    "Serena, T-Thank you..." John said as tears streamed down his face.


    "Why are you crying?!" Asked Serena with an annoyed expression.


    "I''m envious..." Muttered Eleanor.


    ***


    Thanks to John''s act, the tension from the fight had slightly disappeared. It''s been 30 minutes since then, they had checked the carriage and the horses. There was nothing wrong with them. Alfred seemed better but was still asleep, and now they were about to continue the journey.


    "Is everyone ready?" Asked Serena.


    "Yeah, let''s go," John replied.


    "Okay" She said.


    The horses began moving, and their travel continued.


    "I''ll be back, I''m going to go ask Eleanor more about where we are and where we''re going," John said to Serena.


    "You don''t have to tell me..." She replied.


    "Y-Yeah..."


    He moved to the back of the carriage while it was still moving and sat on one of the seats next to Eleanor.


    "Hm, John? What''s wrong? Serena will be lonely," Said, Ariel..


    ''She won''t, besides, it''s just for a few seconds, and I need to ask something.'' John internally thought.


    "It''s fine, I just needed to ask Eleanor something, Where are we and Where are we going?"


    Eleanor made a surprised expression at John''s question. It looked like Ariel never asked her.


    "I thought for sure, you three knew. I mean, it''s pretty hard not to..." Said Eleanor.


    "We''ve been through a lot, and I''m sure it''s a little hard to believe, but we really have no clue where we are," John replied.


    "No, no, I believe you, I was just surprised, sorry." She apologized.


    "It''s fine, and thanks."


    "We''re in the magic continent, one of the 6 continents, it''s called Asteria."


    ''Asteria..? Oi.... Are you kidding me? We were sent to another continent?!'' John internally eximed.

 Chapter 65 - 13: Magical Continent

    "Why do you both look so surprised?" Eleanor asked.


    John looked towards Ariel, and she was also surprised. Who wouldn''t be surprised when they were told that they were in apletely different continent from their previous one?


    ''But why Asteria... Wait... He said he wanted me to get stronger, will I find some sort of trainer or something to boost my abilities here? It''s the magic continent, but I thought only a few people are able to use magic¡­'' John thought.


    "How many people in the continent can use magic?" He asked.


    Eleanor didn''t seem surprised by the sudden questions and just answered naturally.


    "Everyone can use magic here, those born in this continent are born with magic, whether it ismoners or nobles, this is a sacred continent after all."


    "Sacred..?" John asked.


    "Well, that''s what dad calls it. Apparently thend gives blessings to those who are born here and they receive the ability to use magic, which it will be rare to encounter anyone who can''t use it." Eleanor exined.


    "I was told only a small percentage of the people in the world can use magic..." John replied.


    "Excluding this continent," She responded.


    ''So if everyone here is born with powers, why don''t they just start bringing more people over here from other continents?'' John wondered.


    "I have threest questions," He said.


    "Of course, feel free to ask them" She said with a happy expression.


    "Can anyone leave and enter the continent? How big is the poption and since most people can use magic, does that mean they can be mages?" John asked.


    ''Come on... What will it be'' John wondered.


    "Well... Those who aren''t from here aren''t allowed in without a permit or unless they are a high-ranking adventurer, or at least that''s what I remember, the poption... I''m not sure, and yes everyone can be mages but not everyone receives the right education," Eleanor exined.


    ''So they aren''t only born with magic but they''re born with enough to be mages... Why is this continent only like this...? But I don''t want to ask too many questions, besides she might not know either.'' John concluded.


    "But if you''re talented enough, even amoner can get epted into the magic academy," Said Eleanor.


    ''Magic academy?'' He wondered.


    "Ah, the magic academy is a school where they teach kids or adults proper chants and spells, it''s divided by ranking and the highest rank students in the school can even be taught king ss spells. They be really strong magicians after," Said Eleanor after she noticed his confused expression.


    Maybe this is why John was sent to this continent.


    ''He wants me to attend school? But I''ve never done chants before and I don''t know how, if I show the school that I can use chantless I might get questioned as such.''


    ''But if they have an education here, why weren''t they able to grasp the concept of each element..? Maybe there are some who have but never made it public... I don''t know, but I think I should go to this school'' John concluded.


    "Is there an academy where we''re going? And how do you be a student," John asked.


    "There is, the ce we''re going to right now is the main city or capital of the kingdom of Xoleria, It''s also where the most renowned school is." Eleanor exined.


    ''Is it a coincidence that we were teleported close to this academy? Maybe we were teleported to the forest so that we wouldn''t be detected, we''re not from this continent after all... They might try to kick us out if they found out.'' John thought.


    "There are two ways to be a student, Pass the entrance exam or be scouted." Eleanor spoke.


    ''I see... Well, I guess we''ll check it out. King ss magic... What is that?'' John thought.


    "Hm... That might be where we go next, what is kings ss magic?" He questioned.


    "Eh? You were able to defeat the one who was trying to assassinate us, but you don''t know what king ss magic is?" She asked with a shocked expression.


    "Nope..." I said with a nervous smile.


    John looked at Ariel, and she shook her head. She didn''t know either.


    "O-Okay... I''m not sure if you knew this, but spellse in ranks and sses." Eleanor spoke.


    John considered it, but she was the first to actually confirm it.


    "At the bottom, there''s elementary magic, it''s not really that good forbat, but it''s good to practice and get the hang of it. After that we have intermediate magic, Suited forbat but not that strong, there are many different kinds and the chant is short, so it''s mainly used in close or quick fights." She exined.


    ''I''m being given a pretty specific tutorial, how old is she even?'' John wondered.


    "After these two are, Advanced, Saint-ss, Kings ss, Emperors ss andstly God ss. The higher the ss, the longer the chant, but there are ways to shorten them." She added.


    "How do you shorten them?" John asked.


    "The mostmon way is to use it enough times." Eleanor answered.


    John wondered how much is enough and which ranks his spells would be.


    ''I''m thinking of too many things at once!'' John realised.


    "Okay, what about forb-"


    ''... What was that..? I was about to ask her where forbidden lost magic that I apparently used would be ranked at, but a chill went down my spine. Is this her way of telling me not to talk about it?'' John realised.


    "Forb? Forb what?" Eleanor asked.


    "Forb, did I say that? I meant before as in, there are requirements to use high-level ss spells like kings ss, right?" John asked.


    "Unfortunately so... There are two ways to learn spells, 1 is through a scroll of wisdom, you can only use them once and all the information of the spell is pushed into your brain. The other is by being taught by someone who has learnt it, but that one takes a lot more time. And even when you''re taught it, you might not have enough magic to cast it." Eleanor exined.


    ''So there is a power bnce... Okay¡­'' John understood.


    "Thank you Eleanor, Sorry i asked you so many questions."


    "It''s fine, I''m d I was able to help. You saved mine and Alfred''s life, after all, if you need anything else, don''t be afraid to ask." Eleanor said with a happy and proud expression.


    ''Man... I wonder what school will be like.''


    As John thought that he went back to Serena''s side.


    Ariel looked like she wanted to say something but kept it to herself.


    ''Maybe I should ask her about itter... It might have something to do with the academy. For now I''m not sure whether I should join or not, but it would be a good learning experience..'' John thought.

 Chapter 66 - 14: Relief

    "So what were you two talking about?" Serena asked as he sat next to her.


    The sky was dark and they could see the stars.


    "I asked her where we were at, and where we were heading." She asked.


    "And it took you that long..?"


    "We ended up talking about a lot more things. Did you know that there were magic academies and spells were given sses and ranks?" John asked.


    "Of course I knew..."


    "Yeah, you know a lot of things. Sometimes I''m not even surprised." John spoke


    "Right back at you..." Serena responded.


    "Fair"


    "Hey John..." Serena muttered as she looked at him.


    "Yeah?"


    "Is everything really okay?" She asked with a slightly worried expression.


    "Huh..? What do you mean?" He asked.


    "Elves have the ability to feel emotions... I could feel sadnessing from you..." Said Serena as she looked at the path.


    The path was illuminated by one of their light spells, so there wasn''t any problem seeing anything.


    "Looks like you got me..." John responded.


    "Wanna talk about it..?" Serena asked as she continued to stare at the path.


    "Haven''t you been sitting here for the past few hours? Aren''t you getting tired?" John asked.


    "Don''t try to change the subject, and no, I''m reinforcing myself with magic." Serena answered.


    "If you can feel emotions, does that mean you can feel a person''s excitement? That means you could feel it whenever I get excited for a fight?!" John asked with a shocked expression.


    "John!"


    John looked at Serena and then stared at the path with her. There weren''t any obstacles, it was just a nice quiet path at night. The only thing he could hear was the steps of the horses and Ariel talking with Eleanor at the back.


    "Fine..." John muttered as he let out a sigh.


    ''Might as well tell her, there''s no reason to hide it.'' He thought.


    "When I was told I killed the mage, I felt relieved. I wasn''t sad about it and didn''t feel the least bit guilty. We could''ve tried to tie him up, but he most likely would''ve gotten free and put us all in more danger... And I didn''t want that..." John spoke.


    "Even though I hated it... I still felt relieved... I took a person''s life even if I wasn''t fully conscious at the time."


    "I''m a horrible person... Even if he was evil... Because I''m so weak, I had to kill him, and didn''t even hate it..." John spoke.


    He hung his head and could feel tears streaming down his face as he said.


    "I''m just like him..."


    Suddenly the carriage stopped and John felt something embrace him.


    "Don''t say that... You are nothing like him, what''s wrong with being relieved that your friends are going to be safe? I was also relieved when you got rid of him, I was scared of what he could have done if he''d gotten away." Serena spoke.


    As John kept his head hung down, he could see tears dropping. They weren''t his, but Serena''s.


    "Just when we finally managed to get out of the dungeon... You''re nothing like him... He felt joy in killing people, he had no problem killing children... We were just defending ourselves... So, please don''t call yourself that..." She said.


    ''Serena... but I¡­'' John thought.


    As John was wondering that... he felt someone embrace him from his other side.


    "She''s right..." muttered Ariel.


    ''Ariel..? When did you¡­'' John thought.


    "Sorry, I overheard you two talking and I couldn''t just sit back and watch... It doesn''t matter how John felt or what you did, it won''t change the fact that John did it to protect us. No matter what anyone says, John is a good guy, and that won''t change." Ariel spoke.


    "You two... T-Thank you..." John muttered as he kept his head hung down.


    ''The tears won''t stop flowing... I can''t show them my face like this... Ah, I can use magic too¡­'' John thought.


    "Thanks, but I''m fine now¡­" John said as he lifted his head up.


    "John, There''s no use in trying to hide the tears. Your eyes are red," Said Serena as she stared at him with an interrogatory expression.


    "Even though you wiped yours away, it''s obvious that you were crying." John said as he stared back with the same expression.


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about." Said Serena as she grabbed on to the lead.


    The horses began to move, and the carriage started advancing.


    Serena kept looking at the path, trying to act like nothing happened just now.


    "You two are so dishonest... It''s obvious that you were both crying," Said Ariel.


    "We weren''t!" John and Serena simultaneously said as they looked over at Ariel.


    When they did, they were both surprised.


    "Ariel..." John muttered.


    "What''s wrong?" Ariel asked.


    "You''re still crying," He replied.


    "Eh?" Replied Ariel.


    And just like that, they continued their journey to the capital of Xoleria.

 Chapter 67 - 15: Carriage

    It''s been 2 days since the incident, there haven''t been any other attacks. They had been moving by day with breaks every few hours and they had been resting at night.


    It was morning right then, and they were still on the path. They had also left the vicinity of the forest, and it was no longer in sight. It was big, but they were lucky to get teleported near the outside. If they were teleported to the exact middle of it. Then that would have sucked.


    There were rations on the carriage, so there was no need to worry about it.


    "What are you doing?" Asked Eleanor.


    John''s legs were crossed, and he had his arm under my chin as he sat on the inside of the carriage. Serena was driving with Ariel beside her, Ariel was also trying to learn how to drive.


    John would have liked to watch the lessons too, but he was a bit busy right then.


    "I''m keeping watch and trying to organise my thoughts," John replied.


    "You can do both at the same time?" Eleanor asked with a curious expression.


    "Yeah, All I need to do is check the area with ''Deprehendre'', after that I just go back to thinking." He replied.


    ''Although recently I''ve been a lot more talkative... I guess it''s because of those two. Maybe that''s the reason I wasn''t able to make friends... I was too thinkative and quiet¡­'' John thought.


    "Deprehendre? Is that some sort of spell?" Eleanor questioned.


    "Yeah, a scouting spell"


    Deprehendre''s range was 5 kilometres at highest, but when John did that there were too many beings and his head is clouded with information.


    "That''s weird... I haven''t seen you using any incantations..?" Eleanor muttered with a confused expression.


    ...


    "U-Uh, I am a fast chanter and quiet one at that. I''ve trained myself to be able to out-speed any other." John said with a nervous smile.


    Eleanor''s eyes seemed to sparkle as she said.


    "I knew it!"


    "You did?" John asked as he felt his heart sink.


    ''When did she find out?'' John wondered.


    "You''ve gone through special training! Talent alone won''t get someone to your level, you three must have had an amazing master." She spoke.


    "Ah yes! We did! An incredible master! Unfortunately, he wasn''t able to make it. I''m surprised you found out." John affirmed.


    "Hehehe, I''m very good at solving mysteries," Said Eleanor with a proud smile.


    ''C-Close one¡­'' John thought.


    "Yeah..."


    "So what have you been thinking about?" She asked.


    A carriage travels around 15 miles per hour. It''s been 2 days and around 10 hours of travelling each so 20 hours, that''s 300 miles.


    ''How far are we from Xoleria..? I wish I had a map... Alfred might have one, but he hasn''tpletely recovered.'' John thought.


    "Nothing much, but now that you''ve mentioned it, How long until we reach Xoleria?" John asked.


    "Hmm... In a few hours I''d say," Said Eleanor as she looked at thendscape through the carriage.


    ''How do you know that? There''re only ins around, how could she even tell from these ins? They look the same as any other.'' John thought.


    "T-That''s good..."


    Alfred still hadn''t woken up since he was poisoned, but seemed to be better. Eleanor has been watching over him since as she waited for him to wake up. Even now John could see that she was worried about him.


    ''He must be a very special butler. If I ever get one, I''m calling him Sebastian.'' John decided.


    "Are there any detoxification spells?" John asked.


    "Of course, the intermediate spell: Purify or the advanced spell: Detoxification. They both belong to the holy element, and finding the incantation for them is rare. But they''re avable in the magic school." Eleanor spoke.


    "School..." John muttered.


    "Is something wrong?" Eleanor Asked.


    "Could you tell me more about this school? You mentioned something about higher ranking students?" John asked.


    "Ah, yes. Levels of education are divided into ranks in the school. Those with the highest talents and ranks are given special treatment and better ess to higher level and stronger spells. Different ranks mean different sses and teachers." She answered.


    Just as John expected.


    "The quality of education is higher in the higher rankspared to the lower ranks. Not because of the teachers, but because the students themselves don''t have the ability to cast the higher end spells like the ones in the higher ranks can. It''s a fair education for all." Eleanor exined.


    ''I see, so the ranking system separates them not only to nurture those with higher talent but to stop those with less talent from losing faith in their abilities, Separating by ranks is indeed the best option.'' John thought.


    "But those with low ranks are still given the chance to climb up. Every 3 months there is an event called ''Rank up'' as the name suggests it''s an event to boost your rank. The challenges are random, but if you do well, you can go up one or even 2 ranks." She added.


    "It''s good that they''re given a chance to improve themselves. So both nobles andmoners can do the entrance exam?" John asked.


    "Yeah, manymoners get epted, but it''s usually in the low ranks. A noble is born with more magic power than amoner after all." She answered.


    ''At least they don''t separate the schools between nobles andmoners like the kingdom of Halfaust. Thinking back, that king had quite the nerve trying to keep us stuck in his kingdom. Hehehe, I''ll need to think of a good way to get revenge.'' John thought.


    "John?" Eleanor asked.


    "Ah, yes?"


    "Jeez, are you even listening?" Eleanor asked.


    "''A noble is born with more magic power, yes. But if manymoners get epted, why is it hard to get epted?" John asked.


    "Nobles don''t have any problems getting in, but if you''re not a talentedmoner, then you''re not going to find much luck." She spoke.


    "Why not?" John asked.


    "Because there are barely any vacancies for these past few years. Too many students. There are over a thousand students in only this school, there are others in other kingdoms in the continent. Because of how full they''ve been, it''ll be moderately harder to get in, well in case you''re nning on getting in, I have no doubt that you''d three get selected." Eleanor exined.


    "You''re nning on taking the exam too, aren''t you?" John asked.


    "Yeah... I have an aptitude for the holy element and Water so I thought I would enter in those two areas." She answered.


    "You''ll be fine. The holy element is rare after all."


    ''I''m the one that should be worried, I don''t even know what sort ofnguage chanting is..'' John thought.

 Chapter 68 - 16: Xoleria

    "You think so?" Eleanor asked.


    "Yep, I know you will." John replied.


    "Thank you... Even if it''s hard, I''ll do my best. I can''t fail..." Eleanor muttered with a smile.


    "Yeah, just have faith in yourself."


    ''That''s enough questions for now, I''ll find out the restter. The main thing I''m curious about is what the rankings are, are they numbers? Letters?'' John wondered.


    ''She said something about the Area she''s going for... So I''m guessing it''s like university? You choose if you want to study more on Fire element or whatever element you have aptitude in. So you can''t just enter any ss you want, you have to apply for an element¡­'' He pondered.


    ''Which element should I apply for? I don''t even know which aptitudes I have when ites to chanting, maybe I''ll be able to use all of them since I can use the chantless version of them? I don''t know.'' John thought.


    For now, they will just keep watch and wait until they finally reach the kingdom.


    John was excited to see what it looked like.


    ***


    "John, I forgot to tell you this, but elves can''t really feel emotions. We can sense negativity or evil but not emotions, I just said it to get you to open up," Serena spoke.


    "Ah, thanks for telling me this." John spoke.


    ''No, seriously, it''s a bit embarrassing when a person you''re always with, can feel everything you''re feeling.'' John thought.


    "You''re not mad?" She asked.


    He sort of annoyed that he was fooled that easily, but his feeling of relief far surpassed it.


    "John! The kingdom''sing into view!" Said Ariel as she turned to John and pointed at what was at the far end of their path.


    Her eyes seemed to light up as she looked over at the kingdom.


    "Where?!" John said as he hastily looked over.


    She was right, they could see the kingdom from there.


    "Woah! There''s so much magicing from there! And its design is entirely different to all the other kingdoms we''ve been to so far!" John said as he stared at it.


    "Isn''t it?" Said Ariel with a happy expression.


    ''Finally! Travelling was getting boring, but it was worth the wait. I''m so excited I can''t stop grinning.'' John thought.


    Serena looked over at him and just quietly stared at his face.


    "Serena? Is there something on my face?" John asked.


    "I was just surprised by the fact that you could make expressions which were appropriate for your age," She said.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" John asked.


    "It means, that look on your face suits you," she replied with a smug expression.


    "I wonder what civilization and culture is like there if everyone can use magic, then I''m guessing some people use it for their daily needs, I''m right, aren''t I?" John asked as he looked towards Eleanor with a curious and excited expression.


    "Eh?" Said Eleanor.


    "Don''t ignore me!" said Serena with an embarrassed expression.


    "You''re right, I should act more childish." John replied.


    "It''s toote," said Serena as she went back to focusing on the road.


    "Hey, Serena"


    "..."


    ''She''s sulking. Is this girl really 15?'' John wondered.


    "Um, regarding your question from earlier, I don''t know, I''ve never actually been here before." Eleanor said as she made a perplexed expression.


    "Wait, what?" John said as he made a confused expression.


    The things she knew were things she overheard or justmon knowledge.


    "Yep, this is my first time in Xoleria, My dad is the one who''s lived here." She spoke.


    "So it''s a first time experience for you too, Even better, it''s more fun when you don''t know what to expect, isn''t it?" John replied.


    After he said that, Eleanor looked at him with a surprised expression and chuckled as she said "I''ve never thought about it like that... But you''re right, it will be more fun experiencing it with you three."


    "Yeah, we should be arriving there in..."


    The human eye can see up to 3 miles, if you enhance it with magic it can go over that. They were travelling at 15 miles per hour if you divide that by 4 you get over 3 miles, which is 15 minutes.


    "Less than 10 minutes"


    "You can tell?" Eleanor asked.


    ''I''m d I didn''t hate maths.'' John thought.


    "Yeah, ites from experience."


    They should have no problems getting in, their adventure card didn''t say where they were from and it works like an ID card or permit.


    "Serena, are you still mad?" John asked.


    "..."


    ''Well, I tried.'' He thought.


    ***


    Without any issues, they reached the entrance to the kingdom. There was a small line of other people and carriages, the line was over rtively quickly though. The reason why they didn''t encounter them on their path was probably due to how dangerous the path they took was.


    ''Apparently, due to how close it was to the forest, getting attacked would be quitemon. Even still, they took this path, it''s the fastest but why risk it? What is Eleanor in such a hurry for? Could it have something to do with the entrance exams..? When are they?'' John wondered.


    "How many?" asked one of the gatekeepers as he looked around the carriage.


    "5, one is unconscious." John replied.


    "Identification?"


    John, Serena and Ariel pulled out their Adventurer cards while Eleanor pulled out two permits. One was for her and the other was for Alfred.


    The guard confirmed it and nodded at the man behind the gates. He opened the gates, and they entered with the carriage.


    "Must be hard being adventurers at your age," Said the gatekeeper.


    "We manage," John replied with a grin.


    After they entered the three of them looked around and were speechless.


    The streets were lively, there were many food stalls around, the building designs looked simr to As and you could easily tell what was what from the signs, what stood out the most at first was how they were cooking the food in the stalls.


    "They''re using magic!" Said Ariel with a surprised expression.


    "Come get your fresh grilled meat, Nice and cheap!" Advertised one of the girls who were selling whenever a person would pass by.


    Some were chanting me spells to grill what they were selling, otherwise were using their own element in their own way to help with what they were selling.


    "Look, that man is doing hisundry with magic!" John said as he pointed at the man who was using some sort of bubble water spell to clean his clothes near one of the alleys.


    They had been heading in a straight line, following the road, there were many other directions they could take but they had just been moving forward.


    They had good roads which allowed carriages to move around freely, and there was barely any traffic.


    Even Serena had stopped sulking and looked amazed.


    "It''s different from As, isn''t it?" John asked.


    "Yeah, it''s lively and everyone''s using magic"


    "Ah!" John said as he made a surprised expression.


    "What?" Serena asked.


    "You''re not sulking anymore," He replied.


    "What are you talking about? I was never sulking," Said Serena as she looked away


    "Sure"


    "Why''d you say it with that tone?" Asked Serena.


    "What are you talking about?" John asked.


    "Fair," Serena replied.


    ''That''s what you get for teasing me all of those times, I''m learning.'' John thought.


    "Ariel, you seem like you''re really enjoying this." He spoke.


    "Yeah, it''spletely different from Halfaust," Ariel replied.


    There wasn''t a wall that separated the nobles from themoners in this kingdom, nobles have their own territory but it''s not segregated like Halfaust. Another good thing, John noticed.


    "After we''re done with our request, the three of us should explore around," he suggested.


    "We should!" replied Ariel while her eyes sparkled as she looked around.


    Ariel''s sight locked on one store, which had the drawing of a cake on its sign. She stared closely at it with an interested expression.


    "What''s that?" Ariel asked.


    "That is a bakery, they sell cake and sweets." John answered.


    "Ah! Uncle would buy me them on my birthdays, they were so good" Said Ariel while she made a happy expression as she recalled memories of her birthday.


    In as they didn''t see any cake shops and spent most of their time in a dungeon so he could see why she was so excited. Honestly, John too, hadn''t had a cake in ages.


    "We''lle backter to get some cake, you like cake too, don''t you, Serena?" John asked.


    "W-Well, I guess," She replied.


    "Then it''s settled, to celebrate making it here safely, we''ll have cake!" John spoke.


    When he said that, for a split moment, Serena made a relieved and happy expression, but she hid it rather quickly.


    Serena who noticed that John noticed, tried acting like nothing happened, and he didn''t question it.


    Ariel also looked very excited herself. She would swing her head from left to right as she asionally muttered "cake~". Just watching it soothed John''s soul. This was too precious.


    The quietest one out of the 4 of them was Eleanor. She seemed worried about something.


    "Eleanor, what''s wrong?" John asked.


    "Well... It''s my first time here, so I have no clue where my dad is, the one who knows is Alfred, but he''s still asleep," She replied.


    ''Of course, how could I forget... And why do people always sleep for so long? I know that the antidote was effective, and it''s been 2 days already!'' John thought.


    John wondered what her dad did for a living. ''Maybe she''s a noble?''


    "I''m very sorry! I promised to give you a reward and yet I..." She spoke.


    "Hm? It''s fine, It''s not your fault, and you don''t have to rush it, for now focus on having fun, thenter we can worry about the reward," John replied.


    "John.... Thank you!" Said Eleanor with a bright smile.

 Chapter 69 - 17: Pharmacy

    Since they had no idea where her father was, and the person who was supposed to tell them, ended up falling into a deep sleep, they decided to look for a pharmacy or hospital as they admired the city.


    "Hey, John look! They''re using wind magic to dry their clothes." Said Ariel excitedly.


    There were people casting wind spells and drying their clothes near what seemed to be their houses.


    It looked like she was still hyped abouting.


    "Just like mine, no wait, mine gathers the water itself so..." John thought.


    "John''s way is unique." Said Ariel.


    "Thanks, a good unique or..." John said.


    "Obviously an abnorm- a good unique." Said Serena as she joined in.


    "Than- Oi, what was that?" He asked.


    "That your way of drying clothes is a good unique?" Said Serena.


    ''Nope, you were definitely trying to say something else.'' John thought.


    "Anyway, any clues as to where the pharmacy might be?" Serena asked.


    ''Changing the topic... Is this revenge for earlier?'' John thought.


    "Why don''t we just ask?" He asked.


    Suddenly everyone looked at him with a surprised expression.


    "What?" John asked.


    "I''m surprised I didn''t think of that..." Muttered Serena.


    "Yeah..." Said Ariel.


    ***


    "Excuse me, do you know where the nearest pharmacy is?" John asked a random person who walked by.


    "Pharmacy... If you follow the path, you''ll see a shop with the sign of herbs, that will be what you are looking for. They also have a doctor there."


    "I see, thank you." John said.


    As the man was about to leave John stopped him and handed him 5 silver coins.


    "A-Are you sure?" He asked as he looked over at the coins.


    "Of course, information is valuable after all." John replied.


    "Thank you very much!" Said the man as he bowed and left.


    "Hey, did you have to pay him?" Serena asked.


    "Well, there was no reason not to, and we can always make moreter. His information was helpful after all." John thought.


    "What if he was lying?" Serena asked.


    "He wasn''t," John replied.


    "Hmm, Okay, ah, you said something about information being valuable, right? Remember all those times I informed you of the monsters? Where''s my reward?" Serena asked with a smile.


    "Hmm, I thought the cake was the reward? Well, since you don''t want it, I guess only me and Ariel will have it, I can get you a different rewardter," John replied.


    "T-The cake is fine." Said Serena.


    ''I''m getting more and more used to it, your teasing won''t work on me anymore¡­'' John thought.


    They followed the path as the man said and began to look around for the herb sign.


    "This kingdom feels sort of safe," Said Ariel.


    "Why would you say that?" John asked.


    "There haven''t been any robberies since we came in," Ariel replied.


    ''She''s right, there''s also a magic barrier outside of the kingdom. Although it''s not visible, I could feel it. Any country that tried to invade this kingdom would probably end up biting the dust.'' John thought.


    "You''re right..." He muttered.


    "Over there." Said Eleanor as she pointed over at the herb sign shop.


    "Looks like we found it, let''s go, I''ll go get Alfred." John replied.


    After he said that, they got off the carriage and parked it slightly off the road on the side road. John picked up Alfred, and they went inside the store with him.


    The inside wasn''t too big or small; it was a perfect size. There were potions all around the store on the shelves, each store in some sort of cylinder small bottle.


    John called them potions but they might be something else, he couldn''t tell from just the shape.


    "Wee, How may I hel-!?"


    Before she could finish, she stopped once she noticed Alfred unconscious on John''s back.


    "What happened to him?" She asked as she went over to them.


    "He was poisoned, we gave him an antidote, but he hasn''t woken up since." John spoke.


    "How bad was it when you gave him the antidote?" She asked as she performed a check up on him


    She checked his pupils and mouth to see if anything was blocking his breathing and the sort.


    "He was coughing blood," John replied.


    When she heard me, the receptionist made a worried expression


    "What''s wrong? Will he be fine?" Asked Eleanor.


    "He''ll be fine, Sorry, I was just thinking about how hard it must have been for him." She said.


    "What do you mean?" John asked.


    "The antidote won''t help much if it spread to the point where he was coughing up blood,"


    "So you''re telling me, he hasn''t been getting better?" John asked.


    "No, but it was enough to weaken the poison so that it wouldn''t kill him. Whoever gave him the antidote did a good job at saving his life." She replied.


    After that she began to chant something, John couldn''t understand it, now that he thought about it, he couldn''t understand any chanting so far from any mage.


    ''Could it be..? I don''t have any talent for chanting? No, maybe it''s in another magic spellnguage that I don''t understand, but if that''s the case, how long will it take to learn it? The entrance exam will start soon, won''t it?'' John wondered.


    ''I''ve only met around 5 so it''s too soon to judge... I should ask Eleanor when the entrance exams are. After Alfred is healed, me and Ariel need to learn how to chant... And if she was able to do it when she possessed my body, then I should too¡­'' He reckoned.


    "Advanced Holy magic: Purify" Muttered the receptionist.


    A bright light was formed around her arms, which were ced slightly above Alfreds. The expression of pain on his face seemed to be fading.


    ''Nearly instantaneous effects. Her abilities are no joke... At this rate he''ll wake up.'' John thought.


    "Alfred, make sure you hurry up and wake up. The person whom you tried so hard to protect is waiting, after all.." John said.

 Chapter 70 - 18: Target

    "Where am I..?" Muttered Alfred as he opened his eyes.


    He lifted his body up from the bed and looked around, and was surprised by someone''s sudden reaction when she realised he had woken.


    "Alfred!" Said Eleanor as she hugged him.


    "Youngdy..?" Muttered Alfred with a confused tone.


    "Why didn''t you tell me?" Asked Eleanor with teary eyes.


    "I humbly apologise, but I had no other option." Said Alfred.


    "Your only option was to keep moving on without telling me that you were poisoned?!" Asked Eleanor as tears fell onto the bed.


    "Youngdy, I would dly give my life if it meant saving yours. Yet you ended up saving mine, I do not deserve such kindness," Said the butler with a smile as he gave Eleanor pats.


    Eleanor seemed to have calmed down after receiving pats, seeing this was heartwarming.


    "Alfred... What do I always say..?" Asked Eleanor with an annoyed expression.


    "A... A thank you would be better..." Alfred said.


    "That''s right..." Said Eleanor.


    "Th-"


    Alfred was interrupted by Eleanor who said, "Not me, them." As she pointed at us.


    John waved at him, while Ariel and Serena were moved by the heartwarming event and had a teary smile formed on their faces.


    ''Even Serena? Was it that touching..? But I''m not crying? C-Could it be?! I''m insensitive!?!'' John wondered.


    "John," Whispered Ariel.


    "Y-Yes?" He said.


    "is everything okay?" Ariel asked with concern.


    "Yeah, why?" John replied.


    "The expression you were wearing made you look deeply worried," Whispered Serena.


    "Is my expression that easy to read?!" John said.


    "They are..?" Alfred asked.


    ''Crap... I was too loud.'' John realised.


    "They''re the people that saved us..." Replied Eleanor.


    After Eleanor said that, in nearly an instant, the butler bowed, while he was still on the bed and said, "Forgive me for not realising sooner, I am greatly indebted and hold deep gratitude to you three for saving our lives!"


    "You don''t have to be so formal..." Muttered Eleanor.


    "Mr, Alfred. There is no need to bow to us, you also risked your life and fought for el- The youngdy, she also considers you her saviour. For your efforts and dedication, I thank you." John respectfully replied.


    ''Was that too formal..? Was I supposed to thank him for saving a stranger? But she''s not a stranger at this point, right..? Ah, maybe thest line was unnecessary¡­'' John thought.


    Alfred who heard John''s words stared at him for a few moments before facing Eleanor who said, "That''s right, Alfred is also my saviour." with a happy expression.


    Alfred, who had thought that he wasn''t able to be of help, was deeply moved by their words, so much that he covered his face.


    "J-Just a moment, youngdy." Said Alfred as he covered his face and faced the other direction


    ''He''s crying, he''s definitely crying.'' John said to himself.


    A few seconds after, he wiped his face and got up.


    No one mentioned anything about him crying, so John decided that he''ll do the same.


    "You don''t have to get up." Said Eleanor as she tried to stop him.


    "Do not worry, youngdy, I''ve made aplete recovery." Said Alfred as he got up.


    They hadn''t changed his clothes, and he was still wearing the same clothes from the time they had fought against the shadow wolf.


    "How long have I been out for? And where are we?" Asked Alfred,


    ***


    John then exined to Alfred how he was out for 3 days and that they had now reached Xoleria and ended up finding an inn, which is where they were now.


    "I see... Where is this inn at?" Alfred asked.


    "Just a random inn near the entrance." John answered.


    After he said that, Alfred made a worried expression.


    "How long has it been since the sunset?" Alfred Asked.


    The sun had already set, and it was gettingte. They didn''t do much before he woke up, and they didn''t have an opportunity to get cake either.


    "It had set recently, right before you woke up." John answered.


    ''What a coincidence¡­'' He thought,


    "Then it''s not toote..." Said Alfred as he began to prepare himself.


    "Um..? Alfred, what are you doing?" Eleanor asked.


    "Youngdy, you must prepare your things, We must go to the master at once." Alfred stated.


    "Eh? But the sun has already set, shouldn''t we go tomorrow?" Eleanor asked.


    "That is precisely why... The master gave me clear instructions to bring you to him the moment you arrived, no exceptions." Said Alfred.


    "Alfred! We''re staying here until you get enough rest!" Said Eleanor.


    "But mydy, it''s not safe." Said Alfred.


    "Alfred, get some rest. This is an order, There is no reason to meet father straight away." Said Eleanor.


    "No, he''s right." John said.


    Everyone''s attention in the room turned to him after that.


    "What do you mean?" Eleanor asked


    "Just trust me. Serena, Ariel, we''re heading out." John said.


    "Understood." Said Ariel as she nodded.


    "Give us a break..." Muttered Serena as she sighed.


    After that, the two began to prepare her things.


    "Can someone please exin to me what''s going on?" Asked Eleanor.


    "We don''t know either, but John''s good at sensing danger, if he says something''s wrong then he''s usually right," Said Ariel.


    "Although I hate to admit it, it''s true." Said Serena.


    "O-Okay, I''ll go get ready." Said Eleanor.


    ***


    After everyone was ready, they left the inn and got on the carriage; John made sure to pay the innkeeper in advance so there we no problems, Eleanor was still confused, but she could tell that something was wrong, probably from the expression on his face.


    The one who drove the carriage this time was Alfred, John, Serena and Ariel were at the back with Eleanor.


    "Themp posts sure are pretty at night," John said.


    Themp posts illuminated the roads. One could see people of both the human and other races walking around, either going for a drink or whatever they had to do.


    "Yeah, beautiful in fact. Mind telling us now why you made use out at night?" Serena asked.


    "Sure, Deprehendre," John chanted.


    Eleanor was watching when he muttered deprehendre, but they couldn''t really tell that John cast anything without chanting since deprehendre doesn''t show any cool effects after he uses it.


    ''One.. Three.. Five¡­'' John counted.


    "Basically, We''re getting chased right now, and the one they''re after is Eleanor," John said.


    Alfred seemed to already know that, which is why he was trying to get them away from here. In other words, reaching Eleanor''s dad''s ce would be the best option.


    After John said that, the only one surprised was Eleanor.


    "You two already expected this?" John asked.


    "Obviously." Said Serena.


    "I believed that John had a reason for doing all of this, and she was being targeted by the shadow mage, so..." Said Ariel.


    "Yep, that''s right, I''m not sure if these guys are like the shadow mage since they''re not able to hide their presence like him, but I hope I''m wrong..." John spoke in an unsure tone.


    "How many?" Asked Serena.


    "5... There could be another one hiding his presence, I''m not sure." John replied.


    After he said that, both Serena and Ariel readied their staffs.


    "W-Wait a second, are we really going to fight them?" Eleanor asked.


    "No, our job is to get you to your residence safely. Moreover, we''re in the middle of a city, there are people nearby, I doubt they''d atta-"


    John stopped once he noticed that the assassins had revealed themselves and surrounded the carriage.


    "Nevermind, looks like we''re going to have to fight our way through.." John spoke.

 Chapter 71 - 19: Assassination Attempt

    "You two, stay here with Eleanor," Johnmanded.


    "Huh? What are you talking about? We''reing with you." Said Serena.


    "Serena''s right John, You won''t be able to take them all alone," Said Ariel.


    "Haha, I wouldn''t dare, Alfred''sing with me." John replied.


    "You want the guy who was recently poisoned and only just woke up to help you?" Asked Serena.


    The assassins, or whatever they were, slowly approached the carriage.


    "Look, their objective is Eleanor, If she''s near you two, she''ll be fine, you can also help me from the inside of the carriage." John spoke.


    After John said that, he got off the carriage, Alfred who had heard their conversation, put faith in their abilities and got off with him.


    "Young man..." Muttered Alfred.


    "Yes?" John asked.


    "I cannot thank you enough... Be careful," He advised.


    "of course" John replied with a smile.


    After that, they swapped sides; Alfred went to the back of the carriage and John went to the front.


    ''He''ll be able to protect Eleanor and will be closer to her that way.'' John thought.


    "EVERYONE THERE''S AN ASSASSIN! STAY AWAY AND CALL FOR HELP!" John shouted out.


    They were in the middle of the road, and even though it was night, there were still many people around.


    "Did that boy just say assassin?"


    "Those guys in cloaks, Aren''t they from the dark guild?"


    "Are there any adventures nearby!?"


    It looked like it worked. Random people were looking as they watched, some even called for help.


    One of the 5 guys who saw this and began to chant something. He had his staff stretched out towards the spectators.


    The people who were watching noticed this and ran away, but at the very least it caused enough of amotion. Now they just needed to hold these guys off until help arrived.


    ''The man stopped chanting, Looks like it was just a bluff.'' John realised.


    "Shadow Lance"


    Shadownces were formed and propelled straight at the people who hadn''t left.


    "!?"


    Right before it hit them, an ice wall was formed in the path the icence was heading.


    It slowed down thence but wasn''t able topletely stop it. Thence prated through the wall.


    The man hastily looked around to see who formed the Ice wall, but John acted like he was surprised to see it.


    The people took the opportunity when the ice wall was formed to run away.


    "Oi, instead of looking for the one who did that, why don''t we have a fight?" John asked.


    The men who surrounded the carriage instantly rushed at them. There were 2 on John and 2 on Alfred, while the magician just watched. Their faces were covered by the cloaks and John couldn''t see them. Not that it mattered.


    ''Alfred should be fine with Serena and Eleanor there, but¡­'' John thought.


    As he thought that, the two who were on him, simultaneously leapt at John with daggers in hand.


    John barely avoided the first swing, which was diagonal by tilting his body and parrying the second swing with his left dagger. John swung his dagger at him and he leapt back.


    ''Good, I''m stronger and faster... Beating them shouldn''t be a problem¡­'' John thought to himself.


    As John thought that, the second assassin who he had thought was going for him, went straight past him instead.


    "What?!" John unintentionally let out.


    ''Damn it, he''s going straight for them, I don''t have a choice.'' John cursed.


    Right before he reached the horses, John formed an Ice wall in front of him.


    "Oh, goddess of ice, form an ice wall and make this seem like a chant," John whispered.


    The assassin who had ignored John, stopped and turned around.


    ''Did I fool him? I whispered a few words and made them sound like a chant. Was it believable..?'' John wondered.


    "If you want to get to them, you''ll have to go past me." John spoke.


    As he said that, John began to whisper a few random words again to make it seem like a chant to them. After that, John propelled himself straight at him with Velox.


    He leapt to the side to dodge it, but right after he did, John cast velox Duplici and used wind to change his direction to the direction he jumped to.


    "!?"


    John stretched out his dagger and pierced his leg. While blood began to slowly flow out, he swung his dagger at John to get him to let go. John instead cast cio through the dagger and leapt back.


    ''The cio will freeze the wound, he won''t die from it.'' John reckoned.


    The other assassin just watched his teammate slowly freeze up as John began to whisper random words from a distance.


    "Oi... What''s wrong with that kid''s magic..? He started chanting after and yet he''s already freezing up..?" Muttered the assassin which John had ignored.


    "I-it won''t stop spreading, H-Hel-" Said the assassin which John had hit with cio as he tried breaking off the ice.


    Before the guy could finish, John propelled a cies at his head and froze it.


    "Yikes, that''s gotta hurt... You''re next, right?" John asked as he looked towards the first assassin that had attacked him.


    "How old are you, kid?" Asked the assassin.


    "..."


    "Not going to talk, I see... Guess I''ll just make you." The Assassin taunted.


    "Big words." John said.


    "The guy you beat was still a noobie, don''t let it get to you." Said the assassin.


    Right after he said that, he began to chant something.


    John could interrupt it by chanting faster, but that might seem unusual to him.


    ''Screw it, let''s see what he has in store.'' John thought.


    "Ventus agilitas" Trantion: Wind Agility The assassin chanted.


    Nothing happened, but John could feel wind being gathered on him.


    ''What''s he nning..?'' John questioned.


    As he thought that the assassin leapt at him,


    "Wha-" John unintentionally let out once he saw how fast he moved.


    The man went straight at John, and swung his de midair, making a strand of his hair cut off.


    ''His speed increased... He closed the 10m gap between us in a single second..?'' John analysed.


    As John was about to leap away from him, he swung his dagger at him again.


    He dodged it by tilting his body and he swung his other dagger, which John parried. He continued to attack him nonstop and John was being pushed back, even with body reinforcement on its highest.


    Cuts began to appear all over John''s hands as they continued this exchange.


    ''Crap... I won''t be able to hold out for much longer... And he''s not giving me any time to fake chant¡­'' John realised.


    ''Should I just use chantless magic? I''m going to lose at this rate... Damn it!'' John cursed.


    The exchange was constantly draining John''s energy.


    "It''s over." Said the man as he parried both of his daggers.


    John loosened grip caused both of his daggers to get flung away.


    ''I won''t be able to avoid it, do I use it..? No time to think, I have no choice.'' John decided.


    "Well done kid, but your luck ends here," Said the man as he raised his de.


    ''Looks like I have no choice....'' John spoke to himself.


    The man vertically swung his de downwards aim straight at John and at the same moment he said "Scutum cies"


    Ice was starting to form, but there wasn''t enough time.


    ''I was too careless..!'' John thought in regret.


    Right before his dagger sliced through little ice that been formed, he stopped.


    John looked up to see what had happened and was shocked.


    In front of him stood a ck shadow and it was shaped like a person.

 Chapter 72 - 20: The Assassin.

    The shadow stood in front of John and seemed to effortlessly stop the swing of the assassin.


    "Who..?" John asked.


    The shadow turned and faced him. At the same time, the assassin who was behind the shadow, took that opportunity and swung both daggers diagonally at the shadow.


    "Watch ou-"


    Before John could even finish, it happened.


    "..Eh..?" He unintentionally let out.


    ''What happened..? What''s going on..?'' John wondered.


    Both hands of the assassin who held the dagger were severed.


    "What..?" Muttered the man as he looked at his severed hands.


    He started to scream in pain once he finally realised what had happened.


    "H.. Hel..p me..." Muttered that man as he faced the original spell caster of the group who had casted shadownce on the civilians.


    The spell caster simply watched as the assassin cried out for help.


    In an instant, his head fell off, or rather, it was cut off.


    ''How..? When..? I couldn''t even see it¡­'' John wondered with shock.


    ''When was his hand cut off..? T-This pressure... It''s terrifying, I''ve never felt anything like it¡­'' John tried toprehend.


    He began to tremble as he stood behind this shadow.


    ''G-get up! S-Stop shaking... Get up!'' John spoke to himself.


    The shadow which had enveloped the figure disappeared and John began to get a clear look at its appearance.


    Long ck hair tied up in a ponytail with deep lifeless eyes. Her eyes reminded John of when he first met Ariel. But these seemed darker. It was as if they were clouded inplete darkness with no room for light.


    She was much taller than John and seemed to be around 19. Either way, she was definitely an adult.


    The woman slowly approached John with a nk expression, despite having just killed someone, almost as if shecked her emotions.


    Instinctively, John backed away. His legs were trembling, so much it was hard to stand. He didn''t know why, but the pressure that wasing out of her, it was much more terrifying than rose''s or the Death knight.


    The woman who saw his sudden reaction showed John a calm smile before turning towards the spell caster.


    He looked like he had finished a chant.


    "Tenebris Imp-" Trantion: Dark Imp-


    "Ventu-"


    Again, John couldn''t see it. As he was about to cast velox and propel it straight at him, the woman disappeared.


    By the time John realised she had already pierced the man''s stomach with her dagger.


    She was muttering a few words in front of him, but John couldn''t hear them.


    "She''s chanting..?" He asked myself.


    The man who had been pierced grunted in pain as he spat out blood from his mouth.


    "Who..? How..." Muttered the man with a confused expression.


    A secondter, as if he realised something, the confused expression on the man''s face changed into a smile.


    "O-Oh... I see... You must be the wandering sha-"


    "Loculo tenebris" Trantion: Dark Coffin


    Before he could finish. A shadow in the shape of a coffin was formed behind the man.


    "What''s that..? A coffin..?" John said with shock.


    The man started tough as he was sucked inside; he didn''t even struggle, or maybe he couldn''t.


    There was nothing butplete darkness inside of the coffin.


    After it pulled him in, it closed itself and remained formed in the air.


    ''Looks like something to trap him... Did she keep him alive for information..?'' John thought about her motives.


    The woman looked at John once again with the same lifeless, expressionless look on her face and formed a small smile before disappearing into the shadows along with the coffin.


    "Who... Wait! Thank you! I was just surprised!" John shouted out.


    ''What''s the point, I can''t even feel her with deprehendre anymore... I doubt she can hear me.'' John thought.


    ''Who was she..? Was there always someone that strong here..? She took out the boss and his subordinate in seconds... Wait. Are those 3 alright?!'' John wondered.


    The Area was empty and John had no time to worry; he had used Ventus without fake chants and propelled himself straight to the back of the carriage.


    When he arrived there, he was shocked. The other two subordinates were lying on the ground, with a stab wound. John wasn''t detecting any life from them with deprehendre.


    "They''re dead... Ariel, Serena, what happened?" John asked.


    Both Ariel and Serena had scared looks on their faces.


    "A shadow came and killed them... Luckily it wasn''t after us..." Said Serena.


    Ariel nodded at what Serena said.


    They were both still trembling.


    John ran up to them and gave them both a hug as he said.


    "I''m just d you''re fine... I underestimated their abilities and ended up being useless... I''m not cut out to be our leader." John said in self depreciation.


    "That''s right... You''re annoying, arrogant, immature, childish, and delusional. You also think that you can y hero. You have no idea how worried you make the people around you," Said Serena.


    Suddenly she tightly hugged John back as she said.


    "But you''re irreceable... stop being depressed, that doesn''t suit you. I prefer it when you''re annoying." She added.


    John couldn''t tell what sort of expression she was making, but he didn''t need to know. He could tell that she was being honest, even if it ruined his little self-esteem.


    "Serena''s right... Without John, we probably wouldn''t have survived in the dungeon, I wouldn''t have found a ce where I belong and Serena would still be alone in search of a party..." Ariel spoke.


    "Oi." Said Serena.


    "So stop being depressed, Idiot! If you underestimate them, then stop. If you''re useless, then be useful. You showed me that even someone as talentless as me with nowhere to go, could be something... Now stop being depressed and grow up!" Said Ariel.


    After she said that, she also tightly hugged John back.


    Both John and Serena were surprised by Ariel''s sudden speech.


    "Y-You''re right... As much as it hurt... Alright, I know what we''re going to do." John replied.


    ''I''m going to find whoever thedy was, and I''ll have her be my master! No matter what it takes, I''ll get her to teach me.'' John thought with determination.


    "Seeing that person fight... She was amazing... I feel like it was just a coincidence that we met... While we''re at it, we''ll enter the academy.. That way, we''ll definitely improve," John muttered.

 Chapter 73 - 21: Mansion

    It turned out that no one was hurt from the incident. The assassins were all killed except one, and the person who had killed them had disappeared.


    Guards came shortly after and took them to a facility for questioning, John was asked questions like "Why were you being targeted or Who killed them?"


    John didn''t know why so he answered honestly, fortunately they were released once they proved that they were the victims of their attacks.


    There were no deaths and around 2 minor injury casualties. One thing John knew for sure was that he needed to find that person.


    ''I wonder why she saved me¡­'' John thought,


    "Oi, John, We''re arriving soon." Said Serena.


    "Where?" He asked.


    "Haven''t you been listening? We''ll arrive at Eleanor''s house soon!" Said Serena.


    "Oh, yeah... Where are we again? The houses around here seem pretty expensivepared to the ones at the entrance." John muttered.


    "This Area is saferpared to the entrance, it''s mainly nobles and rich merchants that live here." Said Alfred.


    "So why is it safer?" John asked.


    "The Security Around here is a lot tighter than the one in the entrance, and most of the mansions here have guards that were either adventurers or students who graduated from magic academies," Said Alfred.


    "I see..." John muttered.


    ''Nheless, this area is really clean, I wonder if that has something to do with magic¡­'' John thought.


    "We''re nearly there," Said Alfred.


    ''Huh? But I don''t see any... thing¡­'' John realised.


    There was a path right beside them which led to a mansion that was surrounded by a wall and gate.


    ''This kingdom sure has a lot of territory... How much would you have to pay to get a mansion like that?'' John wondered with curiosity.


    Now that John thought about it, he had seen quite a few mansions so far.


    ''This is one big kingdom,?? John thought.


    "Eleanor... What''s your dad''s job..?" Serena asked.


    "He''s a high-ranking noble, at least that''s what I was told." replied Eleanor.


    ''Well, that exins why she was getting targeted... But if her dad was a noble, why didn''t he get her more protection for her journey? I''m guessing that had something to do with why she wasn''t living with him even though he had such a big mansion¡­'' John thought.


    "I see..." Said Serena.


    They continued heading down the path, and shortly after, they had arrived.


    "We''re here." Said Alfred as he got off the carriage and spoke to one of the guards who seemed to be the one who used the spell to light up the gate.


    The guard looked at Eleanor and opened the gates.


    Alfred got back on the carriage and they went inside.


    "Eleanor, is everything okay?" Ariel asked.


    John looked over at Eleanor to see what was wrong and noticed that she was trembling.


    ??Is she still scared of the assassins..? No... Even if it''ste at night, I doubt she feels insecure with us here... Probably.'' John thought with concern.


    "I-I''m fine, J-Just a bit nervous..." Said Eleanor.


    ''Ah, that''s right, she hasn''t seen her dad in years¡­'' John reckoned.


    The carriage stopped once it was right in front of the mansions, and it was their cue to get off.


    Suddenly, John got an idea. The four of them got off and stood in front of the mansion doors.


    Eleanor seemed to have calmed down, but one could still tell that she was a bit nervous.


    "You should rx and try to enjoy it," John said.


    "What?" Eleanor asked.


    "You should enjoy it more, getting to see your parent after so long, you shouldn''t worry too much." John replied.


    "Yeah... But..."


    Before Eleanor could say what she wanted to, the doors opened.


    Inside were maids all lined up and together they said, "Wee home, youngdy."


    They were all surprised and wondered how many servants were there.


    John guessed that they really wanted her to feel weed.


    The four of them walked inside, and at the same time, Eleanor said, "T-Thank you" with a nervous smile.


    She did not look like she was used to this at all..


    "No need to thank us, youngdy, allow me to introduce myself, I am the head maid, my name is Pritalia."


    Alfred nodded at Pritalia, and she nodded back.


    "Nice to meet you, Pritalia." Eleanor greeted.


    "Nice to meet you too, youngdy."


    "Your father was waiting for your arrival, Shall I take you to him?" She asked.


    "Y-Yes..." Replied Eleanor.


    "Very well" Said Pritalia as she turned towards the staircase.


    She pped her hands and the other servants left their positions and seemed to go back to work. 3 servants however came over to them.


    "Youngdy, shall I take your bag to your room?" asked one of the servants that came over.


    "Eh? Uhm it''s fine," Said Eleanor.


    "Understood, what about our guests?" He asked as he bowed.


    "We''re good, thank you," John said.


    Their bags and things were all inside of the toolbox, which was easy to carry.


    "Understood." He said as he bowed.


    "Would you mind showing our guests to their rooms?" Asked Pritalia.


    "I-I''d like for them to stay with me, We''vee a long way together, and they''re the ones who saved me, I''d like to show them to father." Said Eleanor.


    "Oh my, where are my manners..? Thank you very much for saving the youngdy." Said Pritalia with a smile as she bowed.


    "Thank you very much" Repeated the other 3 servants as they bowed.


    "You''re wel-"


    John Interrupted Serena as he said.


    "T-There''s no need to thank us... We just did what anyone else would do,"


    Serena seemed annoyed at what John did but didn''t say anything.


    "How humble... Not many would be willing to help others..." Said Pritalia with a kind smile.


    ''She has a point¡­'' John thought.


    "I''m sure the lord will find a great reward for you three. Follow me, I shall take you to his room," Said Pritalia as she began heading up the stairs.


    "Y-Yes" Replied Eleanor.


    ''We''re finally here, I''m curious to see what her dad is like¡­'' John thought with a little curiosity.

 Chapter 74 - 22: Kurt

    They followed the servants around the mansion.


    The mansion was big; it looked just like any rich man''s mansion. Paintings on the wall, a giant staircase which led to the top floor, expensive-looking vases.


    If John was to describe it in two words, it''d be clean and luxurious.


    Finally, they ended up in front of a door that probably belonged to Eleanor''s dad''s room.


    "We''ve arrived," Said Pritalia.


    "This is my dad''s room?" Eleanor asked.


    "That is correct, the master was very pleased to hear of your return," Said Pritalia.


    "I-I see¡­" Replied Eleanor.


    ''Looks like she''s still nervous.'' John thought.


    Pritalia opened the door, and they walked inside while the other servants stayed outside.


    Inside was a spacious room, it was lighted up by lights in the ceiling which seemed to be fuelled by magic.


    The room seemed to be a work office as inside was a desk full of sheets and a man who had his head rested on the table.


    ''He''s asleep?'' John questioned himself.


    Pritalia who saw this, walked up to him and hit him in the head, which made him spring up.


    "Mn¡­ Wha- Eh? Ah, Pritalia, did I fall asleep again?" Asked the man.


    "Please excuse the master, he tends to end up like this whenever he has too much work." Said Pritalia with a calm expression.


    "Wh- Who are you talking to?" Asked the man as he faced them.


    Once he got a good look at them, the confused expression on his face changed into a joyous expression.


    "Eleanorrr!" Said the man as he ran from his seat to Eleanor and gave her a hug.


    "Eh?" Said Eleanor with a surprised expression.


    "I''m so d that you''re fine, I thought we''d never see each other again," Said the man as he started to cry and rubbed his cheeks on hers.


    "Dad¡­ stop crying¡­ And this could have been avoided if you had sent guards over¡­" Said Eleanor as she looked over at the trio.


    "Wait, you''re saying you didn''t meet up with the guards that I sent?" Asked her dad.


    "No, you sent guards?" Asked Eleanor.


    "That''s strange¡­ I thought your mother was simply ignoring my emails¡­ I sent guards over and a message a mail, but I didn''t receive a reply so I assumed your mother was ignoring me, like usual¡­" Said her dad.


    John was surprised that he could openly admit that.


    "Mum didn''t receive any letters, she was starting to think it would be better if I had stayed there with her¡­" Said Eleanor.


    When Eleanor said that, a serious expression was formed on her dad''s face.


    "Pritalia." He said.


    "My lord." She replied.


    "I take it you know what to do?" He asked.


    "At once" Said Pritalia as she bowed and left the room.


    John guessed that it was his way of telling her to go find the root of the problem.


    ''He seems a lot more intimidating like this.'' John thought.


    "Dad?" Said Eleanor with a confused tone.


    "Eh? Ah¡­ Sorry, *Clears throat* I take it you three are the ones who saved my daughter? You have my deepest gratitude," Said her dad as he bowed.


    "Dad!" Said Eleanor.


    "Please raise your head, there is no need to bow to us," John replied.


    "No, she was put in grave danger thanks to a mistake on my part, I owe you a lot. If you hadn''t been there¡­" Spoke Eleanor''s dad.


    He raised his head and the look on his eyes changed to a dark one as he said, "I don''t know what I would have done¡­"


    John felt a shiver go down his spine as he heard that. Serena and Ariel were also surprised.


    "We were d that we were able to help," John replied.


    "How well-mannered, If only there were more people like you in the world¡­" Said her dad.


    "I''m sure anyone would have helped her in that situation," John replied.


    "I doubt it," Said Serena.


    "Serena¡­" =John replied in a chiding manner.


    "Nope, she''s right, not many people would be willing to help. As thanks for your kind deed, I can give you anything you request." Said Eleanor''s dad.


    "Dad, you still haven''t introduced yourself." She interrupted.


    "Ah, where are my manners? My name is Kurt Van Mira, a noble merchant. Once again, I thank you for saving my daughter. Is there anything you''d like in particr?" He asked.


    "We don''t really have a reward in mind¡­ Anything you can offer would be fine," John replied.


    "Hm¡­ I intended to offer you money, but¡­"


    "But..?" Eleanor asked.


    "John, how old are you?" Kurt asked.


    "I''m turning 13, why?" John asked.


    "Hm¡­ and you say you were able to protect my daughter against a threat not even her trained butler could?" He asked.


    "Not really, Alfred was very helpful when we were attacked in the city. And I couldn''t have done it on my own, it was thanks to my party''s efforts. They were the ones who mostly kept her safe." John replied honestly.


    "I see¡­ John... How about I offer you my daughter''s hand in marriage?" Asked Kurt.


    "Eh?!" Said Eleanor.


    "What?!" Said Both Serena and Ariel.


    ''H-How did ite to this...?!'' John thought feeling dumbfounded.

 Chapter 75 - 23: Refusal

    "W-What was that?" John asked as he looked at the calm man.


    "I said I''d offer you my daughter''s hand in marriage?" Said Kurt with a confused expression.


    Mr Kurt, a man who looked to be in his 30s, Blonde hair, blue eyes, and wore sses. He had a shaved beard and looked just like a man from a fantasy world.


    "W-Wait a minute! Dad! Things are going too fast! We just met!" Said Eleanor while flustered.


    "And? Isn''t it a good thing? Besides, you don''t seem to dislike him," Said Kurt.


    "Just because I don''t dislike him, doesn''t mean its fine! Besides, we don''t even know how he feels about it," Said Eleanor as she pointed at John.


    She was way too embarrassed to face John at this point.


    "Well, John, How do you feel about it?" Asked Kurt.


    "Yeah, John, Why don''t you go ahead and tell us?" Asked Serena with a smile on her face.


    Ariel seemed to also be curious about what he would say.


    Somehow that smile makes John feel insecure.


    ''Anyways, Getting married huh¡­ I mean Eleanor is definitely beautiful, with long wavy golden Hair, Oceanic blue eyes. On top of that, she has a caring personality. She''s also a noble, so I would probably be able to live a peaceful and quiet luxurious life, but¡­'' John thought to himself.


    "I''m sorry Mr. Kurt, while I am certain I do not deserve such an offer and as much as I appreciate it, unfortunately, I''m afraid I''d like to decline¡­" John said as he bowed.


    He looked over at Eleanor to see how she would react and she didn''t seem that bothered by it, almost as if she knew this would be the answer.


    As John thought that, tears started to drop from her face as she shouted, "Dad, you idiot!" and ran out of the room.


    "Eleanor-" Said Kurt as he stretched out his hands to stop her, but it was toote.


    "Sorry¡­" John muttered to himself after she had left.


    John had not expected her to be that bothered by it. His rejection did seem a bit cold, but he knew that he''ll have to properly exin it to herter.


    "Ah¡­ I did it again¡­ John, do you mind if I ask something?" Asked Kurt.


    "Of course¡­" John replied.


    "Are already engaged to one of those two girls behind you?" Asked Kurt.


    "Ah, no, they''re just my-"


    Before John could finish, Serena spoke up.


    "Nope, who would want to be engaged with this idiot?" Said Serena.


    "Yeah, we''re just party members." Said Ariel as she followed Serena''s lead.


    "That pretty much sums it up, although it was harsh," John said as he looked at Serena.


    She stuck her tongue out, then faced the other direction as she made "Hmph" Sound.


    "So then why would you reject the proposal? I don''t see a reason not to¡­ Eleanor is both cute and intelligent¡­ She''s also the daughter of a noble, I''m interested in what your reason is¡­ Could it be that you don''t find her attractive?" Said Kurt.


    "No, no, it''s not that. Sure Eleanor is cute, intelligent, and attractive, but we just met, I''m sure forcing rtionships aremon between nobles, but I wouldn''t want to force someone into that¡­" John exined.


    ''With this, he should back down-'' He thought.


    "I doubt she would mind. In fact, she didn''t seem to refuse the proposal, only slightlyined about it." Kurt spoke.


    "True, but for amoner get engaged to a nobl-"


    Before John could finish, he said, "Don''t worry about that, you have my backing after all. Besides, she''s just like you¡­"


    ''What''s that supposed to mean?'' John thought, feeling confused.


    "Alright, I understand, there won''t be any problems if we engage, but there''s something I haven''t told you¡­" John said.


    "What is it?" Kurt asked.


    "There''s someone I like¡­" He replied.


    "Wha-" Serena unintentionally let as she shortly after rposed herself.


    Ariel silently stared at John as if she was waiting for him to say who.


    "I haven''t confronted that person about my feelings yet, and if I were to suddenly get engaged before telling her, I''m sure it wouldn''t be a good start to a rtionship I hope of achieving¡­" John justified himself.


    Serena and Ariel were both quietly staring at him with interrogatory eyes, as if they wanted to know who he meant.


    "You have a point¡­ But polygamy is allowed and isn''t umon in this kingdom. I''m sure she wouldn''t mind," Said Kurt.


    ''I can see why he''s a noble merchant.'' John realized.


    "We can''t be too sure, but in the end, it''ll be better for us to get to know each other before moving into something like an engagement." John thought.


    "You have a point, I apologize for rushing things. It''s a shame, especially since you two are around the same age¡­ John, you''ll be taking the academy entrance exams too, right?" He asked.


    ''Looks like he finally gave up¡­ Why did he want me to marry his daughter so badly?'' John thought.


    "Yes?" He replied.


    "Hm, so you two will have more opportunities to get to know each other." Kurt continued.


    ''Looks like he still hasn''t given up¡­'' John realized.


    "Haha, yes¡­" he replied.


    Ariel and Serena let out a relieved sigh. It looked like John getting engaged would probably be troubling for their party. They were probably worried that the party would get disbanded or something.


    "Mr Kurt, when is the entrance exam for the academy?" John asked.


    "Hm? You didn''t know? It''s tomorrow."


    "Eh-EHHH!?" the three of them said in sync.


    ***


    After he told them that, as thanks for saving his daughter, he offered to take them to the academy and to let them stay in the guest rooms.


    Since they had no reason to decline, they epted his proposal. At the same time, he gave them a bag of 150 Gold coins for protecting her. He had nned to give them more, but John stopped him. 150 was way more than enough ording to him.


    "John, John" Said Ariel.


    "Yes?" John asked.


    "Who was the girl that you said that you liked?" Ariel asked.


    Serena who was beside her also seemed curious as she would asionally stare at John while they walked.


    "Do you two really want to know?" John asked.


    They were on their way to the guest room as they followed one of the servants.


    "Not really," Said Serena as she looked away, asionally peeking.


    ''You''re making it pretty tant that you do¡­'' John inwardly thought.


    "Well, you see¡­"


    John cast Silentium around the three of them so that the servant and anyone else wouldn''t hear.


    "That was a lie," John said to the two of them.


    "Ehhh¡­ John is a liar??" Said Ariel with a small smile formed on her face.


    "What? No, I had no choice-"


    "Yeah, he''s a pretty good liar for an idiot," Said Serena who was also smiling.


    ''Eh? Why are they both in a good mood? Ah¡­ Is this the case that I read about¡­ Girls prefer bad boys¡­?'' John wondered.


    He disabled silentium before the guards noticed something was up, and suddenly he stopped and bowed.


    In front of him stood a woman who appeared to be in her twenties.


    "Oh my, You must be the ones who saved Eleanor, As her stepmother, I thank you. My name is Usiel van mira, It is a pleasure to meet you." She said as she slightly lifted up her dress with her fingertips.


    ''A noble gesture¡­ And did she say¡­ Step mum?'' John realised.

 Chapter 76 - 24: Tomorrows The Entrance Exam!

    The three of them were surprised. Usiel had Brown eyes and long braided brown hair. She had suddenly appeared and told them that she was Eleanor''s step mum. She also carried a fan.


    "Step-mum..?" John asked.


    "That''s right." She said.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, ma''am! My name is John, This is Serena and this is Ariel. They are members of my party," John said as he bowed and introduced them.


    ''I think I forgot to introduce them, Kurt¡­ Hopefully, they''re not mad about that¡­'' John hoped.


    "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Usiel," Said Serena with a kind smile.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you." Said Ariel as she joined in.


    "Oh my, what a well-mannered children. Do not worry, there is no need to be so formal." Said Usiel.


    When she mentioned children, I expected Serena tosh out, however she remained calm.


    "It would be rude not to¡­ We were taught to show respect to our elders after." Said Serena with the same smile on her face.


    ''I spoke too soon.'' John inwardly thought.


    "But I''m not as old as you might assume" Said Usiel as she covered her mouth with her fan.


    "I do hope that is the case," Said Serena.


    "Of course, I do not expect a child to be able to correctly assume someone''s age," Said Usiel.


    "Ironic, how you''re saying that to an adult," Said Serena.


    "Oh, you were an adult? I apologize, It appears even adults aren''t able to correctly assume a person''s age¡­ You looked like a child to me." Usiel replied.


    ''Oh no¡­'' John dreaded.


    "Funny you should say that, you reminded me of my grandma the moment I saw you." Serena scoffed.


    "Fufu, Is that so¡­" Said Usiel.


    John and Ariel were bothpletely lost. They wondered how did a friendly conversation turn into this.


    ''Girls are scary¡­'' John judged.


    "Well, you must be tired, so thisdy shall stop bothering you," Said Usiel.


    "You weren''t bothering us at-"


    A menacing aura was being emitted from Serena as John said that.


    ''Serena, it''sing out¡­'' John spoke with his eyes.


    "All¡­"


    "I''m d to hear that, Serena, John, and Ariel, it was a pleasure to meet you, but unfortunately I must take my leave." Said Usiel.


    After she said that, she waved at them and walked past with a servant behind her. She was most likely her personal maid.


    "Fufufu¡­ What an interesting party¡­" Said Usiel after she left.


    ----------------------------------------------


    "Grrr¡­" growled Serena.


    ''Yep¡­ That got to her¡­'' John stated to himself.


    "Serena¡­ Calm down," Said Ariel.


    "I''m calm, I''m just slightly annoyed¡­" She replied.


    "It was a mistake, they happen," John added.


    "Too often¡­" She muttered.


    "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I and Ariel know that you''re an adult," John replied.


    "Yeah," said Ariel as she nodded.


    Although Serena looked like a regr 15-year-old girl from John''s world, maybe they think she''s a kid because she''s with them.


    "I guess¡­" Said Serena as she calmed down.


    That was easier than John expected.


    "Well, let''s all get enough rest. The entrance exam is tomorrow after all." John stated.


    John guessed that he''ll have to fake chant and use words that they wouldn''t understand so that they think that he''s silent casting.


    "Yeah¡­" Said Serena.


    They reached their guest rooms, and they were right next to each other.


    "You may each choose a room you''d like. Each room has its own shower, and since you''vee a long way, I''m sure you''d like to." Said the servant.


    "Of course, Goodnight, you two, and thank you, sir." John replied respectfully.


    The servant bowed.


    "Goodnight" Said Serena.


    "Night" Said Ariel.


    They each walked into their own rooms, took a shower and then went to sleep.


    ***


    The next day


    "*Yawn* so today''s the day of the exam¡­ I wonder how Serena and Ariel are doing." John wondered.


    He got up and went over to the toilet; it looked exactly like the sort of toilet you''d see in the past, not the one which he was ustomed to.


    John guessed being a noble still meant being part of the past.


    He brushed his teeth and stared at his face through the mirror.


    "This is me¡­ I''m starting to get used to it¡­" John said that he pinched his cheek.


    The bed was also reallyfortable, and John wondered if Serena and Ariel enjoyed it.?


    As he continued to stare at his face, he tried changing the shape of his hair as he watered it, but it stayed the same.


    "*Sigh* No luck, huh¡­" John muttered to himself.


    ''The shower sure wasfortable though¡­ Well, time to go¡­'' John thought to himself.


    He got out of the toilet, changed into a fresh pair of clothes which had been left on the toilet by one of the servants, and performed maintenance on my gear.


    For maintenance, John just cleaned and polished it. He had been doing this every day. Whenever John had time. It just became a habit


    After John was ready, he looked brand new. He ced his dagger in its sheath and walked out of the room.


    John wondered what sort of things he''ll be seeing in today''s entrance exam.. He couldn''t wait to find out.

 Chapter 77 - 25: Entrance Exams For The Academy!

    The Sound of people chattering and working resonated throughout the city as they passed by on a carriage. Unlike the other carriage they were in, this one was a lot more luxurious.


    One of the drivers was apparently a guard.


    Inside the carriage were four of them, including Eleanor along with her dad.


    So far, Eleanor felt like she had been avoiding him, but it didn''t feel like a grudge.


    When they all ate breakfast together she kept silent and even now, she just quietly stared outside of the window.


    "So, are you all feeling? Today are your entrance exams." Asked Kurt.


    John didn''t feel nervous at all, Eleanor should be fine since she was a noble, and she could use light magic. The problem was Ariel, but John knew that she would be fine. She practiced every day whenever she had time.


    Serena did the same. The two of them hadn''t stopped practicing. John hadn''t stopped either, but he hadn''t been able to progress much.


    ''I''m going to need better ideas¡­ I can''t just create a spell out of nowhere¡­'' John thought to himself.


    "I''m good," John replied.


    "No problems here" Replied Serena.


    "I was a little nervous, but¡­ I''m fine now," Said Ariel with a determined look.


    ''She can do it if she tries.'' John thought to himself.


    "I was a lot nervous before, but thanks to you three being here, I feel calmer¡­" Said Eleanor as clenched her arm in the middle of her chest.


    "I''m d to hear it, Thanks foring with us, John, Serena, and Ariel."


    "There''s no need to thank us, you''re offering us a ride, we''re the ones that are grateful," John replied


    "That''s right," Said Serena.


    Ariel nodded in response.


    "Haha, is that so¡­ I''m d those are your thoughts." Said Kurt as he stared outside of the window.


    ''But it''s strange¡­ Could the magic academy be small or something? I didn''t see any signs of it at all, not once since we came to the city. Is it really here?'' John wondered.


    Suddenly, the carriage stopped.


    "Looks like we''ve arrived." Said Kurt.


    ''Eh? Already?'' John thought with confusion.


    The four of them hastily looked outside of the carriage and were surprised. There were a lot of spaces all around, but no school. There were also a lot of people here, teenagers with their parents. The nearest house was far.


    ''Why is there such a big lump of space inside of the city? Where''s the school? There are so many people here and yet¡­'' John thought to himself.


    "Are they all here for the exam..? But I don''t see a school anywhere¡­ Unless¡­" Said, Serena.


    At the same time, the carriage door opened, and on the outside was a guard.


    "Identification, please." Asked the guard.


    "Of course, Kurt van Mira, and this is my daughter Eleanor van Mira. These are our guests who will also be taking the exam," Said Kurt as he handed the man some sort of badge.


    "My deepest apologies! For not realizing who it was!" Said the man as he bowed.


    ''Eh? What''s with that overly dramatic reaction? Wait, he told me he was a noble, but he never said what rank¡­ For guards to act like this¡­ What sort of person is Eleanor''s dad¡­?'' John thought with surprise.


    "Haha, no need to be so tense, personally, I don''t mind. But that aside, any ideas when the gate will open?"


    ''Gate? What gate? Wait, something strange¡­ There''re only houses here, yet the guards seemed to be chanting something in the center¡­ Wait, this isn''t what I think it is, right..?'' John inferred.


    As he thought that, the guard said "Right now" and as he said that, the light began to gather in the center of where the other guards were chanting and took the shape of two gates.


    A blue one and a red one. Two gates were formed and in front of them was a single mage. The guards had moved out of the way to give the person space.


    "Wow¡­" Muttered Ariel.


    "Is that the unique space magic I heard about? Gate¡­ It took around 8 mages to cast it¡­" Muttered Serena.


    Eleanor quietly watched with a look of amazement in her eyes.


    ''Hm¡­ I''m guessing the gate is different from teleportation. Gate is like connecting to ends in a line, and these are indeed two separate gates. John reckoned.


    She looked like an old woman in her 70s, yet she didn''t give off the feeling of being fragile.


    "*Clears throat* Testing¡­ Good. People of xoleria, once again it is the start of a new year, and we are proud to announce that the exam willmence," Said thedy.


    The crowd suddenly started cheering when thedy announced that.


    "Looks like everyone is excited¡­" John muttered.


    "Of course, it''s always like this," Said Kurt.


    "It''s like this in every city with a magic school? Must be hard¡­" John said.


    "Hmm¡­ You seem to be getting the wrong idea. Things are only like this because it is this school. Haven''t you heard about this magic academy?" Asked Kurt.


    "Well, we heard that it was considered one of the most prestigious ones," John replied.


    "Not just one of the most prestigious ones, this academy is the most prestigious one in the whole continent, Most magicians who have had their name go down in history have had ties to this academy." Said, Kurt.


    ''It was that good..?'' John wondered again.


    "And now I feel a bit nervous." Said Serena.


    "Haha, sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you." Said Kurt.


    "It''s fine, but it''s good to know how amazing the school we''re going to is."


    "As always, only the students will be allowed in, Parents, Guardians, and Guards will have to stay here, along with the carriage. These are the necessary safety measures."


    It looked like the security was tight, it''s a good thing since apparently, and they''ll be living in dorms there. Eleanor will be safe that way.


    "Looks like we''ll be parting ways here¡­ You four, stay safe and good luck!" said Kurt.


    They each thanked him and got off the carriage and when it was Eleanor''s turn¡­


    "Thank you, and¡­ Sorry¡­ Dad." Said Eleanor as she hung her head.l


    She had been giving him the silent treatment, so he guessed this is what the apology was for.


    "For what? I got what I deserved, don''t feel bad about it. I''m the one that''s sorry¡­ I shouldn''t have rushed things," He said.


    Her sad eyes seemed to slowly gain its life back as she heard his words.


    "If you''re truly sorry, then once I pass make sure you make it up to me." Said Eleanor with a bright smile.


    "I will" Replied Kurt who also smiled.


    After the interaction, Eleanor got off the carriage, and we had all finally gotten off.


    By the time they had gotten off, they had started forming a line on each gate.


    "This year, we will do something different. You will have the option to choose which gate you would like to enter. Blue is easier, but if you do get epted, you''ll start in the lowest ranking ss. Meanwhile, red on the other hand will allow you to start in rank 5," said thedy.


    "Rank 5? Did she say rank 5?" Said a person.


    "Isn''t that really good?!" Asked another person.


    "O-Oi¡­ maybe it might be a better idea to go inside of the red gate," suggested another person.


    "Y-Yeah, he''s right¡­ We''ll be one rank below alpha ss¡­" said another guy.


    "Yeah! Let''s do it!" Shouted a random guy


    Suddenly, more and more people lined up in front of the red gate


    Hm, this isn''t what Eleanor said¡­ She said they separated it by amoner and noble¡­ And that it would be harder formoners to get in because they were running out of space¡­


    ''Why would she deliberately change the rules? Being kind? No, I doubt it¡­ Most of the people that lined up in front of the red gate looked likemoners.'' John thought in a questioning manner.


    There were a lot of teens lined up behind the red, maybe around 90 or 100, and 1/3 seemed to be nobles.


    Meanwhile, in front of the blue gate, there were around 20, maybe 30 lined up in front of it.


    ''Ah¡­ I see¡­ There''s barely any space in the lower-ranking sses, so they''re pairing up themoners with the nobles to decrease the amount. Naturally, they''ll make the noble test harder too.'' Lin Mu realized.


    He felt bad for everyone, but this also benefited him and they''ll all be able to stick together.


    "John, which gate do we pick?" Asked Serena.


    "Well, I originally nned on going with themoner route, but with this, I''ll be able to rank up without having to wait for 3 months, so we''re going with red," John dered/


    Having a head start will definitely be advantageous for us.


    "Understood" Said Ariel


    "Well then, listen up, we have no idea what might be on the other side of the gate, but our first priority if we separate is to meet up. Understoo.d?" John spoke to them.


    The two girls nodded, Eleanor kept quiet


    "W-Well¡­ I wish you three good luck¡­" said Eleanor as she turned and was about to leave.


    "Where are you going?" John asked as he grabbed on to her hand.


    "Where? To the line¡­ You shouldn''t be telling me your n¡­" Said Eleanor/


    "Why?" I asked/


    "What do you mean, why? Your n is something you should tell to your team¡­" She muttered/


    "But Eleanor, you are in our team?" Said, Ariel/


    "I am?" Eleanor asked with a confused expression


    "Well, after all, who wouldn''t want to team up with their friend? And besides, the school with john would be annoying, I need back up." Said Serena/


    "Oi." John intentionally let out.


    "So I can join the team..?" Asked Eleanor.


    "Of course, I''m sure there''s going to be many other teams, and she never said that teaming was against the rules, so¡­ will you join our team?" John reiterated.


    "Tha¡­ Thank you¡­ dly!" Said Eleanor.


    She seemed relieved and happy, her spirit also seemed to return to her.


    Was she sad because she didn''t want to go against me? I thought it was because of the engagement¡­'' John thought.


    "Well, no use in thinking about it," He muttered to himself.


    "About what?" Eleanor asked.


    ''She heard that?'' John thought.


    "N-Nothing, anyway, let''s go line up on the red gate." John suggested.


    The three of them agreed with a hint of excitement in their eyes and they lined up. John was probably just as excited as them.


    "Well then, it looks like you are all lined up. On my signal, you may pass through the gate. Do not worry, the exam will not start until everyone is inside." Said thedy.


    "Looks like we''re starting," John muttered.


    "Shhh" said Serena.


    "Well, then, On your mark¡­ Go! Let the exams begin!" Said thedy.


    After that, everyone began to walk through. The teenagers in front of the blue gate walked through it, while the near 100 in front of the red gate, entered.


    It didn''t take long for it to reach our turn to enter.


    John only realized this now. ''But how could such an olddy''s voice reach all the way here?'' He thought.


    ''Can she use sound magic or something?'' He wondered.


    "Well then, let''s go. Good luck to everyone," John said as he walked inside.


    "You''ll need it," Said Serena as she followed behind him.


    "We all will," Said Ariel as she followed behind Serena


    "You''re right about that.." Said Eleanor as she was thest to enter./

 Chapter 78 - 26: Survive..!

    "Wow¡­" John muttered once he was inside.


    The sound of people talking amongst their groups resounded through the giant white room that they had entered. It was a nk room with everything painted white. It was big enough to fit all of them but not that big.


    "I didn''t expect this¡­" Muttered Serena as she entered from behind.


    "Woah¡­" Said Ariel as she entered.


    "What a strange room¡­" Said Eleanor, who was thest to enter.


    "Silence, please." Said the voice of thedy in the middle of the room.


    The room turnedpletely silent.


    "Looks like you all are here. Thank you for attending the academy''s exam. I''m sure you''ve all travelled far to get here. I will now proceed to exin the exam." Said thedy.


    The room turnedpletely silent.


    "The first exam will be survival. You will all be teleported to a random location on an artificial ind. The game will continue until there are 30 people remaining. If you are one of the 30 who survive you pass." She said.


    This reminded John of the movies that he had watched before.


    "There will be a point-based ranking system involved in this game. Those ranked in the top ten will go straight to the Alpha ss, the top 3 will each receive a special reward."


    ''Points¡­ I guess I''ll aim high.'' John decided.


    "There are 2 ways to earn points, the first is through eliminations. Each yer will be given a badge. If the badge breaks or if it''s stolen. Then the one who stole it or broke it will receive two elimination point. When it is stolen or broken, a signal will be sent which will allow us to identify you. You also won''t be allowed to use magic"


    This sounded tough to John.


    "The other is through survival. Per each yer who is eliminated, everyone gains a survival point when a yer is eliminated, after there are 50 yers remaining. Then once there are 30 you start to receive 2 survival points."


    ''Survival and elimination.'' John thought.


    "The rules are simple, if you are disqualified you must head to a safe point. The safe point has a beacon on it, so you will be able to identify it. If you kill anyone, you are disqualified, andstly, teaming is allowed."


    ''Looks like we won''t have to worry about teaming.'' John thought with relief.


    "Are there any questions?"


    There wasplete silence and no one spoek.


    "Very well, there will be amentator, he will be activelymentating on interesting events. The interesting events or fights will be disyed on through a sphere all around the city."


    ''Magic that can do that exists? I need to get that.'' John thought.


    "Make sure you don''t embarrass yourselves, remember, your family might be watching. Now once the timer hits 0, you will all be automatically teleported."


    After she said that, a timer was formed where the voice wasing from.


    The time which was disyed was 30 seconds..


    "Well then, once again. Thank you for taking the entrance exam, and I wish you all good luck."


    After she said that, the time started going down.


    "How is everyone?" John asked.


    "A little nervous." Replied Serena.


    "Me too." Replied Ariel.


    "Maybe more than a little," Replied Eleanor.


    "Haha, Well If it makes you feel any better, teaming is allowed, but we''ll all be teleported to random locations so we''ll be on our own in the beginning." John spoke with a chuckle.


    Serena lightly punched his shoulder as she said, "Thanks for the reminder, not helping."


    Ariel and Eleanor nodded at what Serena said.


    8 seconds were left.


    "As soon as we''re teleported, I''ll find you three and we''ll group up. I know you''ll all be fine." John spoke.


    The three girls nervously nodded, and John watched the timer.


    3¡­ 2??? 1..


    When the timer reached 0, they were all teleported.


    ***


    In an instant, the environment had changed. The sound of sea waves could be heard from around John. He could feel his shoes sinking into the soft sand beneath him. John had been teleported to a beach.


    He looked down and there was a badge stuck to his clothes around the chest. It was probably added when they were teleported. The badge read the number 97.


    The numbers were probably there for identification.


    John stared towards the deep ocean. He thought that for something artificial, it sure was beautiful.


    "I guess, I''m probably the only one admiring the view right now¡­ Hah¡­" John spoke to himself.


    But at least it helped him calm down.


    ''Let''s see¡­ I was teleported to a beach, meaning I''m on the outside¡­ Meaning on the inside should be¡­'' John guessed.


    John turned around and as he suspected, there was a forest.


    As John was about to survey the area with deprehendre, a loud sound came from the sky.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen! Today''s host is me, Tebald Rojo!" Said the man.


    That was thementator speaking.


    "The event today is battle royale! The top 30 to survive will pass the exam, I wish best of luck to all of your acquaintances who are taking the exam and I hope that you all enjoy the show!" He said.


    ''Show..? I guess they did say they were live-streaming the exam¡­ He must be talking to the viewers. I''m sure Kurt is watching too. Well then, I guess I definitely won''t be allowed to embarrass myself.'' John thought to himself.


    "Currently, there are still 100 remaining. Once again, I will bementating on any interesting events as you watch. Enjo- Eh? Looks like 3 yers just got eliminated by a single yer. That was fast¡­ Only 97 yers remain!" Said the man.


    ''3? Already, that was fast, and by a single yer¡­ Interesting.'' John thought.


    "This voice is only being projected to the people currently participating. You will not be able to hear thementator so as to not distract anyone. Only those watching will be able to. I will be informing you all of the count every 5 eliminations, best of luck." Said the voice.


    It was different from thementator''s voice as it sounded like an artificial female''s voice. But it was good to know everyone will know how many yers were left.


    "Deprehe-"


    Before John could finish, he felt a magic attack heading towards him and he leapt to the side.


    A secondter a fire ball went hit directly at the area John was at.


    "Tsk, I missed." Said the guy.


    ''Looks like I already havepany and won''t fire magic start a forest fire?'' John thought.


    "I won''t miss again," Said the guy as he started to chant.


    "I''m sure you won''t." Replied John as he leapt straight at him while he fake chanted.


    -----------------------------------------------------


    "So¡­ It''s started, huh¡­" Said the man.


    "Indeed, I''m looking forward to seeing how things turn out¡­" Said thedy.


    "What do you think about thepetitors this year?" He asked.


    "I believe we are at a generation of miracles, there are too many talented individuals."


    "So that''s the case¡­ Why don''t we make a bet? Who do you think wille out first?" He asked.


    "You want to make a bet with me, the advisor..? Very well, but on one condition. You tell me yours first, you don''t take bets that you can''t win, Isn''t that right? Kurt.".


    "Haha, as expected, you saw right through me. Very well, I''ll ce my bets on a boy called John," Said Kurt with a calm smile.


    "John..? What noble family is he from?" Asked thedy.


    "He''s not a noble," Replied Kurt.


    "You dare think amoner will win first ce? What are you nning?" She asked.


    "Nothing, at all. You''re always quick to suspect me¡­ It''s quite saddening." Replied Kurt.


    "And you know why, *Sigh* Well, I already had someone in mind. I believe he is the most talented among them, Eldest Son of the Astronomia household. A young prodigy able to use unique saint-ss magic after just turning 15."


    "Lukes son is participating?" Asked Kurt with a surprised expression.


    "Of course his father decided that he is ready to face the challenges of the academy." She replied.


    "Haha¡­ Looks like things won''t be easy for John¡­ But I wouldn''t underestimate him if I were you," Said Kurt with the same calm smile.


    "Is that so¡­ Well, we''ll find out.." Said thedy.

 Chapter 79 - 27: Battle Royale

    "A forest..." Muttered Ariel as she looked around.


    Light travelled through the trees which surrounded her and reflected on to the ground.


    ''Looks like we''re all already on the ind¡­'' Ariel thought to herself.


    "Hehe... Looks like I''m still pretty nervous..." Ariel muttered to herself when she noticed that she was slightly shaking.


    She gripped her staff and took a deep breath.


    "But... After everything we''ve been through, it''ll take more than this to scare me." She muttered as she stopped shaking.


    ''Time to try that out¡­'' Thought Ariel as she lifted up her staff.


    She closed her eyes and started to concentrate.


    Suddenly, her concentration was broken by a voice which came from the air.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen! Today''s host is me, Tebald Rojo!"


    ''Who''s that...?'' She wondered.


    "The event today is battle royale! The top 30 to survive will pass the exam, I wish best of luck to all of your acquaintances who are taking the exam and I hope that you all enjoy the show!"


    ''Show...?'' She said inwardly, feeling confused.


    "Currently, there are still 100 remaining. Once again, I will bementating on any interesting events as you watch. Enjo- Eh? Looks like 3 yers just got eliminated by a single yer. That was fast¡­ Only 97 yers remain!" Said the man.


    ''Could it be John..? If not, then there must be some really strong people on this ind..'' Ariel thought..


    "This voice is only being projected to the people currently participating. You will not be able to hear thementator as not distract anyone. Only those watching will be able to. I will be informing you all of the count every 5 eliminations, best of luck."


    ''Ah, that''s not the man''s voice. A woman?'' Ariel realised.


    Ariel waited to see if there was anything else to be heard, but that was the end of it.


    "Back to concentrating..." Muttered Ariel.


    ''I''m supposed to fake chant right... What should I say..? Hm¡­'' She thought to herself.


    "Cake... Cake... We didn''t have any... Because of entrance exams... Deprehendre!" Whispered Ariel.


    As she said that, she did as John told her and Serena.


    ''You''ve been practising... Remember... Imagine your magic being gather in a point,press it... And then let it burst out in the form of a wave... And focus on only detecting a person¡­'' Ariel remembered.


    As she concentrated, her magic waspressed on the tip of her staff, then burst out in the form of a wave around her.


    ''It worked! Looks like all the practice paid off!'' Ariel internally eximed.


    Ariel looked at what was straight ahead of her. There were many lights which had humanoid shapes.


    ''That must be the mana flow in a person... Deprehendre worked... I''ve always wondered, where did Johne up with these names? It sounds so familiar¡­'' She thought.


    Ariel turned around, then noticed it. There was a light in the shape of a person hiding behind a tree behind her/


    ''Uwah... That was scary¡­'' She thought.


    "Uhm... You cane out now..." Said Ariel as she looked towards it.


    As the person stepped out, the lights disappeared.


    ''The spell''s effect wore out¡­'' She observed.


    "Tsk, you noticed me. Hey, give me your badge." Asked the guy.


    Ariel looked down and noticed that her badge was already clipped on her outfit, around her chest. She looked up at him and his badge was also clipped there around the same area.


    "I can''t do that..." Said Ariel as she shook her head.


    "Then, I guess I''ll just have to force you," Said the guy as he started chanting.


    ''Ventus might kill him... Then¡­'' Ariel analysed.


    "This is a chant... they won''t be able to tell... aeris iecit." whispered Ariel.


    3 air balls were formed around her and propelled straight at him.


    "Eh? You can ''silent chant'' and ''fast chant''? Well, it''s useless if it''s for a weak spell," Said the guy as he stopped his chant and dodged it by leaping to the side.


    "See, it''s easy to dodg-"


    The man was interrupted by a loud *Boom* and high amount of wind which burst at him and flung him straight to the tree behind him.


    A thud sound was heard when the man came into contact with the tree. Heid there motionlessly.


    "Ventus tormentum..." Whispered Ariel after she finished her fake chant.


    ''Eh? Was that too much?'' Thought Ariel as she rushed over to him.


    She checked to see how he was doing and let out a sigh of relief.


    "He''s just unconscious... Sorry, but I''ll be taking your badge. Next time, you should talk less and focus more on the fight. Hehe, you''re just like someone I know..." Said Ariel as she took his badge.


    Once she did, a sort of loud sound was made resonated through the badge and a magic circle was formed and seemed to glow on the area where the badge was clipped.


    "Eh?!¡­ *Deep breath* I wasn''t scared..." muttered Ariel as she nearly flung the badge away.


    After that he was coated in a green light whichyered over his body.


    ''That green light must be because of the badge... I think it''ll protect him, so it should be fine if I leave him here¡­'' Ariel reckoned.


    "90 yers remain, On the lead we have a yer with 5 eliminations. New rules have been formed due to yers being unable to make it to the safe zone after losing their badge, either due to being immobile or unconscious."


    "First rule is that after a yers badge is lost, they will be automatically teleported to the nearest safe zone, the second rule is that after you take someones badge, you will no longer have to carry it, it will be registered under your badge number. After it is registered, it won''t make a difference if someone else were to pick it up. It''ll be a useless badge." said the voice.


    ??I guess that means I can leave this here¡­'' Thought Ariel as she put the badge on the ground next to him.


    "The third rule is that the person who takes your will im all the badges registered under your name and it will be registered under their names, and the final rule is that a number showing how many badges you have will appear under your badge number, you may continue."


    After she said that, the light which coated the unconscious guy grew brighter and brighter before it teleported him.


    Ariel looked at her badge and noticed a two numbers, one which was in the middle, 98 and another one which was glowing which was glowing and shower the number ''1''.


    ''One badge taken... Well, I guess it''s time to search for those three¡­'' Ariel decided.


    "John, Serena, Eleanor. Stay safe..." Muttered Ariel as she used deprehendre again.


    ------------------------------------------------


    "The third rule is that the person who takes your will im all the badges registered under your name and it will be registered under their names, and the final rule is that a number showing how many badges you have will appear under your badge number, you may continue." said the voice.


    "Looks like we won''t have to worry about carrying your badge," Said the girl.


    ''Looks like I''m surrounded... 4 even¡­'' Serena thought to herself.


    "So what''ll it be?" Asked the guy.


    ''John said something about creating a fake chant... I guess I''ll just use a real chant and alter it a bit. That way they won''t be able to tell it''s fake.'' Thought Serena.


    "Animi virtute formam praebueris mmarum pluam super stulti sagittas" Whispered Serena Trantion: Spirit of mes lend me your strength and form arrow which will rain down upon these fools.


    "Eh, what''s she doing?" Asked the other guy.


    "She''s ''silent chanting'' Stop her!" Said the girl.


    "You heard her, go!" Said the guy.


    They all rushed at Serena together, but.


    "Looks like you''ll have more to worry about" Said Serena as she pointed up


    "Cra-"


    "Sagitta Ignis" Trantion: Fire arrows


    The guy was interrupted by the 30 arrows made of pure me which rained down on the four of them.


    The arrows pierced into the sand and hit the people directly, Serena had used ventus to propel the arrows which increased their powers.


    The 4 who surrounded herid on the ground after being hit and the arrows dispersed into the air.


    There was no blood, and the arrows hadn''t pierced them.


    "I-Impossible..." Muttered the girl on the ground.


    "I used a blunt edge, you should be more grateful" Said Serena as she adjusted up her hat and ced her hands on her hip.

 Chapter 80 - 28: Point-Blank

    "There are 80 yers remaining, there have been no added rules." Said the voice.


    "80... Huh..." John muttered as he looked down at his badge number.


    The number disyed was 7. As he saw this he clenched his fist before letting giving a short look around. It had risen unexpectedly fast considering only 20 yers had been eliminated.


    That would have meant that he had 35% of the overall eliminations so far. However, he didn''t seem proud nor felt like he had aplished something great.


    "I never expected there to be so many people here at the beach..." John said as he looked towards the small concrete and frozen sand on the ground.


    They were stronger than John had expected. Some continued chanting even after they had dodged his cies. But John guessed that he shouldn''t be seeing any mage soon who can fight one-on-one.


    "*sigh* mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble... Deprehendre," John whispered.


    He cast deprehendre in search of only his teammates.


    3 scattered lights appeared scattered around the forest. One of them was close to the beach was pretty far.


    "That must be them..." John muttered.


    ''I guess I''ll head for the closest one. I wonder how everyone''s doing.'' Thought John.


    As he thought that, he entered the forest.


    "Well... Walking will take a while so..." As John said that, he reinforced his body with magic and started to run.


    He zoomed past the trees in a speed that was unnatural for a kid of his age.


    John never took the time to deeply think about it. But he realized that magic sure was revolutionary. He wondered what his previous world would be like if it existed. With reinforcement, he was much faster than the faster man on earth.


    "It sort of feels like a cheat..." John muttered.


    Suddenly, he felt a chill go down his spine and stopped.


    "?!"


    After that, something came into contact with the tree which was right in front of John and it vanished.


    John cast deprehendre without saying anything and looked around.


    John couldn''t find anyone, the nearest person was at least 30 meters away from him, there was no way they could haveunched an attack and he wouldn''t have noticed.


    Suddenly John felt another attacking and leapt to the side. A small hole was formed on the ground where he had been stood. But John managed to catch a glimpse of it.


    The effects of deprehendre were still active. That was why John managed to notice. The person who was at least 30 meters away suddenly appeared around 10 meters in front of him and cast some sort of spell.


    ''How?! When? Is deprehendre bugging out?'' John thought with surprise.


    "Is it... Teleportation...?" John asked.


    After he said that the person slowly approached him, he had a staff in hand and John could see his characteristics. It was a guy with moderately long white hair which reached all the way to his ears and frost white eyes.


    He was mumbling something.


    ''It''s a chant!'' John inwardly eximed.


    A smirk formed on his face when John started fake chanting and propelled himself at him using velox duplici and Levite.


    With these twobined, John may have as well be moving at the speed of a bullet.


    That''s when he heard him mutter.


    "Advanced Spatial Magic: Spatii in sese unda reductos," Trantion: Ripples in space.


    ''What..? Did he just say spatial-'' John stuttered.


    Right when John was about to hit him, he vanished.


    ''Where did he?'' John wondered.


    He rotated his body mid-air and gathered air on his legs and started fake chanting again. While John did that, he noticed that he was right in front of him. He was chanting something again.


    As John was about to propel himself straight at him to cancel it. John then stopped, instead of using velox to propel himself, he used it to stop his momentum and simplynded on the ground.


    "?"


    He then took a deep breath and then started to concentrate.


    ''This guy isn''t someone I should take lightly, Ripples in space... I''m sure that''s what he called it, meaning if just charge in, he might teleport again. For now, let''s watch... There must be some sort of pattern to his moves something¡­'' John analyzed


    The man hadpleted his chant.


    "Intermidiate Spatial magic: Ianuae Magicae p," Trantion: Teleport ball.


    6 Spheres of light were formed around him and slowly circled him.


    ''That sphere... I recognise it. It''s what caused the tree to vanish... what''ll happen if I get hit by that?'' John thought.


    As he thought that, he propelled two of them straight at him.


    They weren''t that fast. Slower than cies. John took a leap back and to his surprise, they were following him.


    ''Seriously!? Homing killer balls?'' John thought feling shocked.


    He started to fake chant, while he leapt in the air, at the same time, John noticed that he was chanting another spell. That''s when he got an idea.


    "cies Murum" John muttered after he finished the fake chant.


    A wall of ice was formed in front of him. He looked surprised when he saw it. It looks like he expected John to only have aptitude for a wind element.


    And just like John had predicted, he disappeared.


    At the same moment, John cast Deprehendre. This time he set it to search for a distortion in the space around him.


    ''8... It was hard to tell but I could sense it... There were 8 distortions in the surrounding space. The nearest one was¡­'' John observed.


    The wall of ice John had formed disappeared and one ball was heading straight at him. John ignored it and turned around.


    "Behind me! cies Lancea!" john shouted.


    In an instant, four icences were formed at least one meter long in length.


    "Saint-ss Spatial Magic: Wormhole!" He shouted with a surprised expression once he noticed that John had predicted his next move.


    ''What? Saint -?'' John eximed inwardly.


    They then attacked each other from point nk at the same time.

 Chapter 81 - 29: Talent

    "Everyone! I Hope you are enjoying the fights so far, So many talented users have already been disyed, I hope you are enjoying watching this young but scary girl, take out even more people near the beach! Where is she from?" Said thementator.


    "Come on, son! You can do it!" Shouted the audience as they watched.


    "I''m betting all my money on the Silver-haired girl!"


    "It''s a 3v1 there''s no way that she can-"


    "DAMN IT! She won!"


    Inside of his carriage, Kurt watched the fights along with the audience and advisor.


    "Who''s she? I''ve never seen someone be able to cast spells so fluidly and urately..." Said the advisor.


    "... I-I wonder..." Replied Kurt with a nervous smile.


    "Eh? Folks! It looks like there''s an even more heated battle urring inside of the forest! We''re switching up the channels!"


    The image which was being disyed to the public changed. What was being disyed now was 2 young mages battling each other.


    "What do we have here? Could that be the eldest son of the Astronima household!? Who is the unfortunate man that has ended up as his target!?" Asked thementator.


    "I''m betting on the Astronima, son!" Shouted a man from the audience.


    "Me too! Take all my money!"


    "Calm down! You all can''t vote on the same person!"


    The camera got a closeup of the two people fighting, and the battle itself.


    "That''s..." Muttered Kurt.


    A grin formed on his face as he muttered, "Let''s see what the saviour of my daughter can do... Isn''t the right John?"


    ---------------------------------------------


    *Boom* A loud sound resonated throughout the forest


    It all happened in a split second.


    John''s icences were propelled straight at him, when all of a sudden, a small orb was formed. As if it was attracting to them, the icences changed directions and hit the orb.


    "*Cough* what was that..." John muttered as he leapt back.


    ''Did he say saint-ss...? And wormhole..?'' John wondered.


    He looked over at him and in front of him was that small orb.


    John kept his guard up and continued to observe him as he waited for his next move, when all of the sudden, the Orb started to pull him in.


    "Mumble... mumble... mumble... mumble... Velox," John whispered.


    John propelled himself further back and barely managed to avoid the trees.


    "I see..." He muttered.


    ''Wha? Did he realise it was a fake chant?'' John thought, feeling surprised.


    "See what..?" John asked.


    "You''re able to use both ''silent chant'' and ''quick chant'' Not to mention even I can''t understand it... I tried reading your lip movement but I couldn''t make out anything you were saying..." He muttered.


    That was because John wasn''t really saying anything.


    "You, what''s your name?" He asked.


    "I have no reason to tell an enemy my name," John replied.


    "Then... I''ll go first, my name is Victor. Victor Spadius Astronomia." He said.


    "Alright, I''m John." John replied.


    "John... Very well, I''ve decided to spare you. It''d be a waste to get rid of you before you reached top 30. Consider yourself lucky." He said.


    "Sparing me... I guess you could use that as an excuse for running away." John replied.


    "Hmm, is that so... Don''t assume everything you saw was all I had." Victor spoke.


    "Right back at you." John replied.


    Hearing this, a small smile was formed on Victor''s face as he gave John a bow. Despite having a rather cold look, he seemed rather pleased.


    "Well then, I look forward to fighting you again soon. This time, let''s both go all out." Victor suggested.


    After he said that, he vanished.


    "God... Who knew that there was such a talent in this group of 100..."


    The number of badges he took was lower than John''s. But he was just as strong, or at least that''s how it looked.


    "I have a feeling that there are plenty more... I wonder what''s going to happen when there are 30 left..." John thought.


    "This is an announcement. 75 yers remain. Hidden rule will be announced when 60 yers remain." Said the voice.


    ''Hidden rule..? I''m going to need to find those 3 fast... I wasted too much time fighting victor.'' John realised.


    "I wonder how everyone''s doing..." John muttered as he began looking.


    ------------------------------------------


    "Woah!! What an intense fight, from both sides! They seemed to agree on a truce at the end. Magnificent!! Who was that kid who fought victor?!" Shouted thementator.


    "N-No one won, so I''m keeping my money."


    "Y-Yeah, a truce counts as a draw"


    "Who was that kid... Why have I never heard of him? Able to fluently silent and fast chant without making any mistakes on two different elements... And his movements... They weren''t that of a mage... He was agile..." asked the advisor.


    "Oh, him? Ah, I forgot to mention. He''s my daughter''s saviour, but I don''t know much about him."


    "Savior?! What are you talking about?" She asked.


    "He''s an adventurer. His party took the exam together with my daughter. He encountered her on her travels and kept her safe." He replied.


    "Are you telling me...? That me... The Advisor of the exam failed to notice such a talent?" She asked.


    "Seems so." Kurt replied.


    "I-Impossible... Once the exam is over, I''d like to have a word with that boy..."


    "Feel free." Kurt stated.


    ''That surprised look on her face, even though she''s always arrogant, is a sight to see. John certainly is strong, but is that all he has..? What he''s shown so far, is just slightly above Alfred''s abilities... If it was true what Alfred said, that he was able to stop that shadow wolf mage from the dark guild... Then there must be more to his power¡­'' Kurt surmised.


    "But..." Kurt muttered.


    ''He must have a reason to hide it... And as thanks for saving my daughter, and for doing a job I as a father should have done. I will continue to support him.'' Kurt thought.


    "Did you say something?" the advisor asked.


    "No, nothing at all" Kurt replied with a smile.

 Chapter 82 - 30: Rapier

    With every step John took, he could feel just how much he had pushed himself.


    Fighting the first 3 guys was one thing, but this victor guy, he was definitely something else for John.


    ''Hopefully, he doesn''t encounter those three, but even if he does, they should be able to hold him off.'' John thought.


    "*Thud* Ouch" John said as he hit his face on the tree in front of him.


    He kept getting distracted as if the vines, trees and roots weren''t enough of a reminder.


    "Forget that, I''m nearly there..." John muttered.


    After all this time he was finally close to one of them, thus he wondered who it gonna be. Serena, Ariel or Eleanor?


    With each step John got closer and closer until finally.


    "That''s..."


    In front of John stood Eleanor. John was behind one of the bushes so she couldn''t see him.


    "El-"


    Before John could finish, he felt a spell being activated.


    ''Where?!'' He wondered.


    Just when John was about to react and pinpoint the spell, he heard someone say "Boom."


    ''Oh cra-'' John cursed.


    *Boom*


    ------------------------------------------------------------


    *Boom*


    "Ah!" Unintentionally let out Serena as she sprung up and felt goosebumps travel through her whole body.


    "What was that..." Muttered Serena as she climbed up the trees.


    From the highest point she surveyed the area.


    The instant she did, she noticed that there was arge amount of ck smokeing off an area.


    "Smoke..? An explosion?" She said.


    ''John can''t use explosion magic, and I''m a bit tired after all the fights, so... ''


    ''But still... Why do I feel like I should check it out¡­ ?'' Serena thought.


    "Even if it was him, John can handle himself, there''s no point in worrying about it." Said Serena as she stretched out her legs.


    She sat down on one of the branches of the tree.


    "But rather, this is a nice view..." She thought.


    The pure green colour of the trees merged together and gave it healthy feel. The bright yellow sand on the outside shined as it reflected the sunlight, truly a good view.


    "The smoke is ruining the view... How long will thatst?" Serena wondered.


    ''You can''t set fire to the forest because the trees are resistant to fire. I tested it and nothing happened. The mes didn''t spread and disappeared shortly after.'' Serena thought.


    Serena stared straight at the smoke, forcing her eyes to see even further than they were able to.


    "No luck... I can''t see anything... And on second thought, I''ll go... I''ll have to teach a lesson to whoever did that about preserving nature!" Said Serena with a smile as she stood up.


    *Crack*


    "Eh?"


    The sound of something cracking was made and shortly after the branch which she stood on, broke.


    Serena and the branch fell straight down.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


    "Boom... The timing was slightly off... Damn it, after all that practice..." Muttered the voice as it got closer.


    ''A guy, huh¡­'' it thought.


    "Why does my magic always make so much smoke...? What''s worst is that it takes so much magic power..." He muttered.


    ''Another unique magic user¡­'' He guessed.


    "But man, I wonder if I got her... Simple spells weren''t working so setting up the trap, was the best option, since she right into it, all I need to do is go collect her badge." The man spoke.


    ''Deprehendre'' The word resounded.


    "Wait... If she fell right into it..." He muttered.


    ''There¡­'' he spotted.


    "Then doesn''t that mean..." He realised.


    ciesnceam Trantion: Icence.


    "She''s dead!"


    Right as he said that, John propelled straight at him from the inside of smoke, he could clearly see his location thanks to deprehendre.


    "!"


    *Crackle* *Crackle* *Crackle*


    ''¡­ They all missed, no... He dodged them. Did he feel iting...?'' John wondered.


    "Oi... Whoever''s hiding'' in the smoke you cane out now, I know you both weren''t knocked out by the explosion." John taunted.


    John that that he was smarter than he acted.


    The smoke started to disperse, and shortly after, it had disappearedpletely. Thanks to that, he could see them clearly, just like they could see him.


    A tall spiky red-haired guy, who seemed to be on his 16s, he was, no doubt.


    "Ice..?" He muttered as he stared at the ice sphere John had formed.


    Shortly after he said that, it broke down.


    Inside was John and Eleanor, they both had our guards up.


    John was surprised his ice sphere managed to tank that explosion. Although it''s mainly thanks to the continuous supply of magic, he gave it to harden it and make it denser.


    "You protected yourselves from my explosion with ice..?" The man questioned.


    They ignored his question and stayed quiet.


    ''Explosion magic... And it looks like he can set up traps, ah, I hate this matchup.'' The man thought feeling frustrated.


    "Pfft, haha, this is interesting, you''re just like-"


    Before he could finish, ice spikes were sent straight at where he stood from behind the trees but missed. He managed to dodge it at thest second by leaping to the side. For a mage he was pretty athletic and good at dodging.


    The ice spikes pierced the ground and began to freeze it, ice spread from the ground to where he had leapt to and rose up in the form of literal spikes.


    But again, he dodged it by jumping up on to one of the tree branches.


    He faced the direction where the attacks came from and a nervous smile was formed on his face.


    *tap* *tap* *Tap*


    The sound of footsteps could be hearding from the direction that the attack came from.


    Shortly after, a girl appeared, she wore a white robe and was slightly shorter than the guy but still tall; she had long cyan hair which was slightly braided near the top. She gave off an intimidating yet elegant air around her.


    "John, thank you." Said Eleanor with a slightly saddened smile.


    ''Why is does she look sad...? Thankfully I made it in time and managed to form an ice sphere before Eleanor was harmed,'' John thought with relief.


    "No worries, but don''t drop your guard yet, we don''t know if she''ll attack us." John advised.


    That must be the other person he had felt nearby, when he used deprehendre to find his location, he must''ve ended up finding someone else that approaching us at high speeds.


    "Tch, you sure are persistent, aren''t you? You''d be a lot cuter if you weren''t," Said the guy on the tree.


    Without saying anything, the girl leapt at him with a weapon in her hand.


    "A rapier..?" The man thought.


    She was fast. In a single leap she reached the tree branch which he stood on. Even I''d have difficulties avoiding a sudden attack like that, and yet he...


    *Boom*


    The sound of a small explosion resounded when they came into contact with each other.


    A small amount of smoke was formed and dispersed shortly after she leapt back.


    The guy was gone.


    The girl simply stared at John and Eleanor.


    John nervously smiled back, and so did Eleanor.


    The girl nodded at them and faced the direction where they exchanged blows. There was a bit of blood on the branch.


    Right when she was about to leave, John stopped her and said.


    "If you''re still chasing him, don''t follow that blood trail, he set up a fake in the smoke to mislead you and headed that way." John said as he pointed forward.


    Everything John said was true. He had seen it where he went with deprehendre, and the blood trail was leading to a different direction.


    The reason why John told her was because he knew how hard it is to chase and track someone down. Although it''s not really that hard for me since Serena have deprehendre.


    She stared at me as if trying to see if I was lying before nodding and heading in the direction, I pointed


    Right before she left, she stopped.


    "Thank you" She said before going


    And just like that, she was gone.


    "That was... unexpected..." Said Eleanor.


    "Yeah that''s right..."


    "Ah... Crap, this is going to be awkward... Is she still mad at me...? It''s only us two¡­" John realised.


    "She... Seemed strong..." Said Eleanor.


    "Yeah, she is... And so is the guy..." John stated.


    Right before she leapt at him, he finished had finished a chant which John didn''t even notice that he had started chanting.


    The moment she leapt at him, she thrust her rapier at his badge, but missed because he used his shoulder to take the hit which made her pierce his shoulder. In that moment, he swung his arm with a small glowing orb positioned slightly above his palm at her.


    Yet she dodged it by pulling out her rapier and leaping back. After that, he threw the orb, and it exploded it mid-air causing the smoke, and that brought them on to now.


    It was fast, but the dungeon monsters were faster.


    "Yeah, he made the right choice to sacrifice his shoulder... And if she hadn''t jumped back in time, things wouldn''t have been good for her either, they were evenly matched, but I can tell that she''s stronger..." Said Eleanor.


    "Yea-"


    ''Wait... what?'' John wondered.


    "John? What''s wrong?" Eleanor asked.


    "Eleanor, you have pretty good senses," John replied.


    "I do? Hmm" Asked Eleanor as she tilted her head with a confused expression


    *Rustle*


    Right when John was about to reply he heard someone approaching them beside us.


    "Eleanor, ready your guard," John said.


    Eleanor hastily grabbed her staff and got into fighting position.


    "Who could it possibly, be this time...?" John muttered.


    From between the trees came a very familiar girl.


    "Alright, which one of you guys caused that explosion!" Said Serena as she came out.


    With a confused expression she stared at us.


    "Eh? John?!" Shouted Serena.

 Chapter 83 - 31: Earth Magic

    "Serena!" John said with a happy confused expression.


    "What happened?" Serena asked as she walked up to them.


    "It''s a long story..." John replied.


    ***


    "Ah, I see... So he''s not always reckless..." Muttered Serena.


    "Oi." John recoiled.


    "Anyway, why was he after you? Eleanor," Serena asked,


    "Even if you ask me... I''m not sure... I was hidden but somehow he saw through it. Light magic isn''t that good for fighting until you can use advanced ss spells..." Replied Eleanor,


    ''I guess light magicians have it hard¡­'' John realised.


    "I''m guessing he was just farming for badges." John said as he looked towards the direction they headed.


    "Yeah, that exins it, I thought he might have been someone after her, but I doubt there would be any students doing that." Said Serena.


    ''Don''t jinx it'' John inwardly cursed.


    "So what''s the n?" Serena asked as she looked at John.


    "The n is simple, Find Ariel and wait until thedy announces the new rule she had mentioned," John replied.


    "Understood" Said Serena.


    She being less aggressive today made John think about how many yers has she fought.


    ''Let''s see...! T...Ten!?'' John guessed.


    The number 10 was disyed under her badge number.


    "O-Oi... Serena, how many others have you fought?" John asked with a surprised expression.


    "hm? I didn''t count, but I got attacked by 3 groups, or was it 4? Either way I got to vent out a lot of stress or I feel relieved," Said Serena with a satisfied expression.


    ''4...? What happened?'' John wondered.


    "Wow..." John muttered.


    "What about you?" Asked Serena as she looked over at his badge.


    "Eight" He replied.


    "Oh... doesn''t that mean I''m ahead of you?" Asked Serena with a smug expression.


    "Not for long..." John muttered.


    "Fufufu... Don''t worry, I''ll make sure to protect you," Said Serena as she started trembling.


    ¡­


    "Go ahead, keepughing." John said as he tried to hide his embarrassment.


    "pfft" Unintentionally let out Eleanor as she grabbed her stomach and started trembling.


    "Ah... Sorry, it''s just we''re in the middle of an exam and watching you two is hrious," Said Eleanor as she rposed herself.


    John and Serena looked at each other for a while before Serena walked over to her and whispered something in her ear, at the same time, she showed me a mischievous smile.


    "Eh? Is that true?" Asked Eleanor with a shocked expression.


    ''Huh?'' John wondered.


    "Of course, I guarantee it." Said Serena with a smile.


    "E-Eleanor, what did she say..?" John asked.


    "I''m sorry, I can''t say..." Said Eleanor as she stared straight at him.


    ''What did she tell her...?'' John wondered.


    "Well, let''s go find Ariel, We shouldn''t keep her waiting any longer," Said Serena as she started to walk ahead.


    "Hey, what did you tell her?" John asked.


    "Don''t worry" Said Serena with the same smile.


    John looked over at Eleanor and she suddenly got startled.


    ''Was she staring at my hair?'' John wondered.


    "I-Is there something on my hair?" John asked as he looked at her.


    "Nothing! N-Nothing at all!" Replied Eleanor with bright red cheeks.


    ''¡­ What did she tell her...?'' John thought up.


    "Serena" He said as they followed behind her.


    "What? If it''s about what I said, I''m not telling you," She said.


    "We''re heading the wrong way" I said as I pointed to the right.


    "I... I knew that..." Muttered Serena as we changed directions


    ---------------------------------------------------------


    *Crack*


    The sound of something cracking could be heard behind her. In that instant, she ducked and a bird made of wind barely missed her


    She quickly rposed herself and started running.


    "After her!" Shouted guy who appeared to be the leader of the group.


    The guy, along with the 3 others who heard this, pursued her.


    "There''s no use in running, little girl, It''ll be quick..." said the guy.


    The girl ran, and the guy with his group chased.


    She panted heavily as she kept a constant speed while avoiding the trees.


    "She''s fast..." Said one of the guys.


    "Not fast enough" Said the leader.


    The girl stopped running.


    It was a dead end; she had entered an open in in the middle of the forest and was surrounded. There was nowhere to run.


    ''4... each in a single direction¡­'' They thought.


    "Now, girl, give us your badge and we''ll be on our way." Said the leader.


    Without saying anything, the girl readied her staff.


    "So we''re doing this the hard way... Don''t say I didn''t warn yo-"


    *Boom*


    The sound of a burst interrupted his speech, and a split secondter he was sent flying on to the tree behind him.


    *Thud*


    "Boss!" Shouted the other 3


    His head and back crashed straight on to the tree, the impact was so hard that it caused him to spit out the saliva in his mouth as he dropped to the ground.


    ''That''s one¡­'' Thought the girl.


    "Haha... Hahaha!" let out the man as he slowly got up.


    ''?!''


    "Boss, are you fine?" Asked one of the guys as he kept his guard up against the girl.


    "Fine...? I''ve never felt better... Watch and learn... This magician is strong... I didn''t even see her chant, haha... I''ll fight her, no one interrupt..." Said the guy as he took off his shirt.


    The shirt dropped on to the ground and made another *thud* Sound could be heard.


    ''Is that a normal shirt...?'' The crowd wondered.


    The guy''s physique was toned; it suggested that he had gone through a lot of training despite looking only slightly older than her.


    ''Sort of like Mr. cksmith'' they thought.


    His excited expression under his short brown hair made him seem like a battle enthusiast, just like someone this girl knew.


    "The boss took his shirt off... he''s about to get serious..." Said the only girl of the group


    "Hey, little girl, I apologise for underestimating you, Tell me your name." He said.


    "..."


    "Or not, anyway... It''s a shame that you''re a wind user... Not a very fair match up for you..." Said the guy before he started to chant something.


    Ariel who felt danger fake chanted cast ''Ventus Tormentum'' right before he could finish.


    Yet right before the air pressure hit him, he leapt to the side and dodged it, while continuing his chant.


    Before Ariel could unleash her second attack, he had finished chanting.


    "Intermediate earth magic: Earth Armour"


    The moment he said that, the rocks on the surrounding ground started to merge up around his body, eventually engulfing it like some sort of armour.


    ''Armour?'' John thought.


    "Well then, how about we start?" Asked the guy.


    A split second after, he charged straight at Ariel.


    ''!''


    In what felt like an instant, he was right in front of Ariel, with his arm pulled back, ready to send a punch flying.


    He was fast, not only did the armour not slow him down, but it looked as if it made him faster.


    Without any hesitation, he threw a fist aimed straight at her stomach.


    Ariel tilted her body to avoid it, but it was a fake. His real aim was her head, he had already swung his leg at her while she was moving to avoid the punch.


    [It''s over. Mages aren''t built for resistance, all it takes is one hit] thought the man as his kick approached her head


    "Scutum ventus" Said Ariel once she finished her fake chant.


    ''When did she?!'' the man spoke.


    The man''s leg came into contact with an invisible force of air. It was invisible to the naked eye, but he could feel it.


    ''What''s this...?'' He thought to himself.


    Before shortly after getting blown back due to ''Ventus tormentum'' which Ariel had cast while he was distracted


    "Haha... ''Silent chant'' and ''Quick Cast'' sure makes an insanebo..." He muttered


    Ariel looked at him with a confused expression but ignored it


    "I guess we should move on to round two, righ-"


    "No" Interrupted Ariel.


    ''What does she mean by that?'' Ariel muttered.


    "You''re too scared to fight?" He asked.


    "No, the fight is over..." Ariel muttered.


    ''I have no choice¡­'' Ariel thought to herself.


    ''What''s she talking about?'' Thought the leader.


    "Um... Boss..." Muttered one of the guys.


    "What? Can''t you see we''re in the middle of a fight?" The leader asked.


    "A-A-A-Above... You..." Muttered the guy.


    "Huh? What are you talking abo-"


    The leader stopped talking after he looked up


    His body began to tremble in excitement as he looked up


    "Advanced ss wind magic..." Muttered Ariel


    "You''re kidding right... That advanced? There''s no way that''s on the level of an advanced spell..." He said with a nervous smile


    *Boom*


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    *Boom*


    "What was that?!" Asked Serena who suddenly sprung up.


    It''s hard to scare her, but she wasn''t good with jump scares.


    "That sounded like some sort of sonic boom..." John muttered.


    "A sonic boom?" Eleanor asked.


    "I''ll exinter, we''re nearly there, That sound came from Ariel''s Direction!" John said as he started running.


    "Is she fine?!" Serena asked as she hastily followed behind.


    "I don''t know," John replied. ''Please be fine...!'' He hoped.


    ***


    "Arie-"


    What the hell happened here...? The trees are broken, the ground is slightly sunk in; It looks as if someone dropped a bomb here...


    "John?" Asked Ariel as she picked up the badge of one of the unconscious guys.


    ''Three... Four... Four people knocked out and the terrain in this state... Ariel did this...?'' John counted.


    "H-Hey, Ariel, what happened here?" John questioned.


    One of the guys knocked out was covered in earth, and their badges were all gone.


    "I was fighting these guys and lost control over a spell..." Said Ariel as she redeemed thest badge.


    The number under her badge number disyed 5.


    But for this result to happen, after losing control of a spell, John wondered what sort of spell was that it was.


    Right when John was about to ask, Ariel suddenly copsed onto the ground.


    They rushed over to her to see what happened.


    "Ariel, can you hear me?" Asked Serena.


    "Mhm..." Said Ariel with a smile.


    "Ah... good..." Said Serena as she let out a sigh.


    "What happened?" Asked Eleanor


    "She probably used up too much magic when her spell went out of control. She should be fine if she gets some rest." John replied.


    "I see... that''s good" Said Eleanor with a relieved expression


    John then picked up Ariel and put her on his back.


    "Eh? John...?" Said Ariel as she got startled.


    "Rest up, we''re getting away from this area, your spell caused too much noise," John said.


    "I can walk..." She muttered.


    "Say that when you can stand," John replied curtly.


    Ariel, who couldn''t think of any counter argument, gave up and said,


    "Thank you..."


    "Yeah..." John muttered.


    Serena just stared at him without saying anything, and he couldn''t tell what she was thinking.


    "What?" John asked.


    "Nothing" Serena replied as she looked away.


    "This is an announcement, 60 yers remain, and hidden rule will now be announced."


    ''Eh? Already? Crap, in our current state¡­..'' John realised.

 Chapter 84 - 32: Shadow Boy

    With only 60 yers remaining, the voice announced a new rule which changed it all.


    yers from all around the ind listened carefully to the announcement.


    "Hidden rule: Last man standing"


    Followed up by those words came an earthquake, or so it seemed.


    "What''s going on?!" Asked Serena as the ground started to shake.


    Everything around them was vibrating. Then before John had even realized it, particles of lights covered Eleanor and she disappeared.


    "Wha-"


    Before John could finish, the three of them started glowing in the same way, and they all disappeared.


    -----------------------------------------------------------


    "The true games begin now." Muttered the advisor.


    ''True games...? I suppose this is the first time they''ve done this, but what exactly am I looking at...?'' Thought Kurt to himself as he looked at the screen.


    "Would you look at that! The ind is changing shape! The yers were all teleported somewhere! What could have caused this turn of events?!" Shouted thementator.


    "What''s going on?"


    "Must be a change in rules..."


    "But why...?"


    The crowd muttered amongst themselves as they watched.


    The ind shrunk down to half of its original size and seemed to turn over. No one had expected for this to happen.


    After the ind turned over it shocked the whole crowd, the trees were all gone, and all they could see was a giant white cube in empty ins.


    The cube was so big that it could cover around 90% of the shrunken ind.


    "What is that...?"


    "Were our kids teleported into that cube?"


    "So it''s not gonna be on an ind anymore?"


    Not only the crowd but the people who watched from all across the city were confused, but their confuser was shortly cleared by thementator''s followingment.


    "I''ve just been informed, there''s been a change of rules, it will continue to be a battle royale, but instead of taking ce on an ind, it will take ce inside of the cube."


    "O-oh, I see..."


    "I was worried for nothing..."


    Said the people as they openly shared their thoughts.


    "Well then, It''s time for the second part of the battle royale!"


    "Y-YEAAAH!!"


    The crowd started to cheer


    ''Honestly, why make the exams soplicated this year, what is that old hag thinking¡­'' thought Kurt as he shook his head.


    "Eleanor... be careful..." Muttered Kurt to himself.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------


    One second they were in the middle of a forest, then after a single blink, John ended up there.


    "Where am I..." John muttered as he looked around.


    A white space with cubical lines all around the floor and walls.


    "A giant white room...? This shape..."


    ''A cube? Why a cube? How big is this? It can fit all of these people.'' John observed.


    He continued looking around and noticed that most people were confused.


    "What''s going on?"


    "What happened to the exam?"


    "She said something about a new rule"


    "Are we supposed to start fighting it out?"


    "Silence." Said the announcer.


    After she said that, everything became quiet, no one said a word, or more precisely, they couldn''t.


    John could not open his mouth either.


    "New rule: Last man standing. You will all fight it out. When there are 30 yers remaining, new rule will be announced."


    ''Oi¡­'' John internally muttered.


    "Furthermore, from now on, underneath the badge number there is a count of how many badges you''ve taken, if yer 1 is eliminated by yer 2, yer 1''s badge count will be added to yer 2 along with yer 1''s badge."


    ''¡­ Oi¡­'' He repeated internally.


    "Do not worry about killing the opponent, they will be instantly teleported the moment they are knocked out, surrender or their health reaches a low point. We have doctors on standby, do not worry, and let it all out. That is all, you may now speak... Let the 2nd round,mence."


    ''Are you kidding?'' John questioned the situation.


    "I-I can talk..."


    "Are we supposed to start fighting...?"


    "What? Right no-"


    Before the man could finish, he hit was by a fireball from point-nk by the guy next to him. Since his guard was lowered, it knocked him out in one blow.


    Everyone watched as the fireball guy picked up the guy''s badge.


    "What? It''s already started."


    Shortly after, he said that it turned into a real battle royale.


    *boom!* *boom* *boom*


    Magic attacks were being sent from all directions, explosions happening from left and right. Everyone was at war.


    "Who thought it was a good idea, to put a bunch of walking bombs in a room with each other..." John muttered to himself.


    "Deprehendre" He muttered.


    John looked around and found the 3 lights belonging to them. They were all together.


    "The three of them should be fine if they''re together... There''s no need to go help them. For now, I guess I''ll farm badge-"


    Before John could finish, he leaped to back and watched as the area he was standing on was hit by an abundant amount of mes.


    "Hoh... You managed to dodge... Not bad," said the girl that was in front of John.


    One thing John noticed then was that the floor was magic resistant, it didn''t burn nor heat up, and he guessed that the walls were simr too.


    "That''s a lot of mes," John said as he looked over at the girl.


    She had long red hair which was tied up in pigtails and red eyes, and she used mes. John wondered if she had dyed her hair or if it was in gics.


    ''what a coincidence. Or maybe it''s just part of the bloodline¡­'' John thought.


    "Of course, anyst words?" She asked as she started chanting.


    mes started to form in a ring shape around her.


    "Yeah, look to your right." John replied as he pointed next to her.


    "I won''t fall for tha-"


    She was interrupted by a giant water sphere which fell on top of her.


    "Oh my bad, I thought you needed to cool down." said another girl as she approached them.


    Aqua blue hair tied up in a ponytail and blue eyes,


    ''Let me guess, she uses water.'' John guessed.


    "..." the red girl stayed silent as she looked down.


    She lifted up her face as she said, "You..."


    ''Wow, I didn''t know she could make such a scary face... What a temper.'' John thought.


    "Oh? Perhaps you''d like another round? Our fight was interruptedst time, but you won''t get away this time." Said the blue-haired girl before she started chanting.


    "Bring it on..." replied the red-haired girl before she started chanting.


    ''I guess I''ll just leave. For some reason I don''t feel like getting involved with this.'' John decided.


    He turned around and walked around with his guard up, looking for badges to steal. Explosions were still going off everywhere, everyone was fighting.


    "I haven''t used my daggers much since the exams started, huh..." John muttered to himself.


    ''Hmm, should I kill steal?'' John pondered.


    He wondered if it''ll work. If he got thest hit on a yer before they get knocked out, he should be able to get the badge. But he also thought that it was a jerk move.


    ''Hmm, whatever, if I join in halfway, it should be fine.'' John reckoned.


    "Velox" A smile was formed on his face as he muttered the words velox after fake chanting.


    In mid-air John pulled out his daggers and charged right into where there were the most yers and explosions.


    --------------------------------------------------------------


    "Would you look at that! Everyone''s giving it their all! Explosions being released left and right! The number of participants dropping like rain! Who will survive!"


    The crowd cheered as they watched live what was happening on the magic screen.


    "Oh, currently, the yer with the most eliminations is a ck-haired young boy! He seems to have 11 badges after taking out 5 yers inside of the cube! What a very unique way of fighting!"


    ''ck haired kid? John? No, their hairstyle is different, and this kid uses dark magic, John is an elemental wizard'' Thought Kurt as he watched the screen.


    "Why does this kid look so familiar... He looks like he''s within my daughter''s age group too..." Muttered Kurt.


    "Amazing! This is our first footage of him being disyed fighting and it''s barelysted 10 seconds! He''s taking out his opponents one after the other before they even realized!"


    ''Wait this unique way of fighting... Dark magic... So he''s their son¡­''


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    "Surround him! He has 11 badges!" Shouted one of the guys.


    After he said that, they hastily surrounded the guy.


    "It''s 4 on 1, give up."


    The boy started chanting after he heard those words.


    "Damn it! Don''t let him chant!"


    His chant was short, and he finished it before they could stop him.


    "Intermediate dark magic: Umbra Regnum" muttered the boy before entering his shadow Trantion: Shadow realm.


    "Where did he go?!" Shouted the guy.


    "Advanced dark magic: Resurgens umbra Spika" muttered the boy once he got out of their field of view Trantion: Rising Shadow spikes.


    The boy''s shadow stretched out and, without them noticing, reached under each of their legs.


    Spikes rose from the shadows underneath them and pierced them each in their vital points.


    "GAAAH!" they all shouted in pain before light particles engulfed their bodies and teleported them.


    The number being disyed under the boy''s badge changed from 11 to 15.


    "Too easy...." He muttered as he rose out from his shadow.

 Chapter 85 - 33: Team Battles

    "*inhale*" John filled his lungs with as much air as he could and reinforced his limbs, torso and senses with magic.


    "Advanced ss fire magic: Fire a-"


    While he was distracted, John grabbed on to his head with both of his hands, while covering his face.


    "Wha-"


    Before he could finish John mmed him head first straight on to the ground.


    "GAH-"


    The saliva in his mouth was forced out on impact, and he started to tremble.


    ''Was that too much¡­'' John thought with concern.


    Shortly after, he turned unconscious and light particles surrounded his body before it removed him from the area.


    The badge count under John''s badge number changed from 8 to 9.


    "That''s one..." John muttered as he stared at the 3 others who were having a free for all.


    "When did he... Truce?!" The girl asked as she looked at the other two guys she was fighting.


    She had long brown hair and a determined look on her face. The air around her felt familiar but John couldn''t recall why.


    The two guys nodded and looked at John.


    "Was I included in the truce?" John asked with a nervous smile.


    "Let''s get him! Intermediate Fire magic: Fire Arrow," Shouted the girl as she cast a spell.


    Arrows made out of mes were formed in front of her. They looked like Serena''s but were slightly less defined.


    "Oo the chant version, not bad," John muttered.


    Around 10 arrows were formed, meanwhile the other two guys had only started their chant.


    "This is getting boring."


    ''Everyone''s using the same intermediate spells, aren''t there any better intermediate spells out there?'' John wondered.


    *Inhale*


    John filled his lungs with air and leapt while using all his strength.


    While John was mid-air, she aimed her arrows at him and propelled them straight at him, the other two guys didn''t expect John to charge in from the front so they weren''t able to do much.


    When John reached the guy on the right, he lifted up his arms in an attempt to guard his upper body.


    With his left leg, John kicked his stomach which was unguarded.


    "AH-"


    The momentum caused him to go flying back.


    Before the other guy could think, John muttered a few words and propelled himself with velox straight at him.


    "Sto-"


    John sent a kick aimed straight at the side of his head, without hearing what he had to say.


    *Thud*


    He dropped to the ground, and light particles covered his body. Shortly after, he disappeared.


    The number under John''s badge changed from 9 to 10.


    "I guess that leaves you." John said as he slowly walked up to her.


    "W-What...?" She muttered while she started to tremble.


    She looked around in a desperate manner, as if she was trying to find something.


    It didn''t take long for hope to reach her eyes.


    "H-Hey! Get up! We can still outnumber him!" She shouted towards someone.


    ''Who''s she talking to...?'' John wondered,


    "W-What''s wrong?" She asked.


    John looked over and saw who she was trying to ask for help.


    "Ohhh him, he won''t get up, he''s frozen," John muttered next to her ear.


    Light particles were formed inside of the ice, and the guy disappeared. At the same time, the number under John''s badge number changed to 11.


    "Kyaaah!" She screamed as she jumped back.


    At the same moment, John noticed a few res being directed at him from other people who were fighting amongst each other.


    "You didn''t have to get that scared..."


    John felt like he had been misunderstood.


    "Y-You fell for it! Advanced fire magic: Uprising mes!"


    The area where John had stood rose up in fiery burning mes.


    "I-I... I got him..." She muttered to herself.


    "That was close." Muttered John.


    The sound of John''s voice sounding perfectly fine caused her to doubt her sanity.


    "What''s going on... I had set up the trap and everything... So how...?" she asked as she refused to believe what she heard.


    The mes slowly dispersed and John''s figure could be seen more and more clearly.


    Her confused expression became even deeper once she saw what surrounded John.


    "Ice...?" She muttered.


    John''s body waspletely submerged in ice, which was currently melting, but at this point the fire had gotten weaker.


    "Mhm, Ice, I cast the advanced ice spell: Ice burial on myself right before your trap activated," John replied as he slowly walked up to her.


    "But how...? I didn''t see you chant, and it''s impossible to chant that fast..." She spoke in a shocked tone,


    ''Crap, she noticed¡­'' John thought.


    "No, I knew you had a trap prepared, so I had already chanted before our interaction." John exined falsely.


    Lies.


    "W-Who are you...?" she asked as she looked at John.


    "Hm? Just a 12-year-old adven-"


    Without finishing what he had to say, John began fake chanting and then shortly after said,


    "Murum cies"


    A Wall of ice was formed right next to them, and a small explosion followed after it.


    "Tch, he noticed" Said the guy as he approached John with his group.


    Thanks to living on edge in the dungeon, John had gotten decently good at feeling hostility that is directed at him. John had felt an attacking, so he fake chanted and blocked it.


    ''But maybe it was too fast... was it realistic enough? Did she notice?'' John wondered.


    John looked over at her and was surprised to see that she had her head hung.


    ''What''s she doing is she crying?'' John wondered.


    "You know, for someone with a normal hair colour, you''re strong."


    "What?" She asked as she looked up at John.


    His sudden question really confused her, but one thing he noticed was that from her expression, she still hadn''t given up on losing.


    "We''re kind of surrounded right now. How about a temporary truce?" John asked with a nervous smile.


    "Sure!" She instantly replied.


    "That was fast," John muttered.


    "I have a better chance of winning if I truce with you." She replied.


    "What a change. A while ago you were crying with your head hung low." John stated.


    "Huh? I was chanting." She replied.


    ¡­


    "Interesting... So you hadn''t given up." John asked.


    "Of course not, I have tost at least until top 30." She answered.


    "Yes, yes, you have tost, but unfortunately, you''re outnumbered." Said one of the guys that surrounded them.


    6 people surrounded them, they had blocked off every direction and were all chanting.


    "Hey... Any ideas?" She asked.


    "Just one." John muttered.


    After John said that he started fake chanting.


    "He''s chanting! FIRE!"


    From fire ball to Earth Shards attacks of each element were sent from every direction, all at the same time.


    "Sphaera cies"


    ------------------------------------------------------


    "13 badges, I can''t wait to see john''s reaction when I get a higher rank than him."


    "So that was your true aim" Said Ariel with a nervous smile.


    "Why do you want to get a higher rank than John?" Eleanor asked.


    "Eh?"


    ''Why...? Even if you ask me¡­'' Thought Serena.


    "I do too, and I guess we just want to prove that we''re improving and that we''re stronger than he thinks," Replied Ariel.


    "Mhm" said Serena as she nodded.


    "I see..." Said Eleanor.


    They walked around and watched as people around them fought like there was no tomorrow.


    "Wasting all their energy in the beginning is a bad move." Said Serena as she watched them.


    "That''s true" Replied Ariel.


    "O-Oi! There''s 3 kids here, let''s get some easy points!" Shouted one of the guys in a group.


    There were four members in that group, so they outnumbered them by one.


    They hastily surrounded the girls and started chanting.


    "This will be easy..." Said another guy in the group.


    "Oi, what did you just say?" Asked Serena with a smile on her face.


    "Why does it matter?" Replied the guy.


    "You said 3 kids didn''t you?" Asked Serena with the same smile but slightly colder.


    The guy ignored her and finished his chant.


    "Ariel" Said Serena.


    Ariel nodded.


    The two girls started fake chanting and two fire spears and two wind spears were formed around them.


    Each was aimed at one guy.


    "How?! We started chanting before them, so how!?" He asked.


    "Maybe next time, do less talking and more chanting, oh and I''m not a kid," After Serena said that she propelled the fire spear straight at him.


    "Sh-"


    ***


    Light particles were formed, and their unconscious bodies were teleported away


    The badge count under Serena''s badge number changed to 15 and the count under ariel''s number changed to 8.


    "Hmph" let out Serena as she shook her head.


    "Serves them right, but Serena, why did you get so mad at them?" Eleanor asked.


    "Because they can''t correctly judge someone''s age." Serena replied.


    "I-I see..."


    ''That''s right, they called us kids, I remember her getting mad about that before, but isn''t getting mad over being called a kid, childish.'' Thought Eleanor.


    "Hm? Did you two say something?" Serena asked.


    ''She''s sharp¡­'' Thought Eleanor as she shook her head.


    "Should we go collect more bad-"


    Serena suddenly stopped.


    "Ariel!" Shouted Serena.


    "I''m on it!" replied Ariel.


    Ariel grabbed on to Eleanor and cast ''scutum ventus'' while she jumped up.


    At the same time, Serena leapt to the side.


    Not even a split second after, shadow spikes rose up from the area where they were standing.


    Serena''s jump with Eleanor wasn''t that high, so the spike would have gotten them if it was for the wind shield which had blocked it.


    The spike retracted into the ground, and a ck-haired kid ascended from inside of the ground shortly after.


    "Not bad... I was getting bored.." He muttered.

 Chapter 86 - 34: Think Again!

    "Sphaera cies"


    Ice rose from the ground around them at a speed superior to the attacks which were directed at us.


    Before the ice could close off and finish the form of the sphere, it was hit by the attacks.


    "Intermediate fire magic: telum ignis." Trantion: Fire Bolt.


    "Intermediate earth magic: terra contritione pervalida." Trantion: Earth shard.


    "Advanced Water Magic: gellum aqua." Trantion: Water whip.


    "Intermediate Wind Magic: Ventus sagittam." Trantion: Wind Arrow.


    The ice sphere was hit by these attacks before it could be fully formed.


    *Boom* *crack*


    "This isn''t good..." John muttered.


    He had been pouring magic into it to make it denser and harder, yet it wasn''t going tost much longer.


    "How long can youst?" She asked.


    "About one more attack." John replied.


    "Any ideas?" She asked.


    ''What? Even still¡­'' John thought, feeling stunned.


    They had 2 more others outside who hadn''t fired a spell yet. If they had fired all 6 at once, John would have been able to get them before they finished their chants, but they were already chanting for the next spell.


    Even John couldn''t survive getting hit head on by magic spells, Ice shield wasn''t good at defending attacks, only freezing things.


    ''Wait... Ah!'' John realized.


    "Yeah, I have one..."


    ***


    "Now!" He shouted.


    "Advanced fire magic: sphaera ignis." Trantion: Fire Sphere.


    "Advanced Wind Magic: Ventus secans sphaeram." Trantion: Cutting wind sphere.


    The attacks were propelled at the Ice Sphere.


    "We got them!" He shouted as he watched the fire sphere melt the ice sphere.


    With the ice sphere melted, the cutting wind sphere entered the ice sphere and cut everything inside.


    "It''s over." He muttered as he walked up to it.


    He ignored therge puddles of water formed from the melted ice and looked inside.


    The others did the same and approached the melted sphere and also took a look.


    Inside were both John and the brown-haired girlid down on the ground next to each other.


    "They''re unconscious."


    "Of course they are, no one can survive-"


    Their leader interrupted them by saying "Be quiet".


    They did as he asked.


    "Something''s wrong, they should have been hit, by our wind attack, and yet their clothes haven''t been torned and there aren''t any cuts on them..." He said.


    "Now that you mention it..."


    The leader took a closer look at John, and noticed.


    "He''s chanting something! Fall back! It''s a trap!" as he tried to jump leap back only to be stuck.


    "It''s toote, cio" John muttered as we got up.


    "What?!" He shouted in a confused manner when he noticed that his shoes were frozen on to the ground.


    He looked around and noticed that his team''s legs were also stuck to the ground. Another thing that he noticed was that the ice was slowly spreading throughout their bodies.


    "What is this!?"


    "When did he?"


    "Don''t lose formation! Fire magicians melt the ice around your legs!" He shouted.


    Without him having to tell them, the fire magicians were already chanting.


    Even while being put under pressure, he was still sticking to his responsibility.


    "Sorry..." John muttered as he took a full power leap towards the closest mage that started chanting.


    John boosted himself a little with wind and tried to make it so that no one would notice.


    He was only around 5 meters away from John, so he reached him in an instant, and in that moment, John grabbed on to his face, cast ''cio'' and froze his mouth.


    "Mmph-"


    John unfroze his legs and with the momentum from the leap, he mmed his head on to the ground.


    *crack*


    ''¡­ What was that sound?'' John wondered.


    Not even a secondter, light particles filled his body, and he was transported out.


    "Uh... He''ll be fine, right?" John asked as he looked at the others.


    They all looked at John with an expression of shock and fear on their faces, and so did his brown-haired truce partner.


    However, the fire mages didn''t stop chanting.


    ''They have healers on stand-by, so I don''t have to hold back, I''ve always wanted to go use my full strength.'' John concluded.


    John had been supplying around 3 x more magic to reinforce his body than normal. It felt weird, but for some reason, he was not running out of magic.


    Once John said that, the brown-haired girl looked at him as if she was trying to say ''that''s not the n''.


    "Or so I''d like to say, but that won''t be it." John said as he walked away from the ice sphere.


    His temporary teammate, did the same and followed behind him.


    "What? You''re sparing us? We don''t need your pity!" Said their leader.


    "I''m sorry, good luck next year." John said once he was around 20 meters away from them.


    "Huh? What does he mean by that? Wasn''t he going to spare us?"


    "I''ve finished the chant! Advanced Fire Magic: HeatWave!" Said one of the fire magicians.


    A strong wave of heat was radiating from where they were, and it was melting all the ice around the area.


    "You made a mistake giving us time! Everyone! Retr-"


    "Advanced Fire magic: resurgens mmae" Trantion: Rising mes.


    *Boom*


    Fire rose from the ground underneath them and engulfed all of them. In that instant, light particles appeared and teleported them away.


    The number of badges under hers changed from 1 to 6, and the number of badges under Johns now disyed 12.


    "Looks like setting up that spell worked." John said as he watched the mes disperse.


    "I never expected such a simple n to work..." She muttered.


    The n was simple; John would lure them in and restrict their movement; she sets up a trap and activates it after. The reason she didn''t need to chant was because she had already done it.


    "Mhm, well good luck!" John said as he began heading towards his group.


    John hadn''t checked on them since the beginning of the 2nd stage and he was getting a bad feeling.


    "Wait!" said the brown-haired girl as she grabbed on to his arm.


    "What?" John asked.


    "Tell me your name." She said.


    "John" John replied.


    "John... I''m Elora, thank you for the help." She said.


    "It was mutual help, no need to thank me, and nice to meet you, Elora." John replied.


    "Nice to meet you too." She replied happily.


    ''I guess the saying enemies today and friends tomorrow is rather urate¡­'' John thought.


    "Huh? What''s that?" Asked Elora as she pointed towards the direction John was headed towards.


    "What?" John asked as he looked over.


    A ck cube could be seen in between the fights.


    ''What is that?'' John wondered.


    ''Deprehendre'' He muttered.


    John used deprehendre and found the magic traces of his party inside.


    ''Oi... Are you serious?! They''re inside of that thing?!'' John thought with shock.


    "This is an announcement, 30 yers remain, we are now moving on to the 3rd and final stage, I repeat, we are now moving onto the 3rd and final stage."


    "Wait! I have to help them!"


    Light particles covered their bodies, and they were teleported.


    ------------------------------------------------------


    "Damn it... this is one sided..." muttered Serena as she started to pant.


    "We haven''t been able to get a single hit in..." Muttered Ariel who also seemed to be getting tired.


    They simultaneously jumped sideways barely avoiding the shadow spikes which rose up from the ground beneath them.


    Eleanor watched as they both circled him while keeping a distance.


    ''One moment... If I can just buy them a single moment¡­'' She thought as she watched.


    As if she had thought of an idea, Eleanor began chanting.


    "Ariel!" Said Serena.


    "Right!" Ariel replied.


    The two girls started to fake chant.


    ''Do I use that...? But if he enters his shadow... I''ll have to hit him with something which he won''t seeing¡­'' Thought Ariel as she continued to fake chant.


    Suddenly, Ariel stopped circling him and ran straight at him.


    Seeing this, he started to chant. He was a fast chanter, and could chant silently too, although they could outspeed him.


    "Ventus!" Muttered Ariel once she was around 15 feet away from him.


    ''From this range he won''t be able to-'' she thought.


    "Advanced Dark magic: Tenebris Clypeus" Trantion: Dark Shield.


    "?!"


    A Small dark sphere surrounded his whole body, it took the attack from ventus and not even a scratch was formed on it.


    However, Ariel didn''t stop, she kept running with a n in mind, all she needed to do was get close enough.


    10 feet wasn''t enough, she needed to be a single step away from him.


    But getting closer was a mistake. She was now 7 feet away from him, when all of the sudden, long pointy spikes extended from the shield.


    With the adrenaline and heightened senses, it was as if she was watching it in slow motion, but it was faster than her.


    Her heart beat got faster and faster as the spikes got closer. Even knowing that there were healers on standby, she felt danger and fear..


    Instinctively, she as much power as she could on to her legs and leapt back, however the spikes continued to extend and didn''t show any signs of slowing down.


    At the same time, Eleanor who watched had finished chanting her spell.


    ''Please make it in time¡­''


    "Advanced light magic: Sancti lumine." Trantion: Holy light.


    A ray of light was formed in front of Eleanor''s hands and, at the speed of light, reached the small gap in between Ariel and the Shadow spike.


    In that instant, the shadow spike crumbled, and Ariel safely backed away.


    "Thank you, Eleanor" Said Ariel as she took deep breaths once she far from his range.


    Eleanor couldn''t hear what Ariel said as she didn''t say it loud enough and she was far, but understood the meaning.


    "No worries" Said Eleanor as she showed Ariel a thumbs up.


    ''I knew it... Shadow magic is weak against light if I create an opening we''ll be able to win'' Thought Eleanor as she started chanting.


    "But..." Eleanor muttered.


    At that moment, the two girls had the same thought in mind.


    ''Where''s Serena?''


    "I never expected you three tost this long... I was told to hold back, but I guess I have no choice... but it''s over." said the guy as he started to chant something from inside of his dark Sphere defence


    "Think again." Said Serena as she pointed up.


    The voice came from above. They all looked up and couldn''t believe what they were seeing.


    Around 50 fire arrows was formed in the air above her.


    Shended on her feet and felt goosebumps travel through her whole body.


    ''Thending was too rough¡­'' Thought Serena.


    "Eleanor!"


    "Right!"


    Eleanor had already started chanting from the moment she saw Serena in the air.


    "Advanced light magic: Holy light!"


    In an instant, a ray of light was sent straight at the Dark sphere shield.


    It made a small opening on the top, which was big enough for them.


    "Go!" Shouted Serena as she swung her hand down.


    All the 50 arrows were propelled straight at him from above.


    ''Even if his shield is strong, there''s no way it can handle all of these arrows and with Eleanor''s spell it''s been weakened, it''s our win!'' Serena thought.


    "Saint ss Dark Magic: Magnify Cube tenebris." Trantion: Dark Cube.


    "Eh?" unintentionally let out Serena with a confused expression.


    *Boom*

 Chapter 87 - 35: 3rd Stage

    "Saint ss Dark Magic: Magnify Cube tenebris" Trantion: Dark Cube.


    "Eh?" unintentionally let out Serena with a confused expression.


    After he muttered those words, his shadow extended in the shape of a square, in an instant the area it covered managed to fit all four of them.


    "Everyone fall back!" Shouted Serena as she tried to leap outside of the shadows range.


    But right before they all tried to get away, the outer edges of the square shadow slowly rose up, as if it were creating a cubic room.


    ''This is bad!'' Thought Ariel as she tried to look for a way out.


    Ariel cast ventus at the dark wall, but it was unfazed.


    "It''s absorbing our attacks!" Shouted Serena.


    The longer they took, the worse their situation would get.


    ''If we''re trapped inside this cube, it''s all over! We won''t be able to see anything and we''ll be vulnerable to attacks from every direction!''


    "Think..."


    The sides of the cube had been formed.


    "Eleanor! Use light magic and create a path for us to escape!" Serena shouted.


    The top of the cube walls were starting to extend at a moderate pace, at this rate a roof would be formed trapping everyone inplete darkness.


    "It''s toote. She won''t finish the chant in time." Said the guy.


    ''Crap... Is it really over?'' Thought Serena as she desperately tried to find a way to get out of there.


    ''Fire and wind won''t work... I could use velox to get out, but I can''t leave Serena and Eleanor alone in here¡­'' Thought Ariel as she created a me to light up the room.


    Eleanor was too focused on chanting to think.


    The amount of light inside the cube was getting smaller and smaller as the roof nearly closed off.


    However, no one had given up.


    "Advanced Light magic: Holy light!" Shouted Eleanor.


    Eleanor''s light glowed in the darkness, she concentrated the ray of light towards the wall.


    "Why isn''t it working!?" Eleanor shouted.


    The wall wasn''t showing any signs of opening.


    "I told you, it''s toote." His voice echoed around them.


    The roof was about to bepletely closed off.


    "This is an announcement, 30 yers remain, We are now moving on to the 3rd and final stage, I repeat, we are now moving onto the 3rd and final stage." announced the voice when only a small gap of light was left.


    In that instant, light particles covered their bodies and glowed brightly inside of the darkness.


    "Tch, saved by the bell." he muttered.


    And just like that, they were teleported.


    "Where there''s darkness, there''ll always be light, huh... I Think I understand what you meant now, dad." He said before he was teleported.


    --------------------------------------------------------


    "Oooh! The 3rd hidden stage is about to be revealed! The battles disyed in the 2nd stage were magnificent! Watching participants use the unique spells that they''ve practiced for and honed is truly a sight to see!" Said thementator.


    "Oh!! Who passed!?"


    "They must be really strong, right?"


    "Of course!"


    "The 30 who passed will be announced after the tournament, they will be teleported to a separate bracket from the rest," Said the advisor''s voice which passed through the screen.


    "Thats good!"


    "I''m looking forward to seeing who passed"


    "Andrew, you better have passed!"


    "Brandon Im counting on you!"


    From inside of his carriage, Kurt along with the advisor continued to watch the screen and announcement.


    ''3rd stage... What happened with Eleanor and John''s group? The fights disyed barely showed them in it, and from what I could see, they were focused on their own fights¡­'' Thought Kurt.


    "Well, I''m sure it''s nothing to worry about." He assured himself.


    ??What worries me is the cube that was showed at the end, a cube made ofplete darkness... I never seen a spell like that... then again, I stopped researching the dark element, although I''m sure the advisor might know something'' Thought Kurt as he looked at her.


    "Is there something on my face?" She asked.


    "No, nothing at all," Kurt replied.


    "Looks like we''ve gotten live footage of what''s currently happening to the ind, and you won''t believe it!" Said thementator.


    "A tform?"


    "What the cube became t?!"


    The cube was which all the yers were fighting in had turned into a tform as if it had ttened down.


    The sky was now visible along with the ocean and waves. There were no trees in sight, only a tform and little visible terrain on the tform edges.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    "Of course..." John muttered while he looked up, faintly shutting his eyelids to protect his eyes from the brightness of the sun.


    At the same time, he could feel a cold fresh breeze travel through his body.


    Perhaps it was from being stuck inside that cube with sounds of explosions going off every second or from the fact that the artificial lighting inside sucked, but either way, John felt deeply refreshed.


    John took a deep breath and exhaled it while looking around.


    Just like he had expected, all of the 30 participants were here, most people were surprisingly calm and no one was engaging in any fights.


    "Looks like all 30 of you are here," Said a female voice.


    The sound came from above, so John looked up and couldn''t believe his eyes.


    There was a woman floating above them, wearing a uniform.


    "Levitation magic?"


    "I thought that was lost..."


    "No way, they have lost spells too?"


    "That''s amazing!"


    "Looks like I chose the right academy..."


    The tension around them had lowered after she appeared.


    "I''m sorry to disappoint but this isn''t levitation magic, this isn''t my actual body, I guess you could say it''s an illusion," She said.


    "Illusion?"


    "What''s an illusion?"


    "Some sort of unique magic?"


    "Illusion is something which you see but isn''t actually there, it''s when your eyes deceive you." Said a guy with sses.


    "Four eyes is correct, it''s a unique type of magic that I learnt."


    ''Learnt? You can learn unique types of magic?'' John wondered.


    "I thought unique magic was specific to bloodline..."


    "Me too..."


    "I heard the same"


    "I''m sure you all have many questions, but please do not forget that we are in the middle of an exam. I will answer them all over time."


    Her light words had a cold pressure behind them that caused everyone to be silent.


    "Good. I''ll start by congratting you all on making it this far, I''m sure it wasn''t easy, but you''ve made it, I look forward to seeing you in the academy."


    Her words really hit home. Some people started to tear up.


    "Now then, the 1st Part of the 3rd stage, the rule is simple, don''t lose consciousness."


    ''What?'' Everyone thought.


    A split second after she said that, two people dropped to the ground, light particles surrounded their bodies, and they were teleported.


    Those two were followed up by the majority kneeling with their hands on the ground.


    "T-This pressure..." Muttered one of the guys before he dropped down.


    ''Eh?'' John shirked inwardly.


    He cast ''deprehendre'' and found inside of the group Serena, Ariel and Eleanor. Ariel and Serena seemed to be struggling to stand on their feet, but they stayed up. As for Eleanor, she was on her knees.


    Including Eleanor, around 12 were on their knees, 8 were knocked out and teleported, and the remaining 11 struggled to stand.


    John checked to see who the remaining 10 were, and he knew around half of them.


    Including the three of them,, unsurprisingly the victor guy John had fought was one of them the long snow white hair and frost white eyes, he had the same confident air as always but you could tell that he was fazed.


    Badge count under him had grown and was now 14.


    The other six were Elora, the one who John had a truce with. She used advanced fire magic that took out 5 guys at once.


    The spiky-haired guy with the buff looking physique, John wasn''t too focused on how he looked before, but he wears pretty open clothes, a jacket or something simr without a shirt, and shorts with sandals. John wondered if he was immune to the cold.


    ''Badge count under his was 3, Uwah... He probably got targeted so hard, he couldn''t collect any more¡­'' John thought.


    Next up was the long braided cyan haired girl who was chasing him. She wore a uniform, and looked elegant and dignified.


    Badge count under hers was 4, John guessed that she was too busy chasing that guy.


    ''What did he do..?'' John wondered.


    A ck-haired boy John had never seen before, he looked like he was around his age and was wearing a robe. The badge count under his was,


    ''14?!'' John inwardly eximed.


    ''The blue-haired girl water magic user girl and the red-haired fire magic user... There''s not really much to say about them¡­ Badge count 4 for both¡­'' John thought.


    There was also a green-haired boy who John also hadn''t noticed earlier. He wore a robe and the badge count under his badge number was 7.


    Andst person was a long purple haired girl and purple eyed. She wore a purple robe which matched her hair colour.


    Badge count 8.


    They all looked unique and strong in their own way, and yet they were all fazed by something. Of course, for some it was less apparent than others.


    "You will be split into groups, those who have managed to keep standing up will be on one group and those who have fallen on their knees but stayed conscious will be put on the other. Are there any questions?" She asked with a cold tone.


    No one said anything, yet the signs of the struggle didn''t disappear.


    "Good, I''ll increase my output for the remaining 10 seconds, try not to lose conscious."


    The instant she finished what she had to say, John felt a bit of pressure on the air, at the same time, Light particles started to form.


    4 People from the ones that were kneeling were teleported, now there were only 8.


    John hastily looked over and was relieved to see that Eleanor was still here, but she looked like she could fall over at any moment. Her arms were on the ground, trembling heavily as if there was some sort of huge weight over her.


    The other 10 who were stood up, including Serena and Ariel, seemed to be struggling a lot more than earlier, and it was very apparent this time, even victor''s legs were shaking as if they couldn''t support the weight of his own body.


    Yet none of them kneeled, they were all fighting.


    "It''s hard isn''t it, those who are kneeling, you may as well quit now-"


    "Um... excuse me, I think something''s wrong on my side." John casually said while interrupting her in the process.


    The attention of the 9 who were stood up, including thedy, turned to John/


    With a scary surprised expression she just stared at him.


    ''Is she mad that I interrupted her? That might have been the wrong move¡­'' John thought.


    He wondered if there''s probably some sort of error or mistake, since nothing was happening to John.

 Chapter 88 - 36: Groups

    "Um... excuse me, I think something''s wrong on my side." John casually said while interrupting her in the process.


    The attention of the 9 who were standing up, including thedy, turned to him.


    "Y-You... you can''t feel it?" She asked.


    John cast deprehendre and let his mana perception take over his instincts. Now that she had mentioned it, John could feel arge amount of magic power emanating from her, reallyrge.


    ''¡­ I knew I should have acted like I was struggling...'' John thought to himself.


    "Ah... I''m feeling it now..." He muttered.


    John doubted this would work against her, but there was nothing wrong with trying.


    "It''s toote for that now, what''s your name," She said with a cold tone behind her.


    The whole crowd''s attention had been turned to John.


    "U-Um, It''s been 5 seconds..." said one of the guys on their knees


    "Did I give you permission to speak?"


    The instant she had said that, light particles covered John''s body, and he was teleported. At the same time another 2 were teleported and everyone''s struggles seem to have grown stronger.


    John took that opportunity to act like it was starting to affect him too.


    John started to pant as sweat flowed down his face as his feet trembled. The reason for that was because he had turned off body reinforcement and cast 5x gravity on himself.


    This seemed like it would be a good way to train to John.


    Nheless, it seemed like John was deeply struggling, so much that it didn''t feel possible to fake.


    "What''s your name?!" She asked, ignoring John''s disy of struggle in front of her.


    "J-John! Ma''am!" John shouted as he bowed his head.


    The pressure of the gravity and not being able to reinforce his body was starting to get to John, it hasn''t even been a minute and his legs felt numb.


    John had been doing a 10km run every day, but it didn''t look like it''ll be enough.


    "You may all rest." She said after hearing his name.


    The moment she did, a relieved look was formed on everyone''s face as they sat down on the ground. Including victor, they all needed to take a breather.


    John quickly did the same and deactivated gravitas. He dropped to the ground with sweat all over his shirt.


    Thedy looked at John and then walked in between the two groups.


    "You may now fight your group. The rules are simple, attack only the ones in your group,st one standing wins. Furthermore, those who have managed to stay on their feet will already be given the reward of going to the B ss. Are there any questions?" She asked.


    "Will there be separate rewards for the number of badges an individual has collected?" Victor asked.


    "I was about to get to that. The number of badges you have now is the final count, the top 5 highest will be taken to the alpha ss."


    ''Top 5 highest... That would mean, it would be Victor with 14, then the ck-haired kid with 14, then Serena with 13, then me with 12 andstly, Ariel with 9.'' John calcted.


    "As for the ones who stayed conscious, you will be directed to C ss and the top 5 who survive in your group, you will go to B-ss, and anyone who had a badge count over 5 will be allowed to B ss. You may now begin." She exined.


    Not even a second after she had finished, the guys in the other group had already started to fight.


    John''s group, however,


    "I''m too tired to fight, it''s been a long day, B-ss is good enough for me," Said the purple-haired girl.


    "Very well, is there anyone else who also wishes to resign in this group?"


    "Even I don''t want to be beaten brutally by a girl in front of everyone, I''m also good with B," Said the spiky-haired guy as he raised his hand.


    "I''m good, I''d rather not waste energy fighting her" Said the red fire mage girl as she pointed at the blue-haired water mage girl.


    "Me too, it''s been a long day, and I can''t stand being in the same room as her for any longer," Retorted the blue-haired water mage girl..


    "..." Without saying anything the green-haired boy raised his hand.


    "Mhm, it''s been a long day, bye bye, John" Said Elora with a smile as she raised her hand.


    "Hm? Who is that John?" Asked Serena.


    "I don''t recall us meeting her before..." Muttered Ariel.


    "Oh, we made a temporary truce, earlier," John replied.


    "Hmm, is that so..." Said Serena as she stared straight at him.


    "Yes, that is so. More importantly, are you two staying or resigning? There''s no need to fight here, you''re already going to the alpha," John said.


    "Well, I was nning on getting revenge against someone, but at my current level, I doubt I''d do much... So I''m also done for today, myst attack used up too much magic." Said Serena as she raised her hand.


    "Then I''ll resign too. Besides, I''ll only end up slowing you down if I''m alone," Said Ariel with a saddened smile as she raised her hand.


    John wanted to say ''that''s not true'' but he couldn''t. These guys were simply that strong, not something one could beat with the basics of non chant elemental wind or fire magic that they know. John could tell from their badge count, and also from fighting one of them.


    "So is this everyone that''s staying?" Asked thedy.


    "..." The cyan haired girl quietly raised her hand as she looked at John. Her expression was neutral and unchanging, it almost appeared emotionless. John couldn''t tell what she was thinking.


    "Okay, well then, I look forward to teaching you all." Said thedy as light particles covered their bodies.


    "You better win, John!" Said Serena.


    "I believe in you!" Said Ariel.


    "Of course!" John replied.


    Just like that, they were all teleported. The ones who remained were John, the ck-haired kid and Victor.


    ''Win... Haha, in these conditions? That''s going to be hard. But I won''t take this half-heartedly, that''s for sure..'' John determined.

 Chapter 89 - 37: Is He Dead...?

    "I''ve just received news that the top 3 contenders are about to engage in a battle!" Announced thementator.


    The screen was nk, and the audience was eager to know who they were.


    "Top 3 contendors?"


    "They muste from a well-known noble family..."


    Many contenders were disyed on the screen, the audience didn''t know who to expect.


    Kurt, who had heard this announcement, was still inside of his carriage. You could tell that he was starting to get anxious as rested his head over his hands while he sat down, as if he had something on his mind that worried him.


    "And the contendors are..."


    --------------------------------------------------------


    "Is everyone ready?" Asked the teacher.


    They were out in the open rtively far from the other group; they had a lot of space as the tform extended for miles.


    "Yes." John replied.


    Victor and dark-haired boy both nodded.


    "Well then, you may start when the coin hits the ground," She said.


    After she had finished speaking, John felt some of my adrenaline go away and was starting to feel nervous.


    ''Now''s not the time.'' John thought.


    "Looks like I was right, we were fated to face off again. This time I won''t hold back." Said Victor.


    "Right back at you." John replied with a nervous smile.


    ''Hold back...? If I don''t hold back, everyone will be able to see, but if I do, I have a feeling I''ll end up in a worse state... Maybe I should have gone back with Ariel and Serena.'' John thought.


    As John thought that, thedy grabbed a coin and threw it off into the air.


    They all watched as the coin slowly fell.


    *ng*


    The instant it touched the ground, everyone had started to chant.


    They all leapt away from each other and gained some distance while we continued to chant.


    Everyone was using ''silent chant'' so there was no way of knowing what wasing. Even if they weren''t, John wouldn''t know.


    "Advanced dark magic: Resurgens umbra Spika" Trantion: Rising Shadow Spikes.


    The first to finish chanting was the ck-haired kid. The instant he had said that, his shadow quickly extended towards them.


    John got bad vibes from it, plus it was a spell, so the moment it reached him, John leapt sideways.


    A split secondter, dark spikes rose up from his shadow.


    As for Victor, he had disappeared, and before the boy even realised it, Victor was behind him.


    Victor was muttering something, he was chanting for another spell. But before he could finish, Dark Spikes rose up from the ground around the boy.


    But before they even had a chance to graze Victor, he disappeared and reappeared rtively far from them.


    "Stand still." Said the boy as his shadow extended again towards Victor.


    Spikes would rise from his shadow, and Victor would teleport to dodge it. No one had suffered any hits, meanwhile.


    "I''m being totally ignored right now, huh?" John muttered as he watched the two fight.


    John could wait for them to waste their magic and end them, but that didn''t sit right with him.


    While the two were distracted by their fight, John propelled 5 ice spikes at each of them.


    But before it hit the boy, spikes rose up from the ground beside him, blocking my Spikes. Although since it blocked it, his spike waspletely frozen and crumbled shortly after.


    As for victor, well, he just teleported and dodged them all.


    "If you keep ignoring me, you''ll regret it," John said as he walked up to them.


    "Big words. Advanced Dark Magic: horruit hastis tenebris." Trantion: Dark Lances.


    He said while he leapt towards John, changing his target from Victor to him. Four Darknces were formed midair, and pointed straight at him.


    John had also been fake chanting, so by the time he had formed his he was already in the process of forming his.


    "Advanced Ice Magic: ipsas p cies" Said John as he formed four Icences around him.


    His darknces were propelled straight at John, and he propelled his straight at him, causing them to collide.


    John''snces froze hisnces, slowing them down, but his darknces won in terms of strength and still kept going at him.


    If John casted Ice wall out of nowhere from this distance, it would be suspicious, so instead he decided that he should dodge it.


    When John was about to leap away to dodge it, something strange happened. The boy suddenly cast rose dark spikes from the ground in front of him and used it to stop him midair.


    A secondter, the frozen darknces disappeared. Not only that, but a big line was formed on the ground which separated John and the boy as if it had been scraped away. The boy also looked surprised and confused about what had happened, so John guessed it wasn''t his doing.


    "How about we stop ying around?" Asked Victor with his right arm stretched out.


    His hand was coated with a strange aura.


    ''O-Oi... Are you serious? What was that...?'' John inwardly muttered.


    "Saint-ss Spatial Magic: Void Eater."


    ''This is bad news... Won''t we be cut in half if we''re hit directly by that...?'' John surmised.


    "Or so I''d like to say, but I''m not allowed to use this on people. I just wanted your attention," After he said that, the aura which had coated his hand disappeared.


    He quickly went back to chanting for a next spell, then the boy followed after and John wasst.


    From that attack alone, John was sure even the boy could feel how strong victor was, If he hadn''t stopped short, he could have been scraped away out of existence.


    They were now beingpletely wary of Victor.


    "Advanced Dark magic: tenebris triplicata" Said the boy the moment he had finished chanting.


    In that instant, his shadow extended even more than before, in the form of a square that was gradually increasing its area.


    John used Velox in time and propelled himself straight out of the shadow square''s zone. Meanwhile, Victor hadn''t moved an inch, but John guessed he didn''t need to.


    The edges of the square then started to rise up, it was taking the form of a cube. Before it was high enough, John focused on his eyesight as much as he could to see what Victor was doing.


    John noticed that he was muttering something with a smile on his face.


    "I can already tell how this is going to end..." John muttered as he watched the cube rise and start to close off.


    ''I''m being ignored again, aren''t I?'' He thought to himself.


    A minuteter, the cube had beenpletely closed off, and in that instant, spikes stretched out from the outside. If the outside was like this, John couldn''t imagine what the inside would be like.


    After that, the spikes retracted, and in an instant; the cube dispersed into thin air.


    What John saw shocked him. Victor was riddled with holes all over his body.


    "O-Oi... Why didn''t he just teleport out?" John muttered as he was about to run over to him.


    Despite what he was looking at, the boy''s expression did not change at all, it was just a neutral expression.


    The fact that it hadn''t changed after what he had just done was starting to irritate John.


    John started to walk over to him, and he started to chant.


    "Did you have to kill him?" John asked while tantly disying how irritated he felt.


    He ignored John and continued his chant.


    Right while John was nning on sinking a deep punch on his face, he pointed behind him.

 Chapter 90 - Unending Barrage

    John turned around and Victor''s body looked more and more distorted, like the sort of static you see on an old TV. Shortly after, his body disappeared, and in an instant he appeared next to us.


    "Saint-ss Spatial Magic: Spatium UNCARIO." Muttered Victor Trantion: Spatial Distortion.


    Suddenly, the space around him started to look like a static TV. John couldn''t focus on anything. His head was feeling dizzy and he couldn''t see Victor or the kid anywhere.


    ''He can distort the space too...?'' John wondered.


    ''But how do I get out of this...? Ah, I could do that.'' John analysed.


    John stomped the ground with both of his legs, while he chanted something. And the moment he finished, ice spread from his leg onto the ground.


    When it reached the ground, the ice started to spread at a fast rate. It reached Victor''s legs in no time, but before it touched him, he teleported.


    At the same time, John used ''deprehendre'' and tuned up magic perception to the max. Like slightly see the distortions in the air, John knew where he was gonnae from.


    Right when he teleported, John created ance while fake chanting, and he propelled it straight at the next ce he was going to show up at.


    Just like John had predicted, he showed up a few feet away from them to the side. John''s Lance was fast, not only that, but he was that sure not even he expected John to sessfully predict his next location. So before Victor even noticed, the Lance was right in front of his chest.


    He didn''t have enough to time to react, so he took the hit head on, causing him to drop down inck of power.


    "I got him..." John muttered.


    Or so it seemed. As once again, distortions urred in the air. Next thing John noticed, Victor was less frozen than before, as if the attack hadn''t fully hit him, but he knew for a fact that it hit.


    "Spatial distortions" He said as if he was trying to hint something at John.


    "I see... So that''s how it works." John replied, showing that he had understood.


    ''He can create distortions in the space around him. He slightly distorted the attack, causing it to partially miss at thest second. If he can do that, how will we even be able to hit him?'' John pondered.


    While they thought of their next attack, all three of them continued chanting. One thing John noticed was that Victor was starting to pant. He was getting tired.


    All of those saint ss spells and constantly teleporting himself. Suddenly that gave John an idea.


    ''Victor can''t teleport if he can''t move, he needs to be able to jump through the distortion in the space every time he does. So all I need to do is restrict him. But how¡­'' John analysed.


    ''Oh, I see¡­'' John realised.


    Right when John was about to use his n on him, he suddenly teleported behind the boy who, in that moment, tried leaping away.


    But Victor followed, spikes rose up from the boy''s shadow and were aimed straight at Victor. Right as they were about to pierce him, he seemed to have finished a chant which he had started the moment he had jumped.


    In an instant, he somehow managed to teleport behind the boy, and at the same time, his spikes were distorted and crumbled.


    In a swift motion, Victor in the middle of a chant grabbed on to the boy''s cloak and was about to cast something else, when all of the sudden, the boy slipped right out of his cloak. At the same time, he rotated his body to face Victor while he chanted something.


    You could tell that he was annoyed by the fact that he was getting pushed back.


    But before he could activate his spell, Victor suddenly appeared over his head and mmed him on to the ground, cancelling out and interrupting his chant


    "Do you give up?" Asked Victor with his arm stretched out pointed towards him as he chanted.


    The boy was currently on the ground, Victor''s m didn''t seem like it did much damage to him, but right now, Victor had the upper hand. He had finished his chant, and the kid had no other options but to give up, he didn''t have enough time to chant his way out of this attack from their distance.


    And even if he did, Victor could just teleport again.


    "Tch, I give." Said the boy as he lowered his head.


    "One participant has forfeited he will now be teleported," Said the teacher.


    "Good fight" Said Victor as he stretched out his hand.


    The boy casually shook his head, denying victor''s kind act. He must have still been sore from the loss.


    Shortly after, the boy was teleported out.


    "Now it''s our turn..." John said before he started to fake chant.


    Or so John said, but he was not sure if this n his would really work.


    ''Wasn''t he running out of magic? How did he do that to the boy?'' John wondered.


    "From now on, I''ll give it all I have." John said before jumping up.


    He jumped as high as he could using velox to propel himself higher and higher, thanks to velox, John got lifted up pretty far off the ground, he was around 35 feet in the air.


    "Gravitas... X 20"


    Victor was being hit by 20 x gravity. It was a bit weaker since John was pretty far from him, but it should have still been around 10x normal. He stoodpletely still, and the ground was starting to crack, falling a small crater due to the pressure''


    "And then... Magnum -"


    Right before John cast cies he suddenly stopped. John heard Victor say the words.


    "I give up." Muttered Victor with an unsatisfied expression.


    "Eh?"


    "Are you sure?" Asked the teacher.


    When she did, he suddenly fell on his knees. John had dropped back down to the ground so the gravity pressure must have gotten stronger.


    The teacher seemed surprised by what had happened.


    "Ah! Sorry!" John said as he approached them cancelling out gravitas.


    "No problem." Said Victor as he got up and brushed the dust off his robe.


    The teacher looked at John as if she couldn''t understand what had happened.


    "Why are you giving up?" John asked.


    "I ended up using too much power so now I''m out, I''ll let you have the win, for now." he said with a smile as he stretched out his hand for a handshake.


    ''I didn''t know he could smile like that. Maybe he''s not such a bad guy, after all.'' John thought.


    "Yeah." John replied as he shook his hand.


    Shortly after he was teleported, John felt relieved. After watching him fight, John felt like his chances of winning were slim.


    "What''s your name?" Asked the teacher.


    "J-John, John Fox," John replied.


    "This is an announcement, thest man standing on the first group, is John," Said the announcer.


    John thought about how the other group was doing and asked if he could check on them.


    "Follow me." Said the teacher as she led him to the other side of the tform where the other fights were happening.


    As they walked, the teacher seemed like she wanted to ask John something, but before he could ask what it was, she spoke up.


    "How did you do that?" She asked.


    "What...?" John Replied.


    ''Did she realise?!'' John wondered.

 Chapter 91 - End Of The Exams

    "Do what?" I asked with a confused expression while trying to hide how worried I was


    "Pressure... You didn''t use mana pressure, otherwise I''d feel it... You managed to make victor kneel down, and the ground beneath him started to crack as if it were under some sort of pressure..." Muttered the teacher as she kept walking facing forward


    "Oh that, it was simple" I replied


    "Do you mind exining?" She asked


    "It was a unique spell" I replied


    Earlier someone had mentioned something of being able to use unique magic through very rare spells or birth. It gave me a way to lie


    "A unique spell... I see..." She said as she nced at me


    "What''s that spell called?" She asked


    "I''d rather not say" I replied


    "What''s the harm in saying the name?"


    "Because it''s irrelevant, I''ll choose to study the Water and Wind element, My unique magic, hasn''t nothing to do with it." I replied


    "Well, you have a point. I apologise, I''m sure you have your circumstances" She said as she bowed


    "It''s fine, I was also quite rude with the way I answered your question, My apologies" I replied as I bowed


    "But I do hope, you''ll tell me one of these days" She said with a smile as she raised her head


    "Haha, maybe" I replied


    ***


    When we reached, the group of the ones who stayed conscious,I noticed the fight wasn''t over


    There were 2 remaining contestants, I was surprised to see that one of them, was eleanor, she was fighting this other girl. I hadn''t seen her before.


    Short Yellow Hair and bright yellow eyes, along with a rather small frame, her portions were normal and she looked to be around the same age as eleanor.


    I was mored surprised by the fact that eleanor, hadsted this long, what had happened?


    Either way, her current condition was bad, She had cuts all over her body and was panting hard, while she chanted


    "Advanced Light magic: Light... Swo...rd..."


    The moment she said that light particles began to form swords in the air, but at the same time, she copsed


    A split secondter, light particles covered her body and she was teleported


    The girl who she was fighting, then sat on the ground as she tried to catch her breath, she was also pretty worn out


    "Seriously? I thought she was going to be one of the first to fail... Hey miss, do you get anything if you''re second ce?" I asked


    "Nope, you''re still sent to C ss" She replied


    "Isn''t that a little too unfair?" I asked


    "I wasn''t the one that decided the rules, the academy looks for potential, if you''re mana pool isn''trge enough, you''ll be lucky to even reach C-ss" The teacher replied


    "Who said that''s the deciding factor for potential..." I mumbled


    --------------------------------------------------------


    "And the exams are over!! What an unbelievable battle by the three prodigies! Using Complicated Spatial Magic, Victor managed to get a few hits in, on the Shadow Boy! As for the winner, we didn''t get to see much of him, but his aptitude and control over the wind and ice element gave him quite the advantage!" Shouted thementator


    The whole crowed cheered throughout the match as they cheered for the ones who they bet on


    The number of people who had voted for john was around 10%, 60 on victor and 30 on the shadow boy, meaning those who had voted for john managed to make a huge profit.


    Not only that, everyone was excited to see how people around their age or younger, used magic. Victor''s spatial magic was rare, being able to see it in action was definitely worth it. Although it did attract a certain amount of unwanted attention.


    Eleanor''s group fight disyed as both fights happened at the same time. However, despite all of that, no one knew who passed, they only knew who had won, which was john.


    After john''s fight, it also the victor of the group who which managed to stay conscious, but she didn''t get much screen time


    "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for tuning in! The Exams are officially over! If an aquaintance did not pass, don''t forget to tell them that they can always try and take the exam again next year. That''s all from me, yourmentator, I shall now pass it to the advisor" Said thementator


    Kurt who heard this, looked around the carriage


    "When did she?!" He asked


    "I''m sure some of you are wondering who passed the exam, from those who entered the blue gates to those who did the more difficult exam, which you all watched. However, there is no need to worry, those who have passed have already been informed, and have been given the date at which they may move in to the academy''s dorms. I hoped you enjoyed watching this year''s exams and you tune in"


    From those who watched in the other areas where the screen was disyed to those who watched in the centre of the city, everyone was satisfied and intrigued with what they had seen. Simply watching a projection from a screen was something weren''t used to.


    The school entrance exam event received positive reactions and was a sess again, this year.

 Chapter 92 - Time Try To Some Cake!

    "Excuse me, where are you three going?" Asked one of the maids who noticed the trio heading out.


    "We''re going to the city," John replied.


    "Ah, have a safe trip," She said as she bowed.


    "We will." They replied.


    And just like that, they went out.


    It''s been 2 days since the exam. After the exams ended, they were taken to a room, and those who passed were given a location and a date, nothing else. Shortly after, they were teleported back out.


    They didn''t hear anything about what happened to those who chose the blue gate or who passed, but John was sure it''ll be announced soon.


    The 10 who stayed up were put in B ss, within those 10, Serena, Ariel, victor, Shadow haired boy, and John were put in the Alpha ss.


    In the other group, everyone was put in C-ss, including Eleanor, aside from the winner who was put in B-ss.


    As for John, he ended up winning the entrance exam as Victor had given up, and was promised a reward, but they hadn''t told him what it was yet.


    In the end, they''re still being kept in the dark about what was going happen, but John was sure it''s for security reasons.


    "It''s a shame Eleanor couldn''te..." Muttered Ariel with her head hung.


    "Yeah, she shut herself in her room since we got back." John replied.


    ''Anyone would, after being separated from your friends because you''re not good enough¡­'' John thought.


    "She needs time alone, leaves her be, and cheer up! She could always rank up and join us. Don''t forget why we went out today!" Said Serena as she tried tofort Ariel.


    "Why we went out?" Ariel asked.


    "You weren''t listening earlier, were you...? To eat cake! Cake!" Said Serena.


    "Ahh, cake! We promised to go eat it after we were back, didn''t we?" Asked Ariel.


    "Of course we did! And we deserve it. Let''s get some for Eleanor. That should cheer her up." Said Serena with a smile.


    "T-That''s right!" Replied Ariel as she raised her head.


    ''Her mood got better, not bad Serena.'' John praised silently.


    "Now that I think about it, isn''t walking to the shopping district, going to take a while?" John asked.


    "Now that you mention it..." Serena muttered.


    Eleanor''s mansion was pretty far from the shopping district as it was away from the shopping district. It was in the area of the wealthy, after all.


    It was a very open area.


    "Hmm, what should we do..." John muttered as he tried to think of something.


    They couldn''t ask Kurt to give them a carriage ride there as they had left without telling him.


    Suddenly John felt a pair of gazes on him.


    The two girls were staring straight at him as if they already had something in mind.


    "John, can we do that?" Serena asked.


    "That?" John replied.


    "Flying, do you think we could fly there? Or is it too risky?" Ariel asked.


    ''Oh, that''s what they wanted.'' John realised.


    "I don''t mind, and we should be fine if I use ''furtim'', but I thought you two were afraid of it," John said.


    "T-That was just a one-time thing, forget that." Said Serena as she turned her head.


    "It was a little scary at first, but I''m not that scared anymore," Said Ariel.


    "Alright then." He replied.


    John grabbed on to their hands and cast ''Furtim'' and ''levite'' at the same time.


    He then propelled them straight to the sky, using velox.


    As they got higher, Serena grabbed on to John''s arm and her grip strength increased.


    Meanwhile, Ariel seemed to be just fine and enjoyed it.


    "Yep, I''ll never get tired of this feeling," John muttered as they soared through the clouds.


    The refreshing feeling of the wind passing through the body, of being able to move around effortlessly, to be one with the sky was truly an amazing feeling.


    Ariel was still at a loss for words. She seemed to really enjoy flying, anyone could tell if they looked at her face that was full of enthusiasm.


    As for Serena,


    "Um... Serena..." John muttered.


    "What...?" She asked.


    "It''s easy to control where we''re going in this position... I thought you said you weren''t afraid," John replied.


    "O-Of course I''m not afraid!" Said Serena.


    "Then why are you grabbing on to me?" John asked.


    "..."


    The moment they started soaring through the skies, Serena''s grip over John''s left arm moved over to his whole body as she ced her arms around it.


    Without saying anything, she simply looked away.


    John let out a sigh and tried to ignore it, Ariel was too engrossed in the scenery to realize it.


    ***


    Theynded on an alley and John made sure no one noticed before he deactivated ''Furtim''.


    "Alright, let''s go." He spoke.


    They walked around the district, looking for the cake bakery.


    Serena acted normal, even though she looked so nervous a while ago.


    "You, aren''t you the guy who won the entrance exam?" Asked a stranger who stopped once he noticed them.


    "Ah? Yes," John replied.


    "Wow, you were really cool! The way you used elemental spells, it was amazing! You''re younger than me but our skills are leagues apart."


    "Haha, is that so, thank you," John replied.


    "Anyway, I have to go finish work now, thanks for the brilliant performance!" he said with a smile as he ran off.


    "Performance?" Repeated another stranger who passed by.


    "Wait, aren''t those two the ones who were shown on the screen for the exam?"


    "Ah, it''s that girl who took out a whole group by herself!"


    "And that boy is the one who won the exams, what sort of noble family is he from?"


    ''Ah, I can''t believe I forgot that they said the exams would be disyed around the city, but I never expected to be this famous¡­'' John realised.


    "John, what do we do-"


    John interrupted Ariel as he grabbed on to their hands and ran away with them from the scene.


    ***


    "Are you sure this is gonna work?" Asked Serena.


    "Of course," John replied.


    "Don''t we look strange?" Ariel asked.


    "We have to bear with it for now," John replied.


    "But..."


    Besides, it''s better than grabbing unwanted attention.


    They walked outside of the shop and looked around. The people who walked by didn''t really seem to notice and showed no interest.


    "See, I told you, it''d work," John said.


    "As much as I hate to admit it..." Muttered Serena.


    They had bought wigs. Serena and Ariel didn''t have very long hair, so it didn''t take long for them to put it on.


    "Now that, that''s sorted. Let''s find that shop." John stated.


    "Yeah!" They excitedly replied.


    ***


    They walked around and at first, couldn''t find anything.


    The district was big, and they were easily distracted.


    But after following directions, which they were given after asking, they eventually reached it.


    "We''re finally here."


    They walked inside and were surprised to see the perfect condition of the shop.


    There were tables around, and nearly all of them were full.


    The people happily ate what they had ordered as they minded their business. There were also groups of people who talked as they ate.


    They walked over to the counter, and there was a disy next to them.


    The disy showed different types of sweets, mainly cakes, and cupcakes.


    Serena and Ariel''s eyes sparkled as they stared at them, but John was more surprised and impressed than they were.


    From chocte cakes to vani cupcakes, this shop had it all. For a world that had little progress in technology to be able to create, this was surprising, and not only that, but it was done bymoners too.


    Due to John''s vast curiosity, he had searched up when chocte was started being marketed as sweets in his previous life and discovered that it was in thete 19th century. This world felt like it was in something around the 15th or 14th century, yet they were already marketing these things.


    ''It''s almost as if... Someone from the future gave them these ideas... Don''t tell me... I''m not the only one who was reincarnated to this world.'' John wondered.


    "Um, excuse me, would you like to order anything?" Asked thedy.


    "What are the options?" John asked.


    "Of course, over here you have a chocte cake, and this is the cupcake version, you also have a vani strawberry cake or the special Chocte and vani mix, anything you see on disy is avable," Said thedy.


    That confirmed it.


    "What would you like?" John asked.


    "Hmm, this looks good," Said Serena as she pointed at the chocte and vani mix.


    "What about you, Ariel?" He asked again.


    "I''d like that one." Said Ariel as she pointed at the strawberry vani cake.


    "Alright, I''ll go for the Chocte cake"


    "Understood, one chocte cake, Chocte and vani mix, and a strawberry vaniing up. That''ll be 10 silver." The woman replied.


    John handed her the coins, and she led them to an empty table near the entrance. The store had ss windows so they could see outside clearly.


    It was still light out, so it was a perfect spot to enjoy eating.


    "Please wait a moment, your order is being prepared, a worker will bring it to this table when it''s done."


    ''Looks like we''ll finally get to try some cake¡­'' John thought.


    He looked over at Serena and Ariel; they seemed really enthusiastic about it.. It wasn''t like she was tried to hide it.

 Chapter 93 - Ice Kingdom

    Right before she was about to return back to the counter, John called out to her.


    "Um, were you the ones who invented these chocte cakes and vani sweet?" John asked.


    "Hm? Ah, unfortunately not, we just followed the form handed to the public, you''ll find plenty of cake shops and bakeries who sell the same things in the city, although I did wish we were the only ones," She said as she sighed.


    "Form handed to the public? Who created the form?" John questioned.


    "I''m not sure, but I was told it was the king. Ah, and the form wasn''t handed in this kingdom, it just spread around the continent," She replied.


    "I-I see, thank you." John thanked her.


    She bowed and returned to the counter. Shortly after, a worker brought in 3 tes containing a spoon and their 3 mini cakes.


    Without wasting any time, Ariel grabbed on to the spoon and cut off a piece of the vani cake with the strawberry on top.


    "It''s soft..." She said with a surprised expression.


    John and Serena watched as she ate it.


    "Mnnn, it''s so good!" Said Ariel with reddened cheeks.


    She then continued to eat, with a happy expression


    "Aren''t you gonna try?" John asked Serena.


    "Y-Yeah" She replied.


    Serena also cut a piece off the chocte and vani cake and ate it.


    She then took another piece and another.


    "Is it good?" John asked.


    "W-Well, it''s not bad..."


    ''Why is she suddenly so quiet?'' He wondered.


    John took a piece of the chocte cake and tried it.


    "Yep... This is definitely chocte." John muttered.


    ''How nostalgic¡­''He thought.


    It didn''t take long for them to finish.


    "That was really good," Said Serena once she was finished.


    "Oh, you dropped your guard," John said straight after.


    "Eh?! Ah..."


    Seeing Serena''s reaction, the three of them started tough.


    "We should get goi-"


    ''Eh...? What''s going on? That presence¡­'' John sensed.


    Without saying anything, John suddenly dashed outside of the store.


    "Eh? John! Wait!"


    ''She''s close... That Woman!'' John realized.


    He ran outside and cast deprehendre, making sure he had traces of her magic locked on.


    John looked around and found her jumping from rooftop to rooftop.


    "Where''s she going?" John muttered as he used velox to propel himself off the ground and on to the rooftop.


    After that, John followed her.


    Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, with the support of velox, he slowly got closer and closer until John eventually caught up.


    "Hey!!!" John shouted.


    She was on top of the house in front of him.


    She stopped, turned around and looked at John.


    Now that he got a better look at her face, John was sure of it. That was the girl that saved him that day.


    They just stared at each other without saying anything.


    Since he hadn''t said anything, she turned around and was about to move on when John called her again.


    "Can we talk?!" John asked.


    She turned to him and muttered a few words, before all of a sudden, she vanished.


    John cast deprehendre to see if he could spot her, but it didn''t work, not even deprehendre could find her.


    ***


    As the sun began to set, John found himself standing in front of an inn near an ally.


    "Is she in here...?" He muttered.


    John walked inside and was surprised by how tidy it was.


    Tables were set around, and there were a few people eating.


    "I finally found you..." John muttered as he sat by on her table.


    She was eating her meal and paid no attention to him.


    Truth be told after John had failed to find her, he walked around the city, constantly using Dephendre. He also met up with Serena and Ariel and gave them money to pay for a carriage trip to Eleanor''s house.


    They were mad that John was ditching them, but he had no choice.


    John wanted to talk with her alone after all.


    Without saying anything, John simply watched on as he waited for her to finish her meal.


    When she was finally done, she finished her drink before looking at him.


    "You''re the one who saved me, aren''t you?" John asked.


    In reply to his question, she nodded.


    "Why?" John asked.


    ''Why did she save us?'' He wondered.


    "What''s your name?" she asked.


    "J-John" He replied.


    "I didn''t save you, I was only going after my targets." She said before getting up.


    She walked over to the exit, but once again, was stopped by John as he stood in front of her and blocked her path


    "Move."


    Suddenly, John could feel an immense amount of bloodlust and dangering from her. However, he didn''t move, he still had one more thing he had to ask her.


    "Please make me your student!" John said as he bowed.


    Before John even realised it, she passed by him, and at the same time, he heard the word "no."


    John turned around and saw that she was already outside, and walking as if nothing had happened.


    He ran up to her again for he was desperate.


    "Wait! Please I''ll do anything!"


    At his words, she stopped and turned to John.


    "Why?" She asked.


    "I need to get stronger... My current level is not enough, I''m running out of options..." John said.


    [Do you desire power?]


    ''!? I looked around in haste but didn''t notice anything unusual. What was that? For a second it sounded like I heard a voice in my head... And it sounded familiar, but I could have sworn was the first time I ever heard it.'' John wondered.


    "Then you don''t need me, there are plenty of teachers around." She said before turning around.


    "No! It has to be you!"


    Without saying anything, she kept facing the other direction.


    "The way you fought... It was amazing, I''ve never seen anything like it... You kept your cool and dealt with your target in a blow... At that moment. I know I need to change and I can''t keep the same style of thought I''ve had for all this time... That''s why... It has to be you..." John exined.


    Without saying anything, she simply walked ahead.


    ''I guess I have no choice but to give up¡­'' John inwardly thought.


    "Follow me" She ordered.


    ''Eh? Did I just hear that right? She told me to follow her, didn''t she?'' John wondered.


    "O-Okay!" John replied as he ran up to her.


    ***


    They left the shopping district and entered an open field. There wasn''t anyone around and the sun hadpletely set.


    ''I hope this isn''t going where I think it is...'' John thought.


    She was a few feet away from him as she pulled out her dagger and faced him.


    "Come at me." She ordered.


    Those were the only 3 words she said before unleashing an insane amount of bloodlust.


    ''Oi... Are you serious... I can barely even move¡­'' John thought.


    His legs wouldn''t stop shaking.


    "What''s wrong? You''re too scared to move?" She asked.


    "Of course not..." John replied with a nervous smile as he pulled out his daggers.


    John started to fake chant before leaping straight her.


    ---------------------------------------------------------


    "That idiot... Is he still not back?" muttered Serena while waited on the carriage.


    Throughout the whole trip, Ariel had been quiet.


    "I can''t believe he ditched us!"


    Meanwhile, Serena had beenining.


    "Ariel, you''re mad too, aren''t you?" Serena asked.


    "Eh? Ah... A bit..." Ariel replied.


    "You''re too soft on him, although he''s soft on us so I can''tin... How much longer does he expect us and the coachman to wait?"


    "Thanks for waiting all this time," Said Ariel.


    "Take as much time as you need, I get to rest too so it''s a win-win." Said the coachman.


    --------------------------------------------------------


    ''What''s going on?''


    ''Why...? Why!?''


    ''Why can''t I hit her?!'' John questioned himself.


    He constantly swung both daggers diagonally, vertically, and horizontally, yet he hadn''t been able to graze her.


    She hadn''t used a single spell, and all she had been doing was moving her body. She didn''t even need to block it.


    John stopped swinging and took a short break to catch his breath.


    "Is that all?" She asked.


    "Of course not," John said while panting heavily.


    He started to supply even more magic to his body than he ever had, 10 x more than normal.


    A few months ago, John wouldn''t have been able to do this, but recently, he hadn''t been running out of magic power no matter what he did. It had been this way ever since that incident. His mana pools expanded.


    Now that John was faster and stronger, he went back on the offensive.


    ''Now I should be able to match her¡­'' John thought.


    He sent a kick towards her which she avoided by tilting her body back, John then charged at again. First it was a diagonal swing, then another diagonal, then thrust, but she avoided them all.


    ''How... How!? Didn''t I get faster? How is she avoiding it all?!'' John questioned, unable toprehend.


    "There''s no use in strengthening something when the vessel is weak. Your body can''t handle all that strength, and you can''t control it."


    Her words made John realize. Using more magic to reinforce his body didn''t increase his speed at all, in fact, it did the opposite; it slowed him down.


    John''s body was starting to feel numb all over.


    In an instant, shended a punch straight in John''s gut. Her small frame had a lot of power. It caused him to drop to the ground in a single hit.


    "Aa...ah..."


    John was struggling to breathe and speak.


    "I guess that''s your limit..." She said before turning around.


    After she got a few steps away, she suddenly stopped and turned to John as she said,


    "You don''t know when to give up, do you?"


    "Haha..."


    ''I have no choice... I''ll have to use that. If I ask her, she should keep it a secret, and I''m sick of fake chants¡­'' John muttered.


    "Regnum cies" John muttered Trantion: Ice Kingdom.


    "?!"

 Chapter 94 - Consuming Dark Flames

    "Regnum cies."


    Without even bothering to fake chant, John cast the spell, and at that moment.


    *Crackle* *crackle* *crackle*


    Crackling sounds resounded as the floor began to freeze, walls made of ice began to rise as John felt magic being poured out of him as if the seal of a cap had been broken.


    Without bothering to dodge, she just watched and waited for me to finish my spell


    After the walls had risen around 15 meters, it started to close off on the roof.


    It didn''t take long for it to bepleted.


    Ice kingdom, a spell John had thought of after the tournament. Within those 2 days he practiced in secret, and it wasn''t that hard to learn it.


    All he did was simply mix ''Ice wall'' with cio and this was the result.


    They were inside of his ''ice kingdom'' the inside was freezing, and the ice had strange contorted shapes.


    Without dropping her guard, she waited for John to attack. She didn''t even question how he had managed to create all of that without chanting, and John was grateful.


    "Ready..."


    He gathered wind under his legs and propelled himself straight at her; John cast levite to make himself lighter and moved at the speed of a canon.


    John went straight at her, with both daggers ready to strike at any moment.


    In less than a second, he had reached her, and right when he was about to swing his dagger, she took a step to the side andpletely evaded him.


    But John knew she''d do that.


    Without wasting any more time, John rotated his body mid-air and propelled himself at her again.


    Right before John reached her, he had frozen her legs so she shouldn''t be able to dodge.


    As John swung his dagger, she bent over backwards and dodged it, while at the same time, kicking him straight in the face as she somehow freed her legs.


    But John didn''t stop there. Before she could create distance between them, he imitated the ck-haired guy''s move. Spikes began to rise from the ground and they were all directed at her.


    However, none of them hit. She had managed to dodge them all by leaping away and tilting her body in thest second.


    "Then... positumque loculum cies." Trantion: Ice coffin.


    As she stood a few feet away from John, he decided to try out a new move he had recently learned. He wasn''t able to use it on the exam as it was too risky, but it should be effective on her.


    Walls rose from the ground around her, they were around 10 feet tall.


    Without trying to dodge it, she waited to see what was going to happen.


    The roof and the walls closed off with her trapped inside. In that instant, spikes extended from the inside of the small room John had trapped her in and were directed at her.


    John couldn''t see what happened, and couldn''t hear any screaming, so he was about to retract the spell when all of the sudden, the spell broke apart, or rather... in an instant, tt was cut to pieces.


    John was dumbfounded. Without casting a single spell, she had cut the ice walls like butter.


    As she stood in the middle of the broken spell, waiting for John''s next attack, he knew that he had chosen the right person.


    That was also when John noticed her daggers, they were engulfed in a dark me.


    ''What is that?'' John wondered.


    "Tired?" She asked.


    "Nope, not at all," John replied.


    John was panting heavily. Casting all of those spells and reinforcing his body really took a toll on him, ''Ice kingdom'' was mana heavy.


    ''I''ll pour everything into thisst attack.'' John decided.


    He propelled himself up using velox and while he was barely under the roof, John cast ''Gravitas''.


    "Gravitas x 10..."


    She stared at her body, as if she realized that there was an increased amount of pressure over her, but didn''t look like it was fazing her that much.


    ''How about...'' Thought John.


    "x 20..." He muttered while slowly descending from the air.


    The ice beneath her started to crack, yet she still stayed standing as she stared at him.


    "x 30..." John muttered as he slowly ascended.


    ''Any more than this and I''ll run out of juice.'' John realized.


    Again she didn''t fall but John could tell that she couldn''t move. She most likely wouldn''t be able to evade this next attack.


    John couldn''t waste any more time, Gravitas was sucking out all the magic out of him.


    "Mag...num... mea cies..."


    The ice which began to gather underneath John started to glow. Its size increased and its shape changed.


    Unlike magnum cies which was a giant version of a normal cies.


    Magnum mea, was not only forming out to be a giant version of the normal Ice spear, but its shape was changing.


    The end product was something John had never expected.


    It looked like a spear, but it had ice stretched out on the sides which gave the expression of wings, the tip of the spear was glowing a blue light which gave John chills, the air around it, because visible as if it was so cold, it was freezing it.


    Without a second thought, John propelled it at her, while using Velox to increase it''s speed.


    At the same time, he felt all his strength disappear; John was now out of magic.


    As he slowly fell from the roof to the bottom, John heard her say.


    "Tenebrae perussi mmarum" Trantion: Dark Consuming mes.


    After that, John saw her swing her de, and mes erupting from it, causing his attack to get split in half and evaporated.


    Before John could see anything else, while midair, he fainted.


    ***


    John opened his eyes and was once again greeted by an unfamiliar roof.


    The moonlight passed through the windows and lit up the room.


    As John moved his body, he noticed that it was sore from the fight.


    "I Lost... I guess that means she won''t teach me..." John muttered as he looked around.


    John nearly screamed when he saw her sitting beside the bed. He couldn''t tell what sort of face he was making, but he was very surprised.


    "Eh... ah..."


    John didn''t know what to say. He had thought that she would have left him there.


    ''Could she actually be a lot nicer than she looks...?'' John wondered.


    "Did I pass?" John asked.


    As if she had nothing else to do, now that John had woken up, she headed to the door without replying. As she opened it and was about to leave, he heard her say.


    "Lessons start tomorrow at noon."


    After that, she closed the door.


    Meanwhile, John was so happy that he shouted "YES!!" as he punched the air.


    "Now, I''ll finally be unstoppable..."


    [Do you want power?] An unknown voice sounded.


    ***


    The next day, John went home and got yelled at by Serena, and Ariel as well seemed pretty annoyed at him for ditching them. John exined to them that he felt the aura of the person who had saved them but they just treated him like some sort of idiot.


    "How harsh..."


    As for Eleanor, they brought a cake for her and got her to get out of her room, but by the time John got there, he couldn''t see her. John was nning on sneaking into her room today after training''


    ''Wait, doesn''t that make me sound weird...?'' John thought to himself.


    ''Ah forget it, I''ll worry about thatter. Now I''m more excited about what sort of training I''ll go through.'' John wondered.


    "Deprehendre"


    John could still remember what the trace of her magic felt like, so he had no problems catching it now.


    ''She''s somewhere different today, that''s not the field we were at before. Speaking of which, what happened to the ice kingdom I left there? Surely nothing bad.'' John wondered.


    John rushed over to where deprehendre detected her and was surprised to see it was another open field.


    "This city sure is open..." John muttered as he approached her.


    "Take off your shirt," She said as she looked at him.


    "Eh?" John replied.


    "Take off your shirt." She repeated.


    ''M-My shirt? W-Why?''John questioned in shock.


    He did as she asked and took it off.


    John hadn''t realised earlier, but his body barely had any bruises. Only a few scratches, also his muscles were starting to get defined and he was starting to get a 6-pack. It made him happy to think that his daily exercises weren''t in vain.


    She stared at John''s body before she said.


    "1000 Push-ups."


    "What?" John asked.


    "1000 Push-ups" She repeated.


    ''Eh? 1000? Moreover, strength training?'' John thought.


    Without questioning it, John got in the push-up stance.


    ''Believe it or not, I had been doing 100 push-ups every day for the past month.'' John reiterated to himself.


    "1... 2..."


    "No magic" She said while watching him.


    "1000 without magic...?" John asked.


    "Is there a problem?"


    "N-No! 1... 2... 3..."


    ***


    "98... 99..... One... H... Hundred..." John muttered before dropping to the ground.


    He hadn''t realised how weak he was. John would always keep his body reinforced with magic, and even when he trained, he did it subconsciously.


    "30-second break."


    ¡­


    ***


    "Nine hundred and... ny-eight... Nine hundred... And ny-nine... One... Thousand..." John mumbled before copsing.


    John could barely catch his breath. His arms felt like they were about to drop off at any moment.


    "2 minute rest, then 500 squats."


    "U-Understood...." John muttered while holding in his tears.

 Chapter 95 - Couples?

    For the next few days, John continued to train with her.


    "100KM Run!"


    "Yes!"


    "1000 Pushups!"


    "Yes!"


    "750 Squats!"


    "Yes!"


    "200 Crunches!"


    "Y-Yes...!"


    "300 Sit-ups!"


    "Y...es...!"


    "200 Reverse Crunches!"


    ''Why does that even exist in this world?!'' John loathed.


    "Y....e...s..."


    "That''s all for today."


    With each day that passed, John would copse after training.


    ***


    "John, what''s wrong?" Asked Kurt as he tried to finish his meal.


    John tried grabbing on to the spoon, but his hands and arms were too sore to do anything.


    "Ah... I heard that you''ve started training with someone. Could that be the reason?" He asked.


    ''So he found out.'' John thought.


    "Yeah, it''s pretty intense, but would probably be considered normal for most people," John spoke.


    "I think you may be overestimating the definition of normal, especially if it leaves someone like you in this state," Replied Kurt.


    "Haha¡­ yeah..."


    John looked around the table and everyone was here except for Eleanor. Ariel, Serena, Kurt''s wife, and Kurt were here. Including the maid, but she wasn''t eating anything, just watching to make sure there weren''t any problems.


    It was the secondst day before the first day of school; John wanted to be able to talk to her once, but he had been exhausting himself daily and hasn''t had the time.


    ''I''ll do it tomorrow! I have training after this meal.'' John decided.


    "Ah..." He muttered as he identally dropped the spoon.


    ''God... Looks like I won''t be able to eat anything today¡­'' John realized.


    Right when he had given up, Ariel moved her chair closer to his.


    "Ariel?" John spoke.


    With her spoon, she picked up some of the beef from the beef stew soup and said. "Say... Ahnn..." as she moved the spoon closer to his mouth.


    "A-Ahnn..."


    John opened his mouth and Ariel fed him through the spoon.


    Her face was so red it looked like it was burning. As for John, he couldn''t really tell what face he was making, but he was definitely embarrassed.


    ''Wasn''t that an indirect kiss?'' John thought.


    While he was thinking that, Ariel picked up more beef and soup with the spoon and brought it closer and closer to John''s mouth.


    Without saying anything, he opened it and she fed him again.


    "mn... it''s good" John said as he chewed.


    The beef stew was really good, the more John chewed the more he could feel the vor. It was Rich people food for you.


    Then all of the sudden, Serena moved her chair closer to John''s.


    "Ariel, that was unfair." Said Serena as she grabbed her spoon and use it to pick up some of John''s beef stew soup.


    "Hehe, you need to be faster Serena," replied Ariel.


    Serena then pointed her spoon towards John''s mouth, with an intimidating expression, without saying anything she just kept it pointed.


    "Uhm, Serena? What''s wr-"


    Before John could finish, Serena suddenly shoved the spoon into his mouth. Thankfully, she slowed down at the end and it didn''t really hurt.


    It still tasted really good. Serena''s expression changed from an intimidating one to a soft one as she asked, "How was it?"


    "It was good" John replied.


    ''Now I just had an indirect kiss with Serena, don''t they care about these things? Or do they just not know?'' John thought to himself.


    The only downside was how embarrassed they got. After all, Kurt and his wife were watching.


    John looked over at them to see what they were doing as they were recently quiet and was surprised by what I saw.


    "Say ahnn, Kurt..." Said his wife.


    "T-The kids are watching..." Said Kurt, feeling slightly embarrassed.


    "They were doing the same, a second ago, Say ahnn" She said with a smile as she moved her spoon closer to his mouth.


    "Ahnn..."


    Kurt opened his mouth, and she inserted the spoon. Suddenly the air around them got more romantic.


    ''Well, I guess it''s normal for them to do that, Couples usually share food or feed each other after all.'' John thought.


    ''Eh? Doesn''t that mean the three of us are more like couples than friends or party members? I mean, we''ve kissed before, right? When I was drowning... Although that was CPR. Wait have we even kissed?''He thought further.


    ''Surely I would have realized... And besides, even if we had, there''s no way we could be a couple... Serena doesn''t hold any romantic emotions towards me, and Ariel probably only thinks of me as an older brother or something¡­''


    ''And besides... If one of us became a couple, what would happen to the other? The vibe in the party would be different... Does that mean its best not to date them?''


    ''Well, it''s not like they would want to in the first ce but... Let''s say if they would... I wonder what having a girlfriend would be like¡­'' John''s train of thought kept on running.


    "I feel like it''ll probably be exactly like this..." He muttered.


    "What do you mean?" Asked Ariel as she brought her spoon close to John''s mouth.


    "Ah, I was just thinking how the three of us act more like couples than friends," John replied.


    "Wha-?" Said Serena as she suddenly lowered the spoon.


    With bright red cheeks, she said, "L-Listen here, we''re just helping out our precious party leader, it doesn''t make us a couple, do you underst-"


    Before she could finish, Ariel interrupted as she said "That sounds nice".


    ''Wha- does that mean she''s okay with it?'' John thought, feeling surprised.


    Everyone''s attention then turned to her, which caused her to start feeling embarrassed and her cheeks to redden up.


    "A-Ah I mean, if we look like we''re couples then that means we''re close, which is a good thing!" Said Ariel.


    "O-Oh, so that''s what you meant..." John muttered.


    "Yeah..." she muttered.


    After that, things got too awkward, so John asked Ariel to stop feeding him.


    As for Serena, she suddenly stopped talking after Ariel interrupted her, but John could have sworn he heard her say, "You won this round..."


    ***


    "Hey, master, what are we doing today?"


    "Do you start school in 2 days?" She asked.


    "Yeah" John replied.


    "We''ll be doing light training for today."


    "T-Thank god... Hey master, can I ask something?" John questioned.


    Without saying anything she nodded.


    "Have you ever had a boyfriend?" He asked.

 Chapter 96 - Romance Talk With Master

    "Have you ever had a boyfriend?" John asked.


    There was no reply, so he was starting to get worried, and wondered if he had made her mad.


    John looked over, and what he saw surprised him. Her usual emotionless poker face looked rather gloomy, although one wouldn''t be able to tell unless they saw her usual face every day.


    "S-Sorry... Since master is pretty, I thought that you''d have plenty of guys after you," John muttered before getting into the push-up position.


    By light training, John assumed she meant doing a small amount of each training he had been doing recently, so he started with 50.


    Without wasting any time, John started. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-"


    He stopped counting when he heard his master suddenly say, "1..."


    "1...? You had a boyfriend?" John asked while continuing the pushups.


    John looked over at his master and she nodded.


    ''That means she has experience... So she should be able to help me¡­'' John thought.


    "So how did you two meet?" He suddenly asked.


    "He joined my party," She replied.


    "Oh, how did it feel like spending time with him?" John asked.


    "It was good..." She replied.


    ''Oh, so master was in love... I need to find out why they drifted apart.'' John decided.


    "So why did you two break up?" He asked.


    "He died." She replied.


    ¡­


    "S-Sorry..." John apologized.


    He looked over at her again, and she seemed even gloomier than before. The mood between them had turned awkward.


    And John had also lost track of how many pushups he had done, but his arms were starting to feel very sore and numb, so he decided to end it.


    Next was sit-ups.


    "Um... Master... You see, there are these girls I''m traveling with, and we''re really close, almost like a couple..." John spoke.


    He then got into the sit-up position and began to do sit-ups.


    "And you see... This whole time I felt like one of them didn''t like me, yet she always helps me, I just don''t know what to do..." John uttered.


    ''God I can''t even organize my own thoughts properly... Why am I so nervous?'' John wondered.


    "Was it those girls that were with you?" She asked.


    "Yes! Thank you for helping them. Honestly, I''m always putting them in danger, so sometimes I wonder if they hate me, and yet they never leave, so... I don''t know..." John answered.


    "They don''t hate you. Otherwise they would have left." She replied.


    "M-Master..."


    "Do you like one of them?" Master questioned.


    For some reason, John was so startled by his master''s sudden question that he ended up hitting his head too hard on the ground while doing sit-ups.


    "Oww..." John muttered as he rolled around in pain.


    He didn''t have magic reinforcement active, so it really hurt him.


    ''I guess that''s enough sit-ups... let''s do crunches now¡­'' John thought.


    "No, we''re training your technique today, warm-up." His master ordered.


    ''Technique? Finally!'' John thought, feeling excited.


    "Awesome! I''ll start warming up right away!" He replied.


    Without wasting any time John started jogging around the field, contrary to what he had expected, his master did the same.


    "She''s warming up...? I wonder what we''re going to be learning." Muttered John.


    While he said that, his master suddenly caught up and while she was right beside him, she asked, "Do you like one of them or not?"


    ''Like, huh... Honestly, when I first met Ariel, I thought she would be hard to take care of, I had no choice, no one would party with a kid adventurer, and training someone homeless from scratch would suck.'' John remembered.


    John could have probably bought a ve, but he would have hated himself for it. However, Ariel surpassed his expectations. She had the gift of being able to use magic, and had a caring personality, which made it easy for him to trust her.


    As they got closer and closer, John started to think of them as something like siblings, but recently, he was not sure.


    As for Serena, the way that they met to the way she acted, was almost contrary to Ariel''s. She was feisty, can be aggressive, and fought for what she believed in. She also really hated it when someone called her short.


    At the time, John epted her request to join the party since hecked members, but now, he was d that he did. Spending time with her was pretty fun to him, even though they were always arguing,


    To John, she was more like a close friend who''s always nagging at him, but for his own good. He was not sure how he felt about her either.


    ''If they were to suddenly leave, and I were to be left on my own, then... Huh? Why does my chest hurt, when I think about it¡­ ?'' John wondered.


    "Like, huh... I''m not sure, I never had a girlfriend before after all... But what I do know is that they''re both very important to me, and if I choose one, then it might change the feeling of the party, and I wouldn''t want that..." John answered.


    "Then why not go for both?" Master suddenly asked


    ''Eh? I can do that? I Guess polygamy is allowed... And I mean I went on a date with both of them... But am I really allowed to? Am I really allowed to be spoiled by two cute angels? Well, I wouldn''t really consider Serena an angel but¡­'' John pondered.


    "Hm... master, if the guy you were a couple with suddenly got another girl at the same time, would you-"


    John suddenly stopped when he felt an increased amount of pressure in the air. His master''s expression looked the same, but for some reason, it was scary.


    "U-Um... Master... Your bloodlust..." John spoke.


    "S-Sorry" She said before calming down.


    That was the first time he had ever seen his master get mad.


    ''W-Well... M-Maybe, I shouldn''t jump to conclusions, I don''t know how they''ll react, and they may end up really hating me for it... and I wouldn''t like that¡­'' John decided.


    "Master, thank you for the talk. I''ll be honest, you made me think about things I didn''t consider..." John spoke.


    For a moment, just a moment, it looked like his master had smiled as she said, "No problem."


    "So master, what are we doing today? If it''s not training the muscles?" John questioned.


    "We''re working on your form, you... You don''t have a proper dagger stance." She answered.


    ''S-She didn''t even need to ask.... Was it that easy to tell?'' John wondered.

 Chapter 97 - The Feeling

    "Stand like this... Keep the center of your body bnced."


    John''s Master got into a strange stance which involved bncing your body.


    He imitated the stance and held on to his daggers.


    "Don''t fall." She said.


    Confused, John looked over at her to see what she meant, and she was gone.


    "M-Master... How long do I have to stay like this? Master!?"


    Without saying anything, his master left John in this position.


    ***


    John lost track of time, but it was starting to get dark. His legs were trembling and he could no longer feel them. John was just about to drop when all of a sudden.


    "Well done." Said master.


    "M-Master... Can I drop down now..." John asked.


    "Hm... Okay," She said.


    In that instant, John was about to fall over backward when all of the sudden, his body subconsciously rotated while keeping the stance, causing him to stay standing.


    "Eh? What was that? That was so coo-"


    Suddenly, the pain started surging through John''s legs, which caused him to fall over either way.


    "Before learning a stance, you must find bnce. Tomorrow will be more stance training." She ordered.


    "Yes..."


    ***


    John walked wobbly back home. His legs felt like a small breeze would be enough to push them.


    Instead of getting a carriage, he just casted furtim and levite to fly home, while making sure that there was no one watching.


    While the nice fresh breeze continued to hit John as he flew in the sky, he started talking to himself.


    "Come to think of it... we''ve been in this mansion for 6 days already... I guess the super-soft beds are what''s keeping everyone there. But after school starts, we''ll all move into the dorms so, might as well just enjoy as much of it as I can for now." John reckoned.


    It didn''t take long for him to reach the mansion. John deactivated levite and deactivated furtim, and walked inside.


    "Wee back, esteemed guest," Said one of the maids.


    "Thank you, how is everyone?" John asked.


    "The young master is still in her room, as for your two friends, Serena and Ariel, they are behind the gates," She said.


    ''Hm, then howe I didn''t see them? Well, I guess I flew over the gates.'' John thought.


    "Hm, I didn''t get to see them..." He spoke.


    "Shall I go call them for you?" She asked.


    "No, it''s fine, let them continue their training, I have other matters to attend to," John replied.


    "Very well."


    She was rather young for a maid, still in her teens. If John remembered correctly, her name was,


    "Thank you, Mrs Tao!"


    The maid seemed surprised by something. ''Did I get her name wrong?'' John wondered.


    He was a little busy now, so he decided to just ask next time.


    Without wasting any time, he went straight to Eleanor''s room.


    "How do I do this...?"


    As John stood in front of her door, he tried thinking of a way to get in.


    ''Maybe I should invent a spell which allows me to phase through objects? Haha, that''s a funny joke. If it fails, I''ll be stuck in a wall.'' John thought.


    "Hm... Do I cast silentium and furtim and just slowly enter... Hmm, I might go with that." John decided.


    He cast silentium, and furtim and concealed his presence as much as he could.


    John then slowly opened the door to her room and walked inside.


    What he saw left him speechless.


    The lights were off, but the room was lit up by a bright light. It wasing from under the nkets of her bed.


    The room was big, there were many things that stood out, but none of them grabbed his attention, or rather, John was more interested in what that light was.


    As John got closer, he could hear Eleanor muttering something. It sounded like a spell.


    "Hujus luminis fons sit amet meis offero pro viribus obire hostes arma lucis." Trantion: Spirits of the light, be one with my magic flow, I offer my power in exchange for swords of light to strike down my enemies.


    ''She''s chanting? And why... Why can I understand every word?'' John wondered.


    [Do you want power?] A voice spoke.


    ''Wha-''


    "Advanced Holy Light magic: lux dio"


    The moment she said that the light which wasing from under the nket, took shape of swords. 5 Swords of light were formed right above the nket


    At the same time, she got lifted up the nket and got up.


    "I did it!" She shouted with an excited expression.


    She was in her pyjamas. Her golden blonde hair, which always silky straight, was now a bit messy and her oceanic blue eyes now had dark circles under them.


    "`I finally did it..." she muttered once more.


    She got up from the bed and the light swords dispersed.


    ''I see... She''s been practicing all this time... if she needed help, why didn''t she just ask us?'' John thought, feeling confused.


    "I have to get stronger... I can''t keep relying on those 3 all the time, I need to stop being so useless," She said as she clenched her fist.


    "Useless? Who said you were useless?" John identally blurted out.


    "That voice... John!?"


    "Crap¡­"


    ------------------------------------


    "Sir Kurt," Said the head maid.


    "Yes?" Kurt responded.


    "I noticed John standing in front of Eleanor''s room."


    A smile was formed on Kurt''s face when he heard this.


    "So that means the n will soon start... The n to get John engaged to Eleanor..." Kurt muttered.


    -----------------------------------


    "Atchoo..." let out Serena as she sneezed.


    "Is it too cold for you?" Ariel asked.


    "Hm? Ah no, not really... I have a bad feeling for some reason..." Said Serena as she looked towards the mansion.


    "if Serena has a feeling, then we start heading back to the mansion. Besides, John is back." Said Ariel.


    "Hm? How do you know?" Serena asked.


    "Ah, I learned a new spell. It allows me to feel other people in the area through the wind. I felt something descend from the sky, and only John can do that so..."


    "Ariel..." Serena muttered.


    "Y-Yeah?" Ariel replied.


    "You''re amazing, let''s head back and see if everything is fine."

 Chapter 98 - Defenceless John

    2 days before the entrance exam, after John''s light stance training. His master received an unexpected visit.


    "Yo" Said the guy as he approached the training field.


    John''s Master without saying anything, looked at him as if she had expected his arrival.


    "Come on now, don''t be so cold, Sister." He says with a smile.


    ------------------------------------------


    "John?!"


    "H-Hey Eleanor!" John said with a nervous smile.


    ''H-How do I get out of this situation... She might misunderstand¡­'' John thought, feeling embarrassed.


    "W-W-What are you doing here?" She asked while flustered.


    "W... Well... You see... You''ve been in your room for so long, and everyone was getting worried so... I came to check up on you..." John said.


    ''Crap... Who would believe that? I must look like a creep right now¡­'' John realized.


    "O-Oh... Thank you..." she said while she let out a sigh.


    ''What?'' He thought.


    "You''re not mad?" John asked.


    "N-Not really, It was a sort of my fault too... But! I didn''t want you to see me like this!" She said with flushed cheeks.


    ''Phew... I thought for sure something bad was going to happen¡­'' John took a breath of relief.


    "Hm? I don''t mind," John replied.


    "But I do!" She said still embarrassed about what was happening.


    "Why?" He asked.


    "B-Because, I don''t look very tidy right now... it''s embarrassing!" She justified.


    ''Well, I guess a girl wouldn''t want someone to see them while their hair is messy or when they''re not at their greatest but¡­'' John thought.


    "I mean sure, your hair is a bit messy and you look a bit tired, but I mean we all have our days," John replied.


    "Eh? You''re not disappointed?" She asked.


    "For what?" John asked.


    "For what? You know... After seeing this side of me..." She muttered.


    ''Ah... Eleanor is the daughter of a noble, her mother must have been very strict about the way she looked.'' John surmised.


    "Not at all, no one is perfect, and besides, it''s proof of your hard work so you should be prouder." John stated.


    Eleanor, who heard this, started to tear up.


    ''S-She''s crying? What did I do wrong this time?'' John felt confused.


    "I... I didn''t get in with you guys... I was useless..." Eleanor spoke stutteringly.


    John didn''t know what to do when she started crying, but after hearing her call herself useless, he instinctively gave her a pat on the head, although they were the same height.


    "I doubt those two thought you were useless, and if anyone thinks you''re useless, just keep practicing and prove them wrong," John spoke.


    Serena and Ariel have gone through multiple life-threatening situations. It was not unusual to think down on oneself when they getpared to them. Not to mention they had chant less magic.


    Without saying anything, she wiped her tears. She then looked straight at John.


    "I-Is there something on my face?" John asked.


    "John... Are you really 12?" She asked.


    ''Ehhh, did I act too mature? I mean, I''m technically 14 but¡­'' He wondered.


    "W-What? O-Of course I am..." John replied.


    She kept staring at him with a determined look in her eyes.


    "Ha..." John let out a sigh, "To be honest, I''m not sure. I lost my memories."


    "What? Your memories...? Does that mean you don''t remember anything? Not even your family?" She asked.


    "Yeah..."


    "Ah... I''m sorry..." She said with a worried expression.


    "But I''m fine, I''m sure one day, I''ll remember and find them," John replied.


    "Is that why you became an adventurer?" She asked.


    "I-I guess... Although I mainly wanted to explore the world," He added.


    And John also needed to make a living, of course.


    "Exploring the world... So that''s how you met Serena and Ariel?" She asked.


    "Well, I and Ariel became adventurers at the same time, and for Serena, we met while we were travelling." John answered.


    "Must be nice..." She muttered.


    "Hmm... I want to show you something, but you have to promise to keep it a secret." John said as he grabbed on to her hand.


    "Okay, I promise. But what are you-"


    Before she could finish, John ced his finger on her lips and gestured her to be quiet. With flushed red cheeks she quickly nodded and John started fake chanting. He had also cast Silentium at the same time.


    When the chant was finished, John muttered, "Furtim"


    From their perspective, nothing had changed and they could still see each other, but from another person''s perspective it was as if,


    "Hmm... their presence disappeared..." Said the head maid as she entered.


    She looked around the room and confirmed that there was no one there.


    "Hm, if she''s with him, they should be fine, and besides, it works in favor of the n." Said Kurt


    "Understood," Said the maid before leaving the room and closing the door.


    Eleanor opened her mouth to say something but was surprised, since no sound came out. Seeing this, John pointed at the window while gesturing that they should leave.


    Not being able to speak, she nodded.


    They walked up to the window and opened it, at the same time, The door to the room opened once again.


    It was the maid. She looked around the room once more as if trying to confirm something.


    "I don''t remember the windows being open, earlier. Young miss are you here?" She asked as she walked up to the window.


    As there was no response, she looked outside of the window, but no trace of either of them could be found.


    She closed the windows and left the room, but by then, they were already floating outside.


    John deactivated silentium and propelled them further and further up into the sky.


    "EHH!? J-John! W-Wait! Wait, a minute!" Eleanor spoke.


    "Ah, are you afraid of heights too?" John asked.


    "N-no not that! H-How?!" She replied.


    "Ah, it''s a long story, let''s fly around for a bit first," John spoke.


    He cast velox and propelled them through the clouds in the sky. The feeling of being in the air was as great as always, not to mention the nice cool breeze.


    The nervous expression on Eleanor''s face slowly changed into a happy one after they had flew around for a while.


    From their location the moon was clearly visible, it was a beautiful sight, John was sure Serena and Ariel would''ve wanted to see it from here.


    "Are you feeling better?" John asked.


    "Better?"


    "Mhm, you looked a bit down so I thought this would cheer you up, but you can''t tell anyone." John replied.


    "Why?"


    "What?"


    "If it''s something that you''re supposed to keep as a secret, why put it at risk by telling me?" Eleanor borated.


    "Hmm... because you were sad?" John answered.


    After she heard this, with a chuckle she asked, "That''s it?" before she said "Serena was right... You''re too trusting..." with a small smile.


    "Haha... not really..." John muttered.


    "Hey John..."


    "Yeah?"


    "Close your eyes." She asked.


    "Hm? Why?" John asked as he closed them.


    Shortly after, John felt the sensation of a flick on his forehead.


    "Ow..." John said as he opened his eyes.


    Her fingers right were in front of his face as John asked, "What did I do to deserve that...?"


    "You were open," She said with a smile.

 Chapter 99 - Masters Brother

    The next day Eleanor was out of her room and they were all eating breakfast together, when Kurt suddenly asked.


    "So, how was yesterday?"


    "W-Well, we only did stance training, and then I came home." John answered.


    "And after that?" Kurt asked.


    "After that, I got some rest," John replied.


    "Eleanor, I''m d you''re feeling better, it''s be rather rare for you to join us," Said Kurt.


    Eleanor looked a lot better than she did yesterday and was no longer tired.


    "T-Thank you, dad, I got a lot of rest," Said Eleanor.


    "That''s good, I''m just d that you''re feeling better," Said Kurt with a smile on his face.


    Serena and Ariel continued to eat as they watched with confused expressions.


    ***


    Just as John was about to head to training, Serena stopped him at the entrance.


    "What happenedst night?" Asked Serena.


    John cast Silentium, before answering her question, so only the two of them could hear the conversation.


    "Eleanor was in a bad mood, so I kind of, showed her that spell..." John answered.


    "The flying one right...?" Asked Serena as she let out a sigh.


    "Yeah, that one." He confirmed.


    "Does she know about how you don''t need to chant?" Serena asked.


    "Nope."


    "Hm, alright, enjoy your training." She replied.


    "Thanks, how was training yesterday?" John questioned.


    He had not checked up on them and went straight to sleep after returning Eleanor to her room.


    "We had to stop halfway, because someone was putting his secret at risk." Serena answered.


    ''Ah... Sorry, but how did you know...? Maybe it was a fluke?'' John thought to himself before leaving.


    ***


    As John approached the training field where he and his master usually trained, he was surprised to see another guest here. It was a guy; he looked just as old as his master around his 18s.


    "Master... is that your friend?" John asked.


    With a poker face, she nodded.


    "Oi. I''m not her friend, I''m her older brother," He replied.


    "O-Older brother? Wow... now that I think about it, you do look alike," John responded.


    He was tall and had a good frame, his hair was dark ck just like master''s, his eyes were brown and the expression on his face was a lot livelier than master''s.


    "The only difference is the expression..." John added.


    "Haha, we''re told that a lot, and you are?" He asked.


    "I''m master''s student, John."


    "Ah, I see... So you''re the one my sister is training..." He muttered as he got closer.


    He looked at me from the bottom to the top as if he was assessing my ability


    "Hmm... How old are you?" He asked.


    "Ah, hm... I''m 12 or 13," John replied.


    "You don''t know your exact age?" He asked.


    "Ah, no, I lost my memories."


    "Can''t you just ask your parents?" He asked


    "I''m an orphan." John answered.


    "Ah, haha, you''re just like us. Well then, how about we practice a little?" He suggested.


    After he said that, he got into a stance, seeing that John pulled up his daggers and brought up his guard. John was getting a simr vibe that he got from his master.


    "Practice? Haha, can it bet-"


    In a single blink, his dagger was right in front of John''s eye, but before it could pierce him, it stopped. John leaped back and noticed that master had grabbed onto his arm.


    "What are you doing?" She asked


    Even though it wasn''t directed at John, he could feel the pressure in the words when she asked that.


    "Haha, sis, no need to get mad, I was just trying to see what your first disciple is made of. Although, I might have overestimated him."


    ''What the hell...? I couldn''t even react to that... What is he?'' John wondered.


    "John." Master called.


    "Y-Yes?!" John replied.


    "Come over," She said.


    John nervously walked towards them while gulping down the air stuck in his throat.


    "Get in the stance." She ordered.


    "Eh?"


    John didn''t like where this was going.


    "Attack him again," Said John''s master to her brother after he was in the stance.


    ''I knew it.'' John thought.


    "Hm? Alright." He said as he went back 20 feet.


    "John, focus on his attack," Master ordered.


    Without saying anything John nodded and got into the stance.


    This stance involved bncing his body, John had practiced it all day with his master yesterday, it focused on shifting the bnce from one side to another to dodge or counter-attacks.His master said it was a basic stance for countering. It''s also different from the one that his master used.


    ''But will it really work? I couldn''t even see himst time.'' Questioned John.


    "Start." Said the master.


    Without wasting a single second, he moved again. Last time John was a bit distracted because he was talking, but this time John could see it. He had leaped straight at him.


    John instinctively shifted the bnce of his body from one side to another, causing him to nearly fall, but after all that practice, muscle memory took over, and it caused him to do a 90-degree turn.


    "Hoh... Not bad, " He said as he looked at John.


    His arm was stretched out with the dagger at the tip, because to the shift, John avoided it, which caused him to barely miss him.


    "Than- Ow..."


    John felt a stinging pain on the right side of his chest. When he checked it, he felt a shiver go down his spine. The shirt was cut and a bit of blood was pouring out of it. Even though he had dodged, the man still managed to graze him.


    "Ah... Sorry, I got a little excited..." he said with a nervous smile.


    ''Sorry...? If I was a second slower, I would have died¡­'' John thought.


    "Well done." Said master as she gave him a pat.


    "Master..."


    John thought that this was perhaps the first time that she had everplimented him.


    "That was the defensive stance, we''ll continue training it, but for now, we''re moving to the offense," She said as she looked around for something.


    His master''s training was really helping John improve, he had made the right choice asking her. But sometimes he felt like he might really die again.


    "John, cut it." She said as she pointed at a nearby boulder.


    "Wait, why is there a boulder over there?!" John asked.


    ''Cut it...? She doesn''t mean... Well, it should be fine if I use magic.'' John surmised.


    "No magic" She ordered.


    "...."

 Chapter 100 - First Day Of School

    "Today''s your first day of school, is everyone ready?" Kurt asked.


    "Of course," Replied Serena.


    "No problems here." Said Eleanor.


    Meanwhile, John and Ariel just nodded.


    "Very well, unfortunately, I cannot go with you as I am not a student, but I''m certain we''ll meet each other soon," Said Kurt.


    "I''m sure we will," John replied.


    "Eleanor, you''ll be moving into the dorm so don''t lose your luggage," He said.


    "I won''t, we''re heading straight there after all," she replied.


    All of their luggage was on the carriage, and John could''ve flown them there, but it was too risky.


    "John, take good care of her." Kurt requested.


    "We will." Replied Serena.


    "Haha, thank you. Ah, that reminds me..."


    Kurt then whispered something into John''s ear before the carriage began to move.


    "Wha-?!" John unintentionally let out after processing what he said.


    "Study hard!" He said as he waved from afar.


    ***


    They went through the fields, then eventually entered a district near the shopping district they usually went to and there stood a person waiting for them.


    "Your names?" He asked.


    After the exams were over, they put in their names on the sheets that they gave them. It wasn''t a contract sheet, just an identification one.


    They then told him their names, and he confirmed them.


    "Alright"


    After he said that, he turned around and stretched out his hand, before chanting.


    Unlike that time with Eleanor, John couldn''t understand his chant.


    ''Why? Could magicians have something which makes their chant iprehensible? I feel like I''ve heard of it somewhere but I can''t remember, I''ll have to ask Serenater.'' John thought.


    When his chant was finished, a blue gate was formed.


    "This gate will lead you 4 to the school."


    "The school isn''t in the kingdom?" John asked.


    ''If it isn''t how will I get to meet up with master?'' John wondered.


    "It is, but this is the easiest way of getting there." He said.


    "A-Ah, thanks..."


    ''Darn, if I miss master''s lesson I feel like I''ll be in trouble, even if I already warned her ahead of time.'' John thought to himself.


    "Is everyone ready?" He asked.


    They all nodded.


    They were the only students here, either there were other ces with portals or there were separate days for other students. Either way, the reason why they ended uping together was that they asked them after the exams.


    When they passed through, they ended up inside of a really big room. The floor was squeaky clean and so were the walls. The lights on the ceiling were bright and illuminated the whole room.


    "Where are we?" They wondered.


    "Oh, it looks nice."


    "So we''re inside of the school?"


    The students around them started talking, it seemed like it was also their first time inside the school.


    "Silence," Said one of the teachers.


    She wore sses that covered her red eyes and had red hair which was tied up in a ponytail. She wore a uniform which seemed very well crafted.


    Everyone quieted down.


    "It appears that we''re missing one more student, we''ll give him another minute, if he''ste then he''ll have to try again next year." Said the teacher.


    There was only a single teacher here, and two guards around their group. There were around 60 students here, but it was just a rough guess.


    Everyone was quiet, they could tell that she was a strict teacher, misbehaving on the first day didn''t seem like a good idea.


    "10 seconds left... It looks like we''ll move on without thest student."


    The instant she said that a student came out of the portal which was behind them.


    It was a boy. He had short brown spiky hair and a Band-Aid on each side of his cheek. His left eye was brown, while his right eye was a bright yellow.


    His frame sort of like John''s, not too big but not small either. He was a bit taller than him and his shirt was a bit slightly unbuttoned.


    Before saying anything he looked around, everyone''s attention was on him.


    "Oh, looks like we''ve already started, sorry I''mte," He said with a smile.


    ''Huh? For a moment it looked like he was looking at me.''John thought.


    "Oh crap, this guy''s in trouble..."


    "He turns upte and starts acting like nothing''s wrong..."


    "Ah, I''m scared..."


    The teacher seemed pissed.


    "Tch, let''s begin the tour," She said before she turned and started walking''


    ''Did she just click her tongue? If she''s that mad, why not punish him? I don''t recall seeing his face in the exam, His appearance would have definitely stood out. Maybe he wasn''t one of the participants? If so... then who is he?'' John thought.


    Without saying anything else, the students followed the teacher.


    As they walked out of the giant room, they entered a hallway illuminated by the sunlight which passed through the thin ss.


    Windows.


    As the students looked outside of the window, they could see a field.


    "That is the training field," Said the teacher.


    Now that she mentioned it, there were a few people who seemed the be practicing against each other.


    "Hey, John?" Said a familiar voice.


    John turned to see who it was, and it was Victor.


    "Victor?"


    "Why do you look so surprised?" Victor asked.


    After he said that, John looked around. And surprisingly enough, all the alpha ss members were here.


    ''No wait, why wouldn''t they be? More importantly, was he always this friendly?'' John realized.


    "Ah, my bad, I just thought you might have had a grudge against me," John replied.


    "Why would I?" Victor questioned.


    "N-Nevermind."


    The teacher continued to show them around the school and they didn''t say anything else to each other. Or rather, they could feel the teacher''s pressure.


    The school was big, the canteen was big, the ssrooms were big, pretty much everything was big. As we were given a tour, the only thing on John''s mind was ''How can they afford all of this?''


    That being said, it was surprisingly normal, and less futuristic than John imagined, but the technology was just as advanced as as, if not more.. Being educated here looked like it would be worth it to John.

 Chapter 101 - Class 1-Alpha

    For their final destination, they were taken to the dormitories. They were outside of the main school building but still inside of the school''s territory, meaning it was most likely just as safe.


    "The boys'' dormitory is on this side," Said the teacher as she pointed at the dormitory on the right side.


    "The girl''s dormitory is on this side." Said the teacher as she pointed at the dormitories on the far left.


    "Boys, I rmend you don''t try to pull anything or get your hopes up. And girls... The school isn''t against dating, which is why it''s co-ed, but do keep your boyfriends away from the dormitories." She continued.


    There was a strange awkward silence in the air, but everyone nodded.


    "Good, I won''t be giving you a tour on the inside, but just know you have all already been assigned to a room. As long as you can follow simple instructions which will be given to you, you''ll be able to reach your room without any issues. You can do that, right?" She asked.


    Everyone nodded.


    That being said, the dormitories were pretty big, not as big as the school, but just from the outside alone, John could tell that it was luxurious.


    The brown-haired guy had been behaving this whole time too, John didn''t know why but he felt like he should keep an eye on him.


    "Today, you''ll be acquainted with your homeroom teacher and it will be simple introductions. You''ll be split up into sses based on ranking, as I''m sure most of you know. And within these rankings, you will undergo lessons that suit your aptitude. Are there any questions?" She asked.


    There was only silence.


    "Know that you are not the students, there are second years and third years and they live in separate dormitories in other areas, although I''m sure that''smon sense." The teacher exined.


    ''Well, we did see quite a few other students during the tour.'' John thought.


    "You might noticeter on that most are away right now." She added.


    Or so she said, but she never said why.


    Shortly after, just like she said, they were split into groups, the alpha ss, the B ss, the C ss, and up.


    There were 6 in the alpha ss, John, Victor, Ariel, Serena, the ck-haired boy, and an extra that wasn''t announced in the top 5 in the exam, the brown-haired kid.


    He must be special if the school were to put him in the alpha without him taking the exam. But John didn''tment on it or question it, although there were a few people who didn''t seem too happy about it.


    Each group had one guard, and after everyone had grouped up, they escorted them to their sses. Walking around the school was tiring, and because of his master, John wasn''t allowed to strengthen my body with magic.


    Although John didn''t need to do that but now that he thought about it, he had always relied on magic strengthening rather than his own strength.


    ''No wonder there were so many people that could overpower me in strength¡­'' John realized.


    "We''ve arrived," Said the guard after stopping in front of a ssroom, The Sign read 1-A.


    Without wasting any time, they all walked inside.


    As they walked in, John noticed that there were other students already inside along with a teacher. The students all seemed to be paying close attention to the teacher, aside from a few who looked uninterested.


    There were around 10 other students in total.


    "New students? Take a seat wherever you like." Said the teacher.


    Their teacher was a guy with ab coat. The expression of drowsiness could be seen all over his face and he had dark circles under his eye. His ck hair was a bit messy and his beard was unshaved. He didn''t seem to care much about his appearance.


    They nodded and took a seat on the open desks. John chose a seat near the window and moved up one to the right so that Serena and Ariel could sit next to him.


    Victor sat in front and the ck-haired boy sat away from us all, John didn''t remember hearing him say a single word today.


    "As you can see, we have new students, Uhm, it''s the first day for most of you, some came from the exam, others were personally invited, that''s fine. Anyhow, since we''re all here, let''s start with introductions," He said.


    No one said anything.


    "Does no one want to go first? It''ll be your turn, eventually."


    "Sure I''ll go," Said a familiar voice.


    It was the brown-haired guy from earlier.


    "*Clears throat* Since we''ll be ssmates from now, I''ll make things clear, One day I''ll be the strongest magician, you''re looking at the next Magic King."


    ''Magic king? What''s that?'' John thought.


    The whole ss was silent, the expressions on their face said it all, first impressions mattered the most, and now he''ll most likely bebelled off as a crazy weird kid.


    ''But if he''s in the alpha ss... There''s obviously something special to him.'' John surmised.


    "A-Alright, who''s next?"


    One after the other, students quickly got up and sat back down after introducing themselves. They weren''t as motivated as the first guy, that''s for sure.


    When it got to the ck-haired boy''s turn, he spoke,


    "Kuro," he muttered before sitting back down.


    "Kuro, that''s a nice name, next." Said the teacher.


    Next was Victor.


    "I''m Victor." He said before sitting back down.


    "I-I see... next."


    "Serena."


    "Nice name, regarding that hat..."


    Serena never took her hat off, unless it was just the 3 of them. She continued to wear it even after they had found out she was a half-elf.


    "Actually, never mind, next." Said the teacher.


    "I''m Ariel."


    "Okay, next." He continued.


    "I''m John."


    "And we''re done. Honestly, I''m surprised how unmotivated and tired you guys look."


    ''You''re one to talk.'' John inwardly chided.


    "Well, you''re going to be sitting around in this ssroom for the rest of the day, so you might as well get cozy. Oh and, I''ll be exining to you how sses will work.." Said the teacher.

 Chapter 102 - Luxury

    "Let''s go over the basics of magic. As most of you should know, a chant is a prayer that can be heard by a spirit. Depending on the aptitude you have, you will be able to borrow power from a certain element of spirit when chanting."


    "For example, this is a simple chant."


    "Spiritus igne vocem meam da ignes. Elementary Fire magic: mma" Trantion: Spirit of fire, heed my call, grant me your mes."


    A me was formed above his hand. It was like John''s ignis but he could tell that it was weaker. But more importantly, John understood every word he said. He couldn''t understand why he wasn''t able to understand chants earlier. He wondered if it could have been because of her.


    ''No... Now that I think about it... Don''t I always name my spells in a differentnguage?'' John remembered.


    ''Whatnguage was it again? Ah... I can''t remember, I just sort of know... Don''t tell me from the beginning, I already knew the chantnguage...? Does the same go for Ariel?'' John wondered.


    He looked over at Ariel and she seemed to be doing fine, but a bit shook.


    "As you can see, this is a basic fire spell, by sending a prayer in the magguage, which I''m sure you all already know since you''re in this ss, you''ll be able to cast spells." The teacher answered.


    "The higher level spells require longer chants, but it''s not a problem if you''re able to fast chant. Also, don''t forget to use silent cast when casting your spells so someone else doesn''t steal the chant, although it''s difficult, it''s possible." The teacher exined further.


    ''Silent chant? Those guys that I fought said the same thing... Judging by the name, I''m guessing silent chant is a chant that''s silent and doesn''t need to be heard by others or doesn''t need to be too loud, as for fast chant, I already know what it is, a shortened and faster version of a normal chant¡­'' John thought.


    Silent chant was the reason why everyone believed John, when he fake chanted. He was d to know that this existed as school life would be a lot easier for him as long as the teachers didn''t ask him to show a chant directly.


    However, judging by what happened in the exam, John didn''t think they were allowed to. It was up to a student whether they wanted to tell their knowledge about spells and unique magic to anyone.


    "Alright, now that''s the basics. Now for some history on magic."


    The mood got less lively after these words.


    ***


    "And that''s all for today. Stand," said the teacher.


    Everyone stood up.


    "You are dismissed."


    When he said that, everyone walked out with a relieved expression, and they were no longer tense.


    "Hell starts tomorrow, huh..."


    "Yeah... Hell..."


    "We came in 1 week earlier, I wonder how those new students will react."


    "It''ll be more fun if they find out on their own."


    The students, which were here before John and his party, started chattering before they left.


    ''Hell huh¡­'' John thought to himself.


    "John, what are you waiting for?" Asked Serena as she waited near the door with Ariel


    "Hold on, I need to ask sir something," John asked as he walked up to the teacher.


    "Bye, John." Said victor as he left.


    "Ah, See you," John replied.


    His socialness was now making John feel nervous.


    "Do you need anything?" Asked the teacher as he wiped the board.


    "Yeah sir, actually..."


    ***


    As they left the school and went over to the dormitories, John noticed that the sun had set and they had also met up with Eleanor on the way.


    John simply followed quietly as the girls had their talk. Or rather, he was distracted and focused on what the teacher had told him.


    "John, are you okay?" Asked Eleanor as she turned around.


    "Hm? Ah, yeah, I''m fine, why?" John replied.


    "You have your head in the clouds."


    "Yeah..."


    "Ah, the path splits..." Said Eleanor.


    The dormitories were opposite to each other, so they will be going separate ways from here.


    "Yeah... see you tomorrow," John said before heading down the right path.


    "See you," Said Ariel.


    "Make sure you sleep well," Said Eleanor.


    "Mhm bye," said Serena.


    John waved at them as he walked over to the boys'' dorm. Shortly after he had lost sight of them, he arrived.


    There were many other boysing in as well, but aside from those who were friends, everyone was minding their business.


    As John entered the dorms, the secretary which was a guy asked for his identification card. They were given ID cards after the tour was over; they had been specially made based on the information they wrote on the sheet after the exam.


    John handed him the ID, and he gave him a key with a room number.


    "This is your room, Alpha ss members get rooms to themselves, you can also choose who you''d like as a roommate if you''d really want one, but that''s optional."


    The key shower room number 1O3.


    "I see, thank you," John replied before searching for the room.


    John followed the instructions on the wall and assumed that because there was a 1, that it''d be on the first floor, but it was actually on the third because of the 3.


    The O of the alphabet represented the O corridor where John''s room was at, and the one was the room number.


    "Why is it backward? Couldn''t they have made it 3O1...? I had to spend like 20 minutes searching..." John muttered when he was finally in front of his room.


    John entered and turned on the lights, and was surprised by how luxurious everything looked.


    A Single, double king''s bed with top tier ceiling lights and a great view of the school and sky from the window, It was an amazing room.


    "What is this a hotel?!" John asked.


    The lights seemed to be powered by magic, John almost thought it was electricity for a second. ''If only I was an engineer¡­'' John thought


    As John walked over to the bed, he noticed that there was luggage under it.


    "Oh, that''s my luggage. We were told to hand them in before lessons, so they brought it here... Now I feel more rxed..." John spoke to himself.


    As John looked around the room, he even noticed that there was a toilet.


    ''It''s nice to know I have a room here waiting for me. Just knowing that I can rest gives me hope.'' John thought.


    "Now.... It''s time to go to hell."

 Chapter 103 - I... Like Them?

    John cast deprehendre to see if there was anyone keeping watch on him, and luckily, there wasn''t. There were only guards outside the dorm making sure nothing bad would get in.


    John opened the windows and cast furtim, before jumping down from the third floor, to the bottom. John made sure to cast Silentium and levite to not make any sound after hended.


    The window was aimed towards the school, so all he had to do was head straight to it. John made sure to stay near the path, but at the same time, off of it. If any students passed by, John might identally bump into them, even while he was invisible.


    ''Better safe than sorry.'' John thought.


    As John followed the path back to the school, he detected Serena and Ariel''s location with deprehendre. They weren''t at their dorms and seemed to be strolling around.


    ''I-I''m not spying on them, I''m just going to see if there''re any problems¡­''John justified himself.


    ''Since they were in the direction of the school, then it should be fast. I can''t bete or master will¡­'' John thought.


    Just thinking about it gives him goosebumps.


    A minuteter, John reached them. They were near a pond and were sitting on a bench, on a tform near it. The pond really looked beautiful at night.


    "This is a pretty good spot, it''s also quiet." Said Ariel.


    "Yeah, for some reason I''m not feeling tired at all and I''m not in the mood to sleep," Said Serena.


    ''Lucky you... I have hell waiting for me after this... I wish I could sleep¡­'' John spoke to himself.


    "John was lost in thought today..." Said Ariel.


    "Hmm? Yeah." Replied Serena.


    ''Why did the conversation suddenly shift to me? Moreover, I feel bad spying on them like this so I''ll just go.'' John thought to himself.


    "Hey Ariel, I''ve been meaning to ask but you usually pay a lot of attention to John, don''t you?" Serena asked.


    ''Hm? Maybe I''ll just stay for a little longer¡­'''' John decided.


    Ariel hastily nodded with a proud expression.


    "Why do you look so proud¡­?" Asked Serena.


    "Hehe..."


    "Hey Ariel... What do you...? Think about John?" She continued.


    Hm...?!


    "John... He can be brave but reckless... He''s kind to others regardless of their status and doesn''t treat them badly, he gave me a reason to live... John is like... the star? No... Sun? Hm... Either way, I really like John." Ariel answered.


    ''Eh?'' John eximed to himself.


    Before John even realised it, the moment she finished speaking, he ran. He ran as fast as he could, without making any sound, straight inside of the school.


    When John finally realised it, he stopped, he was right in front of the portal.


    ''Why did I run? Guilt? No, I felt guilty for listening over their conversation, but that''s not why. Why am I so happy? Why do I feel like I just won the lottery? Calm down... Calm down¡­'' John wondered with shock.


    "*Inhale* *Exhale*"


    ''I can''t calm down at ALL!''


    ''A-Alright, I''ll focus on master''s training, I''m not tired at all anymore. I feel like I can run for days... Let''s go!''John said to himself with his determination.


    -----------------------------------------------


    "Ariel, you sure are amazing..." Said Serena, a saddened smile on her face.


    "Eh? Serena, what''s wrong?" Asked Ariel as she got up and sat beside her.


    "You can express your true feelings and you understand them..." Serna replied.


    "Serena... do you also-" Ariel asked.


    "I don''t know..." Serena answered.


    -------------------------------------------


    "Master, what are we doing today?" John asked with a happy expression as he approached her in the fields.


    "More offensive training, start warming up." She said with a confused expression.


    "Right away." John happily replied.


    He began to run around the field, and for some reason he wasn''t running out of any energy.


    "Stretches."


    "Of course, of course"


    "One two... One two... One two..."


    "Push ups"


    "Of course, of- course."


    ***


    "999... 1000..."


    John needed a break to catch his breath, his energy was starting to weaken.


    "Good"


    "Um, master... What about the offensive training?" John asked.


    With a poker face, she just stared at him.


    "We''ll start now."


    "Okay!"


    "Come at me, using the stance I taught you yesterday." John''s master ordered.


    "Okay!"


    John was now overflowing with energy, there was no way he couldn''t possibly fail.


    ***


    "I-I give..."


    It was aplete loss, John had somehow managed to graze her, but that was it. He was beaten to a pulp.


    While John stared at the stars in the sky, his master extended her hand to him and naturally he grabbed it. In a single motion, she raised his entire body from the floor, as if he weighed as much as a feather.


    "So...?" Said master with a curious expression.


    "So?" John repeated.


    "What happened?" She asked.


    "Y-You could tell that something happened?"


    She nodded.


    "W-Well, you see..."


    ''There''s no reason to hide it from master, and besides she told me about herself so¡­'' John thought to himself.


    John''s embarrassed expression changed into a calm smile as he stared at the sky.


    "Recently, I''ve started to see a friend as more than just a friend, or rather, both friends... But I didn''t change the way I acted around them because I didn''t want things to be awkward between us, beforeing here, I heard something from one of them that made me really happy... But I don''t know what to do... So I''m trying to distract myself with training..." John answered.


    "So my training is a distraction?" Asked his master with a cold look in her eyes.


    "Ah, no, I didn''t mean it like that, it''s more like, being here helps me calm down..." John exined.


    Master who heard this stayed silent for a moment, and then she spoke up.


    "I don''t know much since I''ve only ever had one boyfriend but... If you''re thinking this deeply about them, just tell them how you feel, girls like that."


    "It''s not that simple... If I end up as a couple with one, I feel like it''ll change the rtionship we have as a party..." John spoke.


    "Then why not both? If you all like each other, what''s the harm?" She questioned.


    ''Wha- Having two cute angels for myself... That feels like a sin... But when I actually think about dating them for real, I get a strange warm feeling in my chest... So that''s what this feeling was... I''m romantically attracted to them... I like Serena and Ariel. But¡­'' John thought feeling lost in them.


    "I''m not sure they''d like that..." He answered.


    "You can''t be so sure until you try."


    ''But master, didn''t you look like you were about to kill someone when I asked what would happen if your boyfriend dated someone else at the same time as you? Is what I want to ask, but I''d better not.'' John surmised.


    "Alright, master. Thank you, I''ll need more time to think about it, but I''m sure I''ll eventuallye up with an answer." John replied.


    John''s Master who heard this, patted his head and smiled as she said "Good luck".


    As he got up to leave, she stopped him.


    "Where are you going?" She questioned.


    "Eh? Uhm, isn''t training over for today?" John asked.


    With a creepy smile on her face, she shook her head.


    ''N-No! S- HELP!!!'' John internally screamed.

 Chapter 104 - Light Flash Student Vs Master Possession

    As the sun rose and illuminated a field, there were three people spectating from a distance. A disciple and his master could be seen a few feet away from each other as they readied their stance with their daggers in hand. One was a young boy, while the other was a youngdy.


    As the pebble which was thrown into the air slowly descended, the pressure being emitted by them increased.


    The instant the pebble touched the ground, there was a sh, and they shed.


    Thedy won the ss in terms of power and pushed the boy a few meters back. However, he maintained his bnce and pushed back. He leaped at her swinging both daggers in irregr unpredictable patterns.


    As she paired some and avoided other swings, she began to chant. Seeing this, in a near-instant, he froze her legs, then swung both daggers simultaneously. She raised both daggers to parry them. The moment she did, he sent a kick straight at her open belly. The original swings were fake.


    Right before he felt contact, she disappeared, leaving a trace of a dark air that instantly dispersed.


    Without having to look, he could already feel her presence. He changed stances and shifted his body from one side to the other. This caused him to avoid her dagger thrust, which came from behind.


    But his attack didn''t end there, first a kick, then swings. The perfected version of the irregr pattern with most people wouldn''t be able to dodge, much less predict, was being used against him.


    He was being pushed back, with no openings to attack, he remained on the defensive, for a slight moment, he left an opening, and in that moment, he was kicked straight in the face.


    The kick had so much power in it that it sent him rolling back over 50 feet. When he managed to regain his bnce, he stopped the momentum. His master''s presence was gone, as he hurriedly looked up, only to see her suddenly appear right in front of him while swinging down her dagger.


    With no other options, he yed his trump card.


    "Fulgurationem" Trantion: Lightning sh.


    Electricity started to pass through the boy''s body, and to him, thedy''s movements had slowed down. The speed of his senses had also increased.


    He moved his body downwards and to the right, barely avoiding the swing in the process. Yet despite it missing, he was still hit.


    He stepped back and looked over at her eyes as he heard her mutter "Possesion". A cold, visible sweat was starting to form on his face. It was a move he was all too familiar with, and there were only two words he would associate it with.


    Imprable horror. He knew that his master was no longer nning on holding back. So he himself would give it his all. His master''s eyes became clouded in darkness and the air around her turned ck.


    After that, it ended in a blink. Without chanting she disappeared, and before he could even react, she had grabbed on to him from behind and pointed her dagger at his throat.


    With no other options, he surrendered.


    "I give..." He muttered with an annoyed expression.


    "Good fight" Said his master, somewhat impressed with the results.


    "That''s not fair master... Using possession... And Shadow step," Heined.


    "But freezing my legs and using Fulgurationem to dodge mine was?" She asked.


    Without being able to retort, he hung his head.


    "Raise your head, John. You fought well. To reach this point after only a year and a half." She said with a proud smile.


    A year and a half had passed since that day. John was now 13 turning 14 soon, Ariel was the same age and Serena had turned 16. John settled his birthday on the same day as Ariel''s as he wasn''t sure which day was the day where he came to this world.


    His master had started to smile more often, John wasn''t sure when it started, but when he first saw it, he thought that it fitted her.


    "You should smile more often, that way you''ll get a-"


    Before he could finish, she suddenly punched his head.


    "Sorry..." apologized John


    But he was being honest. He genuinely believed that she was good looking and would be a lot more popr with the guys if she wasn''t so scary and anti-social all the time, but he decided not to give up on the topic. He had no right to.


    "Oh John, that was amazing!" Said Ariel cheerfully.


    "The first fight I see after all that training you''ve done, and you''ve be less human..." Said Serena.


    "Oi." Said John.


    "Now, now, let''s not misunderstand, John was never human to begin with." Said Eleanor.


    "I see... I guess it''s only natural that I wouldn''t be human," Said John with a poker face.


    The group chuckled at John''s reaction.


    Ever since that day, there hasn''t been any progression in his rtionship with either of the two girls he liked. And when he finally noticed his feelings for them, they just kept growing bigger and bigger, and he was more conscious around them.


    "Hm..." Muttered Serena as she stared straight at his eyes.


    "W-What?" He asked as he turned his head while trying to hide his slightly reddened face.


    "When did you get so tall?" Asked Serena as she stood beside him.


    He had passed her in height by a few centimetres. When John met Serena, she was around 5 foot 1, and now she was 5 foot 3, and yet John had easily passed her despite only being 13. Seeing this, she felt a sense of defeat. She was always the tallest of the group, but that was recently taken from her.


    "It''s fine, at least I grew in other departments..." She muttered to herself, while holding back her tears.


    "Now that I''m taller, I can do this." He said.


    John who saw this, took off her mage hat and patted her silky silver hair.


    "There, there." He muttered.


    "Stop..." Said Serena with a bright red face, even her cute pointy ears were red.


    Seeing this, John couldn''t help but tease her. But without saying anything, she suddenly grabbed onto his hand and took her hat back before putting it on. She then hid her expression under her hat.


    ''Did I go too far?'' He wondered.


    Then, all of a sudden, Ariel came over and stared at John with a determined look. Without her saying anything, he already knew what she wanted. He also patted her darkish, slightly long hair.


    Ariel had started to grow her hair. She hadn''t cut it at all for the past year, John liked the new look and thought that it suited her.


    "Hehe..." She let out while making a cute expression as he patted her.


    It was so cute that he honestly believed that he could die right then and there.


    Ever since that day, there hasn''t been any progression in his rtionship with either of the two girls he liked.. But even if it''s slow, he feels that with every passing day they were getting closer and closer.

 Chapter 105 - Preparations (Volume 2 Ending)

    "Is everyone ready?" The master asked.


    "Mhm" Replied Serena.


    "Everything right here," Said Ariel.


    "Yeah," Said John.


    Everyone including John had their luggage prepared, and carried it in their bag. After all, everyone was on vacation. And since John, Serena and Ariel were in the Alpha ss, they had the option to prolong it from the normal 3 months to 6 months.


    John''s master was the one who nned everything. She had told him that for his training to finish, they would have to go somewhere, so he decided to wait until school vacation.


    Everything about this sounded perfect to join, time off school, being able to rx, except for the two main problems. One, Eleanor can''t go because she had to stay with her dad. They had tried to convince him but he wouldn''t change his answer, which resulted in them having an argument.


    And two, was because master was the one that nned everything. Just from that fact alone, John knew something was obviously going to end up ruining his happy free time. But he didn''t really mind. If it made him stronger, which it was, it''d be fine, or so he thought.


    "Serena... Ariel..." Said Eleanor as she hugged them.


    It was starting to get emotional as they all started to tear up, even Serena. That just showed how close they were.


    "We''ll miss you..." Said Ariel as she started to cry.


    "Mmm..." Serena didn''t say anything she was just crying as well.


    John, who had turned rather insensitive, thanks to a certain master, spoke up.


    "It''s just 6 months, you girls will be together before you know it." He said.


    "No one asked you!" x 3


    John was so shocked he put on a poker face as he stared at the sky. It was one of his most useful abilities. He had asked his master to teach him half a year ago, and he never regretted it.


    ***


    "Send letters!" Said Eleanor as the carriage began to move.


    "We will! Make sure you send them as well!" They replied.


    "Of course! Take care of that idiot!" She shouted.


    "He''s in good hands!" They replied.


    "I did not know I came here to be insulted." Said John as he tried to ignore the conversation.


    The fact that Ariel also joined in hurt John even more, but she''s been growing so it''s obvious her mentality would change, and he knew that.


    "Rebellion stage?" He asked himself.


    After thinking for a while, he decided to forget what he said. It was a bit weird.


    After John''s carriage departed, Eleanor went home in her own carriage. Even if he didn''t say anything, John was also quite sad that Eleanor wasn''t going, She was really interested, and he even tried his hardest to convince her dad. But he kept saying it was too dangerous.


    John didn''t understand, Master was here, and apparently her older brother wasing too, she''d be much safer here.


    ''Unless... There''s someone stronger than master on the loose and after nobles... But how would Kurt know that? And did such a person really exist?'' Such questions passed through John''s mind.


    He decided that instead of thinking it''d be better to just see how things would y out over time. Although there''s no way he would allow anything out of hand to happen.


    School had ended so there was no way of going back and saying bye to all of the friends he made, and besides, no one would be there.


    He also had to thank Victor for opening the gate for him to travel back to school. On the first day of school where he trained at night with his master, he had ended up staying up the whole night looking for a portal to head back to school.


    It was only by luck that he encountered Victor roaming around one of the portal spots; they didn''t ask each other what they were doing, John simply asked for help and victor agreed.


    Every day victor would open a portal for John, now that John looked back at it, he really owed victor a lot but didn''t know what to give him.


    School for John also wasn''t as easy as he first expected. Although he could understand chanting magic and could use 2 chanting aptitudes, he still had to memorize many incantations, but thanks to that, he got to witness and observe many different ice-type spells and Wind spells.


    John was indeed going all out against his master, but only with his skill and technique, had John actually used the chant-less version of the saint ss spells he learned, even his master who could freely shadow spell would have problems avoiding them.


    Ariel also seemed to have a few problems at the beginning, but with John''s help, they clutched through, without any problems.


    Every 3 months there''d be rank up sses. Fortunately, Eleanor managed to rank up to ss B, but she had missed her opportunity to rank up to Ast month, so she must be having it tough.


    Aside from that, not much had happened. The school was normal, the education was very high levelled; the teachers knew what they were doing, thoroughly disyed, and showed the incantations. It was definitely fun. And recently when they became seniors, they were involved in morepetitions.


    But again, they had no problems thanks to the great lessons from the teachers, and the asional chant-less magic which would go unnoticed. Despite having been strict at first, when we moved dorms and became 2nd years, the school pretty much let the A and B ss do whatever they wanted.


    They could choose when to use the library, how many lessons a day we wanted. John really got to rx, especially in preparation for the hell he''d go through at night.


    A few students in the A-ss were given ess to king ss magic, and those students were Victor, Ariel, Serena, John, Kuro, and the brown-haired kid.


    John didn''t know why it was only them, and not the others in the ss, but he never asked. And although they were given the scroll, he hasn''t opened or read it yet. During his whole time there, John''s never met the principal. He was curious about what sort of person he''d be.


    "Well, Time to enjoy our vacation as much as possible... We have a long year ahead of us." Said John as they all stared into the horizon.


    "Uhm master, no, m-"


    ''Now that I think about it, what is master''s name?!'' John wondered, feeling dumbstruck.

 Chapter 106 - Did I Just Raise A Flag?

    As the cold blizzard continued to rampage about, John, Serena, Ariel and Master entered a strange cave. Everyone had a nk expression on their face, as they wondered, what was happening


    "U-Um, master... D-Didn''t you say something about vacation and training?" Asked john with a worried expression


    There were strange paterns and runes in the cave walls, and he felt an immense amount of magic powering from inside.


    Before master could answer, a familiar voice came from the inside of the cave


    "This is part of the training"


    Serena and Ariel freaked out when they heard the voice


    "W-We won''t go easy on you just because you''re a ghost!" Said Ariel


    "Saint-ss Fire magic..." Added Serena as her spell started to activate


    John who heard them get in battle mode, nearly panicked.


    "Wait" He said as he stared at the darkness within


    Footsteps could be heard approaching them, and as the face of the person became visible, john instantly recognised it.


    "You''re..."


    -------------------------------------------------


    "Well, Time to enjoy our vacation as much as possible... We have a long year ahead of us." Said john as they all stared into the horizon


    That was a month ago. During that whole time, the four of them had been travelling by carriage. They hunted food, took baths in home made hot springs. Made especially by john. They went past many ces, and overtime the environment began to change


    First it would be windy, then rainy, then cloudy, sunny and finally cold


    "Aren''t the seasons way too inconsistent!? Is it because this is a fant- Hey master, when will we arrive?" John curiously asked


    "I was wondering the same thing." Added Ariel


    "True, it''s been quite a while." Said serena


    John was mainly bothered by the fact that 1 month off his long awaited vacation was wasted, he wanted to go to the beach, or a nice sightseeing ce, but he kept it to himself.


    "We''re here." She said as the horses suddenly stopped


    "What?" The three simultaneously asked


    Without replying master hopped off the carriage, and without wasting any time, they did the same.


    They stopped right in the middle of a dead cold blizzard, if it wasn''t for the winter clothes they bought in a nearby vige, they would be freezing, or at least, without magic.


    John was perfectly fine in the cold, with or without the winter clothes, that was because ever since they entered the cold environment, he had always automatically circted thermal energy throughout his body.


    "John, create a warm protective field for the horses" Said master


    And without wasting any time, John did


    "Crustallus aquae" Trantion: Ice cube


    In an instant, an ice cube big enough to fit them and the horses including some trees were formed. Serena and Ariel were left speechless by how fast it was formed


    "John, did it form that fast because of the cold?" Ariel asked


    "Hm, I guess." John replied


    Serena and Ariel were shocked by his reply


    "I guess huh... I see, so you''re spell formation speed has increased... Well I guess it''s only natural" Said Serena with a nk expression


    "aer scelerisque" Trantion: Thermal Air


    The air inside of the Ice cube which covered them all, became warmer. So much that you couldn''t even tell that there was a blizzard outside.


    "Good, let''s go." Said master as she cut open a hole in the cube for them to exit


    Ariel and Serena didn''t even try to understand how unsurprised john''s master''s reaction was, and instead, thought of it as something normal.


    As they exited the cube, the hole which master had cut, Closed off by itself


    "John, won''t the warm air inside cause it to the ice to melt and potentially evaporate?" Asked Ariel as she tested her knowledge


    "As long as I keep supplying the ice with magic, it should be fine, and it''s not warm enough to evaporate the ice, but that was a good question" Said John


    "I see..." Said Ariel as she thought over her understandings


    Serena who watched also thought about what he had said. It was the basics that they were taught, but gaining a better understanding of them would always help.


    As the three followed their master they found themselves on the inside of a cave


    --------------------------------------------------


    "You''re..."


    The familiar face, then spoke up


    "So you''ve finally arrived. Do you know how long I''ve been waiting here?" He asked


    "Master''s brother..." Said John


    John was surprised to see master''s brother. He suddenly disappeared after they had that encounter a year and a half ago.Master''s brother looked slightly older but still had that young face.


    Serena and Ariel were very surprised, even more than when john had formed an ice cube in an instant.


    "John, why didn''t you tell us master had a brother?" Serena whispered to the two


    "Because you never asked" John replied


    "He makes a fair point" Whispered Ariel


    "I can see that..." Whispered Serena


    "You know I can hear you right? We''re in a cave, a quiet cave." Said master''s brother


    The three nervously chuckled


    "Anyways, sis, I waited 2 weeks for this. Is he ready?" He asked


    Master then looked at john. John didn''t understand what the two were talking about as master never went into detail about what they''d be doing, where they''d be going or what sort of training it would be. But in the end, all he could do was trust her.


    As scary as she was, john really respected her.


    "... He''s... ¡­. ¡­ ready." Said master


    "Why was there a dy?" John asked with a smile on his face


    His smile was to hide how worried he was, he knew something bad wasing from him. Whenever master was uncertain about something bad things would happen, and now she was really uncertain


    "Alright, then it''s your responsibility if anything bad happens, everyone follow me" Said master''s brother as he walked deeper into the cave.


    John had a bad feeling but aftering all this way, there''s no way he could back out. Especially not in front of Ariel and Serena who were watching.


    Master''s brother led them deeper and deeper into the cave until they eventually reached a dead end, or rather, an edge.

 Chapter 107 - The Trial

    Light magic was cast so they could see as they walked.


    "John, you face a trial, if you pass, you wille back stronger." Said master


    "I''m guessing I have to jump down the edge into the dark abyss huh" Asked john


    Without saying anything, master nodded.


    "Wait, isn''t this dangerous...? This might not be a good idea..." Asked Ariel


    "Yeah, john, It''s fine if we turn back, I''m getting a bad feeling,ing from down there..." Said Serena


    Master didn''t stop them, she only looked at John, as if saying, it was his decision. Although master''s brother kept ring at John with a look which seemed to be saying ''I better not have waited 2 weeks here for nothing...''


    "It''s fine... I''ll do it, but in case I don''te back, I want to say something. Master, thank you for making me your disciple, the year and a half we spent together, was painful, honestly I hated it, but it was fun."


    Master who heard this looked conflicted on how she should feel towards what she had just heard


    "Ariel, you were always a great party member, and something as close to me as family, I''m d I got to meet you"


    Ariel looked really worried, she looked as if she wanted someone to stop me


    "Serena... Well, let''s skip this"


    "What!?" Said Serena seemingly annoyed


    "Haha, I''m joking, Serena, you were also a gr-eat party member-"


    "What was with that pause?" She asked


    "Although we weren''t always that close, and usually argued I feel like recently, we''ve been progressing. I''m also d I got to meet yo-


    Serena suddenly walked up to john and began to push him back and forth on the edge


    "Stop acting as if you''re going to die! If you don''t believe you''re going to pass the trial, then don''t try it! Where''s the arrogant john that I know!?" Asked Serena as she continued to shake him


    Her eyes slightly teared up as she stared straight at him


    "Arrogant john... Is that really what you thought of me? And that was ages ago, people change over time, you know. And Don''t worry, it was a joke. I remembered a scene like this from a book I read long ago" Said John


    Serena''s face became flush red, she was embarrassed, after all she had said, it all turned out to be a joke on his part


    Without saying anything, while embarrassed, she walked away from john


    After she stopped, She kept her back turned to him and didn''t bother to look. John was sure that she was sulking, but he deserved it.


    Although he said that it was a joke, he genuinely believed that he was either going to die, or lose his soul, that''s just the vibe he got from staring into the dark abyss in the cave. He wasn''t even sure why there''d be an abyss in a cave in the first ce.


    "Well, I''m off" He said as he jumped down


    "Ah wait!" he heard Ariel shout but by then it was toote


    He suddenly jumped as the more time he''d waste staring at it, the less he''d do it. the more he''d want to not do it, so he thought he should get it over with


    "Now that I think about it, that cool speech that I gave... Didn''t the protagonist who gave that speech in the book die? Did I just raise a g...? Oh s***"


    -------------------------------------------------------


    Serena turned around when she noticed that john wasn''t gone, she had stopped sulking and was now visibly worried.


    Ariel herself had be quiet, but also visibly worried


    Master didn''t say anything and just leaned on the wall with her eyes closed, while her brother looked over the edge to see if he could see john, but he seemed to have no luck.


    "Believe in him, he''ll be fine" Said master


    "Yeah..." Replied Ariel with a forced smile


    Meanwhile Serena just kept quiet


    -------------------------------------------------------


    "John... John...! Doctors he''s waking up! He''s waking up!!" Shouted a familiar voice


    As I opened my eyes, the bright ceiling lights felt like they would blind me. The sound of a beep resounded in my ear every few second. And the soft sensation of a bed filled my back.


    As I looked around, a familiar face which felt like I hadn''t seen in years sat right next to my bed. Before I even realised it, tears started to pour down my eyes


    "A-Aunty...?"


    My aunty who had taken care of me with my uncle was right then and there. Without saying anything, she hugged me and I cried into her arms


    "Aunty... I always regretted not being able to say goodbye to you... Thank you... Thank you and uncle, for taking me in... Thank you..."


    "It''s okay... it''s fine now..." She muttered


    Shortly after, I stopped and wiped my tears... I looked outside of the window, buildings, apartments and a stadium could be seen through them.


    As I continued to stare outside, I began to wonder if everything was a dream, meeting ariel, serena, master, will, everyone. All my training, suffering, happiness... My recently discovered crush... Was it all just in my head?


    "Hey, aunty... Where''s uncle? And what happened to me?" I asked


    "Calm down... I''m sure you have a lot of questions now, but you''re tired... Get some rest..." She said


    Rest...? Ah, now that she mentioned it... I am pretty tired... Maybe I should sleep...


    My eyelids, felt heavy, I started to feel very drowsy, and began to doze off. When all of the sudden, I heard a voice


    [Don''t fall asleep... John...]


    It was a familiar voice, Ah... That''s right, it was the girl who saved me after taking over my body... Ah I really owe her one... I nearly fell asleep


    Without saying anything, I got up and began heading towards the door


    "J-John? Where are you going? Come back..." Said Aunty as she stretched out her hand


    "You know aunty... Even if anyone were to tell me otherwise, even if there were no evidence, these feelings that I''m feeling right now. Sadness, Frustration, Hope. They''re real. I''m d I got to get off what I wanted to say to you off my chest, but I have very important people waiting for me toplete this trial... I''m sure you and uncle must have suffered a lot after I died... And it hurts... It really does... I... I''m sorry... I''m very grateful for everything you two have done for me... Goodbye..." I muttered as I wiped my tears off my face


    As I opened the hospital doors, to leave, I turned back onest time. Aunty, showed me a smile, even without her saying any other words, just that one smile was enough.


    "Thank you...." I said as I walked out and slowly closed the door, while clenching my chest.

 Chapter 108 - John Vs John

    As I closed the doors, I turned towards the hospital hallways, it was empty, yet fully lit by the ceiling lights. As I stared at my reflection through the ss, I noticed that I was in my old body. But I didn''t care


    I began to walk to walk around, and on the first right turn, there was a seat, with a girl sitting on it.


    Without saying anything, I approached the girl, it was elena, the veryst girl I saw before I died. Thinking back, I''m not sure if I regret how things have ended up, but that''s not the matter right now.


    Her depressed expression changed as into a tearful smile as she saw me, "John! You''re awake!" She shouted as she ran up towards me and jumped to give me a hug.


    As tears streamed her face she muttered, "Thank god... You''re finally awake... I''ve been waiting for so lon-"


    "Let go." I calmly said


    "Eh? What do you mean?" She asked with a confused expression


    "Don''t use her face. It''s a waste of time. Get on with the trial." I continued.


    "J-John? W-What do you mean?" She asked with a saddenned expression


    "You know, for something that''s looking over my memories and mind, you''re pretty slow. I said get off of my mind."


    Without even realising it, I started to let out my bloodlust, I was mad, really mad.


    "Hoh... you seem colder, did splitting our personality which had merged caused this? Or has this always been your true nature..."


    The voice came from behind me, it was the voice of a kid. Right when I was about to turn around, everything around me was covered in darkness, there was only one source of light, and it wasing from me.


    However, it turns out I didn''t need to turn around. Despite it being dark, I could see the young figure of the me from my new reincarnated body right in front of me.


    "Who are you?" I asked


    "I''m you, or more precisely, we merged and became one." He said


    Merged and became one...? What''s he talking about


    "Ah, you probably haven''t realised it since you quickly adapted to your new body. But in summary, our personalities merged when our bodies merged, and right now, we''ve separated and your normal personality is back, for now at least..." He said


    Merging personalities? And my personality returned to normal...? Strange, even though it''s back to normal, I feel the same as always, is it because I got so used to it?


    Wait does that mean I took over this kids body after I died?


    "Not really, I was going to die either way. So in a way, you saved me." He said


    Crap now he''s reading my mind... What the hell is going on.


    "What happened?" I asked


    "Hmm... If you beat me in a fight, I''ll tell you, but if you lose... I''ll take over your soul" He said with a smile


    Suddenly, my body changed back to normal, as in the reincarnated one, and so did the kid, his body changed into one identical to mine, with only a slightly darker qualities in the hair and clouded dark pupils like master.


    ----------------------------------------------------------


    "Hey... There''s been no signs of him... Is he really okay?" Serena asked


    "M-Maybe, I should go down there and check on him..." muttered ariel as she was about to walk towards the edge


    She was stopped by master who said


    "If you go there, not only you, but he will die. We are here to make sure that no one interrupts the trial. The best we could do is watch."


    Ariel who understood this walked back, she leaned on the wall with her head hung. Meanwhile Serena was just quiet


    Everyone was quietly waiting


    ---------------------------------------------------------


    In the pitch-ck darkness, there stood John and his other self


    John was unsure whether or not to make the first move, but could tell that his other self was definitely interested in killing him.


    Without wasting any time, John entered the defensive stance, he nned on assessing this other guy''s strength. At the same time, John was wondering whether or not it was the right choice.


    After all, it wasn''t John''s Original body, his soul probably entered it and took over it when he died, nheless, John knew that everyone was waiting for him, if he suddenly gave up because something like, I''m not the original owner of the body


    Serena would have gotten mad at him while saying things like "If you steal it it''s yours!" while Ariel would have also gotten mad, although John couldn''t imagine what she''d say, or do.


    "Sorry, we could share the body, but until I find a way to separate us, you''re stuck with me" Said John with a smile


    "Haha, say that after you beat me, Fake." Said the shadow with an evil smile before disappearing


    Confused, John turned around and the shadow was right behind him with a swing already in action. Using the de of his dagger, john diverted the swing to the right, but at the same time, the shadow managed to send a kick straight at John''s head which john blocked while using his left palm


    As the shadow was falling an orange orb was formed right above him. Surprised by the shadow''s sudden action, John recognised that spell and knew what wasing. He cast a defense spell as fast as he could


    "Verum Scutum cies" Transtion: True Ice Shield


    "Causa Satani tenebris" Trantion: Dark explosion


    The orb suddenly turned ck and exploded


    Inside of the smoke, john locked on to the shadow''s presence using magic perception and deprehendre.


    The shadow wasn''t moving, John used this as an opportunity to organise his thoughts, Over the fight, he saw that the shadow could not only use chant less magic, but the dark element, something that john''s master hadn''t taught him.


    He was also using the dark move, shadow step which master usually used, which is how John was able to sense his location after teleporting.


    When john was just about done with organising his thoughts, the shadow''s presence moved


    He quickly turned around, but the shadow''s presence wasn''t him, he then looked up and the shadow was going straight down at him from above


    "Tenebris mmae"The shadow said with an evil smile Trantion: Dark mes

 Chapter 109 - Light Vs Dark

    John was panting hard, his left hand was burnt but other than that, he sustained no other damage. The pain in his hand felt way so real, that it was distracting. If it wasn''t for master''s training, he wouldn''t have even been able to hold on to his dagger.


    "Hoh... Not bad, to be able to cancel out my fire with water" Said the other john


    The moment john saw his shadow above him, he created a water shield to cancel out the dark mes, however he was still hit. That was because unlike regr mes, dark mes is harder to burnt out andst longer. John knew this because it was a move his master usually used.


    His master had aptitude for fire and dark magic. So he got to see the move plenty of times, it was difficult to deal with because it was hard to put out the me, but eventually john learnt how to.


    But even knowing that, the difference in levels was obvious. John had been on the defensive this whole time and was struggling, so he thought about changing things up.


    John changed his stance into the offensive one, he took a deep breath as he emptied his mind.


    The shadow''s location moved once again, John turned to where he had sensed it and swung his dagger, Surprised, the shadow shadow stepped to the area above John and swung his dagger downwards


    John dodged it and at the same time, propelled a ice spike at him, however the shadow, shadow stepped again to dodge it. This time, the shadow was now keeping distance from john.


    Master once told john ''You think too much when you fight, let your senses do the work''. Ever since then she has trained all of his senses.


    "Verum Ignis" Trantion: True Ignis


    A pure blue me was formed right in front of john, he propelled it at the shadow to test something


    "Tenebris Aqua" Trantion: Dark Water


    A dark coloured liquid was formed in front of the shadow, and not only blocked but absorbed the fire, no steam was let out. The water then disappeared to nothing.


    John wanted to see, if the shadow could use any other element aside from dark, and after seeing it''s recent move, John believes that it can use every dark version of every element.


    With this, john realised how slim his chances were of winning. However, he didn''t give up


    "Come at me." Said john while concentrating as hard as he could


    With a grin, the shadow with his appearance, teleported right in front of him. They were both using the same stance, therefore, their attack patterns would be the same. With this, they shed.


    ---------------------------------------------------


    They all waited in silence, no sounds wereing from under the edge.


    "John''s master... have you done the trial before?"


    Master nodded


    "What exactly happens?" Ariel asked


    Master was unsure whether or not to answer Ariel''s question, but decided to as she had a right to know.


    "The first trial tests john''s faith. John must stay true to his purpose. And for the second trial... He must conquer himself... In other words, fight." Said master


    "Fight... Himself? Was it hard when you fought yourself?" Serena asked


    "No, he were evenly matched, but back then I was a kid. I couldn''t use magic, and was barely experienced with using a dagger, and so was my shadow."


    "Then since john can use magic, and is very good at using it, doesn''t that mean his shadow will also be just as strong? Won''t that make it harder for john?!" Asked Ariel visibly worried


    Master nodded as she said "But that means the power he''ll gain will be bigger."


    "But what if he fails..." Asked Ariel as she started to tear up


    She was about to sprint off the edge, ignoring, what master said, but serena stopped her.


    "Serena!" Ariel shouted


    When she saw, serena''s expression, she realised that Serena was just as mad and worried as her, but was stopping herself, Seeing that, Ariel forced herself to wait a little longer...


    -----------------------------------------------------


    *ng* *ng* *ng*


    The sound of weapons hitting each other, resounded throughout the darkness. A light versus a shadow.


    With irregr swings, following one after another, John would either block them, or avoid them, while attacking. No one was being pushed back, just as no one was being hit.


    John was constantly draining his energy, to keep up the rush, while the shadow looked perfectly fine, however, john''s focus did not waver


    For a moment, the shadow, left an opening near his torso, John instantly grabbed that opening and got a clean kick on the shadow. He reinforced his leg as much as he could, sending the Shadow flying back


    As the shadow continued to roll back, it suddenly disappeared, John looked around then up but it wasn''t there, he looked down, and it was rising from the ground right underneath him at a fast speed.


    As john stepped back to avoid it, it disappeared again, and this time, John knew that it was behind him. Since his legs weren''t touching the ground, John needed to use velox to propel himself away


    As he turned, to face the shadow, and propel himself away, he was suddenly stabbed, right beside his abs, in the abdominal oblique.


    John tried to pull the dagger out of him, but it wouldn''t budge


    Then with a grin, the shadow muttered, "Tenebris mmae"


    mes erupted through the de, and passed through john''s wound


    "GAAHHH!" John let out


    The paining from the wound was unimaginable, his hand wouldn''t stop trembling, and he couldn''t talk. As he continued to grip the shadow''s hand trying to pull it away from his wound, he looked at the shadow''s face.


    IT had a wide grin formed on it, as it said


    "Ah... Yes... That expression... That hate... The pain... The fear... It tastes so good..."


    As pain surged through his body and john''s anger began to increase, he could hear a voice inside of him


    [John, need help?]


    He could easily recognise the voice, even though he hadn''t heard it in a long time, it was the voice of the person who saved him from the shadow mage. Hearing that voice, gave him strength, it showed him that he wasn''t alone


    "No, I''ll be fine." Said John


    The shadow confused, was about to end john with the next move, when all of the sudden, John said


    "Magnum Sancti Lumine" Trantion: Big Holy light

 Chapter 110 - Ash

    "Magnum Sancti Lumine" Trantion: Great Holy Light


    A bright light was formed in between John and his shadow. His shadow instantly shadow stepped away from the light leaving one of his daggers behind, seeing this, John finally figured out a way to win.


    "Y-You... When did you...? You never had a spell like that before?!" Shouted his shadow


    John who saw his shadow panick, found it rather amusing and chuckled as he said "That''s right... I created it now" Said John with a grin as he pointed his middle finger at the shadow


    John then coughed out a bit of blood, He looked at the blood then he looked towards the shadow and noticed that it wasn''t approaching him. It was afraid of the light.


    John used this opportunity to quickly pull the dagger out


    "GAAH!" He screamed in pain once he managed to pull it out. Blood was pouring out of the wound, and his vision was starting to get blurry, he was also starting to get lightheaded.


    However, he had no ns of losing. He broke the dagger and ced his hand over his wound as he said


    "Percuro"


    A Light was formed around his hand, and he kept it close to his wound, while focusing on the healing process.


    "First was hesmotasis... *cough*"


    The wound slowly began to close by clotting.


    "Then... the inmmatory phase..."


    Using magic, john sped up the healing process, which led to the creation of a white blood cell called neutrophils to enter the wound and remove debris


    [Faster.... Faster] John thought to himself


    The shadow then quickly snapped out of it''s fear, and realised that it had to stop john from healing himself, but by then...


    "Then the proliferative Phase and the maturation phase."


    When john said that a shiny, deep red grantion tissue filled the wound bed with a connective tissue, then john strengthened the tissue while making sure that it still had flexibility.


    "Spicis tenebris." Said the shadow Trantion: Dark Spike


    John who felt an attacking, propelled himself into the air, with velox duplici


    The shadow, did the same and proplled himself into the air while saying "Velox"


    But what happened after, surprised john. It wasn''t able to cast levite, and fell right back down.


    Seeing this, John thought that it would be best to charge up an attack


    "


    Verum magna sphaera Atque Vale" Trantion: Great True me Sphere


    A small me which gradually expanded in size over time, was formed right above john, the end result looked like the burning hot sun


    It was so big and hot that it lit up the whole dark room, making it more visible, from john''s perspective, it looked like a white space which had been clouded in darkness, but for some reason, that space felt familiar...


    However john didn''t have time to think about it now, he propelled the giant me right at the shadow. It''s speed was rather slow, and the shadow who saw the giant sun heading towards him, grinned as he said "Velox"


    He propelled himself straight at the me, before disappearing, john turned around and he was right behind him in the sky. John then realised that he was inside of his range


    "It''s over, give me your body." He said with a grin as he swung his dagger.


    "I refuse." John Calmly replied


    With his right hand, John parried the shadow''s dagger. Since the shadow had lost it''s other dagger, it had no way of defending from john''s swing with his left dagger, however to it''s surprise, John wasn''t holding a dagger at his left hand


    John extended his left hand towards the shadow. An Orb of Light was formed slightly over his hand and when the shadow noticed what it was, it tried to teleport away, but it wasn''t fast enough.


    John''s light sphere pierced the shadow and went right inside it. Cracks with light pouring out of him, started to form around the shadow''s body. It seemed to be growing weaker and weaker


    "H-How... When did you..."


    But before john could reply, The face of dispair on the shadow''s face turned into one of realization as it answered it''s own question


    "Ah... I see... The light that lit up, the room wasn''t only from the me... You had cast a light spell on top of it, while using the lighting from the me to hide it... Haha... It''s my loss..." Said the shadow before turning into ash


    "I''ll find a way to return your body one day... I promise, not to the shadow, but to the original owner of this body..." John muttered to himself


    At the same time, the darkness which covered the room, disappeared, However, notpletely, A quarter of the room was clouded in darkness, while the rest was full of light.


    Tired, John looked towards, the light side of the room, there, he saw the figure of thedy that had saved him before.


    "So that''s why it looked so familiar..." He muttered to himself


    She waved at him toe over and he did


    --------------------------------------------------


    "ARGH, I can''t wait any longer, I''m going down there." Said Serena with an annoyed expression


    With the same expression, on her face, John''s master didn''t try to stop serena at all. Ariel was surprised by serena''s sudden action, and had already nned on going with her


    Serena was annoyed by how, John''s master, looked like she didn''t care about john''s death, and wanted to say something, but thought it''d only be a waste of time


    Instead walked towards the edge, only to be stopped by Master''s older brother


    "I''m saying this for your own good, you won''t save him, and you don''t meet the requirements to face the trial. You''ll die." Said master''s brother


    "We don''t care." They simultaneously replied


    "A-Alright..." Said Master''s brother as he stepped aside


    As Serena and Ariel stood at the edge and looked down, they were starting to feel a bit nervous, however, that wasn''t going to stop them


    They were about to jump, when all of the sudden, Something grabbed on to their shoulders.


    Shivers travelled through their bodies as they nearly sprung off the edge, then they turned around only to see John. There was a trace of shadow around him, and his eyes were clouded in darkness, but they were too happy to notice.


    "John!" Ariel shouted as she jumped at it him while giving him a hug, she was so happy it moved him


    And Serena went off script as she started to tear up as she slowly hugged him, but she hid it by putting her face on his cloak.


    As his heart beat at a speed which made him feel like he was going to have a heart-attack John happily and embarrassedly hugged them back while trying not to think to hard of it. looking at his master and her brother, for the first time, he saw master with a surprised expression

 Chapter 111 - Possession

    Serena was the first to let go of the hug, her nose was red, and she wiped her watery eyes, then red at him.


    "W-What''s wrong?" I asked


    "Nothing." Replied Serena as she looked away


    She seemed both happy and annoyed at the same time, however, since she didn''t want to talk about it, John decided to let it be.


    Ariel then let go of john, and her eyes were a bit red, he looked towards his cloak and saw that it was a bit wet, Ariel was also wailing her eyes out


    John however, acted like he didn''t notice, for if he had mentioned it, it would have just annoyed the already annoyed serena.


    Suddenly, john felt something heading towards him, and turned while catching all three of them at nearly the same time. It was moving to him at such a high speed, that even tho both serena and Ariel saw it, they wouldn''t have been able to react


    John''s body reacted on it''s own, and as he looked over to what he had caught, he moved his body forward, avoiding the sudden thrust of master''s brother''s dagger which was aimed at his shoulder.


    At the same time that john avoided it, he pointed one of the things he grabbed at the neck of what had just tried to attack him.


    "Not bad." Said master''s brother as he backed away


    John could tell that he was nervous, when john finally realised what he was holding, he didn''t panick but simply, dropped it to the ground, it was throwable knifes.


    And the one who threw them at him in the beginning, was his master.


    Serena and Ariel who saw this, prepared for a fight.


    "That proves it, you''ve achieved the possessed state." Said master


    "possessed state? You mean the same one as master?" John asked


    John felt different than normal, his emotions felt dimmer and he was much better at using his poker face, His senses felt sharper, and he also felt faster. It was almost as if time was constantly moving on slow motion, but not to the point where he couldn''t understand or have a conversation.


    "Yeah. Possession."


    After master said that, her eyes were also clouded in darkness just like john''s but in a way felt different


    Serena and Ariel who realised that it was a test, dropped their guards while letting out a relieved sigh


    "I see..." Muttered John


    "The move you pulled, where you suddenly appeared behind serena and Ariel, it''s a move from the dark spirit you gain control over, after defeating them." Asked Master


    John was starting to understand what happened and why he knew how he knew how to use the move without chanting despite not knowing the concept. He also knew that he wouldn''t be able to use it without being in the possession state that master talked about


    Serena and Ariel were both confused but they didn''t want to interrupt


    "Verum Tenebris mma" Trantion: True Dark me


    John suddenly said that, and at the same time, a darkish blue me was formed above his right hand.


    "Verum Tenebris Aqua" Trantion: True Dark water


    A dark liquid was then formed right over john''s left hand


    "Verum tenebris vum cies"


    A giant sinister looking ice spike was formed above john


    John''s master and her brother were both visibly surprised when they saw that. Serena and Ariel were so shocked they didn''t know what to say


    "John, exin what happened" Said Master


    "W-Well... you see..." I muttered


    ***


    "What?! Your shadow could use the dark version of every element?" Asked Serena


    "Yeah, that''s right." John replied with a nervous smile


    "John...so that means you can use, the chant-less dark version of every element?" Master''s brother asked


    "Yeah, my dark spirit or whatever, could. I suddenly understood how to, as well. Although I can only use it in the possessed state for now. I should be able to use it chant-less without this state in the future."


    They all looked at me with widened eyes, except for master. John was surprised by Serena and Ariel''s reaction. They didn''t even understand what was happening yet they still somehow knew it wasn''t normal.


    "john, before you continue talking, leave that state. No matter what, don''t use it for a long period of time." Said master


    "Eh? Why?" John asked


    Being in the state, felt weird, but it didn''t feel bad, in fact it made him powerful.


    "Otherwise, The darkness will consume your heart." She replied


    Hearing her say that, made him feel a bit afraid.


    "How do I turn it off?" John asked


    "Think, you should know." Said Master


    After thinking for a while, john suddenly realised that he knew how to."


    "Master, I did it." Said John as the darkness left his eyes


    "Eh?" Said john confusedly


    After He fully left the state, he copsed, and felt all his strength seep away, before going unconscious


    -----------------------------------


    "John. John!" Said the voice


    "Wha-?" He muttered as he opened his eyes


    He looked around and realised what happened, He was back inside of his consciousness. And beside him, sat was thedy. He noticed that her face had more features than before, but wasn''t sure whether or not it was his imagination


    "How evil, you suddenly left after I called you over" She said while looking forward


    "Ah, sorry about that, I suddenly woke up at the bottom of a cliff, crawling with bugs. Then found out I could teleport only to stop my 2 best friends from heading into a situation which could most likely kill them" Said John


    "Ah... W-Well, nevermind. More importantly, we need to talk." She said


    "Okay." Replied John


    He could feel that what they were going to talk about was definitely going to be serious, although it made him a bit sad to know that he''d be worrying about things even while he''s unconscious, he wanted his sleep to at least be a moment of rest.


    "Well then... Where should I start...." She muttered

 Chapter 112 - The Mind Talk

    "But before that, I''d like to ask something." Said thedy


    John didn''t know what to expect, but he didn''t n on taking this conversation lightly, even if he didn''t mention it, he didn''t really feelfortable knowing that there was another person in his body.


    "Sure, go ahead" John replied


    "On the fight, you used a holy light spell, and the chant-less version of it, I''ve been watching the things you''ve been doing, from your consciousness, but I don''t recall you ever using that spell, not to mention the sphere you made." She said


    John was confused, he had thought that she could hear and see everything that he was thinking so he wasn''t sure how to react to what she had just said


    "Hmm... Can''t you just read my mind?"


    He decided to just be straightforward and ask, he was curious as well so her bringing it up, made it easier for him to mention it


    "Ahaha... It doesn''t work like that... You see... My soul is trapped in your consciousness."


    "What?!" shouted John


    He thought that she was purposely keeping an eye on him but instead of that, she was trapped here.


    "Sorry, I got a bit too surprised, so wait, what you''re saying is, you''re soul is trapped inside of my body, but mainly in my mind?" John asked


    "It''s something like that, although I''m in your mind, I''m only in a part of it, I can''t hear your thoughts, or read your mind like you probably expected, but I can see what you see..."


    When john heard thosest few words, he began to sweat nervously. He then, began desperately thinking of a way to change the topic


    "A-Ah, S-So, U-Uh... R-Regarding your question-"


    "N-No, it''s fine, really, you don''t have to feel embarrass-"


    "It''s fine, I''m not embarassed at all." Said John with a smile in his face


    [Someone please kill me] John thought to himself


    "Ah, that''s good, I thought you''d be because-"


    "Like I was saying, It was my first time using that spell so I understand you''d be confused"


    "First time..." She muttered to herself


    John felt relieved that the topic had finally changed, but because she had mentioned it, he was secretly dying of embarrassment on the inside.


    "Yeah, since you''ve seen everything from my perspective, remember the first night where I took Eleanor on a flight?" John asked


    "You mean the night you flirted with her?" She asked


    "I did?" John asked


    He wasn''t much of ady''s man so he wasn''t very good at flirting, which is why what she said confused him, but he continued his exnation, without thinking too deeply on it


    "Ah... I thought that you were ignorant, but it looks like you''re just in dense..."


    "Dense...? Me?"


    John genuinely believed that he was quick at understanding things, even if he wasn''t smart. When it came to studying, mechanisms or questions, he would be able to quickly grasp the concept, that''s how it had always been for him.


    Thedy looked at john, but since he couldn''t properly see her expression, he couldn''t understand what she was thinking.


    She let out a sigh, before saying "Nevermind, but yeah, what happened that night which made you learn how to use light magic?" She asked


    "I assumed that I wouldn''t be able to use light magic, because I wasn''t baptised. People say that, that is a requirement" Said john


    "Yes, I''ve also heard that" She said


    "When I saw Eleanor chanting that day, I wondered why I could understand every single word of it."


    "She wasn''t silent chanting, but more importantly, don''t you name your spells off the magguage?" She asked


    "It''s aplicated situation."


    Whenever John thought of a spell name, right before he would activate it and say it, the words would automaticallye out in a differentnguage. He''s tried to figure out why but he''s had no luck.


    [Maybe she''d know something about it...] He thought to himself


    But even if she had saved him, it was too soon to trust her.


    Thedy then looked over at john again, he couldn''t tell what she was thinking, and it slightly bothered him, but he didn''t mind since she did save him.


    "Hmm... but anyhow, what does that have to do with you understanding the concept?" She asked


    John wasn''t surprised at all that she knew that chant-less magic was based on an understanding of the concept, that was because she had been listening and seeing everything that he''s both done and said


    "Everything. After it happened, I started to deepen my understanding of light magic."


    That was because he really wanted to beat his master, although he never got to use it against her.


    "Just like that?" She asked


    "It was surprisingly simple" He replied


    One thing he hadn''t this whole time though, was that the light spell he had used, wasn''t the same one as eleanor, although he named it the same, it was fundamentally different.


    Back when john first learnt ''Percuro'' Or in other words, Heal. He noticed that he could increase, it''s strength or the way it worked, by simply changing the formation. For example, if hepressed it and suddenly released it as a burst, it would work like a regr ''Advanced ss: Holy light"


    So john never learnt the holy light spell, he simply used a stronger version of heal. Just simply focusing on four stages of healing and strengthening that process, was an effective way of fighting against the dark element.


    Trying it out in that situation was a risk, but surprisingly enough, it worked. He didn''t tell that to serena or Ariel, since they would have kept nagging it him, if they had learnt he took such a stupid risk.


    [Even if it was a bluff, it worked.] He thought to himself


    "That light spell you used, looked like the saint ss light spell: Divine Orb. You''re telling me, you were able to easily use it because you understood the concept?" She asked


    [There shouldn''t be a problem telling her...]


    "haha, is that what it looked like? It was just apressed version of the same spell" John replied


    [With more magic in it] He thought to himself


    "Ah... I see... Haha... So you really aren''t from this world..." She said


    "H-How did you...."

 Chapter 113 - Darkness In The Light

    "H-How did you know?" John asked


    "So it''s true...And are you really asking me that right now? Especially when you enthusiastically shouted out in the middle of the city ''THIS IS ANOTHER WORLD!''" She said


    John was speechless, not because she found out, but because of the way she found out.


    "W-Well, It''s part of life." Said John


    "There are many questions, I''d like to ask, but I''m afraid, we don''t have much time..."


    After she said that, John looked towards the other side of the room, quarter of it, was clouded in darkness, he had no intention to approach it.


    [Since this is inside of my mind, that must mean that there''s darkness in me... Not that I mind, if it makes me stronger.]


    Thedy then looked at the light ceiling, confused, John looked as well, but it was just a regr ceiling.


    "Wasn''t there something you were going to tell me?" John asked


    "Hmm... It''s still too soon"


    [Seriously...] John thought to himself


    "Hm, before I go, I want to ask you something." Said John


    It was something that was really bugging him, was it at the same time, he entered the original owner of this body? Was it before that? And did she know that he wasn''t the original owner? No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t remember if he had mentioned it out loud. And he was praying that he didn''t


    "Go on" She said


    "How and when did you enter my body?"


    "Hmm, I don''t remember, but when I came to it, you were copsed on the ground, and I was trapped inside of here, so I thought I should at least wake you up."


    John then realised, the voice he heard back then, it was hers. Seeing this, he felt rather grateful. That voice back then, which told him to wake up, made him feel like he was always being watched over and protected.


    "I see... Thanks, Zestari" Said John with a smile


    He wasn''t sure whether or not she was telling the truth, no to mention,how obvious it was that it was that she was hiding many things. But he still had to thank her for saving him and his friends.


    "So you remembered..." She said with a chuckle before waving


    She then muttered a few other words, but john couldn''t hear them. He could only hope to understand by reading her lips


    ---------------------------------------------


    As john opened his eyes he quickly looked around. he found himself on the ground, leaning on a stone wall with a warm, soft sensation on both sides of his shoulder. It was serena and Ariel both asleep. With a nket wrapped around the three of them, they leaned on john.


    He was still inside of the cave, with a blizzard outside, but john didn''t feel cold at all. Not just because of their body temperature, but because he always had thermal energy active around him, even when he slept.


    He could also use it as an air conditioner, he believed that it was one of his most useful abilities.But because he was like a walking heater and cooler, Serena and Ariel, would stay near him on travels around too cold or too warm areas.


    Master seemed fine in any environment. She was never picky about anything either. He wanted her to act more feminine and show more emotion.


    [At this rate, master will die lonely...] He thought to himself


    He also hadn''t beaten her, so he still didn''t know her name... He genuinely believed that she was a difficult person to handle. Once she made her mind up, there was no stopping her.


    After he thought of all that, John looked over at Ariel. He was trying to distract himself by thinking of other things, but it wasn''t working.


    [Ariel, said she liked me, didn''t she...?]


    Although he still couldn''t be certain, whether or not it was a romantic like. Now that he had heard her feelings, it made him even more conscious of her.


    She looked relieved, and was even drooling a bit. Seeing this john couldn''t help but smile.


    "Cute..." He muttered


    He then tried to picture him and Ariel together, they would go out on dates, and then kiss, and have fun on adventures.


    [T-That, wouldn''t be bad at all...] He thought to himself as his cheeks turned a bit red


    John slowly moved his hand, while making sure not to wake her up, and ced her hair over her ear, when all of the sudden


    "John" Said master


    "Y-Yes!?" Said John who quickly reverted his hand and nearly had a heart attack


    "We''re going hunting" She said


    John wanted to know if she saw everything, and how long she''d been standing there, but decided not to, since she herself didn''t mention it. Every once in a while, master would just conceal her presence.


    "Understood" Said John


    He slowly got up, while making Serena and Ariel lean on each other, he also made sure that the nket was properly on them, and at the same time, he slightly warmed up the cave.


    There was originally a fire, in the middle, and we were pretty close to it when we woke up, but it''s more efficient to increase the amount of thermal energy in the air.


    "I''ll keep watch" Said Master''s brother


    "Thank you, uh..."


    "Zac" He said


    John was surprised, he expected his name to be something more intimidating.


    "Alright, thanks zac" Said John


    "Yeah, no problem" Said Zac


    Right before he left, he looked over at serena and smiled


    "If only she could look that innocent, and at peace, when she was awake, being annoyed too often isn''t good for your health, You also look a lot cuter like that" John openly admitted


    ***


    As john and master ran through the snow-covered trees, John detected his prey with deprehendre. Meanwhile, master shadow stepped towards hers


    Without wasting any time, john cast velox and propelled himself through the trees, straight towards his prey.


    It was a snow white rabbit, without wasting any time, midair, he muttered


    "Ventus iact" Trantion: Wind Shot


    A small ball of air with a sharp edge, was formed and propelled, straight at the rabbit.


    The rabbit noticed, that something was off and tried to jump away, but it wasn''t fast enough. In a swift motion. It was pierced in right in the head, and fell over.


    "Sorry, little guy..." Muttered John as he picked it up


    John would rather hunt more carnivorous preys, rather than these little guys who are trying their hardest to survive in this cold, but he had no choice. It was part of the cycle of life.


    Shortly after, master appeared out of nowhere as usual. She was carrying 3 more rabbits, and they had all been skewered in the same point.


    [Looks like she also ended it in one hit, but three... As expected from master] John thought to himself


    "Prepare yourself, we''re sparing after we''ve eaten." She said before walking on the path which led back on the cave


    John couldn''t have been dder.


    "Understood" He said while hiding his excitement

 Chapter 114 - A Way To Beat Master

    Shortly after they were done with farming, they decided to head back, John nned on eating a reasonable amount, so that he would have enough energy to fight, and not start puking everywhere if he was hit too hard.


    On the way back, he also began thinking of a n. Now that he had posession, and could use the dark version every element, he would most likely win in a magic fight, but this was a no rule fight.


    Master could simply shadow step away from everything he would throw at her, so there was three options.


    The first option was to restrict her then finish her off. Which was easier said than done, as she could withstand gravity x 30 and possibly 50 which was the highest john could do, before copsing due to magic exhaustion


    [I need to think of a new restricting spell...] John thought to himself


    The second option was a close quarter fight, putting pressure at close range, even while she is shadow stepping away, however, before, john had no confidence at all, that he''d be able to win in a close range fight


    But now, John could not only use, possession, but also, Shadow step and the dark version of ''fulgurationem'' Lightning sh.


    John had only learnt Lightning sh, a few months ago. At first he was looking for a spell to increase his speed. That was when he came up with the spell.


    Fulgurationem, worked in a simple way, John managed toe up with it, a few days after the incident, but it was much harder to pull off then he had expected.


    By converting his magical power into energy for his chemical energy store in his body. His body will have more energy avable to use. With that energy, his body automatically had more energy transferred to his kic energy store with each movement.


    Causing him to move and act faster. However, that was only the first part of the spell, He would then have to speed himself up, even more by converting more of his magical power into kic energy.


    After umting enough energy, he would be able to much faster, but at the same time, it would put a major strain on his muscles, as too much energy would explode out at once.


    On his first try, John''s right arm broke, and the rest of his body felt so numb that he couldn''t move for a whole day.


    His body couldn''t withstand all that energy, he needed to find a way, to prevent all the energy from bursting out. He needed to be able to contain it, and freely move it throughout his body.


    No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t think of anything. Then right as he was about to give up, in the middle of training in a thunderstorm, John saw thunder strike a nearby tree.


    The moment he saw that, Hope returned to his eyes, and he got the idea. A way to freely move the energy through his body.


    The human body can conduct electricity, and it has cells which are specialised in doing so. That was what his teacher had taught him in school. As he remembered that, he started another test.


    He did the same process as before, and when he had umted enough kic energy and chemical energy in his body. He then transferred some of his magic and the kic energy and chemical energy, part by part, into his electrical energy store.


    After that, he would just conduct that electric energy through his body, and it worked. At first, it wasn''t giving him much of a boost, but after he learnt how to properly conduct it through his body, he gained super speed, He could even easily outspeed master''s teleportation.


    However, there were a few problems. The first was that it would onlyst two seconds, the second was that, whenever he''d use it, master would instantly teleport away, and the third, was that it was too risky.


    Conducting electricity through his body was dangerous. If he slipped up, and it passed through the wrong ces, he would die. On his first try, he nearly had a heart attack and was afraid to practice it for a week


    Eventually he gave up on improving it, and only used it as ast resort when he''s in a very bad pinch, it''s one of his forbidden spells. However, Dark lightning, He feels like mixing darkness, an element which is resistant against magic, may be able to make it harder, for him to get a heart attack


    But it may also be difficult to conduct it through his body. He wanted to check, but master, was here with him, and he wanted to save it for the fight. The shadow wasn''t able to properly use it against him, so maybe there was a reason why.


    And then came the third option, a trump card john had been improving in secret, to one day beat his master. It was his best bet at winning, and master had no idea it existed.


    "John, we''re here." Said master


    They were in front of an entrance to the cave. Without wasting any time, they walked inside, and found, Serena and Ariel, awake ying around with magic, with master''s brother watching over them


    Master''s brother didn''t talk much, and always had a grumpy expression on his face. John thought that it was a shame, because he looked like ady-killer when they first met.


    "John, master wee back." Said Ariel as she waved at us while she continued to mess around with a small wind sphere formed slightly over her hand


    She seemed to have mastered a few high level wind spells, but john didn''t know much of it. At school, she would only use chants and was pretty good at memorising them. At first she had a few problems but over time, she managed to fix them.


    Master nodded


    "Thanks" John replied


    "Did you go hunting?" Serena asked


    She didn''t look like she was in a bad mood, but both her and john felt awkward talking to her after that little fight.


    "Yeah" John replied as he raised the dead bunny


    He had froze off it''s wound, after it was struck by the wind bullet, so blood wasn''t dripping out


    "Good" Said Serena as she got up


    She then walked towards john, surprised, john was about to step back, when all of the sudden, she walked right past him to the entrance.


    "What are you waiting for? We have some supplies in the carriage, I can''t get them alone" Said Serena


    "You mean cooking supplies? You''re going to cook?" Asked John


    "What else would I mean? We got the from the nearby vige recently, remember?" ASked Serena


    [Serena''s cooking... I wonder what that''s going to taste like...]


    John was looking forward to it.


    "Be careful you two" Said Ariel with a smile as she waved at them

 Chapter 115 - Kiss?

    On the way to the carriage, in the beginning, no words were exchanged between, Serena and John.


    They kept close, as the air around john was warm, and made the blizzard more tolerable, the cloak with the hoodie also helped.


    The one who broke the Awkward silence, was serena


    "Hey john" She called out


    "Yeah?" John replied


    "W-When, I said I didn''t care... that was a lie..." She muttered


    Hearing this, john began trembling while trying to hold back hisugh


    "Sorry What was that? Pf-" He asked


    "I said, I lied, about not caring..." She said


    John thought that serena would get mad but instead, she looked down. Seeing this, john felt bad


    "Hm, that''s fine, I don''t mind at all. Not too far from your daily behaviour." John said casually


    "Hey!! I really felt bad!" She said, now annoyed


    Seeing this, john let out a chuckle, before he gave her a pat and said


    "I know that you don''t mean any of that. Did you actually think anyone believed it?" John asked with a smile


    Serena who was having her head, patted, slowly pushed john''s hand away and turned to the direction of the carriage. But when she did, john suddenly ced his hand on her forehead.


    "Hmm, it doesn''t look like you have a fever..." He muttered


    John noticed that serena''s face was a bit red, and was worried that she might have had a fever.


    "Wha-wha-wh- I-Im fine..." Serena said as she moved his hand again


    John wasn''t sure if it was because of the way serena was acting, or if it was because of how he''s started getting more conscious around her, but his sudden action, had made him embarrassed


    And from the looks of it, Serena was too. But before he could think more about it, they reached the ice cube


    "The carriage should be inside" said Serena as she cut open a hole using wind


    As they entered, they found out that the horses and carriage were perfectly fine. The horses were drinking water, which John had left there for them.


    "Alright, let''s get everything, then get out of here"


    Serena went on to the back of the carriage, and john followed being. She piled up everything they needed. A cooking pot, vegetables, master''s favourite wine, and tes.


    After everything, was in a pile, john slowly got up on the carriage, to get it, when all of the sudden, his leg bumped into something, causing him to fall straight on serena


    As a soft sensation filled his head, john suddenly realised what had happened and raised his head.


    "S-Sorry!" Said John with his eyes closed


    Seeing as there was no reply, he opened his eyes, only to see, serena covering her eyes, with her fingertips, trying to hide how embarrassed and red her cheeks were


    Because, they had both fallen, her hat slipped out a bit, he could see he cute pointy elf ears which were also red.


    John continued to stare straight at her, without saying anything, he too was conscious of the situation and was starting to get red.


    It was only them two, in the middle of a cold storm, by themselves, such a situation shouldn''t be allowed to happen, but it did.


    Since serena wasn''t fighting back, before he even realised it, John was moving his face closer and closer to serena''s


    As he got closer, it felt as if time stilled. serena slowly moved her hands disying her bright red cheeks, and a small frown formed over quivering silver eyes which stared straight at him. Seeing this, john''s face got redder and redder.


    He continued to move closer and as her small pink lips were just under his, a voice could be heard close to the carriage


    "Boss was right, there was a giant ice cube here" Said a male voice


    Hearing a voice, john suddenly sprung up, and realised what he had done.


    "Ah..."


    He didn''t know what to say, but there was no need to. Serena slowly got up, and with her cheeks still red, she said "It''s fine" Before jumping out of the carriage, and walking towards where the voice came from


    John didn''t know how to take that reply, did she dislike it and not mind since they were close friends? Did she like it? All these questions popped up in his head, but he didn''t have time to think about it.


    The voice they heard didn''te from master, or Ariel, or master''s brother. Was it bandits? John wasn''t too sure, but there was one thing he knew for sure. He regretted that it ruined his most likely best and only moment.


    Serena herself didn''t look too happy, as they both walked towards the end of the ice that the voice came from, John began to wonder if it was because of what he had done.


    He decided to worry about it after he sorted this out.


    As they approached the other side of the cube, a circle was suddenly cut open in it, and 4 guys came inside. The 4 were wearing heavy winter clothes and had their faces covered with goggles


    "Oh... Look at what we have here..."Said the same male voice


    It sounded like it belonged to an old man


    "The boss will be proud once we show him this" Said another male voice


    Another old man


    "What are you kids doing out here in the cold?" Asked the first guy


    Without saying anything, john just red at him. During the trip, they encountered bandits around 5 times, and boss both quickly and quietly dealt with them


    "Oioi, that''s not a nice look you have there kid, rx, we just want your things, we''ll spare you at least, I don''t know about her though... She''d sell for a lot, as a v-"


    The moment he mentioned that word, John''s eyes became clouded in darkness as he muttered "posession". And in that moment, a dark cube covered the guy''s whole body


    "W-What''s happening? G-Get me out of here!" Shouted the guy from inside of the cube


    The other three were starting to panic


    "O-Oh S*** We messed with the wrong guy, I-I''m out!" Said one of them as he ran back out of the hole


    The other two, followed behind, Serena was going to stop them, but john let them go. He didn''t want to kill them in front of Serena, but he nned on paying a visit to their base as thanks for what they had done.


    "Now what should I do with you..." Asked john


    The ice melted and the darkness dispersed, the guy in the cloak was trembling, he looked scared out of his mind. John didn''t look like he cared, his eyes were dark, like any sympathy or kind emotion he had was gone.


    Seeing this serena felt worried, but decided not to mention it.


    "Go back to your boss" John said with a smile


    "A-A-I-I''ll tell H-Him what h-happened, j-just you wait, y-you kids are dead!" He said before running out


    John simply waved at him with the same smile


    "Are you sure we should let them go?" Asked Serena


    "It''s fine, I''m sure they won''t cause us any trouble" Replied John


    The darkness which was around john''s eyes, disappeared, he cancelled possession. It turns out he can freely use it, but the reason he copsed was something that was supposed to happen after doing the trial.


    Serena didn''t think it was a good idea to let them go, but she decided to listen to john.


    "I''ll go get the things..." Said John as he pointed towards the carriage


    Without saying anything serena nodded, her face was still red, john was really starting to wonder if she really wasn''t sick


    She was staggering while walking, just to make sure, john walked over to her again and ced his hand over her forehead, when all of the sudden, she copsed


    "Serena? Oi Serena?" Asked john


    Her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavily, it looked like she really did catch a cold. But how? He kept everything warm...


    His heal spell can''t heal fevers, but if she was just sick, it should get better over time, as long as it''s nothing serious.


    He ced her on his back and muttered "Hold on"


    Hearing this, Serena slowly grabbed on to him. After he made sure, it was fine. He got up, lifted up the cooking supplies using wind, and walked straight towards the cave.


    It was too risky to be using levite, with serena in this condition, so walking was the best option. John also made sure to cast levite on the supplies making it easier to move around with wind.


    When he finally reached the cave, he called out to master


    "Master, is there any medicine for the cold?"


    "I''ll need to check" Said master before teleporting away


    Ariel who was still ying with magic, sprung up when she saw serena and made a mat for her to lie down on.

 Chapter 116 - The Boss

    As john ced Serena on the mat, Ariel asked "What happened?" with a woried expression


    "I''m not sure, she looked like she had a fever and suddenly copsed" Said john


    After hearing that, Ariel examined Serena. Ariel was surprisingly good at these things, so john knew he could count on her, nheless he was still worried.


    What if it was something serious? What if she could die?


    With his worry being disyed on his face, Serena suddenly muttered "I''ll be fine... It''s just a cold" with a smile


    "We can''t be too sure, but it''s most likely a cold." Said Ariel


    "That''s good..." John muttered


    [I didn''t know cold''s in this world gave killer fevers, enough to knock out even this elf] Thought john


    "Hey, did you... talk to serena?" Ariel asked as she stared straight at him


    "Y-Yeah" Replied John with a nervous smile


    The only thing he could remember, was the kiss they nearly had. Because of it, for a moment, john''s attention was on Ariel''s lips


    "AHH! It''s puberty! It has to be!" John suddenly shouted once he snapped back into reality


    "J-John?!"


    Ariel was surprised by john''s sudden action.


    "Nothing, let''s just forget everything I said." Said John acting as if nothing had just happened


    "You''re acting really weird right now!" Said Ariel as she ced a slightly wet towel on serena''s forehead as sheid on the mat


    "I thought I always acted weird?" Said John with a confused expression


    "Pfft"


    Suddenly the two startedughing, they had a good chuckle for a while, before john suddenly said.


    "You see, she apologised... When she didn''t do anything wrong. She''s hard to understand at times, and is rarely honest, but she''s still a close friend, and I wouldn''t get mad at her over something like that" Said John as he got up


    "Where are you going?" Ariel asked


    "I have to do something; I''ll be back soon. Can you tell Serena, what I said when she wakes up?" John asked


    Ariel quickly shook her head before saying "You''re the one that''s supposed to tell her... If I were in her situation, I''d rather hear it from you..." Ariel muttered


    John had told serena in a different way, but he was worried that she might have forgotten it or not have heard it because of the fever, hell, he was hoping that she could forget the kiss scene too if it happened, but at the same time, he hoped that she wouldn''t.


    "You''re right... I need to be the one that tells her." Said john before he turned towards the exit


    Suddenly, serena''s hand grabbed on to the sleeve on his pants. With hope. He turned to see if she had woken but she was still asleep, and it looked like she was in a lot of pain.


    Shortly after, master came back. But she didn''t bring any medicine.


    "We didn''t bring any." Said master


    John who heard this, slowly moved serena''s hand from his pant


    "Where are you going?"


    "To get medicine." John replied


    "Stay here with her, I''ll go get it" Said master


    "No, it''s fine. Besides, I already know where to find it." Said John


    The moment he said that, he activated posession, and disappeared as he left a trace of darkness behind


    "..."


    Master went over to the wall and leaned on it, while keeping an eye on Serena and Ariel. Ariel grabbed on to serena''s hand and stayed beside her.


    ----------------------------------------------


    "T-That kid was crazy..." Said one of the four guys john had met earlier


    "I knew it was a bad n... Why would you mention very in that situation?"


    "Boss is going to kill us..."


    "WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP?!" The guy who john had trapped in dark ice shouted


    Everyone stopped talking


    "It''ll be fine... We''ll get boss to deal with them. There''s no one that can beat boss."


    The man who john had frozen, seemed to have been the leader of the group that found the ice cube. And judging by what they were saying, there was a stronger guy in power.


    The group ran through the trees, and got closer and closer to their hideout. Eventually they reached it.


    Small old ruins with stones piled up around the area. The group was stopped by another bandit which was guarding the entrance


    "The fall of one leads to the rise of another. I have news for the boss"


    After saying those words, the bandit guard stepped aside and let them in. There were other bandits in the area, around 30.


    They seemed to be having fun as chugged down beer and stood by their tables, as they counted the number of ves in their posession


    "We got a big catch today, A cat family, mother and daughter!" Shouted one of the barbaric bandits


    "OHHH!" The other bandits cheered as they raised their cup


    "LET''S HAVE SOME FUN WITH THEM LATER!"


    "HELL YEAH!!!"


    There were 3 cages, each had 3 to 5 ves in them, they were mostlyposed of demi-humans but there were a few humans around. Their ages looked to be around 12-16, it was truly a saddening sight to see.


    They all wore chains around their neck and had their bodies covered with ragged clothes. It was freezing cold as they were in the middle of a blizzard, and yet they were given such little clothing.


    some looked like they had only recently arrived there while others looked like they had been there for a while. But they all had two things inmon, they were female and they all had the look of despair in their eyes.


    "Hey make one of them dance!"


    "Yeah make em dance!"


    The ves were all trembling in cold and fear, they were too afraid to dance. Seeing this, one of the bandits, tall and with a big buff frame, mmed his hand on to the cage where there was a cat girl as he asked


    "Didn''t you hear them!? They said DANCE!!" He shouted


    The girls were shaking, they wanted to move, but were too scared to


    "careful, they might piss themselves"


    "Haha, that would be a sight to see"


    The four guys who were originally supposed to report to their boss, got sidetracked and cheered as they watched the show the ves were being put to do.


    "I''ll go join in for a drink" Said one of the 3 others in his group


    "That''s right, you''re the leader, you should report to boss" Said Another


    "I agree with them" Said the third member


    After saying that they left


    "H-Huh?! You''re running away?! Cowards!"


    But they had a point so he couldn''t stop them. With a frightened look on his face, he walked up to the tent where the boss resided


    The tent had two guards in front guarding the entrance. After he said the code and showed the guards that he had a report to make, they allowed him into the tent.


    As he walked inside, he saw the boss sat on his usually chair and bowed to greet him. Next to his boss was a strange girl, he didn''t remember seeing her here yesterday, and she wore a chain around her neck, but despite that, she was wearing rather delicate clothes


    There was no mistaking that she was a ve, So he became even more confused as to why boss would give special treatment, and that was when he noticed her ears, she was an elf.


    "So? Back so soon after I sent you scouting?" The boss asked


    The boss was a middle aged man with a big bulky frame. He carried a longsword on his waist, and had a scar on his nose. He emanated a strange overwhelming pressure, and had long gray hair


    "Y-Yes..." Said the guy as he kept looking over at the elf


    The more he stared the more he became fascinated by her beauty. Long pale silky green hair with strong green eyes. Perfect proportions and great looks. He could see why the boss kept her by his side.


    But her beauty was being ruined by the saddened expression formed on her face. Her age looked no older than 16


    The boss noticing that his subordinate was looking closely at his ve, decided to ask


    "Are you Curious?" As he ced he ced he rubbed his hands on her cheek


    The girl was shaking, but didn''t say anything, you could even see her start to slowly tear up.


    The man who was supposed to make a report, slowly nodded as he gulped down his saliva. Worried that he would be punished in some way.


    "Well you see, The guys found her today, alone in the middle of the blizzard. She carried a bow and managed to kill 2 of our guys... It was quite hard catching her, but definitely worth it. A pure elf... They go for hundreds of gold coins as ves... Not to mention she''s still a virgin, but you know, I''m not sure how much longer I''ll be able to endure... It should be fine if I make her my ything before selling her, right?"


    "B-Boss... Surely you''re joking right? Remember what happened to thest one?" Asked the man


    "Ha-ha, yes, she ended up dying... Don''t worry, I haven''tyed my hands on her yet... For now... So? What was the report you wanted to talk?"


    "Right away, during out scout, we encountered-


    The man was interrupted by a boy who suddenly walked in


    "There''s no need." Said the boy


    His eyes were clouded in darkness, and there was only one word which could be associated with him, Rage.

 Chapter 117 - A Hollow Feeling

    "Who''s this kid?" Asked the boss


    The elf girl, was also surprised, she stared at the boy with a confused expression. Meanwhile, the man who was about to make the report, started to tremble in fear as he looked at the boy


    "I-It''s him!" He said with a terrified expression


    "Him? Listen kid, I don''t know how you got here, but you''ve run out of luck... Hey you, subdue him. Let''s sell this kid along with the elf" Said the boss


    However the man didn''t listen, he was too afraid of the boy, that''s because it was the one who put him in aplete, and empty darkness. It was john.


    "Tch, do I have to do everything myself?" Asked the boss as he got up


    He slowly walked towards john, whiile the elf just stood beside the chair and watched. She was trying to say something, but her voice wouldn''t stop shaking, she was too afraid of what the boss would do to her, if she spoke out of line.


    "R...R...Run... Run!" She shouted after forcing the words out of her mouth


    John who heard this showed her a smile, and gestured her to wait a bit. She thought he was crazy, a man twice his size and frame was walking towards him, and he''s not even shaking. She felt bad, but was too scared to help him. If she was caught again, she would definitely be punished and treated worse than she currently is.


    The boss who heard her, gave her a re which sent shivers down her spine, seeing this, she instinctively looked away


    The boss then turned back to the kid in front of him, who hadn''t said a single word, and ced his hand over the john''s head


    "Look, you''ve ruined my mood for today, so I''m going to have to kill you... It''s unfair but it''s just how thingsl ike this work. Sorry kid."


    The moment he said that, he tried to m john''s head straight into the ground. But despite his effort, john wouldn''t budge


    "Huh?" The boss said with a confused expression


    Then in a single blink, half the boss''s arm which was ced over john''s head, was cut off in a single motion, caused by john after he pulled out his dagger


    The arm dropped to the floor. Confused, the boss stared at his hand which had fallen, he didn''t couldn''t understand what had just happened. A surge of pain followed after with a burning sensation on his arm.


    That''s when he finally realised. in fear, he instinctively dropped to the ground and began to move away from john, he looked over at the half of his arm, that was still attached and felt like puking.


    He couldn''t believe it, his arm was cut off, by a kid... Not only that, but no blood wasing out. It hurt like hell.


    The elf girl who watched, couldn''t believe what she was seeing, and the man silently watched with widened eyes.


    "Y-You BASTARD! W-What did you do!?!" The boss shouted out in fury


    Ignoring the boss, John began to talk


    "You know, when I first woke up, I genuinely believed that every person''s life had value, I''d always hear people saying, you shouldn''t wish harm to fall on others, or, Killing is bad... And I believed that, and to this day I still do."


    "W-What?" Asked the boss


    "I do, but... when I look at guys like you, I sometimes think, that may not bepletely true. People who freely cause harm on others, kill them, use them, all for their own benefit and gain, and enjoy it... There''s only one word I can associate people like you with... Trash. Therefore, it should be fine right? If I get rid of you, I''ll be doing the world a favor... Master does it easily, so how hard can it be?"


    The boss was panting heavily, he thought the kid in front of him was crazy, so much that it terrified him. He instinctively began shouting out for help


    "GUARDS! GUARDS! WE''RE UNDER ATTACK! HELP!!"


    But there was no reply. John who saw this, raised his hand and began to gather wind slightly over it as he muttered


    "Ventus Tormentum"


    The wind burst out, lifting up the tenting, which was over their heads and throwing it out of bnce and causing it to fall over, no longer covering them, allowing them to perfectly see what was outside.


    The boss, the elf, and the man couldn''t believe what they were seeing, it terrified them. All three of them.


    Dark cubes of ice formed, around them. There were around 3 cubes, and they all covered a certain area, which was full of bandits. The ves were no longer in the cage and were waiting outside of the tent, and only a single bandit, could be seen.


    He was kneeled with his arms tied up, in front of the group of ves, begging for forgiveness.


    John who saw this, shadow stepped to bandit''s side and whispered in his ear


    "They don''t look like they''ve forgiven you... Remember what you said to one of them? Dance was it? Why don''t you try that?" Asked john, before he suddenly shadow stepped back


    The bandit who heard john''s opinion, got up and began to dance, as tears formed on his face, he cried out for them to forgive him


    Seeing this, John turned, towards the boss who had remained on the ground. He couldn''t get up or run even if he wanted to, This was because his bones wouldn''t stop shaking in fear and because john had cast Gravitas on him


    The elf was speechless, her expression showed that she had never seen anything like this before in her life.


    The boss seeing, that he had no other choice, started to chant something. But john quickly noticed, and didn''t let him finish. John shadow stepped to him, and ced his hand over the bosses mouth


    "Wai-"


    Before the boss could finish, john cast cio and froze it stiff


    The boss looked like he was in a lot of pain, but john didn''t care. He was blinded by his rage.


    The boss began to shake his head, desperately, as if he were begging john to stop. But to this john simply brought his face closer and said


    "Did you stop when that girl you killed asked you to stop? Did you stop when all these ves asked you to stop? Did you stop when they lost all hope of leaving? No, you enjoyed it didn''t you? Why should I show remorse?" John asked as he unfroze his mouth


    "I-If you kill me, you''ll be just like me, It''ll haunt you! You''ll regret it! Let me go and you''ll never see me again, I promise, please" Said the boss as he desperately begged john to let him go


    John who heard this made a disappointed expression.


    "I guess, I was right... People don''t change easily... I really didn''t want ruin my day after the progress I had with Serena, but... if it means I can remove trash like you from the world, then I don''t care."


    "W-Wait, P-Please, I-I''m sorry, I''ll apologise, Wai-"


    Before he could say anything else, john pierced him straight in the heart, with his dagger.


    He tried to say something, but he had no more strength left, his life slowly left his eyes, and he died. After that john pulled the dagger out and looked at his dagger.


    He couldn''t feel anything, even though he had just killed someone. Was it because of posession?


    John looked at the elf and her eyes, were afraid, not of the man john had killed but of john himself. Seeing this, John turned away and shadow stepped to the man, who was still begging for forgiveness


    "Did they forgive you?" John asked


    "Y-Yeah..." He replied


    John then looked towards the ves and asked


    "Did you forgive him?"


    T-They slowly shook their heads.


    "So you lied?" John asked as he turned to the man


    "W-Wait I can ex-"


    John didn''t let him finish and formed a dark ice cube around the man.


    "You beg for mercy when it''s your turn... Butugh and enjoy it when its for others... You... And all the other bandits I rounded up... Shouldn''t I just kill you all and be done with it?" Asked John


    Everyone watched as he raised his hand.


    "A massacre huh... Tene-"


    As john was about to lower his hand and cast dark ice spikes on the inside of all the ice cubes, where the bandits were rounded up. Someone grabbed on to his hand.


    "Let go." Said John


    John didn''t need to look to know who it was, it was master.


    "No" Replied master


    John didn''t need to look to know who it was, it was master.


    "They''re trash, what''s the point of letting them live?" Asked John


    "Did you find the medicine for serena yet?" Master asked


    "No, I''ll look for it after killing them" John replied


    "And then what? What will you gain from killing everyone? Did you not already get your revenge? What more do you want?" Master asked


    "THEY''RE SCUM! If i don''t end them who will? They''ll just go back to doing this if we let them roam around." Said John


    "I will." Said Master


    "Tch" John clicked his mouth at master as he turned and began walking away.


    "I didn''t teach you for you to be like me... Even I''m not proud of the things I''ve done. Go cool off and look for the medicine, I''ll deal with the rest"


    The dark cubes dispersed into thin air, and the bandits which were inside looked confused. John, then walked towards one of the tents following his master''s instruction


    He was then stopped by the elf girl he saved


    "Wait!" She said as she stood in front of him

 Chapter 118 - Deja Vu?

    "Wait!" Shouted the elf girl as she stood in john''s path


    John looked at her, his eyes still full of darkness, he didn''t look at her in any strange way, but she felt intimidated


    "... Release..." Said John


    The darkness in his eyes, disappeared. He didn''t feel like fainting, so that was probably just a one time thing


    "So? Is this better?" Asked john


    He was still in a foul mood


    "thank you for saving me" She said as she bowed her head


    "You''re wee" Said john as he walked right past


    "Wait" She walked in front of him again


    Now john''s face was making a tant annoyed expression


    "What is it this time?" John asked as he let out a sigh


    "I heard that you were looking for medicine?" She said


    [You heard that? You were all the way over at where i removed the tent... Wait, why am I getting d¨¦j¨¤ vu?] John thought to himself


    "Yeah, why?" John asked


    [I mean, we weren''t that far from the tent, around 50 feet away, so... It should be normal, and john didn''t speak at a low tune, she was shout talking...] John thought


    "The boss, which you beat, kept everything important on his tent... Medicine might be there as well..." She said


    "So it''s back there... Grab on. Posession" Said john


    He grabbed on to her, with his eyes clouded in darkness, and in that moment, they disappeared with a trace of darkness.


    John shadow stepped them to where the tent was.


    THey then started to look around the crates and boxes


    "What happened to the guy that was with you?" Asked john as he began looking around


    "You mean the one that was too scared to do anything? He tried running away, but thedy caught him" Replied the elf


    "I se-"


    John''s words were cut off by the radiant lighting from all the gold and silver coins in a crate he had just opened up


    John was thinking heavily about what to do with the money. Does he store it in his storage box? Since he beat the leader, it''s ownership should have transferred over to john, But this money was probably made by stealing from others, so john wasn''t sure about what to do.


    "I found the medicine" She said as she stared at the inside of a crate she opened


    "Hey you, take it." John said


    "I''m not sick." She replied


    "No, I meant this." Said john as he pointed at the box full of gold and silver coins


    There were probably around 80 gold coins and 200 silver coins in the box


    "Why?, I don''t deserve such a reward." She said as she desperately shook her head


    "Ah, it''s not just for you, but all the ves. I''ll tell master to split it in between you guys. There should be enough for everyone to start a new, but I don''t know how the ve thing works." Said john


    Tears suddenly started to stream down her face, and as she wiped it, she said


    "Y-You''re a weird guy..."


    "What''s that supposed to mean? Is being nice that abnormal...?" John muttered


    John, quickly walked over to the crate with the medicines, grabbed on to it, and then said


    "Teach me how very works. Is there some sort of magic contract? What happens?" John asked


    She nodded her head


    "A person bes a true ve, when they are put under a contract. The ve has free will, but whenever he/she opposes their master''s orders... they go through immense pain..." She said


    "Is everyone here under a contract? And how can it be removed?" John asked


    "No, this is a group of bandits, they don''t know how to perform the ritual, which is why they were going to sell us to a ve trader, the ones who know how to do those sorts of things. And to remove a contract, you have to get the owner to provide permission, or forcefully dispel it. But it''s hard to find someone that can do that..." She said


    "What if the owner dies?" John asked


    "Then the ve will be considered a run-away ve, and killed. ves hold the lowest social status... Without their master, they''re as good as dead, unless they remove the mark contract" She said


    "Even if they weren''t the ones that killed them?"


    She nodded


    "I see... Then that''s good, it looks like everyone here will be able to return to their families" Said john with a bright and happy smile


    The elf was even more confused


    "How can you... Why do you look so happy?"


    "I-Is it a bad thing? They have people waiting for them and looking for them, isn''t it normal to be d that they can return to them?" John asked


    Her slightly widened as if she realised something, when she heard that. Then with a smile she said


    "You''re right..."


    John lifted the medicine box


    "A very important friend of mine is in trouble right now, so I need to get this medicine to her as fast as possible. Master will sort out the rewards and help you guys out, I''ll go talk to her"


    John then disappeared, leaving a faint trace of darkness


    "I forgot to ask for his name..." She muttered


    John had a talk with master about the crate and money, he told her to split it up between everyone, there were around 13 ves in total, including the elf, so it should be fine.


    John didn''t bother to ask what master was gonna do with the bandits, he didn''t really want to waste any more time thinking about them.


    He checked with master to see if the medicines were the right one, and it turns out, one of them was good for fevers and colds. So without wasting any time, john began shadow stepping through to the forest, rushing as fast as he could back to serena


    "The distance per shadow step is 30 meters... And there''s a 0.5 second cooldown..." John muttered


    Shortly after, he finally reached the cave.

 Chapter 119 - John Can Cook

    As john entered the cave, he found Serena awake, she was stillying on the ground and was still red, but it looked like she was feeling slightly better


    John quickly took the crate with medicines over to them and released posession


    "wee back, john" Said Ariel


    "Thanks Ariel, Is serena feeling better?" John asked


    "Of course I am" replied serena as she looked away


    "That''s good, I went ahead and got you some medicine" Said john as he ced the crate on the ground next to them


    He got the medicine master told him to give to serena, it was in a closed liquid bottle, John checked to see if it was used, and it looked like it hadn''t been opened so he felt safe giving it to serena


    It was most likely something the bandits stole and never got to use, but just in case it wasn''t poisonous, he nned to try some himself


    "Where and Why?" Asked Serena as she turned to him


    She had a nket over her and only her head was poking out. She also didn''t have her hat so her ears were on disy


    John had no reason to lie so he just told them what happened


    "About that... I raided a bandit base..." Said john with a nervous smile


    "You did what?!" Serena nearly shouted


    "Did you get hurt?" Ariel asked


    "Nope, I''m fine..."


    "That''s good, but it''s still dangerous" Said Ariel


    "Why?" Asked Serena


    "?"


    John didn''t know what she was asking


    "Why did you go through the hassle just to get some medicine?" Serena asked


    "Why? Because you looked like you were in pain."


    John noticed that serena''s face looked a little redder, so he moved in closer to check.But Serena simply turned the other way


    "Looks like your fever is getting worse, Ariel we should give her the medicine soon"


    Ariel nodded


    "You raided a bandit base just to get me medicine?"


    "That was the main reason, but I might have lost my cool when I saw how they treated people they kidnapped."


    "... You never change..." Serena muttered


    "Is that a bad thing?"


    "No... I don''t mind either way" Said Serena


    She was turned away from john so he couldn''t tell what she was thinking.


    Ariel opened the medicine bottle


    "Ah, Ariel, can I try that real quick?" John asked


    "Eh? Why?" Ariel asked


    "To make sure it''s not poisonous or anything" Said John


    "Alright, but it looks just like a regr cold medicine potion" Said Ariel


    "I know, but I''m still worried, it was with the bandits after all..." Said john before opening it


    He took a sip and waited. After a short while, nothing happened, and it certainly wasn''t poisonous.


    "It''s good" Said John as he handed it over to serena


    Serena stared at it, the fever still looked like it was tackling at her, as her face still hadn''t cooled down.


    "Ah, should I get a different bottle because I-"


    Before john could finish, Serena suddenly began drinking the whole bottle. At the same time, John realised that it was like an indirect kiss, and it made him wonder if she also thought the same


    After serena drank it, she quicklyid back down and at the same time she muttered something


    "Thank you..."


    John who saw this made a small smile as he said


    "You''re wee"


    Ariel was awfully quiet so john thought of asking her if there was something wrong


    "Ariel, is everything okay?" John asked


    "Yes, why?"


    "You''ve been a bit quiet"


    "Ah, I''m just a bit sleepy"


    "Ah, then you should get some rest. Serena will get better on her own after taking medicine"


    "O-Okay..."


    The moment he said that, john remembered, they hadn''t eaten anything yet.


    "Are you guys hungry?" John asked


    Ariel who was about toy down, stopped and then nodded, Serena who was on the ground also slowly nodded


    "Then, I''ll cook" Said John


    "John will cook!?" Ariel nearly shouted


    "You can cook?" Serena asked


    "Ah... I guess you''ve only seen me grill meat, and at school we always had food at the canteen... Yeah, I can cook." said john with a smile


    "..."


    "..."


    They both just stared at john without saying anything. Their eyes showed that they had no faith in john''s ability to cook, but they had no other option


    "Get some rest, I''ll call you two when it''s done"


    The two girls nodded


    "What about me?" Master''s brother asked


    "Of course I was nning on calling you" Said john


    John forgot he was there, he concealed his presence and was keeping watch, it was rather hard to notice.


    After john said that, he grabbed everything he needed, vegetables, the main ingredients, water and the cooking pot.


    John didn''t need a table to cut the vegetables, he could just use magic and cut them in the air.


    John teleported outside, then shortly after came back with some wood for the cooking pot. He set it on fire with ''ignis'' and began heating up some oil.


    Then one after another, john started cutting up the vegetables. Carrots, and potatoes. While at the same time he prepared the main ingredient. Rabbit meat


    He skinned the rabbit, he didn''t have to remove the blood as it had already been drained by master after he captured it.


    When he wasn''t using an ingridient, he would just leave it floating around while using wind and levite. Serena and Ariel looked amazed.


    John cut the meat to tiny chunks, and shortly after he mixed it with a bit of flour, salt and pepper. It was expensive to buy, but worth it.


    By the time John was done with the meat, the oil began shimmering. So without wasting any time john shook off any excess flour on the cubes of rabbit meat, and added them to the cooking pot in a singleyer


    He cooked the meat while flipping the pieces asionally while flipping the pieces asionally until they were brown all over. It took around 4 to 5 minutes.


    When the beef was finally cooked, he transferred it over to a te and set it aside. The te was also in the air so no insects would get on it. They were in a cave after all.


    Serena and Ariel''s eyes were sparkling as they watched


    "john so you can cook..." Serena asked


    "Did you doubt me when I said I did?" John asked


    Serena didn''t reply and turned her head


    "What are you cooking?" Ariel asked


    "Hm, Nothing much. Just simple rabbit stew" John replied


    [It might have a different name in this world though...]


    "Rabbit stew..." They muttered simultaneously with a dreamy expression

 Chapter 120 - Rabbit Stew

    "That''s right, rabbit stew. It''s really good. Usually I''d go for cooked rice with chicken, but there''s no rice." Said John


    Fortunately, rice existed in this world, and quiet frequently sold at most inns or restaurants that one could go to. Although it was rather expensive.


    "John..." Serena muttered as her eyes sparkled


    "Yes? What is it?" John asked


    "You''d make a good house wife" Ariel answered


    "What''s that supposed to mean... Anyways, I''m cooking right now, so don''t distract me"


    The two girls hastily nodded


    John looked towards master''s brother, and he was slightly drooling. When he saw that john noticed, he wiped it off and turned around.


    The Sweet aroma and the cooked rabbit meat, was flowing through the warm cave. One could almost forget that there was a blizzard outside


    John continued to cook, he got the other 3 skinned rabbit meats which were floating in the air, and repeated the process.


    After that, there were four steamy hot tes of cooked rabbit meat. John made sure to keep all the meat warm by increasing the amount of thermal energy around them.


    HIs precision with magic control really skyrocketed after the training he had at school. His chant-less secret was nearly found out a few times, when he tried to cheat. But in the end, he learnt how to properly cast chants.


    "The meat Is good... Now to move on to..."


    As the oil on the empty pot, continued to shimmer. John added 1 diced onions to the pot before seasoning it with salt and pepper.


    He cooked it until softened and the pieces were just starting to turn brown. That took around 5 minutes.


    "There''s no tomato paste so..."


    At the same time as John was frying the onions, he was preparing a tomato paste. John had cut diced up a tomatoes andpressed it until it ended up like some sort of sauce with wind magic. He also made sure to careful separate the seeds which were inside for aesthetics but it was a waste of time.


    But he managed to make it in time. He ced the self made tomato paste into the cooking pot with the onions and began mixing it using a wooden spoon


    "cook it until the raw tomato vour mellows... Around 2 minutes..."


    After he said that, he waited 2 minutes, while mixing around the tomato paste and onions, so that their vours could intertwine. After that he sprinkled in a bit of flour before cooking it for a minute. He did this to get off the raw flour taste.


    Thest bit of flour that he added and cooked, helped thicken the liquid in the pot into a nice sauce


    "Sauce... Check." John muttered


    Without removing the onions, John looked at the bottom of the pot and a smile was formed on his face. There was a thick crust forming on the bottom of the pot


    "Looks like everything is moving smoothly" Said john happily


    The thick crust was what made a really great stew.


    "Hmm... What liquid should I use...?" John muttered


    "Liquid?" Asked Serena


    "Yeah, to lift all of the vour off the bottom of the pot and into the sauce, I''ll need to deze it with some kind of liquid." Said John


    "What liquid?" Ariel asked


    John had taken cooking lessons before and had to cook for himself at times, and one thing his teacher would always say, is that red vour wine is the best. Although he didn''t believe it waspletely true


    "Well, we don''t have vinegar... Red wine would probably be the easiest and tastiest one to get. But I''m not sure if we have any" Said John


    "Red wine?" Asked Master''s brother


    "Yeah" John replied


    "Then just use my sister''s" He said as he walked up to john


    He looked through the ingridients which john had brought, and red wine was there. He picked it up and handed it to john.


    John knew that his master had red wine, he also brought it in case he''d need it for cooking or she''d want it. But he was rather worried of using it.


    "Haha... Will you take responsibility?" John asked


    "Am I getting a portion?" Master''s brother asked


    They looked at each other and shook hands.


    "Of course," Said john


    "Then you bet I will" Said master''s brother


    He handed john the wine, and without wasting any time, john poured one cup of wine in the pot, and as it began to boil, john scraped up all the vourful bits with his spoon


    "Cook the wine until it begins to thicken... That will take 3 minutes..." John muttered


    He began counting the time in his head, and noticed the serena and ariel were also slightly drooling


    "It smells nice..." Muttered Serena


    "J-John, why have you never told us you could cook?" Asked Serena


    "Because you never asked" Replied John


    John''s reply slightly annoyed serena, but she was looking forward to the eating so much that she didn''t even notice.


    3 minutester, John returned the meat cooked meat to the pot, with any juices that had umted on the tes. The pot was full of cooked meat on the nice vourful liquid sauce john had made.


    The aroma and scent being let out was making john himself hungry, he couldn''t wait to be finished


    "There''s no beef broth... Should I use more wine? No... There''s a chance of getting drunk... But in exchange for vour... Serena is old enough to drink and so is master and master''s brother. The odds will be 3:2 as me and ariel can''t drink." John muttered


    "Need anything else?" Ariel asked


    "Ah, no it''s just. We don''t have any substitutes to go into the liquid, we could use more wine but we''re underaged and we could get drunk, it might give it a boost a vour and since we don''t have any other stock, it''s our only option aside from..."


    "Aside from?" Serena asked


    "From water?? John replied


    "Then, why not use water?" Serena asked


    "I''m not sure, wine could bring more vour but some people prefer it with water so I guess it''s fine." Said john


    "Hm, then why not mix it?" Asked Serena


    "Ah.... You''re right!" Said john

 Chapter 121 - Even If I Have To Become A Monster...

    John had to be fast, he wasted around 30 seconds and didn''t want to waste any more time. He created water, and put them in cups and poured one cup of wine.


    He then poured 3 cups of water and 1 more cup of wine


    John didn''t have any leaves to put in so he just went straight to boiling the liquid. He increased the temperature of the mes and the liquid started boiling


    After that, he decreased it back to normal to let it simmer


    After that, john walked away from it and leaned over on the wall, he was panting heavily


    "Ahhhh... I''m exhausted, using magic with that much precision is a mentally tiring."John muttered


    "Is it done!?" Asked Ariel excitedly


    "Nope, now we have to wait an hour" muttered john


    John discovered this over a year ago but time in this world was simr to the one in his, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years they were all simr. Except for the date.


    "What an entire hour...?" Said Ariel with a saddened expression


    "Mhm" Replied John


    "Wake me up when it''s ready" Muttered Serena


    "Okay" Replied John


    John looked towards Ariel and she looked like she was dozing off, next to serena


    "Ariel you should sleep too" Said john


    "But-"


    Ariel was interrupted by john who said


    "It''s fine, I''ll keep watch and take care of the rest" said john


    "Fufu... John really is like a house wife"


    "Where''s this house wife ideaing from" John asked


    "Nowhere~ , Alright, I''ll let john handle the rest, if you sit here" Said Ariel as she pointed at the spot in between her and serena on the nket


    The nket was surprisingly big enough to fit 3 people, so there wouldn''t be any problem if john hopped on


    "Why?" John asked


    "Because you''re also tired" Ariel replied


    "What if I fall asleep?"


    "Then I''ll wake you up" Said master''s brother


    "You''d do that for me?" John asked


    "No, for my life. I''m not letting that food spoil after I put some of my sister''s precious wine in." Said master''s brother


    He was serious, there was no room tough it off as a joke, so without saying anything else. John bowed his head as thanks, and sat in between the two.


    Seeing this Arielyed down as well, and john moved the nket which was covering serena over his legs and Ariel


    You could still feel the rock hard ground under the warm nket, but it was bearable. It was also warm being on it


    "Hey, Ariel, you''re a bit too close..." Muttered john


    There was no reply, both Ariel and Serena were already fast asleep.


    John didn''t know how to feel and just simply stared at the cooking pot which was cooking. It was very warm under the nkets, and due to that warmness, he let his consciousness float


    John then began thinking of the things he had done and heard today


    He killed someone and felt nothing


    ''You''ll be just like us! We''ll haunt you!''


    Those were the veryst words the guy he killed said, john was thinking back on those words. Was he really a monster? Was he really just like them?


    As he wondered that, he looked towards serena and Ariel. And got his answer


    "I don''t mind if I be a monster... If it it''s what it takes to keep people like you safe." John muttered


    He had already made up his mind, his spiritual age was now 15, he had no time to be acting like a cry-baby, in the end everyone meets their maker. There''s no use regretting and fretting over the past.


    For the very first time, john had truly believed, that he had matured.


    ***


    "Carefully..." John muttered as he got up from the nket.


    He put on his boots and walked towards the stew which was cooking up


    "It''s been an hour so now I can add... the diced carrots and potatoes" John muttered


    He cutup 3 carrots and 4 potatoes intorge dice using wind magic before adding them to the pot. After that, he put the lid on and walked back over to the nket. He made sure to take his shoes off before going in


    "Yeah, it''s a lot warmer in here" John muttered as heid down


    Before he was sitting up, but now he felt likeying down


    Serena and Ariel were still asleep, but even in their sleep, they were still as beautiful as ever.


    "Fantasy... It''s really not that bad" John muttered as he turned to the ceiling


    "It''s been an hour, how much longer?" Master''s brother asked


    "Another hour" John replied


    Master''s brother nodded.


    "Why didn''t you add a lid on before and only now?" He asked


    "By adding a lid on, it''ll create a moist heat environment inside of the pot to stop the stew from drying out and keeping the meat more tender" John replied


    "I see..." He muttered


    ***


    "Hey, Serena, Ariel, Wake up" Said John


    "Hm? That smell... is it ready?" Asked Ariel as she got up and stretched out her arms


    "Yep" John replied with a smile


    He walked up to her and handed her the bowl filled with rabbit stew and a spoon


    Ariel who saw this made a very happy gasp as she looked at it


    "It''s shining!" Said Ariel


    "Haha, your words are too kind"


    Serena got up and also stretched out her arms, her face wasn''t ready anymore and she looked like she was better


    "How are you feeling?" Asked john as handed her, her bowl


    For a moment serena''s face turned slightly red after she got the bowl from john. She avoided eye contact as she muttered


    "Yeah..."


    "That''s good" Replied John with a smile


    John then went to get another bowl and served it to master''s brother, he also seemed rather happy. Seeing everyone look happy from receiving his food, gave john a nice warm feeling inside


    However no one had started eating yet, they were all waiting for john.


    Seeing this, he quickly served himself a bowl and went back to his seat, and at the same time, everyone took a bite


    "Delicous~!!" Said Ariel with a dreamy expression as she ced her hand over her cheek


    "It''s good!!" Serena unintentionally let out


    John smiled as he looked towards the two


    "I-I mean it''s alright..." Said serena, slightly embarrassed


    "Haha, that''s good to know" Said john as he let out augh


    "I-It''s not funny!"ined Serena


    Seeing this we all started to chuckle


    "Hey, john." Master''s brother called out to him


    "Yeah?" John replied


    "You would make a good house wife" He said with a smile


    "Not you too...."Said john

 Chapter 122 - Final Test: Possession Vs Possession

    "So... It''s finally time, huh master..." Muttered john


    Master quietly nodded as she pulled out her dagger


    The two were alone in the middle of the forest suffering from an ice cold blizzard. As the snow slowly fell and as the frozen trees grew colder, darkness clouded both john''s and master''s eyes.


    "Possession vs Possession" John muttered


    John never expected to fight master so soon, especially after what happened yesterday. Master managed to sort everything out, and set the kidnapped people free. Fortunately for them, they hadn''t gotten a ve contract engraved in them making things much lessplicated.


    The elf girl that john saved, wanted to give something to him, but master promised to give it only after their fight.


    John could tell that master was mad and got a little nervous, and there was only one reason for it.


    "You''re buying me a new bottle of red wine." Muttered master


    "You''re still mad about that? Didn''t you say you didn''t mind after having the rabbit stew?" John asked


    There was no reply and instead master threw the coin into the air


    "So we''re starting, huh..." John muttered


    The nostalgic feeling right before a battle with his master was great. As john watched the coin spin in the air, he got another sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, but he knew it was all in his head.


    As the coin dropped, The ground flopped and the two shed.


    --------------------------------------------------


    "At-choo!" Let out serena


    "Bless you" said Ariel


    "Thank you"


    "Is it another cold?" Asked Ariel


    "Elves aren''t that sensitive! Getting colds are rare, but when theye it''s a nightmare..." Muttered Serena


    "John should be fighting right about now huh..."


    "Let''s make a bet"


    "1 gold coin on John"


    "2 gold coins on John''s master"


    "Serena john got a lot stronger"


    "Ariel, you have too much faith in john"


    "Zac, who do you bet on?" Asked Ariel as she turned to him


    The two stared at him waiting for a response


    "... Fine, I''ll bet 5 gold coins on..."


    ----------------------------------------------------


    *ng* *ng*


    *ng* *ng*


    The sound of weapons shing against each other resounded through the forest. John was being able to perfectly parry and avoid master''s attacks while master herself was doing the same.


    They were evenly matched.


    John was surprised, even more than master, he never expected to be able to keep up with her attacks, but after using posession, they felt slower, and his body itself felt as if it was moving on its own. Dodging and blocking the attacks.


    *ng*


    They shed once more before leaping back


    [So this is the true power of posession...] John thought as he looked at master


    Suddenly, master disappeared. It was shadow stepped, John who knew this, felt her appear behind him him. Without even needing to look, John disappeared right as she swung her dagger at him and reappeared behind her.


    John swung his dagger as fast as he could, to be the cooldown but wasn''t fast enough. Right before it hit her, she shadow stepped away"


    "I missed..." John muttered


    However that wasn''t quite right. As he looked towards master, he noticed that he grazed her, and there was a small cut near her shoulder.


    Master then threw throwable knifes at john, which he deflected by changing into the counter stance and parrying them with his dagger.


    But that was just a distraction, and in that moment, masterpleted her chant. Her daggers were in engulfed in raging dark mes as she muttered


    "Tenebrae perussi mmarum" Trantion: Consuming Dark mes


    From this john could tell that it would be no joke, so he began applying an element to his swords too


    [If you''re going with fire... Then I''ll just use water]


    "tenebrosa aqua" Trans: Dark Water


    John''s weapon gained ayer of ck liquid which extended it. Then once again, Then in a single blink, the two leapt at each other and shed.


    Steam was being let out, not from the liquid on john''s sword but from the snow which was being melted in the exchange. The trees were being cut as they leapt around the trees while taking cover from each other''s hits


    Master was on the verge of causing a forest fire.


    Once more the two sh and backed up, they had more space than before. That was because all the trees in the area had been cut in their exchange.


    Both master and John were panting heavily, they knew that they weren''t getting anywhere and just draining each other''s stamina. So they poured everything into their next attack


    They weren''t getting anywhere with the fight so both john and master decided to end in all in the next attack.


    Master started to chant and john began to circte electricity through his body.


    The two then charged at each other, the final sh.


    John was putting his all into this attack, his thoughts were focused and he felt calm.


    Once they were just a few steps from each other, master hadpleted her chant and in that instant, she muttered


    "Tenebrae fluctus mma erupit" Trantion: Raging Dark me Burst


    "Tenebris fulgurationem" Trantion: Dark Lightning sh


    *Boom*


    ------------------------------------------------------


    *Boom*


    The sound of an explosion resounded all the way to the cave


    "Wha- What was that?!" Asked Serena as she looked around


    "An explosion... Isn''t that in the direction john and master headed?" Asked Ariel


    "Looks like the fight is over" said Zac as he got up and looked at where the steam wasing from


    There was no forest fire, but it was full of smoke


    -------------------------------------------------------


    "Do you surrender?"


    Without saying anything master moved john''s dagger away from her throat


    She then looked at john as she said


    "It''s my loss"


    She didn''t look upset at all, or rather, contrary to that, she looked happy.


    "Haha... That''s good..." Said John before he copsed to the ground


    Dark electricity could be seen flowing through his body


    As she looked at john whoid on the ground with a satisfied and happy smile, Master thought back on what had happened.


    Right as she activated her spell, and mes erupted from the tip of her daggers, John disappeared, he moved faster than her attack at point ck range and in that instant, he somehow managed to get his dagger on her neck before she could shadow step away.


    She couldn''t believe it, no, she knew from the beginning, This student of hers, wasn''t normal.

 Chapter 123 - Truth Or Dare

    "Master, aren''t you forgetting something?" John asked


    They were on their way back to the cave after the fight


    Master looked at john and muttered


    "Sylvia..." She muttered


    "Ohhhh, Sylvia, that''s a nice name master!" Said John with a big smile


    Master nodded with a slightly embarrassed expression


    John felt proud, he finally knew his master''s name.


    "So... Where are we going now? Master Sylvia" John asked


    "Sand." Sylvia muttered


    "The beach?" John asked


    Sylvia nodded


    John felt relieved, for a second he thought she''d say desert


    "Oh so we''re going to have fun right? Feels great after all thi-"


    John was interrupted by Master sylvia who said


    "Conquering a dungeon."


    In that moment, John, felt Goosebumps go through his body


    ***


    As the four got on the carriage, they were surprised to see that zac wasn''t hopping on


    "Zac, aren''t youing?" Ariel asked


    Zac walked up to ariel and gave her a head pat as he said


    "Nope, I still have things to do"


    John who saw this understood, not patting Ariel''s head was something that took a lot of mental fortitude. Not even zac could withstand.


    "Stay safe, if you ever want any more of the Rabbit stew you know where to find us" Said Ariel with a smile


    "Oi, don''t go making promises for other people" Said John


    "Haha, Alright. Thanks. Serena, make sure you take good care of everyone. You''re an ''adult'' After all."


    "Of course" Said Serena with a satisfied smile


    "And Sylvia... go easy on them."


    Master who heard this didn''t reply or nod, she simply smiled


    [At least reply...]


    "That was some nice stew john, you should make a restaurant."


    [That''s a good idea...]


    "If that happens, you better be a regr." Said John


    ???Sure, if it''s cheap."


    After he said that, he disappeared. John could never understand what zac was thinking. He was a mysterious individual.


    John broke down the ice cube and the carriage began to move.


    ***


    As the days went by, they got closer and closer to their destination. And not before long, a week passed by.


    "Lately it''s been kind of boring..." Said Serena as she stretched out on the carriage seats


    "Yeah, all we''ve been doing is travelling" Said Ariel as she did the same


    "It''s just travel, hunt, eat, sleep, wake up, brush your teeth everyday." Muttered john


    However, he didn''t really mind.He knew what was waiting for them at the end of the journey. A few hours of heaven in a beach in exchange for days in hell inside of the dungeon.


    "Don''t forget the warm baths in the self-made hot-springs" Said Serena


    "The best part about this trip..." Muttered Ariel


    The only ones who didn''t know were Serena and Ariel


    "Sorry... But I was told not to tell you..." John whispered


    "Ahhh, can''t we just teleport to the beach or something?" Serena asked


    "Hmm, maybe john could..." Said Ariel


    "What am I? Some sort of god?" John asked


    "Hmm, since we don''t have anything to do why don''t we find something fun to talk about?" Ariel asked


    "Like what?" Serena asked


    "I''m not sure..." Replied Ariel


    "I have an idea" Said John as he grabbed a bottle


    It was an empty wine bottle, which was just lying around.


    "First let''s get in a circle"


    John sat in the middle of the carriage in between the seats, and the two slightly curious girls did the same. They formed a circle as they sat next to each other.


    John then put the bottle in the middle


    "Is this some sort of new magic spell you learnt?" Serena asked


    "Or maybe a game?" Said Ariel


    "Yep, it''s called Truth or dare."


    "Truth or dare?" Serena asked


    "Yeah, the one who the bottlends on gets to choose a person, and that person has to choose to either answer a question, or pick a dare between the 3 set by whoever the bottlended on." Said John


    "I see..." Said Ariel as she stared at the bottle


    "So do you two want to y?" John asked


    The two girls nodded, they looked rather serious for a friendly game, so much that it worried john


    "W-Well, I''ll use wind magic to spin it" Said John with a nervous smile


    With the support of wind, the bottle started to spin, it got faster and faster until john decided it was spinning fast enough and stopped supporting it.


    Then bottle was spining around and around, first Serena, then ariel, then john, and then serena again. When all of the sudden it stopped.


    "Oh, Looks like I get to pick, Hm, John I dare you to-"


    John interrupted Serena as he said


    "Oi... No matter how you look at it, you stopped it with wind magic when it pointed towards you." Said John


    "Wha-? Isn''t it supposed to be the one who can make the bottle stop on them?" Asked Serena


    "No! You''re supposed to leave it to luck" Said John


    "That doesn''t sound very fun..." Muttered Serena


    "Well it''s part of the rules, no magic allowed when spinning the bottle."


    "Fine..." Said Serena


    "Well then, time for round 2" Said Ariel


    "Alright, ventus" Said john


    The bottle started to spin


    "I thought you said no magic?" Said Serena


    "I''m an exception, and I''m only using it to spin the bottle"


    Without saying anything else, serena nodded and the three watched as the bottle slowed down. And the person itnded on was... Serena


    [Damn it!] John shouted in his mind


    "W-Well... Serena-"


    John was interrupted by serena who instantly went for him


    "John I dare you to-"


    "Calm down! You''re supposed to ask me, which one I want between ''truth'' or ''dare'' and if I pick dare, I have 3 options.''"


    "Then, which one do you pick?" Serena asked


    Serena had an evil grin on her face, john knew she wouldn''t make it easy for him. Why did a friendly game turn into this?


    "D-Dare" Said John hesitantly


    He couldn''t afford to pick truth, there were things she simply couldn''t know"


    "Then... Your first option is, Create some sort of spell which can teleport us to the beach"


    "How am I supposed to do that?!"


    "Your second option is to answer my question truthfully "


    John was heavily considering the 2nd option


    "And third option is-"


    Serena was interrupted by ariel who said


    "Can''t john just cast the flying spell on this carriage and the horses, and fly us there? It''ll be faster right? And john could also make it invisible by using the other spell" Said ariel


    "That''s actually a good idea... That would have saved us a lot of time..." Said John as he ced his hands under his chin


    "Then that''s your third option, which will you pick?" Serena asked


    "The third one" Said John with a relived expression


    "Then, whenever you''re ready" Said Serena


    John got up, and walked towards master while the carriage was moving.


    "Master, wanna fly?" John asked


    Master looked at john with a poker face and stopped the carriage, she didn''t ask anything because she probably heard the conversation


    "Then... Levite"


    John created a field big enough to fit the carriage and the horses, where the force of attraction to the earth''s core would be weakened


    The carriage felt unsteady and the horses started floating as john slowly rose it up into the air using ventus


    The horses started to neigh and Serena and Ariel both grabbed onto the seat. John could tell that serena was already regretting her decision, so he thought he''d tease her for it.


    "Serena, let''s get ready for another round" Said John with a smile as he sat on the middle


    "W-W-Wait, when it bnces..." Said Serena


    John chuckled before saying


    "Alright"


    And Serena who saw this, was too nervous to think about revenge.


    Despite almost all of his focus being on the carriage, he was trying to act like he was unaffected.


    Master''s expression changed from a poker face to a surprised one when the carriage rose, but she was still quiet.


    [Will I ever be able to shock her...?] John thought


    Then the carriage which was slightly unbnced, regained it''s bnce. There was even more wind supporting it, but it wasn''t john''s doing.


    "So you decided to join in, thanks ariel" Said john


    "You looked like you were struggling, so I thought I''d help" She said


    Serena was panting hard as she sat back down in the middle, and Ariel followed right after. Ariel seemed to be doing fine, probably because wind was her specialty. If she fell, she could just use one of her spells and would be unfazed.


    "So... Anyone else up for another round?" Asked Serena as she caught her breath


    Meanwhile master hadn''t moved from her seat, she was looking at the clouds as if she was trying to understand what just happened.


    "Sure, just give me one second" Said john as he got up


    He walked over to master and asked her which direction they were going


    Master looked down and pointed forward


    "Just keep heading in that direction until I tell you to stop." Said master


    "Understood." Replied John


    He propelled the carriage in the direction which master pointed at, as he sat down to continue the round.


    Serena grabbed on to the seat beside her, but seemed to be doing better than earlier.


    "Velox" Muttered john and the bottle started to spin

 Chapter 124 - The Dream

    As they flew through the clouds, on a flying carriage which was made invisible using furtim. The horses were having a panic attack


    They wouldn''t stop neighing and thought they would die, but sylvia managed to put them to sleep using some sort of method


    Meanwhile the three continued to y truth or dare


    "Oh, itnded on Ariel" Said Serena


    "Whose it gonna be?" Asked john


    "Hmm, Serena, Truth, or... Dare?" Ariel asked


    "Wha- Ariel you traitor!" Said Serena


    "But I mean, you went for johnst time, so we should go for someone else..." Said Ariel


    John hastily nodded


    "Fine, Truth" Said Serena


    Ariel who heard this, made a small chuckle


    "Fufu... Serena... Is it true that... You''re afraid of heights?" Ariel asked


    "Hoh, that''s quite the good question, Ariel" Said john


    "Yeah, sort of." Serena nervously replied


    "Hmm, See, that wasn''t so hard" Said Ariel with a satisfied smile


    "Why do you look so happy?" Asked Serena


    The bottle started to spin again, While john looked like he didn''t care. He was constantly praying that the bottle wouldnd on anyone but Serena, and that it would at least choose him


    As the bottle started to slow down, it pointed at Ariel, and then Serena andstly... John.


    An evil grin was formed on john''s face as he started to chuckle


    "Hehe..."


    "Wha-" Said serena worried


    "Hey Serena, Truth or dare? It''s time for a little revenge..." Said John


    "O-Oi, john, you look like of scary..." Replied Serena with a nervous expression


    "It''s just your imagination" Said John as his grin changed into a smile


    "... Da- Truth..." Said Serena


    "Ah, then, is there anyone you like?" John casually asked


    "Oh, that''s it? I thought it was going to be something different... But yeah, I like You and Ariel" Serena replied as she let out a sigh


    That wasn''t john''s intention


    "W-Wait, Serena, I meant romantically." Said john


    "Eh- But you didn''t say that in the question so I can''t answer that... Looks like you''ll have to wait until your next turn to ask..." Said Serena who looked slightly embarrassed by john''s question


    [What''s with this sudden change...? Can I take that embarassment as a good sign? Either way...]


    "Yeah, but that will have to wait until tomorrow" Said john as he looked outside


    "Why?" The two girls simoutaneously asked


    "Because, it''s getting prettyte" Said john as he pointed at the dark sky filled with stars


    "Yeah..." muttered Serena as she stared at the stars


    "Is that okay with you, Ariel?" John asked


    "Mhm, the breese feels really nice from up here" Ariel replied


    "Unfortunately, we''re going to have to head down, If I fall asleep and lose focus then that won''t end well"


    "Then, I''ll help you" Said Ariel as she got up


    "Thanks, Master sylvia is that fine with you? We''re going down" John asked


    Sylvia nodded, so john went straight into it


    "Ariel, try to keep it bnced, while I lower it"


    Ariel nodded and Serena grabbed on to her seat


    Shortly after, the carriage started to slowly descend


    ***


    "Crustallus aquae" Trantion: Ice Cube


    A giant ice cube was formed around the carriage, which covered a few trees and horses.


    As the threeid on the carriage with a nket over them, master leaned on her seat. John wasn''t sure how she could sleep in that position, but her eyes were closed so it probably worked


    As john looked at the two girls whoid beside him, he wondered if it was really alright for everything to be going so peacefully.


    [I got stronger... But why do I still feel like it isn''t enough?] Thought john as he closed his eyes


    He had another bad feeling, was he being sensitive? Or was he just afraid of going back into the dungeon? John wasn''t sure, but he decided not to think to hard on it for now


    As he was about to fall asleep, he heard whispers, it as Serena was talking to Ariel, but it wasn''t any of his business so he just ignored it and fell asleep


    ---------------------------------------------------


    John opened his eyes and looked around


    He was in the air, as he looked down, he noticed that there were a few people on the ground. He couldn''t hear what they were saying or tell what they were doing.


    But they felt familiar. As john focused to see who it was and hear the conversation, he noticed that one of the guys felt familiar. He had long Spikey hair which was half ck and white tied up in a pony tail.


    He looked very familiar, john couldn''t see his face for some reason, but could hear his words


    "I don''t care anymore..." He muttered


    Confused, John looked over at the two people whoid on the ground. They were two girls, one had long braided silver hair, while the other had long ck hair put up in a pony tail.


    When john saw this, he felt a shiver go down his spine. They looked like serena and Ariel.


    And they looked heavily wounded.


    "I swear... I''ll kill you" Said the guy who had the half ck and white hair


    That was when john finally realised, That guy, was him. John couldn''t see who he was fighting but, could see the grin on his face.


    Suddenly, the one who looked like John, disappeared, and so did that guy. And then the environment changed, almost like some sort of cycle


    In this environment, the only ones that could be seen were the guy who looked like john and the one with the creepy grin.


    Before john could see anything else, the guy who looked like him muttered something


    "Absolute Zero"


    And everything froze


    ----------------------------------------------


    "Urk!" John let out as he opened his eyes and got up


    He looked outside, and felt blinded by the sunlight. It was morning. Master was nowhere to be seen and the two girls were still asleep


    As he panted heavily, john looked at his hand. He was feeling a stinging paining from it the moment he woke up.


    As he checked to see what was wrong, he noticed that his right arm, was frozen.


    "What the hell...?" John muttered to himself as he tried to catch his breath


    He quickly started to circte thermal energy around his arm, to heat it up, in hopes that the ice around it would melt, and thankfully it did.


    "What was that? The future?" Asked John as he repeatedly clenched his right arm to see how it was doing


    [That''s right] Said the voice


    "Wha-!"


    John nearly sprung out of his nket. He slowly looked over at serena and ariel to see if they had woken up, but they were still fast asleep


    "That voice... is it..."


    [Yeah, it''s me, remember don''t say my name unless you''re in danger]


    "Yeah... Why can I hear you?" John asked


    [I''m not sure, I was just suddenly able to talk to you. More importantly, I thought about using a premonition spell to see how the dungeon conquering would go, and it looks like I might have ended up going further than I should.]


    "So you''re saying that wasn''t just a normal dream?"


    [It was more like a premonition than a dream, I wouldn''t take it too seriously, as the further it is into the future, the lower the ura-]


    "But in that dream... Serena and Ariel... They..."


    [¡­]


    "Can I ask you something?" John asked


    There was no reply, almost as if the connection was cut.


    "Hey? Hey!"


    John was considering calling her name, but at the same time, felt like he shouldn''t


    "What the hell... Why does this always happen?" Asked john as he punched his seat


    [Just when things were starting to get peaceful... Are you telling I''m supposed to take the fact that serena and Ariel are going to die lightly?] John thought to himself


    "Even if it''s a small chance..." John muttered


    [Then why don''t you get stronger?] Said the voice as it came back


    ''Hey, tell me something. How much stronger do you want me to get? And why? I''ve been going along with what you''ve asked, so why haven''t you told me anything yet?'' John thought to himself


    [¡­]


    ''You really expect me to trust you and help you, when you''re keeping things hidden from me in my own body?''


    [But it''s not your body]


    When john heard this, a smirk was formed on his face


    ''So you knew all along, and yet you acted like you didn''t. I''m grateful that you saved us, but you don''t really expect me to let you do what you want because of it, right? I''m looking for a way to return you to your body. Isn''t that enough of a reason to just be honest with me?''


    [¡­]


    "Don''t look down on me." Said john as he got up


    John slowly got up, he ced his feet on the cold wooden floor, and started to put on his shoes. He was about to do his daily routine before brushing his teeth.


    [Do you really want to know?]


    "?"


    [What happened to you, to the kid, to me, what happened before your arrival.]


    ''Of course. You don''t think I feel guilty for stealing the body of some random kid?''


    [¡­ You shouldn''t]


    ''And why is that?''


    [Because he was dead.]

 Chapter 125 - Past Subconscious Origin

    In the middle of a popted district, a young blonde boy with light green eyes, could be seen staggering around.


    The clothes he wore were ragged, and slightly torn. Anyone could tell that he was an orphan.


    The boy couldn''t recall when was thest time he ate something, but continued to move on, scavenging, looking for something to eat.


    As he stood in front of a food stall, the man was selling grilled chicken. As the boy watched him grill it, drool started toe out of his mouth


    "Huh? Oi, Brat, move aside. This ce is for people with money only." Said the man as he red at him


    The boy who saw this re acted frightened and ran off


    "Tch, kids." said the man as he turned his back to grill his meat


    In that moment, while the man was focused on grilling the meat, the kid ran up to it and snatched two pieces of meat


    The man quickly turned and noticed this, however it was toote, the kid was already running off with the meat on his hands


    "OI! SOMEONE STOP THAT THIEF!" The man shouted as he tried to chase after the boy


    The kid who saw this took a turn and the man lost sight of him


    "Sorry..." muttered the boy as he continued to run


    He looked back to see if the man was still on to him, but he was gone. The boy then faced forward and said


    "Even though I promised to doctor that I wouldn''t steal... But it''s his fault for disapp-"


    The boy''s words were cut off as he bumped into the giant grown man in front of him. The man didn''t even budge, but the boy bounced back and dropped the meat which he had stole


    "Sorry!" Said the boy as he quickly tried to grab the meat and get out of there


    But before he could, the man grabbed him by the colour and lifted him to the air


    "Oi, that''s not how it works here." Said the guy next to the big man


    "Your dirty self touched the most renown bear killer, and you think an apology is going to cut it?" Said another guy


    "Hey boss, how about we teach this kid a lesson?" Asked the first guy


    The giant man then started to walk towards an alleyway with his minions as he carried the boy by the cor


    "H-HELP!" The boy shouted


    The people who watched, whispered amongst each other, but no one dared to step in. After all, it would be extra trouble and no one wanted that. Especially for some homeless kid that they didn''t know


    Although he cried out for help, he knew that no one would help him. So all that he could do was ept his punishment


    "Screw that..." The boy muttered


    Right as he was about to enter the alley, the boy raised his hands, and slipped through the shirt, which the man had grabbed on to


    As he fell on to the ground, he began to run as fast as he could. The giant was big but with a frame like his, there''s no way he''d be able to catch a kid, he could get away


    Or so he thought.


    "Oi, where do you think you''re going kid?" Asked one of the mans followers as he grabbed on to him


    The boy then threw a punch at his face, causing him to let go. He took that moment to try and run again, but another guy grabbed on to him.


    He tried punching the guy but it didn''t work


    "You little s***"


    The guy who he had punched suddenly kicked the boy on his stomach, it was painful, he hadn''t eaten anything in 2 days, so the pain was even worse.


    "GAAH!" The boy cried out in pain as he dropped to his knees


    "You think you''re hotstuff? Huh?" Asked the guy as he kicked the boy in the face


    The boy tried to avoid the kick but wasn''t fast enough. It hit him straight on the side of his head, and made his thoughts feel shaky


    He could no longer think straight an copsed on to the ground


    "That''s enough, everyone''s watching" Said an aquaintance of the guy


    "Huh? Weren''t we going to give him an even worse punishment?"


    "Yeah, until you decided to beat him in public"


    The man who heard this wasn''t satisfied, but had no choice but to call it off. He looked at the kid and felt disgusted.


    Even while copsed, he stretching his small arms towards the piece of grilled meat which he had dropped


    "Tch, trash." Said the man as he stepped on the piece of meat


    The kid had no idea where the other piece of meat went, the one the man had stepped on the was only one he would have been able to eat


    As heid helplessly on the floor with a burning pain on his stomach and face, tears started to form on his eyes.


    The big guy who saw this, picked the kid up and threw him into the alleyway, before walking away with hispanions


    The man who had kicked the boy and stepped on the only food he had, looked at him with hate before following behind them


    The boy who saw this chuckled a little before struggling to get up


    "Hehe... I was lucky... I managed to avoid getting pulled in here with them. They would have killed me..." He said as he finally stood up


    With pain passing through his whole body, the only thing that kept it running right now, was his desire for food.


    But even if he could bare the pain, he still hated it.


    "Damn it!" He shouted as tears started to stream down his eyes


    After he finally managed to get something to eat, it was just stepped on, not only that, but he was beaten up.


    "There''s nothing I could do, damn it... Why did doctor have to disappear..."


    As he staggered while walking to the exit of the alley, he suddenly lost his centre of bnce after leaving it


    "Wh-"


    He suddenly copsed to the ground around the houses, slightly in front of the alley


    [Ahh... I''m tired... First my parents and now doctor... everyone leaves... I can''t even feel my legs anymore]


    "It''s cold..." The boy muttered with a broken and trembling voice


    [I''ll go look for foodter... I''m going... to sleep... a little...] the boy thought to himself


    Shortly after, his eyes shut they opened again, the air around him changed


    He slowly got up and looked around


    "W-What the hell..." He quietly muttered


    -----------------------------------------------------------


    John opened his eyes


    [So, now you know what happened.]


    He ced his palm on his forehead which was felt like it was throbbing. There was too much pain


    "Let me get something straight." Said john as he let out a sigh


    [¡­]


    ''You showed me an entire vision of what happened in an instant, if you could have done it before, why do it now?'' John asked in his mind


    [You weren''t ready]


    ''Alright, here''s another question. You said he was dead, yet ording to what I heard, he hadn''t been starved for that long, so starvation couldn''t have been the cause of death. Sure he might have been kicked too hard, but in most cases, you don''t die that fast from a kick to the stomach.''


    [¡­]


    ''And it couldn''t have been a disease as I don''t have any, and this is his body. So I''ll ask this now, What really happened, and how do you know all of this?''


    [¡­]


    ''Well I guess there''s no point in getting stronger, I''ll just spend the rest of my lifezing around.''


    [He didn''t exactly die... He fell into a slumber, and at the same moment, your soul entered his body. Along with mine]


    When john heard this, his heart nearly skipped a beat. Images started to sh by his head.


    The images contained 2 blue lights floating around in the sky, and being pulled to the ground.


    An intense headache followed after these images and john fainted.


    ----------------------------------------------------------


    John opened his eyes once again, he was in his subconscious. He easily recognised it as it was a giant white room with a quarter of it, painted in ck.


    At least that''s what it was supposed to best time, it looks like the quarter became one third of the room, john wasn''t sure why. But before he could ask a voice next to him called out to him


    "So are there any more questions?" She asked


    "Just one"


    She let out a sigh before giving the go ahead sign


    "You said your soul entered at the same time as mine right? How do you know what happened with the previous owner then?" John asked


    "I saw through his memories, he''s in a deep slumber right now so it was rather easy"


    When john heard that, he became wary


    "I can''t see your memories, you''re not in a slumber, and you didn''t give me permission to."


    "He gave you permission?"


    "He didn''t say no"


    "That''s because he''s asleep..."


    "..."


    "When will he wake up?" John asked


    "You said one question." She replied


    ------------------------------------------------------------


    The feeling of water being sshed on his face, made john spring up


    "Oh, it worked" Said Serena with a satisfied smile

 Chapter 126 - Beach City

    As john got up, the water slid from his drenched face down to his top.


    "So... What was that for?" John asked


    "That''s because you wouldn''t wake up normally" Said Serena


    "Sorry but master said We have to get going soon" Said Ariel


    "Oh... Okay" said john while taking off his shirt


    "Wha- What''re you doing?" Asked Serena while looking slightly embarassed


    "Y-Yeah! Y-you shouldn''t be taking off your clothes, we''re supposed to leave..." Said Ariel


    "It''s not my fault that someone decided to dip water on my face" Said john


    The guilty one didn''t reply and instead looked away, asionally glimpsing due to her curiosity. Ariel covered her face with her hand


    "Rx I''m just taking off my shirt" Said john


    "Oh" Said Ariel as she stopped covering her face


    "You should have said so" Said Serena as she turned back to john


    [That was rather quick...] John thought to himself as he separated the water molecules from his clothes


    Even though he was just shirt-less, their faces got a bit red as they stared at his figure. Before he was all skiny and supernaturally strong, now he had a buffer build and looked ripped.


    Toned 6 pack, nice abdominals, not too big or small biceps. John''s build waspletely bnced, and looked great


    John proceeded to dry his top with wind magic, before putting it back on


    "Hey john, you didn''t really need to take your shirt off to do that did you?" Ariel asked


    "Nope, just think of it as a little revenge for sshing it on my face, your reactions were 10/10" Said john


    ***


    The 4 were now flying around in the air, master got them some fruits and bread for breakfast, and they made sure to properly brush their teeth before eating


    "Itnded on me again... Very well, john, truth or dare?" Asked Serena


    "Serena... you''re always picking the same person" Said Ariel


    "Sorry ariel, can you wait just one more turn, please? There''s something I need to ask this guy." Said Serena as she stared at john


    "Fine..." Muttered Ariel


    "John, truth or dare?" Serena asked again


    "Hm? Ah? It''s my turn? Uhm... Truth"


    "What''s wrong?" Serena asked as she stared at him


    She had noticed that John had his head in the clouds, and seemed worried about something,


    "Wrong? What do you mean?" John asked


    He didn''t really want to tell them that he had a dream about them getting hurt, or the words that came from thatdies mouth.


    "No point in acting, anyone could tell that something''s bothering you, so follow the game rules and tell us" Said Serena as she pointed at him


    John let out a sigh before saying


    "I had a dream about a near future where you two got badly hurt" He said clearly while looking at them


    They were surprised


    "Hoh..." Said Serena with a mischievous smile


    John knew where this was going


    "So you were down on the dumps all day because of a silly dream? Really john? Sometimes I don''t get you, you look fearless but end up worrying over such simple things..."


    "She has a point..." Said Ariel


    "Simple? What if it wasn''t a dream but a vision? What if something bad was really going to happen to you two?" John asked


    "We''re not kids anymore, well at least I''m not. If we''re going to end up facing danger, then we''ll just have to get stronger. Isn''t that how it works?" Serena asked


    John who heard this, nodded


    "You''re right... instead of wasting time worrying, it''ll be better to start preparing counter-measures" John muttered


    "That''s right" Said Serena with a smile


    And Ariel nodded


    "Serena... You... You can actually give good advice..." John muttered


    "Oi."


    Of course, john had already considered that, but that wasn''t the only worries he had in his mind. Regarding Serena and Ariel''s case, he knew all he had to do was train them harder. What was on his mainly on his mind, was how he was going to deal with the original kid that was put into a slumber.


    So technically he didn''t break the rules.


    "But, you''re still free to worry about us..." Serena mumbled


    John was so focused on his thoughts that he didn''t hear it


    "Hm? Did you say something serena?" John asked


    "Nothing." Serena replied with her lips forming a pout.


    John suddenly got up and walked towards master who was still on the drivers seat. She didn''t need to stay there as the horses didn''t y a single role in the flying carriage, but she seemed focused on something


    "You two keep ying, I''ll see if I can increase the speed to get us there faster"


    Serena who heard this john a nervous smile with a thumbs up and Ariel nodded


    "Hey master sylvia"


    "?"


    "Is it alright if I increase the speed?"


    [We''re moving at around 20 mph]


    Master who heard this nodded


    "Thank you." Said john before walking to the back of the carriage


    "Did you get permission?" Ariel asked


    "Yeah, I''m about to increase it, can you help me?"


    "Of course" Ariel replied


    As The two stood at the back of the carriage, john began to gather more air to propel the carriage forward, while Ariel kept making sure it maintained bnce.


    The speed slowly started increasing, all that was left was to keep it constant, everything was putting a constant drain on john''s magic power but he didn''t feel tired at all.


    "*Phew* We Finally did it" Said John as he looked towards Ariel


    "John, you''re magic pool is really big... I''ve been wondering but are you sure you''re fine? You''re basically doing everything, I''m just using wind to keep it bnced, isn''t it draining to make it float and propel it?" Ariel asked


    "Yeah... sort of, but it doesn''t take as much of a toll as you think" John replied


    Lies.


    "I see..." Said Ariel as she stared at him


    "Master, how long will it take at this speed?" John asked


    Master raised a finger


    "1 Week?" John asked


    Master nodded


    ***


    The days passed and it was all the same. Waking up, brushing your teeth, eat, stare at the amazing scenery while you think of new games to y.


    By the time he realised it, a week had passed.


    "John, I''ll leave my dare forter, Ariel, You also owe me a dare." Said Serena


    "Huh? You can''t do that" John replied


    "Yeah, that''s a bit unfair serena" Ariel responded


    "There''s no rules that say you can''t do that, and a debt is a debt" Said serena with a grin


    "Then ill use the 1 of the 2 dares that you owe me to get rid of your dare." Said John


    "Me too" Said Ariel


    "W-Wait, you owed me 2 dares too, john" Said Serena


    "Then ill just use both to cancel out yours."


    "... Fine, how about we all get a dare to use whenever we want. How does that sound?" Serena asked


    John believed that it was risky, but if she ever tried to use it for something dangerous, then he''d just use his to make her do it too.


    "Alright" John replied


    "S-Sounds fair" Said Ariel


    Ariel was relieved with this result as they only owed her 1 dare in the first ce


    "John." Master called out to john


    "Yes, Master?" John answered


    "Bring us down, we''re here."


    The moment master said those words, they all got up and looked over at the beach city they were told about.


    "Woah..." Muttered Ariel


    "I expected it to look like the bay at as but it looks a lot different..." Said Serena


    Serena was right, it didn''t look anything like the as bay, it was genuinely a city, not a bay where there''s a few facilities and inns.


    There were shops districts, and even a wall which surrounded the whole city.


    From the sky, john could see mansions, shops, a pce and a giant beach. On top of that, there was one thing that stood out the most


    "A dungeon..." John muttered


    "John, I have a question, that tower isn''t the real reason why we came here right?" Serena asked


    John looked towards master and she nodded


    "Yeah, we''re going to conquer this dungeon, it should be fine too, it doesn''t look like this city relies on it like as did"


    "I see... I guess this will be a good way to show you" Said Serena as she looked towards John and then ariel


    "Show me? Show me what?" John asked


    "How much we''ve improved" Ariel replied


    During their time in school, john made them promise not to use chant-less magic, they could only practice it on their own. The same applied to john, so john had no idea how much their skills and control had grown.


    But judging by Ariel''s control with wind over this trip, it definitely improved.


    On the beach there was a giant yellow stone tower


    "Master... This is less like a bay and more like a city..." John muttered


    "It is a city."


    [With all that space, it does make sense...]

 Chapter 127 - Restaurant

    "We''re nearly on the ground... Looks like the horses are starting to wake up" Said Ariel


    After they were only a few miles away from the city, they began lowering the carriage. John would be the down to propel it downwards while Ariel kept it bnced.


    ***


    A few Other carriages could be seen approaching the city gates, all on the same road. John and his party''s carriage were also on that road


    "Next." The gate guard said


    John''s carriage moved forward in response


    "Identification?" He asked


    John handed him his adventurers card while Serena and Ariel handed theirs, luckily for them, their id cards didn''t disy where they''re originally from.


    "Good, what about thedy?" He asked


    Master Sylvia showed him a document. When he saw it, he gave her a bow before opening the gate. John wondered what sort of document it was, but wasn''t sure if it would be rude to ask.


    As the gates opened, the carriage entered. Now that they were on the ground, everything looked different, and more lively.


    As the carriage passed by the roads, they noticed that it was just like the other city they''d been to. People could be seen using magic to do their things.


    There were also some amazing food stalls


    "Cooked Octopus, fresh cooked!"


    "Nice fresh drinks! Adults only"


    John could tell that thosest words caught her attention


    "Come over to our bakery, there''s a lot of sweets!"


    Both Serena and Ariel''s attention were now grabbed


    "No matter how you look at it, that sounded suspicious." John muttered


    [There''s a lot of sweets? Are they trying to kidnap kids?]


    "Hey, master, do you mind if we make a few stops around?" John asked


    Master nodded and said


    "Tomorrow, we''ll be heading into the dungeon."


    "Wait, master... 3 days. Give us 3 days of holidays" Said john


    Master remained silent


    "Master, surely you''d like to rest to right? We''ve been stuck on this never ending cycle of travelling, we''vee to the beach, master, the beach... Who here has ever been to the beach before?" John asked


    No one raised their hands


    "Does a desert count?" Serena asked


    Hearing her words, a tear was formed on john''s eyes.


    "Serena, it''s okay... There''ll be plenty of opportunities in the future..."


    "Huh? Why does it look like you''re pitying me?" Serena asked with a confused expression


    "Life is unfair..." John muttered once more


    Master who saw this spoke up


    "3 days" She said


    "Thank you!" the three said simultaneously


    "Master, do you mind if we leave the carriage and inn to you? You can find us when you''re done, or I''ll find you"


    Master nodded


    "Sorry for making you do all this work, and thank you" John Said with a smile as he jumped off


    "Thank you" Said Serena as she jumped off


    Ariel nodded and said "Sorry and thank you" before jumping off


    Master who heard the words of these kids, made a small smile while thinking that her decision was a good one


    "Where will we go first?" John asked


    "Hm, the delicious sea food sounds nice" Said serena


    "We can go there after having cake" Said Ariel


    "But cake is a desert, we need to eat first" Said Serena


    "Hm then, let''s go to a restaurant and take the cake and sea food there"


    Both of their eyes began to sparkle so john took that as a good choice.


    ***


    "Ariel, don''t eat your cake yet" Said john as he looked at her


    Ariel suddenly froze and nodded. She was trying to open the cake box but before she could john noticed.


    "Serena the same goes for you..." John said as he quickly turned to her


    "How could you even see- nevermind" Said Serena


    She wanted to retort, but no words came to mind. John felt like he had gotten better at dealing with her, and he felt proud.


    [Beating Serena *cough* An adult in an argument, feels great.] Thought john


    "Looks like we''ve arrived"


    The overall area was rather simple to move around, the shops were side by side beside the road, food stalls were scattered around the area. The roads were cleaned and you couldn''t see any broken down houses


    They stood in front of a big restaurant, which definitely looked top ss and expensive


    A good thing about this city is that there was no noble ormoner district, or walls which separated themoners from the nobles like halfaust. Here everyone felt equal, except for those who lived in their mansions and areas


    But no one was allowed in the pce. Although he didn''t care he was curious. In xoleria, the highest person in status was the king and crown prince, however john never got a chance to meet him, as he was a 2nd year in the academy.


    John''s practically a 2nd year too now, people tell him he should be more interested and knowledgeable about things like politics and power, but he doesn''t believe it''s important as he doesn''t pick fights


    And most of the 1st years know john, so much that none would dare to fight him. He even gained a nickname. The double-edged sword, there are times when he''ll be fighting on a whole new levels while there are also times his fighting power is average.


    In reality, it''s just John changing between actual chant magic to a fake chant magic.


    "But it''s fine... My chants are above average at this point... I think" John mumbled


    "John? Who are you talking to?" Ariel asked


    "He does this from time to time, let''s just ignore it like usual" Serena whispered


    "I heard that! And don''t worry, I''m just talking to myself" John casually said


    "Yeah, maybe we should stop by the doctorster, any objections?" Serena asked


    Ariel shook her head


    "Oi... *Sigh* Let''s just go inside, we''ve been standing out here for long enough"


    As they walked into the restaurant, what grabbed john''s attention was the shiny concrete floors and bright white light which came from the ceiling


    "Holy... It''s a five-star restaurant...." John muttered as he looked around

 Chapter 128 - Sweet Karma

    Most of the people inside were wearing fancy clothes, they looked like nobles that also came to this beach for touring, while others looked like adventurers but wore clean clothes


    Everyone was minding their business at their own table, john wasn''t sure why but they drew a little attention. Even though there were other kids there...


    [It''s probably because they came apanied by an adult, unfortunately for us, our adult is Serena] John thought


    "Hey john, did you say something just now?" Serena asked


    "Nope, it might''ve been your imagination, anyways, let''s go look for a seat


    However, the three didn''t mind, they were wearing clean simplemoner clothes which were easy to move around in, and also didn''t have their armour on.


    As john walked towards the giant counter to order something, he could see the chefs hurrying and pouring their heart into what they were cooking, through frame on the wall. He knew that it was going to be good


    Suddenly a servant stopped him


    "Hello there, are you kids lost?"


    brown hair and he wore strange sses with a ck suit. He nearly twice as tall as john and was dropping off a leaking a little bloodlust and hate in his words


    [What''s with this guy?]


    "Do I know you?" John asked


    "Not at all, I believe this isthe first time we''ve met."


    "I see, well then, could you please step aside? I''d like to order something" john kindly asked


    "Unfortunately, you need to make a reservation to eat here" Said the servant


    "Is that so... My bad for misunderstanding, this looked like a good restaurant so I didn''t consider that, but it makes sense..." Said john as he turned to leave


    Serena and Ariel red at the man before following behind john


    "See you soon, dear customer" Said the servant


    With his back turned to the customer, john waved back when suddenly, his pouch slipped from his hand.


    As the pouch dropped on to the ground, gold coins spilled out. Because of that, john managed to draw other''s attention


    "Oh... My bad... I ended up dropping my pouch on ident" Said John as he turned around once more to pick it up


    A smile was formed on john''s face, and it was directed at the servant, that''s right, john was getting a little revenge


    "*sigh* And I was in the mood to be spending a lot today..."


    A grin was formed on serena''s face as she saw this, and a smile was formed on Ariel''s


    "I heard there was another restaurant nearby which was just as good" Said Serena


    "Judging by how kindly they''ve treated us, customers, I''d assume the other one is better." Said Ariel


    The other customers started to mutter amongst themselves, the smile on the servants face turned upside down


    Right as he was about to say something, ady who seemed to be the owner or manager came and smacked the servant in his head


    "I hope you''ll excuse this foolish one if he offended you three in any way, don''t worry he will be punished ordingly" Saidthedy


    "It''s fine, we were just about to leave anyways, we lost our appetite for eating, moreover we didn''t book a reservation" Said John


    "Reservation? That is optional, it is not a requirement to dine in our restaurant" She said


    "Oh really, then I might''ve heard wrong, because it sounded like your worker said only those who have set a reservation are allowed to dine here" Said john with a confused expression


    "That''s right, I heard the same" Said Serena who also looked confused


    "Me too" Added Ariel


    "Is that so... Well then, me and him will need to have a little talk" She said as she grabbed on to his shoulder


    John had just finished up picking up his pouch full of gold coins.


    "Apologise" She said as she looked at the servant


    "Tch, Sorry" He said as he gave a half-hearted bow


    [Did he just click his tongue?]


    "I apologise for his disrespectful attitude. Would you three be interested in dining in?" She asked as she bowed


    "Hmm I''m not sure, after being treated that way, surely anyone would lose their appetite?" Said john


    "Of course, we codemn behaviour such as this, so as a further apology for the way he''s treated you three, you''ll receive a good seat and have your meals at half price" Said thedy


    "Thank you, but there''s no need for you to bow, It''s nice to see that there are workers here who know of the term respect" Said john


    "We consider our restaurant meals, the best in the city." She said


    "Hmm..."


    [Originally I nned on leaving but... With an offer like that... Not to mention how annoyed he''ll be once he sees us happily eating in here]


    "Then we''ll take you up on that offer" Said john with a smile


    The servant was much more annoyed than usual, he was struggling to keep his fa?ade up.


    "Very well" She said as she pped her hands


    Another butler came in


    "Yes ma''am?" He asked


    "Escort them to a table"


    "Right away"


    The butler escorted john to a four person table near the window, it was a good seat and you could see the people passing by


    The table was squeaky clean and aesthetically, it looked great.


    "Here is your menu" He said as he handed john the menu


    "Thank you" John replied as he took it


    Serena and Ariel also got their menu''s and looked around to see what they''d like.


    "I''ll have the roasted beef with... Rice?" Said john


    [No way... They have rice?!] John thought to himself


    He wrote it down on a piece of paper, which he held on his hand


    "hm... I already have sea food, so I''ll have that too" Said Serena


    "I''ll also have the same" Said Ariel


    "Very well, what about your drinks?" He asked


    "Red wine" Serena replied


    "I''ll have some orange juice" Said John with a nervous smile


    "Then, I''ll have mango" Said Ariel


    Ariel really took a liking to mango juice after trying it before


    "Understood, would you like anything else?" He asked


    "Not at all, thank you" John replied


    The man nodded before leaving


    After that the three of us looked at each other with a victory smile


    "Serves him right." Said Serena


    "Haha, true" Said john


    "More importantly, The servant didn''t ask Serena if she was old enough to be drinking..." Ariel mentioned it


    John didn''t want to mention it, but ariel mentioned it, and she did it in a way which wasn''t offensive


    "It''s obvious, he could feel the mature air around me." Said Serena


    "Yeah right..." John mumbled


    "What was that?" Serena asked


    "pff"


    Seeing the two argue again, Ariel started to chuckle, then shortly after john and serena also chuckled a bit

 Chapter 129 - The Beach!

    As the sun shone down on the glittering sand, a party of 4 individuals entered the popr beach.


    "Ohhh, it looks awesome" Said Ariel as she looked around


    The sand sparkled as reflected the sunlight, the cool breeze passed through their bodies as they wore less baggy clothes, and the water stretched out as far as the eye could see.


    "Aftering from a snow biome... This ce looks like heaven" John muttered


    "You''re right about that..." Said Serena who looked sort of sick


    Anyone could clearly tell why


    "Serena, you sure you don''t need to take off the hat?" john asked


    Serena was hesitating on a reply, seeing this, john got an idea


    "Wait here for a moment" Said John before running off in the direction of the shops they passed by


    "What''s he nning this time?" Serena asked


    "Some sort of new spell probably?" Said Ariel


    ***


    "Oh, I can see him" Ariel said as she pointed at him


    "Yeah, what''s he carrying?" Serena asked


    John was gone for around 2 minutes, when he came back, he brought a straw hat with him.


    "Here use this." Said john when he came back


    "What sort of hat is this?" Serena asked as she took off hat


    Her short silky silver hair had grown longer, it made her look more feminine and mature. Ariel''s hair had also gotten longer.


    "It''s a straw hat, I saw it when we were passing by. It''s good for warm environments and helps against the sun" John exined


    "Is it really that good?" Serena asked before trying it on


    When she did, she made a surprised face and her mouth turned into the shape of a triangle


    "Uh-Serena?"


    "How much did this cost?" Serena asked as she pulled out her purse


    "Ah, don''t worry about it, think of it as a gift" John replied


    "Then, I owe you a gift" Said Serena


    "Then that ruins the whole point..." John muttered


    She seemed rather happy with the sun hat, I guess it was better than the super-hot, mage hat that she had.


    Straw hats had holes in them for better air cirction after all.


    Next to this amazing beach was an abnormally tall yellow tower, which sort of blocked the sun.


    "Yet people seem to y around it and ignore it..." John muttered


    "Let''s get going" Said master as she headed toward the female changing room


    While john went towards the wooden male changing room, the girls went towards the female room which was on the other side


    There were many ces to change around the beach, as john walked towards the nearest one, he observed how people acted in the beach.


    And contrary to his initial expectations, it was just like how it was in his previous life. There were people swimming around, families watching over their kids, people resting under the umbre, and there were even some people sunbathing


    "FIGHT!"


    "ON!"


    "LOUDER! FIGHT!"


    "ONN!!"


    And then there were the people who were running around the beach and doing their training.


    Suddenly, john bumped into someone while he was distracted


    "Ah, sorry, I was distracted."


    It was a guy who looked like he was in his sixteens, beside him were 2 other guys, and they seemed to be hitting on a girl.


    She had long braided brown hair with brown eyes and wore a red bikini swimsuit. Her proportions were good and she was in shape. John could tell why she was getting hit on


    She looked troubled, but all she had to do was tell them to go away, Since it was none of his business john was about to walk away as he was right in front of changing room


    "Oi... You made me drop my drink" Said the guy who john had bumped into


    "My bad, I''ll buy you a new one, how much was It?"


    The guy who was next to him answered


    "3 gold coins"


    "3 gold coins for a drink? Wow really?! That''s so cheap, sure, let''s go inside, I need to organise my stuff"


    Said john as he pointed at his backpack


    The guys then started to smile amongst each other when they heard this


    "Ah... Right, that reminds me... This was a special drink, so it''s actually 10 gold coins"


    "No, It''s 15 gold coins, why are you being nice to him?"


    "Because it was an ident... Which is why I''ll give him a discount"


    "*Sigh* Fine... I''ll allow 12 gold coins, I''ll give him a discount"


    As john watched them try to persuade him, that they were being nice, and giving it to him for cheap. The girl who they were hitting on suddenly spoke up


    "Why are you guys trying to rip-off a kid? Hey, kid, listen, that drink was worth 3 silver coins." She said


    "Really?" John asked while faking a surprised expression


    "S-She''s lying, why don''t we go talk about this inside?" The guy asked as started to slowly push john inside


    "Tch, kid scream for help. These guys will run when you do"


    "For such a cute face, you have quite an attitude." One of the guys said as they ced their hands on her shoulder


    "Don''t touch me, or I''ll have to resort to self-defence."


    "Huh? What is this girl talking about?" Asked the guy as he started tough


    "I think she''s gone crazy from receiving attention"


    "Self-defence huh, give me your best shot, bab-


    Before the guy could even finish, his body had suddenly done a 180 and hit head was pointed to the ground.


    And just like that, his head was inserted into the ground. John who saw this was surprised


    "Mmph mmhph mmph"


    He was trying to talk but there was no luck


    The other guys who saw this started to tremble


    "A-Ah, that reminds me, I-I uh forgot something at home" Said one of them before running off


    "W-Wait for me!" Said the second one, before following behind


    The one who had his head in the sand, suddenly forced it out before slowly walking away, as if he had the worst day of his life.. He didn''t even look at john or the girl.

 Chapter 130 - S-Sun Screen...

    [That''s a rather strange reaction]


    "Hey, kid, be careful with guys like that, don''t just go handing away gold coins, okay? I won''t be there to save you next time" She said


    She looked like she was only 3 or 4 years older than john but was really focused on calling him kid. Although it''s not wrong.


    "Understood! Thank you very much for helping me!" John made a grateful expression as he bowed


    Although he acted like he was grateful, the ones who should have really been grateful were the guys who ran away, while they had the chance. John was nning on teaching them a little lesson once they went inside the changing room.


    "Good, what''s your name?" She asked


    "John, what about you?" John asked


    "John... call me Tiana" She said


    "Alright, nice meeting you tiana, bye" John said before rushing into the changing room


    He wasted quite a lot of time and didn''t want to keep the girls waiting, especially master.


    "Bye... What a strange kid..." Said tiana


    ***


    As john approached the same spot where they had separated, he could see, Serena and Ariel already changed into their swimsuits


    "How did we get here before you?" Serena asked


    "Sorry, I encountered a slight problem" John replied


    "You weren''t hitting on some random girl were you?" Serena asked


    "Eh?" Ariel unintentionally let out


    She then suddenly got embarrassed when she grabbed their attention


    "Ha-ha, of course not. Besides, I''m not good at those things, I have no game.


    "Hmmm"


    Serena stared at john suspiciously


    "Well it''s none of my business even if you were, more importantly, don''t you have anything to say?" Serena asked with a confident smile


    John assumed that it might have been rted to her swimsuit, so he honestly assessed it


    A Gray bikini which matched her silky silver coloured hair, not too revealing, but it didn''t hide much either. It suited her really well, and brought out her charms. It also paired up nicely with the straw hat.


    Recently john was more conscious around serena, he wanted to know what she really thought of him, so he put in more thought into this answer and was more conscious about it than usual


    "You look beautiful, like the pearls you''d find hidden in a sea shell"


    [God why did ite out so corny?] John thought to himself as he bit his lips and forced a smile


    Serena''s reaction hurt him even more as she gave him a slightly disgusted and confused look


    "I guess you were being honest when you said you can''t hit on a girl."


    [How do you know what hitting on a girl is but not dating? Did some random other dude who was reincarnated do this? Did he change the society''s way of thinking?]


    John felt like he was stabbed in the heart


    "i''ll give you 5 points..." She muttered as she hid her slightly embarrassed face


    But john was too depressed to hear it


    "John, what about me?" Ariel asked


    John has been conscious around ariel throughout the whole year, she said she liked him but never really specified in what way, meaning he also had to put some thought into this answer


    [don''t make it corny...] john thought to himself


    [Need my advice?] The female voice asked


    [No thank you, I have my pride as a man to protect.] John quickly replied


    A ck bikini which matched her deep ck hair, it was less revealing than serena''s and had a certain innocenceing from it. Almost like...


    "Like The light in the darkness, hmm... A Cute fallen angel?"


    When john came to it, serena was face palming her face and Ariel... She looked so embarrassed that She couldn''t even look john in the eye


    [That''s a good reaction, right?]


    "You know what, let''s just go swim." Said Serena as she pulled john and Ariel towards the water


    "What about our things?" John asked


    Master stretched out her hand indicating to hand them over


    "Master... Thank you." Said john as he handed her his backpack


    "Thank you mrs sylvia" Said Ariel as she handed her bag


    "Thank you" Said Serena who also handed her bag


    "No worries" Master replied


    "Are you sure you don''t want to?" John asked just to be sure


    Master nodded


    "But where will you even stay?" John asked


    "I already made a reservation" Said master as she walked over to a nearby spot with an empty umbre


    She thenid down on the towel under it and gestured for the three toe over


    When they did, master handed john a bottle containing a yellow oil


    "is this sun screen?" John asked


    "Yeah, can you put some on for me?" Master asked as she untied the back of her bra, andid with on the towel with her body facing the ground


    Serena took advantage of this opportunity to tease john and joined in


    "Ah... could you put some on me as well? I heard it was something you should do when going to the beach" Said serena as she alsoid with her body facing the ground, however she didn''t untie the back of her bra.


    Turns out it was more embarrassing than she had imagined


    Being the only one left out, ariel decided to join in.


    "T-Then, me too..." Ariel said as sheid on the ground with her body it.


    For a moment, john''s mind had nked out. Then it restarted itself.


    "John?" Serena asked


    "W-Well, I''ll start from left to right" Said john as he rubbed the oil in his hands


    The one on the left was master. John started off by rubbing the oil around her back, then moved on to her legs and then to her nape.


    John was fast, no, more precisely, his hands were moving on their own, he pictured cute animals and kept his focus on that


    "Now, the front..." Said master with a refreshed expression


    "You can do that yourself!"


    Without doing as master asked, john moved on to serena, who had her face buried in the towel, she was staying quiet, but that only made him more nervous


    As he slid his arms around her back, he noticed that every once in a while, her ears would twitch, and as he moved on to her legs


    "This sort of feels like a massage" Serena muttered


    John couldn''t see her face, but judging by her ears she was bright red


    "Well I''m good at massages" Said john as he tried to fill in every corner


    After the legs and the back was done, john moved on to her nape


    When he was done, Serena looked refreshed


    "What''s my rating?" John asked


    "9... 7 out of 10..." Serena muttered with still bright red cheeks


    "Oi, you dropped down 2 entire levels."


    Now it was Ariel''s turn


    She looked nervous, and d that it was finally her turn


    John started off on the back once again, he made sure to be extra careful as he slowly slid his hand, spreading the oil around her back.


    "You''re right, that feels nice..." Ariel muttered


    Ariel was making a satisfied expression; the sort john would make when he''d go into the hot springs.


    From john''s perspective, she looked like an adorable little kitty. He made sure to carefully spread it around her back before moving onto her legs and eventually her nape.


    When he was done, Ariel''s cheeks were flushed red and she also had a refreshed feeling on her face


    "John, you''re pretty good at this..." Said Ariel as she grabbed on to the oil


    That was because he had experience in his previous life, putting sunscreen of course.


    "Uhm, we''re done, so let me put away the oil real quick" Said john as he tried to grab it


    But Ariel shook her head and moved it so that he wouldn''t


    "It''s john''s turn now" Ariel said with a smile


    "Eh?" John unintentionally let out


    "You''re right ariel, johny down, it''ll be over soon" Said Serena


    "Uhm... It''s fine, I''ll be fine without sunscreen, uhm... master... can you tell them it''s fine"


    Master shook her head and restricted john by forcing him down on to the towel


    "W-W-Wait, I''m not ready, WAIT!!"


    The three chuckled as they began to rub the oil in their hands

 Chapter 131 - The Sand

    By the time they were done, john had a refreshed expression on his face


    "You''re right... That was a lot better than I expected..." John muttered with a satisfied expression


    It felt like a massage, as they rubbed the oil on his back and legs with their soft hands, he was reminded of that one trip he had to the spa in his previous life


    [Expensive but worth it...] He thought to himself


    [You sure look happy for a guy who was begging me for help a few moments ago] Said Zestari through john''s mind


    [You be quiet...]


    "John, Serena let''s go y in the sand, while we wait for it to dry" Said Ariel as she pulled then towards where there was more sand


    Master gave john the gesture for him to enjoy himself, seeing he dly nodded.


    As the three moved across the beach, while avoiding identaly stepping on other people''s umbres, they noticed a certain area where people were ying a game


    When john saw this, he couldn''t believe his eyes. This game, there was no mistaking it. There was a and even the ball looked the same


    "Serve!" Shouted one of the girls who were ying as she threw the ball into the air, before mming it as hard as she could with her hand on to the other side


    The ball moved at an extremely fast speed, and dug itself into the surface of the sand on the beach.


    "No way.. It''s beach volleyball..." John muttered


    "Beach volleyball?" Said Serena with a confused expression


    "Is that what they are doing?" Ariel asked


    "You two don''t know what beach volleyball is?"


    The two shook their heads.


    John didn''t consider the possibility of it going by another name


    So before saying anything else, he walked over to the sports area with them.


    "Excuse me, what are you guys doing?" John asked


    Although he already knew


    "Hm? Ah, are you guys not from around here?" She asked


    The girl who answered, was the same girl who hit the spike on the ball which dug itself into the surface of the sand.


    [A tomboy?] John thought to himself


    She had short brown hair, and light brown eyes. She had a cheerful air around her, and looked slightly tan. At first, john had thought she was a boy, but judging by the proportions, there''s no way she''d be a guy


    We nodded


    "Then that exins it, well you see, this was a game called beach volley-ball, It''s very popr and fun to y, want to try?" She asked


    There were many tents around in the area, it was a Very Big beach. If you looked around, you could see people ying for fun, and if you looked even closer... You could see truepetitiveness


    But regardless of that, John was shocked. No he didn''t know what to say. A famous sport from his world in this world, coincidence? Not even the name was changed


    "We''d love to" John quickly replied


    "Then, I''ll exin the rules" She said


    ***


    "Are there any questions?" She asked


    John shook his head, while both serena and Ariel replied


    "Just one, we''re supposed to stop the ball from dropping, so we can use any part of our body, and not just the hand, right?" Ariel asked


    "That is correct"


    "Are we allowed to use magic spells?" Serena asked


    "Hm... Body reinforcement with magic is allowed, but as for spells... The rules don''t say anything about using them..." She said


    [Yeah, because magic didn''t exist in the other world] John thought to himself


    "But it''s hard to react fast enough to the ball while you focus on chanting, so I''d rmend not doing it." She added


    An evil grin was formed on the face of serena who heard this. John and Ariel who saw this knew exactly why


    "Then, let''s do a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who goes first." The girl said


    "That''s fine with us, but where''s your team?" John asked


    "Oh, don''t worry about that. Hey guys! We got challengers!" She shouted as she waved at the people who were on the court next to them.


    There was another girl and guy there. As the they turned, the girl made eye contact with john and they quickly recognised each other.


    "Oh, that kid... What was his name again, jo... John?" She asked as she approached us


    That brown braided hair, there was no mistaking it. It was the girl he met this morning


    "Yes, I''m john. I''m surprised you forgot my name that fast, tiana."


    "Haha, sorry. I''m not good at remembering names" She said once she finally reached us


    "No worries, it was a joke. So I''m assuming you''re the one we''ll be ying?" John asked


    "Eh, you can y volleyball?" Tiana asked with a surprised expression


    "Yeah...? The rules are easy, to grasp?" John replied


    "That''s not what I meant, volleyball is apetitive sport, you might get seriously hurt if you''re not careful" Said Tiana


    [Wasn''t the volley ball made of leather arranged in particr sections wrapped around a dder. How badly can you get hurt?]


    At the same time john thought that, the sound of a creak, was heard. When john turned to see what it was, he made a nk expression


    [For a second, I thought it would be like normal beach volleyball. They had me in the first half.]


    The creak that john heard, was actually the sound of the ball putting a dent on the holders which held up the.


    Suddenly, john felt two eyes on his back. When he turned around to see who it was, he noticed that it was serena and ariel both just giving him the stare. Then he realised that he hadn''t introduced them yet


    "That is true, more importantly, I wanted to introduce you to my two very close friends and party members."


    "I''m serena, nice to meet you" Said Serena as she shook her hand


    "And I''m Ariel, it''s also nice to me you" Said Ariel as she also shook her hand


    "Serena and Ariel... Those are nice names, it''s also nice to meet you" Said Tiana as she shook their hands back


    "S-So, I''ve been meaning to ask... But how are you acquainted with that?" Serena asked as she pointed at me


    [That?]


    "Oh, you mean him? We met this morning, I guess you could say I saved him" Tiana said with a proud look on her face


    [It''s the other way around, you saved them.]


    "So that''s why he waste... What happened?" Ariel asked


    "He was getting tricked by these guys who were-"


    "*Ahem*"


    John had actually noticed him earlier, and felt rather bad when they were taking so long to introduce him. If he hadn''t mentioned it, john would have probably asked.


    The boy who had been silently waiting to be introduced, suddenly cleared his throat, and while everyone''s attention was on him he spoke up


    "I''m Zakaragi, it''s a pleasure to meet you" He said with a smile

 Chapter 132 - Beach Volleyball

    "I''m Zakaragi, it''s a pleasure to meet you" He said with a smile


    Short silky blonde hair with blue eyes, not only that but he was rather-good looking, just as good as john, although he didn''t want to admit it.


    "Ah that''s right, you were here. Sorry, I forgot." Said Tiana as she looked away


    "It''s alright, I didn''t expect someone with the memory of a turtle to remember." He retorted


    "Oh really now? So why would you follow this turtle?" She asked


    "W..."


    He had nothing to say in return. It was her win


    "*Sigh* Are you guys fighting again?" The tomboyish girl asked as she stopped the two


    "Nanesia, She started it." Said Zakaragi as he turned his head away


    [So her name''s Nanesia...] John thought to himself


    [Interested?] Zestari asked


    [I''m just curious] John replied


    "Huh? You were the one, who refused to listen" Said Tiana while looking annoyed


    "Will you guys cut it out?! We have people here waiting to go against us, and you''re wasting time rambling on about something that shouldn''t even matter?"


    They quieted down


    [Nice move] Thought john as he gave her a thumbs up gesture


    "Sorry about that, but yeah, if you''re looking for a game, you can y us. As I''m sure you already know, this is my team, the blonde id-"


    "Oi"


    "boy, you see over there is Zakaragi, and this adorable girl is Nanesia. Are you guys fine with doing rock, paper, scissors to decide who goes first?" Tiana asked


    John looked towards, the two girls and they nodded


    "Then, let''s do it."


    ***


    "Firstes rock..."


    [Possession]


    John''s eyes became clouded in darkness, and his senses were heightened. On top of that, his vision became clearer and he could see the girl''s hand move in slow motion


    [Using possession for a game like this... Sometimes I question what goes on through your mind.]


    [... Cancel]


    The darkness which had originally clouded john''s eyes, disappeared


    "Rock.... Paper..."


    This time, john simply used his senses, he didn''t need magic to see a movement, before it yed out. All he had to do was focus.


    [Don''t be underestimate it just because it''s a game. Rock paper scissors was probably ripped off by some guy from my world too. In my world, it has existed for countless centuries, wars, deaths, births, they were all decided by this game]


    [¡­]


    "Scissors!" They simultaneously said


    While matching her movement, in slow motion john watched as her hand began unfolding what her move would be.


    [scissors.] Said john in his mind


    John through rock and just like he had expected, the girl ended up throwing scissors.


    [I won... hahaha... Hahahaha... Aha-]


    "Alright, it''s your win, so you can choose who to start" Tiana casually said, without showing even a hint of being bothered by the loss


    To john who saw this, he was having trouble understanding why he was so hyped up over a game of rock paper scissors.


    "Y-Yeah... we''ll serve first." Said john as he staggered over to his side of the court


    ***


    It was a 3 on 3 volley ball battle. John, Serena, And Ariel Versus Tiana, Zakaragi and Nanesia.


    As john stood behind the serve line, he took a deep breath before throwing the ball slightly up. John then slowly followed up by taking a few steps and jumping a few feet into the air.


    In his previous life, john would have never been able to reach such a height, but in this world, it wasn''t even his highest.


    As he swung his arm and there was impact with the ball. It was hit so hard, that it looked like it was propelled by a rocket. before anyone on the opposing team could react, it was already on the other side of the sandy court.


    As the ball dug straight into the sand, it looked like you could see a little smoke, caused by the friction.


    As they looked at the ball, a nervous sweat started to form on their faces.


    "Ah... My bad... I ended up using too much power" Said john with a nervous smile


    Although he wasn''t using body reinforcement like the other team was, he did use around 80% of his power on that swing.


    "Hey john, what was that at the end? The ball clearly curved to the left. I thought we agreed on no spells" Said Serena


    "I don''t think that was a spell" Said Ariel as she looked at the ball


    "I just added a little rotation by moving my hand when I hit it."


    While john and his team talked amongst each other, nanesia picked up the ball then looked at tiana.


    "What did you possibly save a guy like him from?" Nanesia asked as she looked at john


    "... Those girls, they said they were able to see the ball curve... Did you guys even see the ball?" Tiana asked


    The nanesia and zakaragi shook their heads


    Nanesia threw the ball over to john, and the he began his second serve


    John decided to put less power into this hit, he wanted them to enjoy it, going all out would be


    He threw the ball slightly into the air, before following after it and taking a jump


    Midair, as he saw the ball slowly descend, he could see a spot where there was an opening. But instead of going for it.


    He swung his hand andnded it on the center of the ball, even though he used less than half of his power, the ball moved very fast.


    Just when he had thought he might have gone too far again, Nanesia ran over to where the ball was heading and with her hands, she redirected it to the air


    Seeing this, without even realising it, john had formed a smile


    As the ball descended, John watched as Tiana got under the ball and set it over to Zakaragi, who had already jumped with his arm stretched out, ready to spike it in.


    He swung his arm and it hit dead centre on the ball. The ball was moving fast, but john could easily keep up. However, instead of going for it, he left it to Serena who was the closest.


    Serena had already started to move before john said anything, she waspletely focused.


    She imitated the same stance, Nanesia used to receive the ball, and managed to perfectly receive it


    "I-I did it!" Said Serena As she watched as the ball slowly ascended


    John then quickly started to move towards to ball to set it to one of them, but before he could, Serena suddenly jumped as the ball started to descend, and swung her hand with all her strength, hitting the ball once again, in the center.


    Once again, the ball moved so fast no one reacted. Including, Ariel and john. Everyone was surprised.


    The difference between the level of body reinforcement of someone who has attended magic school and survived nearly 20 floors in a dungeon, is levels beyond someone who uses it for a sport.


    "Did you see that? Even I didn''t expect that to happen..." Said Serena surprised at her own abilities


    "Serena..." John suddenly called out to her


    "Yes, I know... It was unexpected for my first try." Said Serena with proud look


    "It''s their point." Said john


    "Eh?"


    "A yer cannot touch the ball twice in a row. It''s called double-hit and it''s against the rules."


    "...." Serena slowly looked away.

 Chapter 133 - Improvement

    After sorting out, the mistake, they continued to y. Only this time, it was more fair and no one was allowed to use magic strengthening. But either way, it didn''t make much of a difference for john as he wasn''t using it from the beginning


    As for serena, she unnaturally strong for someone of her size, and ariel...


    "Serena!" Ariel shouted


    Ariel then set the ball straight at serena who had already jumped, expecting the ball to go her way.


    "I got it!" Serena replied


    Her uracy, was unexpectedly good for her first time ying. Not only that, but she was just as strong as serena. John was wondering if they had done some sort of strength training, or if it was master that trained them. But he decided to keep it to himself


    "Leave it to me." Said John as he leapt straight at where Nanesia had spiked the ball


    While using the receiver form, he received it on the direction of serena.


    Serena who saw this, turned to face john and watched as the ball slowly descended. Once it was finally within her reach, she set it to Ariel who was already in the middle of her jump


    Ariel swung her hand and as it hit the centre of the ball. A nice loud hit sound resonated through their court.


    The ball was heading straight for the top right corner. Nanesia was the only one who reacted, but even still, she wasn''t able to get the ball.


    It flew right past her, before itnded on the sand. As the rotations got slower, it eventually stopped


    "16-21.. 14-21... 18-21... How many games did we y?" nanesia asked


    "5" John replied


    "After 5 games, you guys got a lot better... it sucks how we only won twice, but it''s part of life."


    "That''s right, next time we''ll beat you" Said Tiana


    "Count on it." Zakaragi Added


    John was d to see that they weren''t sore about it.


    "Yeah, good luck with that" Said john


    "We''ll face you any time" Added Serena


    "And we''ll win." Dered Ariel


    Ariel was really into this game


    "who else wants to go swimming?" Nanesia asked as she raised her hand


    Everyone raised their hand.


    "Then, it''s settled!"


    ***


    As the nice lukewarm water, flowed back and forth from the beach, in a never ending pattern. As John watched as serena and Ariel yed around in the water with Zakaragi, Tiana and Nanesia. He felt forgotten.


    From here, he could see Zakaragi really enjoy ying around with them, he didn''t look like the type of person who could make such an innocent smile


    John was envious


    "M-Master... What did you need?" Asked john


    He was called by master before they all decided to go y around at the water.


    "Nothing, go join your friends" Said master


    "Master if you want me to stay, then I don''t mind at all. Isn''t that why you called me?" John asked


    Suddenly, master grabbed a small box from her pocket and handed it to john


    "What''s this?" John asked


    "That girl you saved, she wanted to give it to you."


    John opened the box and inside there was a small round green gem. It was shiny and glowy, it didn''t look like something amoner could afford.


    "Master, what is this?" John asked


    "A special stone. I don''t know much about it, but it contains magical properties."


    John already knew that, he could feel it flowing through the stone, what he didn''t know was why he got it.


    "But master, wouldn''t it have been better for her to have sold it off instead of giving it to me?"


    [Sometimes, I don''t understand. Are you dense or just stupid?] Zestari Asked


    [Dense?]


    [She''s giving it to you because you saved her. That''s worth more than money.]


    "It was her choice, be happy."


    John was feeling conflicted, he didn''t know if he should be happy, or worried, but there was no use fretting on it.


    "She gave me a message to give to you" Said master


    "Message?" John asked


    "*Ahem* Thank you very much for saving me, j-john, right? Uhm, think of the stone as something that can help you during your travels. Hmm... Ah, right. My name is saphi, how could you leave without introducing yourself? B-but yeah, I''m not sure if we''ll meet again, but if we do, make sure you do it properly."


    [Did your master really memorise and say all of that word for word?] Asked Zestari


    Meanwhile, before he even realised, tears had started to stream down john''s face.


    "T-Thank you master... Thanks Saphi... I''ll treasure it..." Said John as he wiped off the tears in his face


    "Good. Now go y with your friends." Said master as he gave john a headpat


    "Yeah" John replied with a smile


    As john got up, he closed the box and started walking to the water, with it in hand. When he realised, he stopped and then walked back.


    "Master, can you hold on to this for a while? I''m going to go swim" Said john


    Master nodded


    "Also, master... did you really memorise that word for word?" John asked


    Suddenly master stared at him


    "I have a good memory. Is that bad?" Master asked


    "not at all... I was just surprised, but thanks" Said john before running off into the water


    "Both childish... and mature..." Master muttered as she watched him jump into the water with a face of joy


    --------------------------------------------


    "What took you so long?" Serena asked as she passed the ball the ball over to Ariel


    "Did master make you do training?" Ariel asked


    "Master? John has a master?" Nanesia asked


    "I guess that''ll exin how strong he is." Tiana added


    "Haha... It''s nothing like that, master just had something to give me" John replied


    "But speaking of training... Are you a knight like me, john?" Zakaragi asked


    "No, I''m an adventurer" John replied as he passed the ball over to zakaragi


    "Adventurer!?"


    Zakaragi, was so surprised that he ended up hitting the ball further off shore. The 5 were ying volleyball, while people continued to train or swim around


    So before it could be swept away, john quickly went over to get it


    "I wonder what rank he is..." Tiana muttered


    "John is B-Rank." Said Serena


    "B-Rank? Doesn''t that mean he''s really strong?" Nanesia asked


    "Yeah..." Zakaragi replied


    "Guys... where did john go?" Ariel asked


    The ball was still floating around, but john was nowhere to be seen within the crowd of people who were swimming

 Chapter 134 - The Fallen Mermaid

    It happened, when john went over to get the ball. As he walked towards it, he could see something floating around in the far distance


    Once he strengthened his vision to see who or what it was, he quickly submerged himself into the water, and propelled himself over to it.


    [Aqua] John thought to himself


    Like a jet ski, he propelled himself through and under, the few people who were swimming quite far from the shore, and passed them in a blink.


    He wasn''t sure if they noticed, but didn''t care. As he was about to reach it, the person suddenly got submerged into the water as if it was being dragged down.


    Seeing this, john began to gather more wind and water behind him, and then let it burst propelling him at nearly the speed of a water cannon


    When he finally reached the person, he could see the person''s figure a lot better. It was a young girl, younger than john even. This girl was being dragged down by a girl who was half naked.


    Half-naked wasn''t the right word, half of her body was that of a human''s while the other half, was a long shiny, scaley fish tail.


    John who saw this, instantly recognised it. There was no doubt in his mind, that it was a mermaid. He couldn''t see it''s face and could only see it''s back as it was dragging the kid down, he didn''t care.


    [John, be careful, those things are dangerous. If you get too close, it will use it''s voice to hypnotise you. Look at the little girls eyes, she''s hypnotised] Said zestari


    John was surprised to see zestari giving him information, it was something she''d never done before. Was she getting closer to getting out of his body? John was curious but he decided to leave it to another time,


    [aeris p] Trantion: Air ball


    Suddenly, the area in an extensive radius, around both john and the mermaid, was deprived off water, or, more precisely the water was forced out of that area.


    [Verum Congelo] Trantion: True Freeze


    The mermaid then noticed john, but before she could fall back into the area with water. The outside of the air bubble, quickly froze.


    They were trapped inside of a big ice sphere. It was around 100 feet away from the people who were swimming far from the shore. So they might not notice


    The girl who was being dragged down was unconscious. John didn''t have any time to waste, if she really did drown, he had to get all the water out of her system.


    As he approached the mermaid, it turned around and he could see it''s face. Fangsing out of it''s mouth and a deformed face. It was nothing like the what john expected from a mermaid


    John was only a few feet away from them, when the mermaid opened her mouth.


    [I told you, they can hypnotise you with their voice.] Said Zestari


    As the mermaid opened her mouth, she looked confused to see that no sound wasing out, of her mouth, and before she could try any other method. John suddenly appeared in front of her, and stretched out his hand before propelling an Ice Spike to her chest


    [Silentium, cies]


    And just like that, the mermaid froze and became a part of the ice sphere.


    "I''ll deal with itter." Said John as he pulled the girl out of the unfrozen arm of the mermaid


    When the girl was free from the mermaid''s grip. The mermaids arm froze.


    John then ced his arm slightly over the young girl''s chest and mouth. It wasn''t toote to save her.


    "She''s in the unconscious stage, breathing stopped, but heart beat has slowed..." John muttered as he kept his arms in the same spot


    Water then started to flow out of her mouth, john was forcing out the water which entered her lungs out, so that he could do the next step


    John began gathering oxygen, under his hand then moved it into her lungs.


    "Oxygen level restored... Heart beat rate is increasing..."


    "*Cough* *Cough*"


    The girls eyes suddenly opened and she sprung up, coughing out the little remaints of water


    "Wh-Where am I...?" She muttered as she got up


    [Now how am I going to exin what happened to her?] John thought to himself


    "H-Hey, how are you feeling?" John asked


    Short yellow hair and blue eyes, she looked like she was around 7 years of age.


    Confused, she looked at john before asking


    "Who are you?" She asked


    "M-Me? I''m uh... a hero." John replied with a nervous smile


    Her eyes suddenly lit up at john''s reply


    "A hero?! That''s so cool!" She said


    "Haha... Thank you"


    "Um... Mr. Hero, where are we?" She asked


    "We''re in an ice sphere. Don''t worry, I''ll take you home real soon now."


    "Okay!" She said as he happily nodded


    "Wait here, I''ll need to do something before we go back" Said john as he looked at the frozen mermaid."


    As he started walking towards the frozen mermaid, he something grabbed on to his leg


    "Don''t leave me alone..." The said young girl


    She was trembling and looked terrified, john was wondered if she remembered what happened or how she ended up at where she was at.


    "I won''t, what''s your name?" John asked as he crouched down to her level


    "Wilma..." She muttered


    "Wilma... that''s a nice name. Wilma, do you remember what happened before you got here?" John asked


    She nodded


    "Wilma came swimming with mom and dad, and then... Wilma heard a song... And then... Wilma can''t remember" She said


    "I see... Wilma, hop on my back and hold on tightly" Said john as he crouched down and turned his back to her


    Wilma nodded and got on.


    John then looked over at the mermaid once more, and decided to ask Zestari something


    [Zestari, I have a question. That mermaid, are all mermaids like that? Are they considered monsters or another race?] john asked


    [Mermaids, are considered a race, however, that is what you call a fallen mermaid, a mermaid who has been possessed by a dark ocean spirit. Mermaids are generally a neutral race, they do not attack children or people for no reason. however, once they''re possessed, they turn into hideous monsters who hypnotise souls and drown them] Zestari replied


    [Can they be saved?] John asked


    [¡­ No, their salvation would be to end their life.]


    [I see... I don''t really want to take a life with a kid on my back. I guess I''ll just leave her frozen here.]


    "Wilma, do you like birds? john asked


    "Yes! They can fly!" Wilma replied


    "That''s good" Said john before ascending from the ground


    [Levite]


    "Woah?! Hero! We''re flying!" She said with an excited tone


    "Haha, grab on tight."


    [Velox]


    John propelled himself out of the ice sphere with the wilma his back. As they entered into the water, he formed an air bubble around their faces.


    And just like that, they reached the top.


    "Cool wasn''t it?" John asked as he stood on top of the water with Wilma on his back


    "Mn! That very cool!" Wilma replied


    "Good, let''s head back" Said john as he started to walk back to the shore


    John was walking on top of ice which he''d form with every step, he didn''t think of a name for it, as he was just freezing the water with his feet, while using ''cio''.


    "Hero, can you tell me a story?" she asked


    "Hm... Then, I''ll tell you about that time I nearly conquered a dungeon. Do you want to hear it?"


    "Yes!"


    ***


    After a few minutes of walking and storytelling, she suddenly fell asleep. They were still quite far from the shore. But now that she was asleep, john wouldn''t have to walk.


    [Levite, Furtim]


    As john propelled himself towards the shore, Zestari asked a question


    [In exchange for your questions that I answered, I have a question. You were lucky that her heart hadn''t stopped beatingpletely, and only slowed down, but what would you have done if it had stopped?] Zestari asked


    [I would have started it back up.] John replied


    [Resurrection magic?] Zestari asked


    [No, even if the heart stops, it doesn''t mean they''re dead. They go into cardiac arrest. This stops the flow of blood and transport of oxygen to the brain. And if that would have happened, I would have just restarted the heart with ''sana'', restoring it back to it''s normal state.] John exined


    [You... were you a doctor before you died?] Zestari asked


    [Nope, I was just your everyday student] John replied


    [¡­]


    [but now that I think about it... I used to be anti-social... I wonder what happened to that...? Did I change after my personality merged?]


    "How did no one notice such a young girl floating around... They could have stopped her" John muttered


    [Hey, zestari. How many more fallen mermaids are there in this beach?] John asked


    [They are rather rare, meeting more than one in a day, is very unlikely. I also did not feel the presence of any others.] Zestari replied


    "I see...." john muttered

 Chapter 135 - Earl

    "Um Ms Sylvia, have you seen john anywhere?" Ariel asked


    Master Sylvia shook her head


    "Can you use your shadow spell to find him? Ariel would use hers but he has a habit of concealing his presence" Said Serena


    Master sylvia who heard this, got up and stretched out her hands. Her ck bikini went really well with her hair colour, and her beauty was admired by both Serena and Ariel.


    "Possession..." Master Sylvia muttered


    As her eyes became clouded in darkness, she quickly looked around and saw nothing, and then when she looked up, the darkness which clouded her eyes dissipated.


    "John is in the sky, he''ll be here in a few seconds."


    "What?" Serena and Ariel simultaneously asked


    They were both confused, but decided to wait


    A few seconds after, john suddenly appeared in front of them.


    "Yo." He said as if it waspletely normal


    Serena subconsciously formed a small bluepressed fireball while Ariel nearly unleashed a wind hammer as they jumped back


    When they realised it was john, they let out a sigh of relief before cancelling the spell


    "Oh, it was you... can''t you be more careful? There are people around" Serena asked


    "Don''t scare us like that..." Ariel added


    "That''s my line! And don''t worry, I timed it to when everyone''s attention would be at some ce else, although I spent a long time waiting, as some guys just kept staring at master. So I had to drag their attention away." Exined John


    "Sorry." Said master


    "You don''t have to apologise!" John responded


    "Oi john, what''s that on your back?" Serena''s expression suddenly changed from a friendly one to a confused one.


    "Oh this, it''s a girl I found." John replied


    The confused expression on their faces changed into a worried/disappointed look as Serena asked


    "You kidnapped a girl?" Serena asked


    "What? No, she was getting dragged to the bottom of the ocean by a fallen mermaid"


    When they heard this, they made a relieved expression


    "I knew john wasn''t the type to do that." Said Ariel


    "Yeah, he may be abnormal, but even he has morals" Said Serena


    "Weren''t you two staring at me like I was guilty a few seconds ago?" John asked


    Suddenly, guards which were walking around shouted


    "THE DUKE''S DAUGHTER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED! I REPEAT! THE DUKE''S DAUGHTER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED! IF YOU SEE ANYONE THAT RESEMBLES HER FEATURES REPORT RIGHT AWAY! WE WILL BE SEARCHING THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE BEACH!"


    [Holy, he has a strong voice. But did he really have to shout that loud? Was it some sort of amplifying sound magic or is that his normal voice?] John asked in his mind


    [No magic was used.] Zestari replied


    [¡­]


    "Hey, do you guys think this lost girl, might be the one they''re looking for?" John asked


    "Probably, she has blonde hair, that''s a noble trait. But where did you even find her?" Serena asked


    "Long story short, when I went to get the ball, I saw someone floating around on something, pretty far off shore." John replied


    "How far was that...? Me and Serena didn''t see anything." Ariel asked


    "I''m not sure, it did take a while to get there at full speed though." John replied


    "I-I see..." Muttered Ariel, somewhat surprised.


    "John! You''re back!" Shouted Nanesia as they ran up to them


    They were pretty fast runners, and got to john and the party in no time.


    "Where did you go?" Tiana asked


    "Ah, I went to save this little girl." John replied


    "Save, what''re you talking about?" Zakaragi asked


    As zakaragi took a close look at the girl, his eyes suddenly widened


    "H-Hey! Isn''t that the duke''s daughter?" He asked while nervous


    The whole groups attention was on him


    "You know her?" John asked


    "Of course, I know her. The duke usually takes her to noble parties or ceremonies" He replied


    "Wait, so zakaragi is a noble?" Serena asked


    "He''s the first son of an Earl. Didn''t we mention it?" Tiana asked


    "You didn''t even introduce me" Zakaragi replied


    "Haha..." Tiana nervouslyughed as she looked away


    "Earl? Isn''t that rank pretty high up? Does that mean you two are also?" Serena asked


    "Nope, we''re bothmoners" Tiana replied


    "I thought most nobles hatedmoners" Said Ariel


    "That''s usually the case, but this guy is alwaysing to the beach to y with us. Even though we''re always telling him not to. Almost as if there''s someone who he likes here." Said Nanesia


    Tiana who heard this, made a confused expression. No one seemed toe to mind. Serena and Ariel who saw this did a face palm


    "More importantly, I''d hurry up and take her to them if I were you. At this point, everyone in the beach might be taken in for questioning. I''ll go with you, just in case." Said Zakaragi


    He looked nervous so john knew that he''d have to deal with this carefully.


    "Then we''ll be back soon" Said Zakaragi, as he lead the way


    "Try not to cause any misunderstandings. But knowing you... you will... I''ve never fought against a city before but if anything happens..." Serena muttered


    "Then we''ll have to try..." Ariel muttered


    Before john could even reply to what he heard, he was pulled away by zakaragi


    -------------------------------------------


    As john and ray approached the guards, they suddenly drew their swords when they saw the girl who was on her back


    "Notify the other guards, and the duchesse, tell her i found her." he said to the guard next to him


    The guard who heard that saluted before running off.


    "Hand over the youngdy, if you do not, we will be forced to resort to violence" Said the guard as he pointed his sword at john


    "Hold on, we''ll hand her over... Wilma wake up" John slightly shook her while she was on his back to wake her up


    "mm? Just a few more minutes..." Wilma muttered before falling back asleep


    "Wilma, not now, Mr hero needs your help."


    Hearing this, she suddenly woke up


    "Hero needs my help?!" She asked with a confused expression


    She then wiped her face and looked around


    "Oh! It''s guards! They came to help hero!" Said wilma


    "Not exactly..." John muttered


    "Youngdy wilma, get away from that evil man!" Shouted the guard who seemed to be inmand


    The other guards who saw this surrounded john and Zakaragi.


    John put Wilma on the floor and wilma spoke up


    "He''s not evil! He saved me!" Wilma shouted


    "Tch, this is why I hate dealing with kids. Take the guy somewhere else and kill him" The guard inmand whispered.


    But john heard it as clear as day since he was reinforcing his auditory senses.


    "But sir, what if they''re nobles or have a strong backing?" One of the guards whispered back


    "Huh? Are you blind? You think kids that would be alone on the beach would have a backing? Don''t you want the promotion and reward for finding the youngdy? Do as I say!" The leading guard whispered


    "Understood..."


    The guards started to close in when suddenly, john felt a wave of an attacking


    [John put up an anti-sound barrier. Now!] Zestari warned him


    [Silentium]

 Chapter 136 - The Hypnotising Attack

    As soon as he did, he felt a shockwave, pass by and all the windows around him cracked.


    "What... The...? What happened?" Zakaragi asked as he looked around


    One by one, people started to drop to the ground, while others remained motionless as they stood up.


    The guards didn''t drop but they were staggering as they began walking towards the water.


    [What''s happening to them?] John asked


    [Their minds are being manipted. Those who were knocked unconscious were lucky, those who stayed standing, are going to drown themselves.] Zestari replied


    [I know that, but why?] john asked


    [Look over at the water.]


    John did as she was told, and when he did, his eyes widened.


    There was a horde of fallen mermaids far off shore, Ray couldn''t fully count as some submerged themselves in water, while others stayed above.


    "Oi... John, what''s happening?" Zakaragi asked once more


    "The beach was hit by a full-scale mermaid attack..."


    After john said that, he quickly turned towards the umbre where Serena and Ariel were at.


    There was a dark sphere in that area, which was big enough to cover, their whole group and a few others. Seeing this, john let out a sigh of relief


    "Master made it in time..." John muttered


    But now was no time to rx himself, as he spoke, there were people slowly walking towards the water.


    "Zakaragi... Listen carefully, go over to the dark sphere with Wilma and keep her safe. Okay?" john asked


    Zakaragi who heard this nodded


    "Let''s go wilma" Said Zakaragi as he stretched out his hand


    Wilma who saw this then jumped on to John''s arm


    "Hero, where are you going?" Wilma asked with a worried look


    "Hm... Hero is going to save the day, which is why, hero needs you to follow big brother zakaragi okay?" Said john with a smile


    "Okay..." Wilma muttered as she let go


    She then walked over to zakaragi and grabbed on to his hand


    [Zestari, is it safe to walk out of the field?] John asked


    [Yes, it was a shockwave attack which already passed through. However, from the looks of it, they''re preparing another attack.]


    [I see...]


    "Zakaragi, go now." Said John as he deactivated the anti-sound field


    The sound field stopped sound froming in, so the moment, john deactivated the field, the sound of a screech could be hearding from the ocean.


    Zakaragi ignored that sound and started to run off towards the dark sphere with Wilma. Meanwhile, John was on his way to the ocean.


    Once he reached the shoreline, he looked around to see how many people were hypnotised and moving towards the water.


    And the amount was shocking, it was half of the people who were on the beach, and judging from what john could see, it was in the 200s


    The shoreline extended from one side all the way to the other, the beach was big.


    [Zestari... Do you think I could create a wall big enough over the shoreline to prevent people from passing through?] John asked


    [¡­ That is impossible.]


    [¡­]


    [For someone normal. You can try, but if you fail and end up fainting from overusing your magic power, then those who are currently swimming further into the ocean will die.]


    "As long as there''s a small chance..."


    John looked back, at the where master and the group were, when zakaragi and Wilma reached it, the Dark Sphere opened up and gobbled them in.


    "Seriously... Master is so trustworthy..." John muttered as he ced his arms on the ground


    "Verum Resurgens terra..." Trantion: True Earth Wall


    Slowly, sand and the earth under it, started to rise around the beach.


    Instead of covering the whole shoreline, John simply made half a curving wall rise around the shore line. It curved and formed Half a circle if you looked at it from above


    And as it continued to rise, john felt like chunks of his body was getting dragged out of him.


    "Come on... Nearly done..." John muttered as he poured every ounce of his strength into it.


    Then just as he was about to throw up, he was done.


    John copsed on to the ground as he started to pant.


    "I''m never... doing... that again..."


    He then threw up on the sand


    He washed his mouth with water he created from aqua and looked around. He was surprised that he actually managed to pull it off.


    He wall which stretched out over 50 meters and curved at the end, so that the people who were hypnotised couldn''t just go around it, but instead, would have to go back and around.


    If you looked at it from above, it would look like the half of a circle was covering the beach. Not only that, but the walls were over 3 meters high and reinforced...


    John watched as those who were hypnotised, bumped their faces on to the earth wall consecutively. Thankfully, it had sand in it to soften the impact and was reinforced so that it wouldn''t break apart.


    [Since they''re hypnotised, do you think they''ll think about going back and around?] John asked


    [¡­]


    [Zestari?]


    [Curving it was a good idea... while hypnotised, some may not be smart enough to think about going all the way around. But it''s not too soon to celebrate, you only covered around 75% of the people, the others are either already swimming or weren''t put inside of this circle you created.] Said Zestari


    "So now it''s time to save those who''ve gone swmming huh..." Said john as he created a small exit to pass through so that he could get to the water


    [You won''t be able to save everyone] Said Zestari


    [I know that...But I''ll still try to save as many as I can] John replied


    [¡­]


    As john was about to leap straight into the water, someone stopped him


    "Where do you think you''re going without us?"


    It was a very familiar voice,


    "You''re not forgetting your party members now, are you?"


    John turned around, and it was his 2 close friends, Serena and Ariel, and behind them. There were around 20 others


    "Who are they?" John asked


    "My name is Watlon, like some of the others you see here, I''m an adventurer and a magician. We''d like to help. With all honesty, I first nned on escaping with my family, but when I saw you create that wall to help everyone, I was moved. Will you please allow us to help you?" He asked


    A tall man with long red hair which stretched down to his shoulders and red eyes. John felt like he''d be reliable, and all the others as well.


    "Of course, but... With all of you here, i have a n which could save as many as possible. Does anyone mind if I suggest it?" john asked


    Even if he was strong, he was still a kid, for an operation like this to be led by a kid...


    "Of course not!"


    "Tell us what to do!"


    "You''re the boss, kid!"


    John who heard this formed a small smile


    "The n is simple..."


    ***


    "I see... With this we should be able to buy enough time before the royal knights arrive." Said one of the adventurers


    [Royal knights?]


    [A special group of knights who deal withrge scale, dangerous attacks against a city or kingdom. It''s obvious that a city like this would have one. They''re strength is on par with A-Rank adventurers, and their strongest members are on par with S-Ranks.] Said Zestari


    "I can''t guarantee you guys will live... This n is a bit risky..." Said john


    "Huh? Who cares about that?"


    "We''re adventurers we spend years risking our lives"


    "And if this is sessful, I''ll be able to drink and boast about it all day."


    "That''s right. We''re all aware of the risks, so don''t worry." Said Watlon


    "Is that so... Then... Let''s move out" Said john


    "Yeah!" They shouted as they followed behind him


    With 25 mages, john wasn''t sure whether his n would turn out sessful. To save 50 people who were most likely already drowning in the water while going against over 40 fallen mermaids. It was a big risk, but risks were all part of being an adventurer


    "How the hell did things turn out like this.... Can''t the kingdom be more safer or buff up the security around the beach?" John mumbled

 Chapter 137 - A Kid Is Leading Them?

    "Um... John''s master, do you really think he''ll be able to deal with this attack? The monsters are on water where they''re skilled at. For a person who lives onnd to go against something like that... The chances are slim" Said Zakaragi as he looked over at master sylvia


    Master sylvia was enjoying a cup of red wine as sheid on a beach bed, she grabbed from the umbre next to her shortly after the shockwave attack


    "Zakaragi is right... There''s no way a B-Rank adventurer can deal with an attack like this alone..." Tiana muttered


    "Is something bad going to happen to Hero?" Wilma asked


    Master sylvia who heard this, then took another sip and gave Wilma a pat as she said


    "John can handle it."


    After that, she closed her eyes with her cup still in her hand and tried to sleep. However, that moment was ruined by the sound of footsteps approaching


    "What do you want?" Master sylvia asked still trying to get some rest


    "Sorry for interrupting your time, I am Richart, the leader of the duke''s personal knight squad A. I was passing by and thought I saw something familiar and It turns out I was correct, hello there, youngdy" Said the knight as he got on his knees


    Short silky blue hair and blue eyes, despite being a knight, not a single scar could be seen on his face. The uniform he wore seemed to contain a lot of heavy armour, yet he didn''t show a hint of fatigue and the sword on his waist, there was a simr auraing out of it as the one on master''s daggers.


    The knights behind him gave her a salute and kept quiet. They all looked strong and trained. At least a quarter of them were magic swordsman


    "Mr. Richart!" Shouted Wilma as she jumped to give him a hug


    Richart looked a little ufortable with her suddenly moving to hug him, but didn''t look like he minded. When she finally let go of the hug, Richart gave her a pat on the head as he said


    "Youngdy, we must go now, your father is waiting." Said Richart as he extended his hand to her


    "Father? Where is father?" Wilma asked


    "Father, is waiting for you outside of the beach. We shouldn''t keep him waiting any longer, right? Let''s go." Said Richart as he kept his hand extended


    Wilma grabbed on to it and then said


    "No! You can''t go Mr. Richart! You need to help Hero. If Richart and Hero team up, you''ll be unstoppable!" Shouted Wilma


    "Hero?" Richart Asked


    "Yes! Hero! He saved me and saved everyone! Look at the wall, Hero did that!" Said Wilma


    "A Hero? A single person did all of that? Not the adventurers?" Richart asked


    "That''s right! The adventurers went with hero and they''re currently saving everyone!" Said WIlma


    "I know I have no say in any of this but please help john." Said Nanesia who joined in


    "Yes, please help him. He''s just a kid..." Added Tiana


    "A kid?" Richart asked


    "Sort of..." Tiana replied


    "..."


    "There''s no way he''ll be able to deal with everything by himself" Said Zakaragi.


    Just as they said that, A spiky wall of ice suddenly rose up from the water off shore on the other side of the wall. Not only that, but it was big


    And then came a second shockwave, seeing this, master created another dark sphere and engulfed both her and all the knights.


    *Boom*


    When the shockwave passed through, master got rid of the dark sphere to see what had happened. More people had copsed this time, and some even had blooding out of their ears.


    Any more and it would be dangerous, when Richart saw this, he spoke up


    "Very well, I will go assist Hero." Said Richart with a determined look


    Wilma''s eyes who saw this lit up as she gave Richart another hug


    "Thank you! Mr. Richart!" Wilma said happily as she tightened the hug


    "It''s simply my job, Youngdy." Richard replied with a smile


    When she let go of the hug, Richard got up and looked at the other knights, there were 10 in his squad, but all highly skilled.


    "Stay here and protect the youngdy." He said


    The guys who heard this, all simultaneously replied


    "Yes sir!"


    "Then I''ll be off" Said Richart as he turned towards the wall


    But before he went he said one more thing


    "Thank you for using that spell to protect me and my knights, but I also had a few tricks to use against it" Richart said


    For a moment, a spheric glove seemed to cover his body, but Sylvia couldn''t see it clearly.


    After that, Richart went straight towards the wall. As he looked around, he saw people continuously bump into each other, or m their heads against the sand wall, it was as if they''d lost their mind.


    Once Richart finally reached the wall and jumped on top of it, what he saw left him speechless.


    On the other side, there was Long path of ice which went straight to the near-shore. And at the end of the path, was a long and wide tform of ice, on top of the water.


    "What happened to the wall of ice?" He asked himself


    Once he looked closely, he could see adventurers jumping on to the water, and grabbing on to those who were unconscious or drowning, and jumping back onto the path before taking them to the tform


    Others were dealing with the fallen mermaids, they were using their spells to attack it and stop them from getting close to or even crossing the tform.


    However, judging from the looks of it, they were having difficulties, as the mermaids could submerge themselves in water and avoid there attacks.


    They were also heavily outnumbered, heavily outnumbered and yet the amount of people that they managed to put on the tform was over 20


    And to top it off, the one who was leading them, was a kid?

 Chapter 138 - Sacred Treasure Art

    "Guys how many have we saved?!" John asked


    "24!" An adventurer replied


    That meant that 30 were left, John had his arms full keeping everything in tact, but despite it being draining, Ice used a lot less magic than the earth wall.


    "You! There''s no mermaids near the left side of the tform, get as many people as you can, focus on that side" John shouted as he pointed at the guy closest to the left side


    "I''m on it!" The guy shouted before jumping in


    "Focus on backing him up! We''re saving all of them, every single one!" John shouted


    "YEAH!!" Everyone shouted out


    John had been leading them by giving them directions but it was no longer needed, everyone already knew what to do


    Those who knew water magic, were using water spells to get there faster and carry the people out in a water ball, and those who had other elements, such as Wind, Fire, or earth, were the ones attacking the mermaids which tried to get closer and supporting those who went over to save the others.


    Although some fire mages were a little useless in attack so they instead chose to swim over and do it by hand.


    This was john''s n, simple yet effective.


    "3 mermaids went past the right side of the tform!" John shouted


    He could easily keep track of the numbers and pinpoint them urately with Deprehendre. Not only had many already made it past the tform, but they also managed to grab on to a few people


    But when that happens...


    "I''ll go deal with it! Watlon takemand!" Shouted John before jumping into the water


    "Understood!" Watlon replied


    Once john was in the water, he propelled himself towards the mermaids. They had grabbed on to 3 people and were dragging them down to the bottom, but the fact they they all moved together made them a lot easier to deal with.


    Not only that, but since they were mostly concentrated on the off shore, and all of the people they needed to save was on the near-shore, john wouldn''t have to fight or save many at once, which made saving them much easier


    [Possession]


    John had to be fast, possession was exactly what he needed


    John then shadow stepped In front of the mermaid, before she could even react, he stabbed her and cast ''cio''. She froze from inside out, in an instant.


    The only exnation to that speed was because they were in water.


    John then grabbed on to the person who was drowning and formed an air bubble around that person''s head.


    He then left the person for a while and show stepped on to the next mermaid who still within range and froze her before cing an air bubble on the person''s head


    John then propelled himself over to thest person and repeated this process.


    When he was finished, john grabbed on to all three and propelled them straight out of the water


    *Ssh! *


    The sound of water being sshed everywhere resounded as john propelled himself straight out of the water like some sort of dolphin.


    And while he was in the mid-air falling down straight towards the tform all three of the people he saved.


    He began to fake chant and cast a wind spell to lower and weaken the fall


    Since they were taller than john, the only way he could hold on to them all at once, was by making them all hug each other.


    As he dropped down, heid on the ice for a while before getting up, it was cold, but john was using thermal magic to make it feel warm. But in exchange, he had to increase the ice''s durability so that it wouldn''t melt


    "W-Woah..." An adventurer muttered


    Everyone was looking at john as if he was some sort of idol, the skills he disyed was amazing.


    "What are you guys doing? Focus! We still have more people to save!" Shouted Watlon as he focused on covering for some of the guys who were swimming to get more people


    As he got up, he noticed someone amongst the adventurers who he hadn''t seen before, a blue haired man, wearing a white heavy armour.


    But before asking anything, john went straight into helping those who drowned


    He ced them side by side, and dropped to his knees beside them.


    As he ced his hands over their mouth, he began to fake chant. Shortly after, he pulled the water which had entered their lungs out of them.


    He then began to gather oxygen in his hands and split it into three parts before putting it through their mouth.


    The knight watched but he couldn''tprehend what he was watching. It wasn''t like normal healing magic, and simple advanced healing magic wasn''t enough to heal someone that has drowned as for some reason, even after the wounds were fixed, the person wouldn''t wake up.


    Only Saint-ss or above healing magic could fix it, but what this boy in front of him was doing wasn''t any of these.


    Richart had taken an interest on this young boy.


    A light then formed under johns hand and he manually increased the three''s heart rate so that blood could start to flow normally through the body.


    After that...


    "*Cough* *Cough*" The three started to cough and temporarily woke up but fell back asleep after


    However, that was a good sign, it was happening to everyone john would heal, it might''ve been the after effect of being hypnotised, before drowning.


    "They''re saved!"


    "This little boss really is something special..."


    "If it wasn''t for him, all of these people would be dead..."


    Richart who saw this, decided to talk to john.


    "Hey young man." Richart called out to john


    "Yeah? I''m sorry I''m a little busy right now, if it''s not something important, can we talk about itter?" John asked as he looked over at the left side and front


    3 fallen mermaids wereing in from the left while 5 wereing in from the front


    John would be able to deal with them all at once but he was feeling a little fatigued, and wouldn''t be able to properly control the output. He could end up hitting innocent civilians with the attack.


    Not to mention how, his strongest attack was a fire spell which would have no effect, so in reality, there wasn''t anything he could do against them


    [Want me to handle the rest?] Zestari asked


    [¡­]


    [I''ll attack where they''re concentrated directly. You don''t have to worry about others getting hurt.] Said Zestari


    [Can I leave it to you?] John asked


    [Sure, but only for this attack, I won''t be able to maintain your ice tform like you.] Said Zestari


    [First let''s get everyone out of the water, then I''ll pass it on to you.] Said john


    [Understood]


    "No, I simply wished to ask if I could assist you, I''m a magic swords man knight, and I''m quite good at using the holy element, which is their weakness." Said Richart


    "Thanks, I''d appreciate it if you could." Said john before walking to the edge of the tform


    He couldn''t let zestari take over yet, there were still around 10 people left in the water, but 8 mermaids wereing.


    [What do I do? If I handle them individually, I won''t be able to save everyone...] John thought to himself


    Suddenly, a holy glow wasing from behind john, when he turned to see what it was. It was richart''s sword.


    It was glowing a bright yellow colour as he raised it up to the air


    "Don''t worry, this won''t hurt the civilians, it''s only effective against monsters." Said Richart as he walked over to the edge


    John watched as he swung his sword down and said the words


    "Special Sacred Treasure Art: Sanctus magni purificatione" Trantion: Great Holy Purification

 Chapter 139 - Fallen Mermaids Spell

    The sword gave off a blinding glow as he swung it down onto the water. The whole water started to glow and as john cast deprehendre


    He noticed that the number of fallen mermaids who were within the glow''s radius, were dropping. The 8 mermaids that charged straight at them disappeared.


    Almost as if they were evaporated, John could no longer feel their presence.


    As for the other fallen mermaids, they were keeping away from the light. John who noticed this quickly asked


    "How long can youst?"


    "I''m not exactly sure, but I''d say 2 more minutes." Richart replied


    "Please hold out for that long."


    "Understood, I''ll do everything in my power to meet your expectations." Said Richart


    "Thank you." Said john


    He then turned towards those who were supporting the swimmers and shouted


    "QUICK! GET AS MANY PEOPLE OUT OF THE WATER AS YOU CAN DON''T WORRY ABOUT SUPPORT! EVERYONE CHARGE IN!" Shouted John before jumping into the water


    "YES SIR!!!" They all replied before jumping in


    As john floated under water with an air bubble on his head, he cast deprehendre to see what was happening.


    The lights belonging to the people were being dragged onto the tform of ice. Everyone was working at full throttle, john couldn''t find anyone who wasn''t being pulled in.


    And then after looking around for long enough, he noticed that there was a person, who somehow managed to pass off from the near-shore to the off-shore where all the mermaids were.


    She must''ve been a good swimmer as she hadn''t drowned yet.


    "To be able to swim at that level when you''re hypnotised..." John muttered


    Without waiting long, john propelled himself straight into that area. Even if it was just one person, every life should be valued


    After all, he knows what it''s like to lose someone important to him


    As he reached the person, he noticed that he wasn''t within the knight''s purfication move, and he was floating inside of enemy''s territory.


    Now that he was finally there he could see it. Fallen mermaids submerged in deep depths, circling around in an area a bit far from where he stood. Along with a few fallen mermaids keeping guard as if they didn''t want them to be interrupted.


    [What are they doing?] John asked as he propelled himself over to the girl who seemed to be swimming towards them.


    [Most likely a spell, we should stop them before it''s toote.] Said Zestari


    When he finally got to her, he noticed that she really was hypnotised. Her eyes were closed and she was aimlessly swimming towards her.


    But that put the question in his mind, how much stamina would she have to have, to keep swimming for that long without drowning.


    Without wasting anymore time, john grabbed onto her and was about to propel himself straight out of there, when both he and zestari noticed something


    [We havepany] Said Zestari


    John wasplete surrounded by fallen mermaids, who had started to circle him. Although he already knew they were hiding, way before they started to show themselves.


    [So they decided to show themselves huh...] John thought to himself


    "Well it''s fine, cio." John muttered


    John created a small ice tform and propelled himself on to it with the girl on his hand as the fallen mermaids charged at him.


    Some seemed to be screeching something, but john couldn''t hear it, as he had silentium activated.


    As they charged at the tform, John increased the tforms size by freezing more of the water around.


    Seeing this, they backed away, thinking that he was trying to freeze them.


    And before they could attack again, the ice suddenly rose a few feet at high speed, and catapulted John and the girl, all the way to the near-shore.


    [Although I mainly had to use levite to get this far] John thought to himself while he was in the air , slowly falling over to his tform of ice


    While airborne, john could see that everyone had done their job sessfully. There were no more people in the waters on the near-shore.


    Only a few people who got around the wall or were already around the wall, on the beach, but they were near the sand area of the water. They wouldn''t be able to drown from there, not with all the guards there.


    As john looked closely at the beach, he noticed that there was some sort of group entering the beach. They wore white painted armour like richart but had a different crest on their armour.


    There were around 50 of them, and one with golden painted armour leading them.


    "Who are they?" John asked


    [Most likely, this country''s royal knights.]


    "Is there anything you don''t know?"


    [¡­]


    As john started to descend on to the tform he noticed that all of the adventurer magicians were looking at him with amazement, as if they never saw someone catapult themselves before.


    "They don''t think I''m flying do they?" John asked as he started to quickly descend on to the water beside the tform


    [¡­]


    *Ssh*


    As john crashed face first into the water with the girl on his back, sshes of water were sent everywhere.


    ***


    "What''s up?" John asked as he climbed on the tform


    His face was red, and he seemed to have a bit of blooding out of his nose


    "You were up, if that''s what you''re asking." Richart replied


    "I didn''t mean it like that" Said john as he let out a chuckle


    "I have a few questions about what you did" Said Richart


    "So do I" Said another adventurer


    "And I" Said Watlon


    More and more adventurers also joined in, saying they were curious. And after everything they did to help, john couldn''t say no


    "Alright, I''ll tell you guys after we deal with everything." Said john


    [I''ll just exined that I catapulted myself, nothing else.] John thought to himself


    They seemed very happy with the result, but there was still something john had to do


    [Zestari are you ready?] John asked


    [Of course] Zestari replied


    "I wonder how serena and Ariel are doing... Hopefully they''re not mad at me for giving them another job...." John muttered

 Chapter 140 - Zestaris King Class Magic

    "I can''t believe john made us stay back at the shoreline when he gets to save the day. Is this revenge?" Serena asked while carrying a person who nearly drowned back on to the shore and knocking them unconscious


    "I know right! We weren''t even able to show him how much we grew" Arielined


    "When he''s back we''ll have to show him" Said Serena with an evil smirk


    "I agree" Said Ariel who also forced an evil smile


    "How many have we saved?" Serena asked


    "I think this is the 34th person" Said Ariel


    "Well I guess, we''re like heroes behind the scene." Said Serena


    "Somehow, that sounds less cooler than I imagined..." Muttered Ariel


    They were both sulking that they were left behind, at the moment they went along with it because of how he asked


    "Please... He begged..." Serena muttered


    "You''re the only ones I can trust he said..." Ariel muttered


    "Argh, this is so annoying!"


    "Exactly!"


    "John is such a..."


    "Idiot!" They both simultaneously shouted


    ----------------------------------


    [Did you hear something?] Said John


    [¡­]


    "How many do we have here?" John asked


    "56" An adventurer replied


    "how many drowned?" John asked


    "Around 10" Another adventurer replied


    "Bring them to me." Said john


    ***


    After a few minutes, john managed to heal them all. He used the same process he used when saving all the other people.


    Get rid of the water, restart proper heart beat levels and fix the gas exchange in the lungs.


    It was easier than he originally expected, no one had reached stage 4th or higher of drowning, it was mainly stage 3 and stage 2, making them a lot easier to save.


    "You really are amazing..." Said Watlon as he watched those who drown''s breathing and heart beat return to normal


    ???When I was your age I was learning how to count" said one of the adventurers


    "I was learning how to add" Said another


    "They were only able to be saved because they never stopped fighting. If they had stopped swimming and drowned earlier, than it would''ve been toote." Said John


    "What a humble young man, thanks to you we were able to save everyone in the beach, excluding the few casualties on the side. But you could say it was 100% sessful. However,... I feel like we''re missing something" Said Richart as he looked towards the off-shore


    Dark clouds started to gather, around the off-shore, their spell was nearpletion


    [You''re up.] John asked


    [Okay.] Zestari replied


    [Just don''t make it shy.] said john as he closed his eyes


    Richart watched as the air around john changed, his eyes remained closed and he walked towards the edge of the ice tform


    "Young man?" Richart called out to john


    However, there was no reply


    John then muttered a few words, the words were hard toprehend and count, but it was short. And the moment he did.


    Even more dark clouds began to gather around the off-shore where the fallen mermaids were spinning around.


    The sound of thunder could be heard as it striked on to the sea water, conducting it through the water, and frying anything that was near-by.


    And then came the words, which everyone heard


    "King-ss Thunder Magic..."


    Magic circles began to form in the sky through the clouds


    "A king ss spell? Is that magic circles?!"


    "Isn''t that only avable to people who graduate the highest tier academies with the highest grades?"


    "You can also find it if you''re lucky enough in newly discovered un-looted dungeons."


    Richart stared at john with a hint of confusion and curiosity


    "The air around him and his voice... It''s almost as if... hm... How interesting" Said Richart as he watched


    "Mihi vindicta: Kirin scriptor" Said John with an altered voice Trantion: KIrin''s Revenge


    Suddenly a thunder strike came crashing down in the middle of the off-shore where the Mermaids were concentrated, but it didn''t end there. It started to Rain, heavily.


    First the head, and hten the body, made of pure lightning came out of the clouds.


    A dragon, no, a Strange beast made of thunder with horns on it''s head, and a body simr to that of a thin dragon.


    Everyone remained speechless as they watched the beast crash down on the water, electrifying and frying ever single fallen mermaid which stood in it''s path.


    It went around and around attacking every mermaid which was viewable on top of the water, and thenpletely submerged in self inside of the water.


    No one could see it form where they were standing, all they could see was a bright glowing blue light under the water. But they knew it was attacking where the area where the mermaids were concentrated.


    Electricity was being conducted through the water and was even going as far as to reach the ice tform john had formed.


    The adventurers could feel a zap on their legs despite wearing shoes. It was unbelievable.


    After that, john turned around and began muttering something as he walked back. Small tornadoes were formed under a few people who were unconscious before lifting them up.


    Using this method, without even touching them, John carried 4 people back with him


    John then turned around and looked at everyone who was standing there dumbfounded and said.


    "What are you waiting for? Can you not see that it''s dangerous to stay here any longer? Let''s carry everyone back."


    Not only was his voice different but also his personality and the way he talked. He had a different attitude around him, but no one minded, in fact, they did as they were told.


    "Y-YES SIR!" They simultaneously shouted


    He no longer had the air of a child, but the air of an adult.


    Each person grabbed on to 2 unconscious people and started carrying them back. They would asionally turn around to see if there was any change in what was happening, but they couldn''t see anything.


    All they could see was a glowing light moving around under water.


    When they finally reached the shore-line, John ced the four people they carried on the sand at the beach and the other adventurers followed after.


    "Are there any left?" john asked with the same different voice


    "None at all." Watlon replied


    "Good, stay here, I''ll be back." Said John


    As he was about to head back to the off-shore, someone called out to him


    "Oi, john, exin what the hell came out of the sk-"


    Serena suddenly stopped when she noticed the around him was different and his eyes were closed


    It was just likest time, before Serena or Ariel could say anything else, John smiled at them before walking to the off-shore


    As both serena and Ariel were about to grab on to him to stop him, he vanished.. He suddenly vanished out of thin air, no trace of darkness or anything.

 Chapter 141 - Absorb

    "Darn! Where did he go?" Serena asked


    "..."


    "What''s wrong, Ariel?"


    "John... Didn''t feel like himself, but felt familiar..."


    "I know, it''s just like that time."


    "Do we go after him?"


    "Can you propel yourself underwater, with wind magic and create an air bubble underwater?"


    "Yeah"


    "Really? Then, let''s go."


    ----------------------------------


    John who had suddenly vanished, reappeared inside of water where Rikirin was currently rampaging.


    He watched as the electric beast devoured mermaids and fried those in the vicinity, one by one.


    The circle of mermaids which john had seen earlier, was already gone. Instead, all that was left was a pitch-ck sphere


    John muttered a few words underwater before saying


    "Quaerere" Trantion: Search


    He then looked around as if he had noticed something, he hadn''t noticed earlier. From behind came a fallen mermaid who seemed to have been hiding itself throughout this whole time.


    As it was about to reach john, he raised his hand muttered 3 words before saying


    "prohibere" Trantion: Stop


    The mermaidpletely froze, and instead slowly floated towards john, due to the moment from charging at him.


    As it reached john, he muttered another 5 words before saying


    "Advanced Lightning Magic: fulgur Forum"


    Lightning began to circte around the water slightly over John''s hand, before he extended it towards the mermaid, and it collided straight with it.


    The fallen mermaid was hit by so many volts underwater, that it turned to ash


    "Now... What am I going to do with you?" John asked as he looked at the pitch-ck sphere


    John then propelled himself closer to it, he lookedpletely unaffected by the electricity which was being conducted around the water in that area, or the fact that he was underwater with no air bubbles on his head.


    As if he had some other method, to freely breathe and talk underwater.


    The lightning beast, seemed to have finished its job as it just circted the ck sphere, seeing this. John decided to withdraw it.


    "Rikirin, disperse."


    The lightning beast, dispersed and suddenly vanished. After that, John slowly propelled himself towards the Sphere as he muttered a few words


    When he finally reached it he ced his hands on it and a smile formed on his face


    "A forbidden spell... What a lucky find..." John muttered


    [By gathering enough magic power, they nned to unleash this upon the city... John would want me to leave things like this so...]


    John started to mutter a few more words, before saying


    "hauriendum" Trantion: Absorb


    Some sort of vacuum started appeared at john''s palm and started to pull in the Pitch-ck Sphere. Slowly, Part by part, the sphere started getting absorbed into John''s palm.


    It''s size which was nearly 10x the size of john, was slowly decreasing.


    And in a short while, it waspleted absorbed. Seeing this, Zestari made a small smile.


    "I see... it really was a forbidden spell... Aurora somnum exterreri solebat" Trantion: Nightmare Dawn


    Satisfied and somewhat happy, john turned back towards the shore, and as he was about to teleport back there, he noticed 2 familiar faces in the water, propelling themselves towards him at high speeds.


    "Hmm... John, I''ll give the control back to you. I got what I wanted after all, thank you." Said zestari


    After that, John''s eyes opened, and his first reaction was drowning. He couldn''t see anything since his eyes were underwater and he couldn''t breathe either.


    John then quickly formed an air bubble over his head before he actually drowned


    "*Cough* *Cough*"


    His vision was blurry and his eyes were itchy, he also felt like a bit of water got into his lungs.


    "*Cough* Darn it zestari, why would you bring me back when you''re underwa- *Cough*"


    As john was trying to get his thoughts back, something suddenly grabbed onto his arm.


    Surprised, thinking that it was a fallen mermaid, he was about to freeze the whole area around him. But he quickly stopped when he noticed it was Ariel.


    "Hey, Ariel, Serena, you two mind carrying me back? I''m feeling a bit ti...red..."


    Suddenly, the air bubble which john had over his head disappeared, he seemed to have fallen unconscious.


    Serena and Ariel who saw this, panicked for a moment before grabbing onto him and forming an air bubble over his head


    "Did he really just fall unconscious?" Serena asked


    "Yeah... He must''ve drained all his energy." Said Ariel


    "Alright, let''s head back. While I do like swimming, It''s too dark down here, and I''m not getting any good vibes" Said Serena


    "You''re right, Velox."


    ***


    Once john woke up, he could feel a soft sensation under his head, it feltfortable and rxing.


    As he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at Ariel''s face from under. The sun had set, yet for some reason there was a lot of lighting around.


    [Wait... This sensation... This angle... This softness... Am I receiving ap pillow right now?]


    "Is this ap pillow?" John muttered as he stared at Ariel


    "Eh? Ah, john you woke up?" Ariel asked with an embarrassed and surprised expression


    [Did she think I''d go unconscious for another day like before?]


    "Yeah..."


    As he stared at Ariel''s shaken expression, he was reminded of she said that day, and it made him get slightly red


    "T-That''s good! I thought you''d be asleep for another day"


    "Haha... After master''s training, I''m not even able to sleep without being on alert."


    "You know, when you were asleep, you looked like a baby"


    "Says the one who used to cling to me in her sleep"


    "F-Forget that!"


    "Haha... Okay..."


    As the two chuckled amongst each other, they suddenly made eye contact. As he stared at Her small cute eyes, he wondered how much longer he''d have to hold himself back


    Between Serena and Ariel, there was no way he could choose one, he didn''t want to ruin the party they had after all.


    But whenever he thought of choosing one and thinking about how the other would react, he''d feel a sting in his heart. Which was why he wasn''t able to do anything.


    But what if... What if he really could...


    "Ariel... would you be mad if, me you and serena... If we-"


    John was interrupted by Serena who called out to him


    "Oi!! John! Ariel! If you''re upe over to the party!" Shouted Serena


    [Party?]

 Chapter 142 - Emotional Party

    "Wow, I can''t believe there were no casualties" Said one of the adventurers as he raised his beer mug filled with beer


    "It''s all thanks to that little adventurer boy!" Said another adventurer as he chugged down his beer


    "To the boy!" Shouted another adventurer as he Raised his beer mug


    "TO THE BOY!!" Everyone simultaneously shouted as they raised their mug


    "Thanks everyone" Said john as he walked in


    Everyone looked surprised to see that john was up


    "Boy, you''ve recovered? We thought you''d be out for at least a week after using all that Magic"


    "Me too"


    "It''d be a month for me"


    "Haha, I got lucky I think." John replied


    For a moment there was a pause, and then someone shouted out


    "TO THE BOYS RECOVERY!"


    "TO HIS RECOVERY!!" Everyone followed after


    John who saw this, formed a small smile


    "Feel free to enjoy this little party, we made thanks to how sessful we were." Said one of the adventurers


    "Right, the adventurers guild was the one that brought gallons of wine and drinks for us on top of all that reward, after all."


    "*Chug* Argh... That hits the spot." Said Watlon as he chugged down his bear


    John who noticed Watlon, walked over to the table he was at, Both Serena and Ariel followed behind.


    They were in an openly lit restaurant. It was the only restaurant that was opened.


    It had closed down when the beach was getting attacked, but thanks to the adventurer''s guild, they reopened it to celebrate how sessful adventurers with dealing with the situation.


    On top of that, they promised all the adventurers a reward, as they ended things with minimum to no casualties and they were sessful


    As they sat down on the table, Watlon, suddenly noticed who it was


    "Huh? Ah, John *Hic* How are you feeeeling?"


    Watlon was definitely drunk, how many mugs did he chug down? John wondered


    "I''m feeling good, thanks Watlon, more importantly, where''s that knight guy who helped us at the end?" John asked


    "He left with the girl while you were unconscious, she wanted to wait for you to wake up, but the duke was apparently busy." Said Ariel


    "Exactly as the young girl saaid *hic*"


    "Hmm... So what else happened while I was unconscious?"


    "Um, excuse me, can I have 2 beer mugs full of beer, please?" Serena asked as she called out to the servant who seemed to be walking around giving beer


    The servant who saw this, grabbed two mugs and handed them to Serena


    The three of us watched as serena began to slowly sip from one of the mugs


    "What?" Asked Serena who noticed


    "Nothing, I just keep forgetting something, more importantly, what else happened?"


    "Hmm... The royal knights came and then left when they made sure everything was under control. The duke sent a servant who told you to visit him whenever you had time, and... hm, I think that was it." Said Ariel


    Serena kept taking sips as she listened in, while Watlon seemed to be drowsing off.


    "Don''t forget about all those greatful *sip* the families of the ones we saved were *sip* It was really nice to watch *sip*.


    Serena was taking a lot of sips while talking


    "That''s good." Said john with a relieved smile


    Serena who this let out a sigh


    "You''re too kind" She muttered


    Serena then looked at Ariel, and Ariel nodded.


    "Hmm, I''m going to go help out the servants with serving drinks, you two can enjoy your time." Said Ariel as she got up and went over to help the servants


    "I don''t think they need h-"


    John was interrupted by Serena who ced her index finger over his mouth


    e." Said Serena as she pulled john out of the restaurant


    "Eh? Wha-"


    Without stopping her, confused, john let himself be pulled out


    ***


    "Puhaha, we got out of there" Said Serena as she walked along the shoreline


    John didn''t know why, but the sound of waves and the brightly lit stars in the sky, made him feel rxed. Like nothing bad had happened today, like for a moment, they were the only ones in the world


    "Serena, are you drunk?" John asked as he grabbed on to her hand


    She had a more rxed feel to her, and her cheeks were bright red


    "Drunk~? Me? No, no, john are you drunk~?" Serena asked as she poked john in the cheek


    "I didn''t drink anything."


    "Then, you''re drunk!" Said Serena with an excited and yful tone


    "That doesn''t make any sense... More importantly, let''s go back, We can''t keep Ariel waiting too long" Said John as he turned around


    As he grabbed on to her hand and was about to pull her back, she put her arms around him from the back to stop him


    "Serena..."


    "No."


    "But..."


    "No, no, no, no!" Said Serena as she shook her head


    John was trying to do anything he could to avoid a situation like this, one drunk girl and a boy, walking around the beach alone at night. There''s no way it would end well


    "Ariel this, Ariel that, Ariel already got to spend most of the day and take care of you after you fell asleep! We promised that it''d be my turn now, so no!" Said Serena


    She sounded like a child who was about to lose her toy


    John didn''t know she had this side to her, but decided to go along with it for now


    "Fine..."


    "Yay!" Said Serena as she jumped on to his back


    "C-Careful"


    John nearly fell over, but managed to find his bnce.


    "John is a horse~!" Said Serena with the same yful attitude


    "Argh... Yes... I''m a horse!"


    He started to run around with Serena on his back


    "Whee! Haha"


    As the two continued to run, john suddenly tripped over a rock that was on the ground, and the two fell side by side.


    [What the hell am I doing...?] John wondered as he stared at the night sky


    When he turned to Serena, he noticed that her eyes were solely on him, he quickly turned back to the sky, to calm himself down


    "hey john~ you know... when I saw you with ariel today, my chest hurt..."


    [Jealous?]


    "Hehe... This reminds me of that day in the snowy snow."


    "You mean the blizzard? When we are at the carriage?" John asked with a reddened face


    "Mhm! That! You know, I don''t know why but I was really mad when you suddenly stopped!"


    "W-Wait, Serena you don''t mean..."


    "I wonder why I feel this way... Do you know john?" Serena asked


    John slowly turned his head to the side to see what sort of expression she was making.


    When he did, serena suddenly covered his mouth with her hand and quickly moved in to give him a kiss.


    Without moving or doing anything to stop her, john watched as she kissed the back of her hand which was covering john''s mouth


    John didn''t know what to say, his heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of his mouth, his head was slightly spinning


    When he finally came back to it, he called out to serena who still had her arm covering his mouth


    "Serena?" John asked as he moved her hand


    She was asleep.

 Chapter 143 - Zestaris Advice

    As he watched Serena sleep, he clenched his hand ced slightly over his chest and stared at the sky with widened eyes. His heart was beating so fast, it was almost as if someone had a gun pointed at his head and his face was as red as an apple.


    "Wha...t..."


    Those were the only words he could say, however despite that, he was in a shock, he didn''t know what to think


    He had no idea Serena felt this way, not to mention, to say it directly, such a thing was only possible because she got drunk, she was so different, john almost didn''t recognise her.


    [Chest hurt when she saw me with another girl... Mad at me for not kissing her... D-Doesn''t this mean, she likes me? Like romantically?] John asked himself


    [Ding, ding, ding. Took you over a whole year.] Zestari interrupted


    "AH-"


    John nearly shouted out, he hadpletely forgotten about Zestari.


    "A-Ah, that''s right, I forgot..." John muttered


    [That''s a bit cold, shouldn''t you be thanking me?] Zestari asked


    Yeah that''s right, thank you for safely dealing with the fallen mermaids, and for helping everyone" Said john with a happy smile


    [Someone''s in a good mood...] Said Zestari


    [Leave me be, more importantly, are you saying that I''m right and that you knew for over a whole year?.]


    [Maybe, but it wasn''t my ce to say]


    [But wait... If you knew... Doesn''t that make me... Dense?]


    [You''re on a streak today, did you bump your head during the fight? Or is it residue of my intelligence after giving back control?]


    "Oi, are you trying to pick a fight? I''d like to enjoy my good mood for a bit longer.]


    [Good mood, why? Do you acknowledge the fact that you romantically like her?]


    "H-Huh? Me like S-Serena romantically? H-Hah, that''s a funny joke. Let''s head back and discuss thister." John muttered as he picked up the sleeping girl and put her on his back


    [...]


    With no reply from Zestari, John began walking back with Serena on his back. Unlike before, he was much more conscious of serena as a girl than before.


    So as he carried her back on his back, he could feel the gentle gusts of her soft sleeping snores tickle the back of his neck.


    Along with the sound of the waves hitting at the shore, it was very rxing for John.


    "Hey... What should I do?"


    [¡­ Do you feel romantically attracted to Serena?]


    John thought about this for a while, and decided to just be honest with himself


    "Maybe... I''m not sure... I like her, I''m just not sure in what sense" He replied feeling slightly embarrassed


    [Then, what about the other girl? Ariel? Are you romantically attracted to her?]


    "I''m not sure either... I also like Ariel just as much as I like serena..." John replied feeling even more embarrassed


    He wasn''t good with romance talks, but if he didn''t ask her now, then he wasn''t sure when would be a good time.


    [What do you like about Serena?]


    "Serena? Let''s see... She''s beautiful, strong, determined but stubborn. She gets annoyed easily, and can get really annoying, but she cares for her friends and would be willing to do anything for them. She also has many cute sides to her, like how she sometimes sulks and has a hard time being honest... Now that I think about it, She really is like a tsundere..."


    [Is that so... hm... What about Ariel?]


    "Ariel? Hm... She''s cute, kind, hardworking and somehow manages to do whatever she sets her mind to. She''s rarely selfish and never reallyins about anything. She has a lot of cute sides, she can be clingy and starts pouting when she fails at practising a spell that she wants, or how she can make really cute expressions when she''s eating cake. I''m not sure what kind of dere she is..."


    [Dere?]


    "It''s a long story."


    [So, between them, who do you like more?]


    [Eh?]


    [Between the two, who do you like more?]


    After thinking about it for a while, John looked at the sky before forming a small smile


    "I can''t do that."


    [What?]


    "I can''t pick, knowing that I''d end up hurting the other and ruin the current rtionship our party has. Not only that but... I wouldn''t know who to pick... I''m fine if things stay like this..." John muttered as his happy expression slowly changed to a saddened one


    [I expected more from you.]


    "What?"


    [Giving up before trying, you''re not the kind to do that. Be more confident, talk to them once you''re sure about how you feel, if the reject you, only then can you hold that face.]


    "..."


    [You may be strong, but you''re still a kid.]


    Even if it was just words, it was the best and most help he could get.


    "Thank you, Zestari" John said with a smile on his face


    Suddenly his eyes closed and the air around him changed


    "That idiot... I told him not to say my name out loud"


    Suddenly, John''s eyes opened again and he looked around


    "Eh? What happened?"


    [We swapped ces, I told you to be careful when using my name, didn''t I?]


    "Ah, right, I forgot." Said john as he approached the restaurant full of life and lights


    Finally, after a few minutes of walking, John reached the restaurant. John still hadn''t seen master Sylvia since he woke up, and he needed to hand Serena to her since she was out cold.


    As he entered the store, he quickly adapted to the lively environment. The adventurers still seemed to be cheering happily. John didn''t bother in checking before, but they all seemed to be in their twenties.


    And for magicians, some were rather buff, while others just hid their body under a cloak. Those who had the cloak were a lot better at using magic


    "John, you''re back, what happened to serena?" Ariel asked as she quickly came over


    "She got drunk and fell asleep" John replied as he let out a chuckle


    "Sounds just like her" As she also chuckled


    "Mhm, have you seen master?"


    "Yes, she''s at the table in the corner"


    "Ah, I see, thanks, I''ll go take serena to her really quick, so she can rest."


    "I''ll help, um... also..."


    Ariel seemed to be hesitating to ask something, but john had no idea what it could be.

 Chapter 144 - Awkwardness

    "It''s been a while since we talked like this, just the two of us" Said Ariel


    The two were sitting side by side on a rock outside the restaurant. Everyone was inside, so aside from the asional loud screams, it was pretty quiet.


    "Yeah..."


    John on the other hand, had guilt weighing over his shoulders. After having a close romantic moment with one girl, he''s now moving on to the other.


    [How lustful.]


    [Shut up, you know that''s not the case] John replied seemingly annoyed


    "Um-" The two simultaneously said, cancelling each other out


    "You go first" Said John


    "It''s fine, I''ll go after you" Said Ariel


    The air around the two was a little awkward. Things were much easier with Serena because she was drunk.


    "I''ve been meaning to ask you something for a while now"


    Ariel quietly nodded, as the two stared eye to eye, john noticed that her cheeks were also slightly flushed


    "Since we''ve been a bit distanttely, I wasn''t sure how to ask but..."


    Ariel''s eyes grew more and more expectant


    "You... You knew about me before I lost my memories, right?" John asked


    Suddenly, Ariel lost all that energy and hung her head, before letting out a sigh. John wasn''t sure what brought on this change and as he was about to ask


    [Idiot]


    The word echoed inside of his head


    [Oi, zestari, what was that for?]


    [For ying with a maiden''s heart]


    [Huh?]


    Suddenly, john looked towards Ariel and noticed that the corner of her lips were forming a slight pout, and that her expression changed into an embarrassed one over a frown.


    "Ariel, what''s wrong?" John asked


    "Nothing" Said Ariel as she made a ''hmph'' sound


    [No matter how you look at it, she''s definitely annoyed, right?]


    [¡­ I was a fool to expect more from you.]


    Despite not saying anything, john was hurt by Ariel''s sudden reaction and Zestari''s words.


    "But, regarding your question... Yes" Said Ariel as she released the pout and the frown


    "Could you tell me about it? Like how close we were?" John asked


    Ariel turned her head to the water and stared closely at the waves before exining what happened


    "Before my uncle got sick and stopped working at the pharmacy, there''d be this boy he''d asionally donate food to. That boy was you, John... I was shy and didn''t have many friends so it was a little hard to approach you but you''d visit nearly everyday so I''d asionally try to muster up the courage, but in the end, I kept failing."


    [I''m not emotionally ready for this] John thought to himself


    "Eventually, I gave up, however one day, you called out to me, just like on that day. You asked me what was my name or if I wanted to y. I said no back then, because uncle was starting to get sick, and after that..."


    Ariel''s expression changed into a slightly cold one as she said


    "Uncle was forced to close down the shop, and a few people iming that we owed them, managed to im most of the money, which made us unable to afford uncles treatment."


    John was speechless and unexpectedly mad.


    Ariel''s long ck hair on the other hand, dropped and covered her eyes, preventing john from seeing her face. But he didn''t need to."


    "It''s funny isn''t it? Even though he used hisst option and sold his own pharmacy, but in the end, i was so useless that I wasn''t able to do anything to help..."


    Ariel wasn''t crying, but john could feel resentment and sadnessing out of her. Seeing this, he unconsciously ced right arm over her shoulder before pulling her in to his chest.


    As her head rested near his chest, she could hear his heartbeat, which kept getting faster and faster. She looked up to see what was wrong with john and noticed that his cheeks were a flushed red.


    "It''s not funny at all. Your uncle was a great man, if anyone says otherwise, just prove them wrong by being the great niece that you are and always were."


    A tear streamed down Ariel''s face when she heard this, she couldn''t remember when was thest time she cried orined of anything. She was even starting to distance herself from john, so that she wouldn''t remain the frail weak girl that she used to be.


    However, as another tear streamed down, she wondered, if crying every once in a while, if showing weakness, was bad. She couldn''t help herself


    As more tears started to stream down her reddened face, she formed a smile as she said


    "Yeah... Thank you"


    [Showing me a face like that... Is unfair...] John thought to himself


    Ariel then turned her head to face, ocean with a happy expression as she rubbed her eyes. The two stayed in that position for a while


    "Ariel..."


    John called out to Ariel. Ariel who saw this, without getting her hopes Ariel replied


    "John?"


    "Um, you see... How should I say this..."


    [It''s too soon, you don''t have to rush]


    John hadpletely forgotten about Zestari, not only that, but he was annoyed at her for interrupting him


    [¡­ Until when?]


    [When you''re both adults.]


    Although he didn''t like it, he was grateful to her and she had a fair point. John nearly got caught up in the heat of the moment and was going to ask Ariel something


    "N-Nevermind"


    Ariel quietly nodded, before getting up


    "Let''s go back, master told us not to take long"


    Despite saying that, she had a happy look, so John assumed everything went well


    "Right"


    John couldn''t think of any words to say, and as he was about to get up, Ariel suddenly moved in closer


    Surprised, John watch as her face got closer and closer to his, until it eventually came into contact with his cheek.


    The soft sensation of small lips, caused him to blush even more so than before


    "Wha-"


    John was interrupted by Ariel who quickly moved her bright red face away


    "W-Well, I''ll meet you there!" Said Ariel before running off as fast as she could back to the shop


    John''s brain was trying to process what happened so he just stood there, alone, listening to the calming sound of the waves.


    [She''s a fighter, isn''t she... More importantly, two girls in one day, you''re quite the yer, aren''t you?]


    [Be quiet¡­]

 Chapter 145 - A Ghost?

    "*inhale* *exhale*"


    John stared at the sky as he took a deep breath and exhaled it, the breeze was nice and cool and it helped calm his mind.


    Whenever he thought about what happened today with his two party members, he ended up feeling embarrassed and slightly guilty.


    But either way, he was in an expectedly good mood, so much that he could even hear humming.


    [Zestari, stop humming]


    [That''s not me]


    When john heard this, he quickly turned his head back to the shoreline. A few meters away from him, he could see a person humming


    They looked to be around 6-foot-tall and had long spiky grey hair, tied in a pony tail. His robe was brown and ragged, and he carried a staff. This staff wasn''t normal, in the edge of the staff, where there''s supposed to be a magic stone, was instead an Aura.


    It was shining a bright yellow colour and the way it moved was almost like a me, as if it were alive.


    The reason why john originally assumed Zestari was the one humming, was because john couldn''t feel anyone else''s presence


    Even now that john was looking at this person, not an ounce of presence came out of him. However, he was there


    John''s eyes were wide opened, he watched as the person turned to face him, and noticed that the person was smiling as he continued humming


    Suddenly, john''s eyes got watery, and as he blinked. The person was gone.


    John desperately looked around and even cast deprehendre. There was nothing, no trace of magic, nothing. John also didn''t see the man chant as his eyes were locked on him. And no matter how fast the man was, he couldn''t escape deprehendre''s 500-meter range.


    Deprehendre was only showing people in the restaurant, the beach waspletely empty, it was unusual, but it was most-likely closed down after the mermaid attack.


    Was it just his imagination? Did he really see someone there? These thoughts and questions passed through John''s mind, but what he really wanted to know was


    "Why? Why couldn''t I feel an ounce of magic powering out of him? He''s just like me..." John muttered


    [Zestari, did you also see that?]


    [I did.]


    [What was that?]


    [I''m not sure, I only noticed him at the same time as you.]


    [Then, why couldn''t I feel magic powering out of him? It''s almost like me...]


    [...When a person''s magic power is too strong, unless that person has trained their ability to measure high amounts, they won''t be able to measure precisely how high It is. In most cases, you end up measuring 0 or no magic]


    [Then that means, my magic power is also very strong... that would exin why I''m not tired after using all that magic today... But how? I used to faint so easily a year ago, when I used less than a quarter of the amount I used today.]


    [¡­]


    [Hey, Zestari, what are you hiding?]


    [Not sure.]


    [¡­]


    [¡­]


    Seeing as how Zestari was showing no signs of giving an answer up, John decided to give up. He then began heading to the restaurant.


    On his way there he was quiet, but he then decided to ask something that had been bothering him for quite a while now


    [Alright, have it your way. Can you at least tell me why you stopped me from confessing to Ariel?]


    [Rushing into things is a bad idea. Not to mention how you three are going into a dungeon. For now, romantic emotions will get in the way. This is only my advice.]


    [But waiting 2 more years...]


    [What''s the difference, you would''ve just been engaged to them, you''re not allowed to marry until you''re 15]


    [M-Marry?]


    [Yes? Is there a problem?]


    [Who said I was going to ask her for her hand in marriage?]


    [You weren''t?]


    [No! I was just going to tell her about my feelings...]


    [¡­but you can tell her that any time]


    [The moment was ruined, I''m not sure I''ll have enough confidence]


    John was now in low spirits


    [I apologise...]


    [It''s fine, I should get another opportunity soon, if I''m lucky...]


    Those were thest words the two exchanged with each other before john entered the restaurant


    "3 2 1 GO!"


    "ARRRGH!!!"


    "I WON!"


    "AND THE WINNER OF THE FINAL ROUND IS: THE BEAR!"


    The group was as lively as ever. They were doing an arm-wrestling tournament, and seemed like the big muscle guy won the final round


    John was wondering if that guy really was a magician, he was topless and was flexing all of his muscles.


    When the referee saw me, a smile was formed on his face


    "Now then are there any other contestants? The prize of 100 Gold will end up going to THE BEAR!"


    John didn''t have any need for money since he made quite a lot after selling a few magic stones, but as he walked by, the referee spoke up


    "Huh? Isn''t that the young adventurer who led the operation today? What''s that? You want to participate?"


    "That young boy is participating?!"


    "I''m betting 4 Gold coins on him!"


    "I''m betting 10!"


    John knew this would happen so he hung his head and let out a sigh. When he looked up, he could see Ariel, and noticed that she was ocasionally ncing in his direction, her cheeks were also still a bit red.


    [C-Cute... Well I guess it won''t hurt.] John thought to himself


    "Yeah, that''s right, I''m participating."


    "OOUUU!!!"


    ***


    "Are there any questions about the rules?" The referee asked


    [He''s using me for money... With everyone cing hteir votes on me, if I lose he''ll end up making profit. Unfortunately for him...]


    "Is magic reinforcement allowed?" John asked


    "Of course, but no spells, not that you''d be able to chant in such a situation." Replied the referee


    "Is that so..."


    The two were on top of a table, and all the adventurer''s that were watching, formed a circle and watched around.


    The one john was facing was a man twice his size and a lot bulkier than him


    "I won''t hold back, just cause you''re a kid" He said


    "Please go easy on me"


    "3... 2... 1... GO!-"


    *Crack*

 Chapter 146 - The Invitation

    The instant the word GO came out of the referee''s match, the Table had cracked and the man suddenly upside down with his legs facing the ceiling and his arm and head on the ground.


    "M-Match over! The winner is The Young Adventurer!"


    "OUUU!!!"


    "Someone get him a doctor" Said the referee to one of the servants


    [W-Was that too much...?"


    Suddenly, the adventurer''s all approached john and picked him up.


    "What?" John asked with a confused tone


    They then proceeded to throw him up into the air over and over again


    John didn''t know why, but it felt strangely good. Almost like a dream.


    ***


    "Here''s your reward..." Said the referee as he handed 2 bags full of gold coins


    "You''re sure there are 100 coins here?" John asked


    The weight and amount did feel like it was 100, he just needed the referee to confirm it


    "Of course, I have my pride, even I wouldn''t try to scam a kid"


    He said it with a straight face, but john decided to count, just in case


    ***


    "Alright, looks like everything''s here. Thank you" Said john as he walked towards the table with the Sleeping Serena, the calm master and the attentive Ariel.


    The adventurers were still ying other games and happily chugging down their drinks. Well it was expected by john.


    When john arrived at the table, he was greeted by Ariel


    "W-Wee back."


    She looked like she was in a good mood, the same could also be said for john


    "Thanks, it''s getting prettyte, we should probably start heading back. Is that fine with you two?" John asked


    Master who heard this, nodded and so did Ariel


    He noticed that Ariel was slightly red, and would sometimes avoid making eye contact


    "Before we go, this was a letter which Mr Richart told me to hand to you"


    Ariel handed john an envelope which had writing on the back, which mentioned that it was to John.


    John took the envelope and opened in it. There was some sort of card inside, and as for what was written...


    "You have been invited to attend the debutante ball being held by the Duke to introduce the Earl''s 2nd oldest daughter into society...?"


    The letter contained the location, the date and time. It was being held on the 30th and today was the 24th.


    "W-Wait... I''m not even a noble..." John muttered with shaking hands as he held on to the letter


    "D-Did you say a debutante ball?"


    Ariel looked shocked; she also knew what it was. The question was, why were they being invited?


    "A noble ball... Zakaragi might go... it says here I can take 4 people with me, if we''re counting Serena, master and Ariel... That only leaves one... Hm..."


    "W-Wait, john, we''re going?" Ariel asked, she looked very nervous


    John smiled seeing as the two finally made proper eye contact and Ariel quickly looked away again.


    "Yeah, I don''t see why not"


    [For the duke to invite an adventurer, much less amoner, there''s probably something he wants from me, well I''ve always wanted to see what such events looked like, so I might as well go.]


    Ariel let out a sigh before asking


    "That''s good and all, but will Ms, sylvia want to go?"


    "It''s fine by me, but we''re still going to the dungeon." Master sylvia replied


    "W-Wait, master, you''re not being serious, Are you?" John asked


    "I am."


    "You want us to conquer a dungeon in 5 days?" John asked


    "This one is only 5 floors."


    "How do you know how many floors it has?"


    "I''ve reached thest floor before."


    "Why hasn''t it been conquered yet?"


    "Most people die on the first floor."


    "... Does that mean... We''re going to the dungeon tomorrow?" John asked


    "If you want to go to the ball." Master Sylvia replied


    John let out a sigh as he sat down beside the sleeping serena


    "Serena... wake up"


    The sleeping serena showed no signs of getting up, so he shook her a bit but there was no luck. Seeing as how there was no other option, after carefully moving her around, john managed to put the sleeping serena on his back.


    He was grabbing on her thighs and had her hands wrapped around his shoulders so that she wouldn''t fall


    She was a bit heavy but he kept it to himself


    "Mnn"


    Serena was happily enjoying her sleep while john had to carry her back, but he didn''t really mind. His cheeks were slightly red from doing so without him even knowing.


    "Master sylvia, can you lead the way back to the carriage?" John asked


    Master stretched her arms out and got up, she then started heading towards the entrance. John with Serena on his back and Ariel closely followed behind


    John then checked on Ariel, she was being quiet and seemed down


    [Could she be jealous?] john wondered as he looked over at her


    [No, she''s just happy watching you carry another girl]


    [¡­]


    "Ariel."


    "Y-yes?"


    "I didn''t ask properly earlier but, after we clear that dungeon. Will you go to the ball with me?"


    A smile was formed on the recently quiet Ariel as she dly replied


    "Of course!"


    "Haha, thanks"


    "Don''t forget to tell Serena too" Ariel mentioned with the same happy look


    [Eh? Wasn''t she upset that we were getting too close?]


    [¡­]


    "Yeah. You''re very confusing at times, you know."


    "What? I think john is a lot more confusing."


    "Hm, then, we''re both confusing?"


    "That works"


    ***


    The next morning


    "Mn..."


    As Serena got up and stretched out her arms. She could feel the ray of light on her eyes.


    The sun was up, and she was the first to wake.


    "An inn?"


    She looked around and noticed 2 other beds, Ariel and John were each on their own bed.


    "When did..."


    Suddenly, Memories of what happened on the previous night when she was drunk. stared to emerge. Seeing this, she quickly looked at john and could feel her face getting redder and redder.


    "Wha..."


    She then covered her face with her hands in embarrassment andid back down


    "No.... Whyyy!" She quietly shouted as she rolled around on her bed

 Chapter 147 - Back To The Dungeon

    "So... How did we end up here?" Serena asked


    "We followed the path" John replied


    "No, but why."


    "So we could conquer it" Ariel replied


    "Didn''t we have another day of holiday?"


    "There''s been a change of ns." Said John as he quietly stared at master


    She was surprisingly insistent on clearing this dungeon. But if it''s 5 floors, john believed that it would at least take less time than before.


    As the four quietly stood In front of the Dungeon at the beach, someone called out to john, it wasing from the volleyball Area direction.


    The beach was empty today, barely anyone here, not even the adventurers from the other day.


    [That reminds me, didn''t I promise I''d tell them about how I catapulted myself?]


    [You only remembered this now?]


    [Better than never.]


    When they turned to see who it was, they were slightly surprised that to see Tiana. Not because it was her but because she was running with all her might, through the beach all the way to the tower


    When she arrived, she waspletely out of breath, so much that she copsed on to her knees.


    "John... Have you... Seen... Zakaragi...?" Tiana Asked while trying to catch her breath


    It was certainly impressive how she managed to make it to the tower in a single dash.


    "Zakaragi? No sorry, is he not here today?" John asked


    Tiana nodded


    "I see..."


    Tiana looked dejected, and when John noticed this, he got an idea and a grin appeared on his face


    "Are you worried about him?" John asked


    [She didn''t see him since the dangerous event yesterday, so it makes sense]


    "What? N-Not really..." Tiana replied while looking a bit flustered


    "Another Tsundere? Or is it simply ignorance?" John muttered


    "What''s with this tasundere thing again?" Serena asked


    "It''s nothing, more importantly, we''re about to attempt to this dungeon, so you should start heading back soon, Tiana."


    "Yeah..." Tiana muttered as she slowly began walking back


    "Tiana, I hope you find him!" Ariel shouted


    "I''m sure that you will!" Serena Shouted


    "I will!" Tiana replied with a look that was better than earlier


    She then started to jog back


    "Shouldn''t you stop her?" Serena asked


    "Nope, but I have something to give her."


    The instant he said that, he vanished, leaving a trace of darkness behind.


    Tiana was caught off guard by John who suddenly appeared in front of her and nearly fell over again.


    "Eh? H-W-When did you?"


    "No need to be so freaked out... I just wanted to tell you something."


    "B-But, Y-You just appeared out of thin air..."


    "It''s alright, don''t mind the minor stuff."


    "How is that minor!?"


    "More importantly, there''s going to be a debutante ball, I''m allowed to bring 4 people, and you''re the fourth. You''ll probably be able to see Zakaragi there, so how about it? Want toe?"


    "A ball? Isn''t that only for nobles?"


    "Don''t mind the minor stuff."


    "Again, how is that minor?!"


    "We were given an invitation despite beingmoners, it''s fine if youe, I''m sure Zakaragi will be happy if you did."


    "But... Wouldn''t amoner like me look out of ce?"


    "We''re allmoners, if you dress up nicely, the nobles will never notice."


    "That sounds like a theory..."


    "Doesn''t that make it more enjoyable if ites true?"


    Seeing as how I had a point, Tiana let out a sigh before saying


    "I''ll go, but... I don''t have a dress."


    "That''s fine, after we conquer the dungeon, we''re all going shopping for clothes."


    "C-Conquer?"


    "Mhm, keep that a secret. Bye"


    "Ah, wait!"


    And just like that, John vanished


    "And he just disappears like that... He didn''t even let me thank him." Said Tiana as she turned around


    John was already back at the group


    "Who is john...?" She muttered as she turned forward before continuing her jog


    ------------------------------------


    "Finally... Do you know how long I was waiting for you guys to make a decision? Standing in front of the tower for god knows how long- I mean *cough* ID?"


    "..."


    They were all speechless, John handed over his Adventurer''s ID as he apologised


    "You''re B-Rank? Hm, so you all meet the requirement to enter, what about thedy over there- Huh? Wasn''t there ady with you?"


    [That reminds me, master didn''t show an ID in the gate, what''s wrong with her adventurer''s ID?]


    "Whatdy?" John asked


    "Hmm... Never mind, you''re free to pass." Said the guard before stepping aside


    With that, the three walked inside, and as for master, she was nowhere to be seen.


    "Wait a minute." The guard suddenly said as he stopped John


    "..."


    [Did he find out that master sneaked in?]


    John was nervous but kept quiet


    "You''re that boy from the other day, aren''t you? The one who caused minor casualties"


    "Y-Yeah..."


    "Really?! I heard a lot about you, I''ve been wanting to say this since I heard about what you did. Thank you very much" Said the man as he bowed his entire upper body


    "Wha- That''s too much, it''s fine, I didn''t do much."


    "You summoned a strange lightning Monster, and raised walls around so that the attack would reach the people, right? Me bowing isn''t much inparison" Said the man


    [So he''s the honest-type... More importantly]


    "It''s fine, really. Also, if you don''t mind me asking, where did you hear that information?"


    "Hm? It''s been spreading as a rumour, a young boy with the ability to use unbelievably strong spells, there''s also a rumour that you saved the duke''s daughter and that he''s nning to reward you."


    [¡­]


    "But I can''t believe it, for you to be only B-Rank, I was sure you''d be an S-Rank based on how you managed to stop a nationwide threat. Something S-Ranks are usually called to deal with"


    "W-Wait, you''re saying an S-Rank was called to deal with that threat?"


    "Yeah, but by the time he arrived it was over"


    [That guy that I saw on the beach... Could he have been the S-Rank this guy is talking about? More importantly, is it alright for him to tell me all of this]


    "Is it alright for you to tell me all of this?" John asked


    "Of course, you saved my wife after all." The man replied

 Chapter 148 - 1st Floor Maze

    "I did?"


    "You did, she said it was faint, but she could remember see the face of a kid performing healing on her, since you were the only kid there, it''s you, right?"


    "W-Well I guess..."


    "Then, once more, let me thank you for saving my wife and all those people. Also make sure you conquer this dungeon, I''ll be honest, I don''t like this job."


    Seeing this, John started tough


    "Um, Mr?"


    "Nathan, call me Nathan."


    John couldn''t really see his face or body features that well since he was wearing very heavy armour and even had a helmet on, but that wasn''t necessary. He''d be able to identify Nathan through his magic trace.


    "Then... Nathan, you''re saying rumours of me using magic is spreading around, right?"


    "That''s right."


    "Are they urate? Like do they know my name?"


    "In the end, rumours are rumours, they know it''s a kid, but they think of you as an S-Rank adventurer, and you don''t seem to be known... no. You''re fine, even if someone were to research, they wouldn''t know your name now, would they?"


    "Haha, that''s right. Thanks nathan, and it''d be rude to bethe only one to introduce yourself, right? My name is John"


    John extended his hand towards the surprised Nathan in the form of a handshake


    "Right, nice to meet you John, one day I promise to repay you."


    "I''m looking forward to it"


    Those were thest words exchanged between the young boy and the man, shortly after they were done with their conversation, John joined back with the group


    "What took you so long?" Serena asked


    Hearing this, John moved closer to the side of Serena''s Face and slightly raised her hat, before whispering in her ear


    "Couldn''t you hear it from here? I was gathering information"


    "Y-You''re too close..." Said Serena as she slightly backed away


    She muttered, with her face slightly red and her lips curled.


    [What a cute reaction...]


    "I thought you were going to get mad, you''ve been awfully passive recently." Said John as he approached her again


    "T-That''s because of..."


    Serena seemed to be thinking back on a memory, and when she did her face was getting redder and redder.


    "Because of?"


    "A-Anyways, forget it!"


    Said serena before she quickly turned away


    [What? Forget it...? What''s she thinking about... Wait... Could it be about what happened at the beach?]


    "Hehe..."


    "What''s with that creepyugh..." Muttered Serena


    "Let''s go."


    After that, the group started to walk inside. As they passed through the entrance and began walking down the stairs, john noticed that Ariel was giving him the stare, she looked curious about something.


    Seeing this, John also moved closer to her ear and whispered


    "I whispered to Serena that I was gathering information"


    Ariel''s face suddenly got redder as John approached her, but she kept herself calm


    "I-I see..."


    [Hm... God... Calm down... Now''s not the time to tease them... We''re in a dungeon for flip sakes...]


    And just like that, they finally reached the first floor, or so they thought.


    [What is this?] John asked


    Instead of it being a floor, it was a path which was floating with a door at the end of it, alongside this path, there were other white paths floating around with a door at the end of them.


    Under the path was a ck endless abyss where the lights wouldn''t reach. John didn''t even want to imagine what might be down there.


    "It almost looks like..."


    John was interrupted by master who took the words right out of his mouth


    "A maze."


    "A maze huh... I''m assuming Ms. Sylvia knows the way..." Muttered Serena as she nced over at Ms Sylvia


    Master Sylvia who saw this, shook her head


    "The door changes every hour... if you enter the wrong one, you''re sent back here."


    "So the only way to find the right one is to check each on individually?" Ariel asked


    Master Sylvia nodded


    Serena however didn''t seem to happy with checking each door individually, there were around 10 other paths, 3 in which were flipped upside down, two were doing weird curls and 1 where it was straight up pointed at the Ceiling


    "Isn''t it going to be impossible to check some of them?" Serena asked


    "You have a point..." Ariel muttered


    [Deprehendre]


    John cast deprehendre and noticed something strange, each door had the same amount of magic power however one door had a blue lighting out of it.


    The doors were closed, but John''s deprehendre worked in a way that it would detect magic or a person based on it''s magic trace. He could also see the colour if he focused hard enough.


    Because of that, he noticed a change


    "I see... There''s no need to check them all individually." Said John as he began heading to the door on the path they were standing on


    There were many other adventurers around and the paths were slightly filled, it wouldn''t be a joke to say there were over 10 other parties


    "So many... But John, what do you mean by that? If we don''t check them all individually, we won''t know what the right door is." Said Serena


    "Nope, this door is the right door" Said john as he walked through the crowd of people


    Some were trying to get on other paths while others werementing a few which seemed to have fallen before John and his party arrived.


    The path was wide and durable, so they probably fell because they missed the jump to the other path


    Some Adventurers who weren''t distracted or simply waiting for someone to find the right door, watched as John''s party began heading toward the door on the path they were all standing on.


    "What''re they doing? Don''t they know some idiot already tried that door and got sent back?"


    "Well it''s fine, they probably neers, they''ll learn the hard way"


    As the four reached the door, John stopped Serena who was about to open it


    "Wait, not yet." Said John


    "Huh? Didn''t you bring us here because this was the right door?" Serena asked


    "it is the right door, just not now"


    "Not now?"


    "Mhm, it hasn''t changed to this one yet."


    "Wait john, you don''t mean, you know when it will change and which to?" Ariel asked


    "Yes and no, I don''t know which it will change to, but I''ll know when it does change to this one" John replied


    "Doesn''t that mean we''ll have to wait an hour?" Ariel asked


    "Master said an hour, but what if that information is innacurate? What if people say it''s an hour, because that''s how long it took for them to find the right door after it changed?"


    "Then, what''s the correct time?" Serena asked


    "The correct timing is 5 minutes." John replied


    Serena and Ariel were both deeply surprised


    "For john to have figured that out before me..." Serena muttered


    Rather than surprised she looked shocked


    "Oi."

 Chapter 149 - The Right Door.

    As the three waited for John to say it''s clear, the adventurers who watched started to chatter amongst themselves


    "What are they waiting for?"


    "Isn''t that door going to bring them back to the beginning?"


    "Maybe they know something?"


    Those who were trying to move to other paths, continued, while those who were watched, paid close attention


    "We have a few eyes on us..." Serena muttered


    "It''s fine, I don''t mind helping them on to the next floor." Said John


    Serena who heard this let out a sigh before saying


    "That''s just the kind of guy you are."


    "Careful, sighing too much is bad for your mental health"


    "And whose fault do you think that belongs to?"


    "She''s right john. There are times where you make us worry too much" Ariel muttered


    "Ah... Sorry, Ariel." Said John as he stared straight at Ariel


    "I-It''s fine..." Ariel replied as she looked away slightly flustered


    [Cute...]


    "Oi, where''s my apology, and Ariel don''t let his innocent face fool you." Serena intervened


    "so... *cough* rry." Said john as he looked away


    "Why are you looking away, and what''s with the cough?! Do it properly."


    "Hmm... okay" John muttered as he asionally nced at Serena


    He grabbed on to her hands and stared straight at her pure silver eyes


    "Serena... Sorry." Said John with pure innocent eyes


    "W-What... I-It''s fine..." Said Serena as she lowered her head and used her hat to hide her face


    John said it in a way to tease Serena, but when he actually got that reaction, he was flustered.


    Serena then looked up and showed him a calm expression while looking down at her hands which he was still holding


    "A-Ah, sorry." Said John as he let go of the hands


    [It backfired... I meant to tease her so why am I getting flustered?!]


    "You don''t have to apologise..." Serena muttered


    [Eh?]


    Suddenly, John could feel someone tugging at his sleeve.


    It was Ariel, she kept staring at John, John wondered if she was mad at for not being a part of the conversation?


    "Ariel, what''s wrong" John asked


    "Nothing..."


    Her lips formed a pout as she turned away


    [She''s definitely sulking isn''t she? Seriously, have these two always been this cute?]


    [Yes.]


    [Wha-]


    John was so freaked out that he nearly jumped off the edge


    [How many times are you going to forget my existance?]


    [How many times do I have to tell you not to just suddenly reply like that?]


    "John? Is something wrong?" Ariel asked


    "Nope, everything''s fine." John replied


    "Excuse me."


    An unfamiliar voice came from behind them, It was another squad which John noticed approach him.


    The one who called out, seemed to be the party leader. Short curly blue hair and red eyes, his frame was medium, he wasn''t big nor small and he had a soft aura around him. He had a sword on his waist in a fancy Scabbard and wore a red knight outfit with a blue robe.


    His age looked to be around 16 judging from john''s perspective.


    [Blue hair and red eyes... Fake? Chunibyo? Ah... wait, this is another world, so it''s most likely all real... Wow..."


    John couldn''t help but admire the young man in front of him, his entire appearance screamed out Chunibyo.


    "Yes?" John asked


    "Me and my party have been here for an hour now, and couldn''t help but notice that you and your party have been silently waiting here for something. I just wanted to warn you that this door leads back to the start, another party has already tried."


    There were three others in his party, a boy and two girls. The boy was around his age, height and frame, most likely child hood friends.


    The boy had Short brown hair and wore a more armour over his clothes, with a brown robe. He carried daggers and seemed a lot more normal than his leader.


    One of the girls had long braided green hair and wore goggles while the other had long purple hair tied up in a pony tail. They both carried a staff and gave off the vibe of strong magicians.


    "No, it''s fine. This door leads to the boss room after all." Said John


    Serena who heard this face palmed herself


    "How can you be so sure?"


    "I can''t tell you that, I''m afraid."


    "Hmm... Is it alright with you if we head in too?"


    "Sure, 2 parties taking on the boss is always better than one." John replied


    "Really? Thank you! My name is Azure, and you?" The boy asked as he extended his arm to john


    "Call me John." John replied as he shook the boy''s hand


    "Wait a minute." Said the green haired girl with sses


    "What''s wrong, Ayda?" Azure asked


    "Aren''t you being too trusting? There''s no guarantee that they know it''ll lead to the next floor" She asked azure


    "If you don''t believe us then look for another way" Said Serena


    "Unfortunately, the only one who can go through all the other paths, is our idiot leader." Said Ayda


    [Hm... So he is strong.]


    "Then don''tin, and put some faith in our idiot leader."


    "Oi."


    [Why am I being dragged into this]


    "Huh? I''m notining"


    "Now, now, why don''t we calm down..." Said Ariel as she tried to intervene


    "She''s right, we''re asking for help, we have no right toin." Said the purple haired girl on their party


    "Fine..." Serena and Ayda simultaneously muttered.


    Because the two parties had drawn attention by waiting in front of the door, other parties started to approach.


    One was being led by ady who had an intimidating aura around her, while the other was being run by a man who could tower over John


    "What''s going on here?" Thedy asked


    "Great." Serena muttered


    "Oh, the door is ready, we can finally go." Said John as he opened the door.


    It was glowing a white light, but john could see blue with deprehendre. It was definitely the right one.


    John and his party passed through the door and walked inside


    At the same time, Everyone turned back all the way back to the beginning of the pack


    "They''re not there? Don''t tell me!? It''s the right door!? How?!" Thedy asked


    "See, I told you we could trust him." Said Azure as he walked inside


    "W-Wait for me." Said Ayda as she followed behind


    Slowly other parties began to notice, so without wasting time, thedy walked inside with her party


    "Huh? The boy and the other parties which were in front of the door are gone."


    "RUN YOU IDIOT! THAT''S THE RIGHT DOOR!" An adventurer shouted


    Because of that, all the other parties started to run at it, but before they could reach it. The door closed.


    "DAMN IT! IT WONT OPEN!" Shouted the same adventurer as he pulled at it


    "Hey... Wasn''t that kid like the one we heard in rumours?" An adventurer muttered amongst his party members


    "You mean the S-Rank one that saved all the people in the beach?"


    "I heard he wasn''t an adventurer but a wondering magician?"


    "You mean... He was the real deal!?"


    "He guessed the right door... Damn it, why didn''t I notice sooner?!"


    One by one, the adventurers regretted looking down on the party which had passed by them.

 Chapter 150 - The Possessed Oni

    One giant hall stood in front of John and the other groups which had entered along with him. There was a single path which led to the hall, it was a bridge, and as john looked under, he braced himself for the worst, not for him, but for those who did not know how to fly.


    There was a pitch-ck darkness underneath the bridge, not only that, but the hall was like an Arena, the edge of the Arena and the walls had a gap between them. In the unfortunate chance, that a person would be hit off bounds, then it would be game over.


    John who knew this, turned back and looked at the groups behind him then looked down before letting out a sigh and muttering


    "This isn''t going to end well..."


    There were 4 parties, John''s party, Azure''s party, The intimidating scruffy ck hairdy''s party, she almost seemed barbaric and had some rather polished abs on disy.


    Thest party, was a party john hadn''t noticed before, four members which wore cloaks with a hoodie to cover their faces, Judging from what john could see from magic perception, their levels were fairly high, however they didn''t stand out in this group.


    John could feel it from the moment they first talked, but Azure was strong, very strong, His magical power wasn''t that high, but he gave off a certain vibe.


    The scruffydy''s party wasprised of 5 members, 3 males and 2 girls, and they gave off a simr strong vibe.


    Despite having scuffy hair, she looked clean, maybe she had a bad-hair day?


    However, thest party gave off a dangerous vibe, so much that john became wary.


    Everyone''s attention was gathered at the middle of the room where the boss stood. It''s level was no joke, much higher than the death knight or the giant spider.


    [All of this for the first floor? I can''t even imagine the other four.]


    The monster had two horns poking out of it''s forehead, A vicious, menacing look could be seen on it''s face, under it''s untidy and uncared for thick white hair. as it gritted it''s teeth. It''s frame was big and muscr and it had a burning red skin and held on to a battle axe which it had on it''s hand.


    It''s tall and muscr figure was covered by some sort of Iron armour, and It seemed to reach over 8 feet height.


    "An oni?"


    "Isn''t that the race we''re at peace with in the other continent?"


    "No, it''s a possessed oni. That thing is no longer considered part of it''s race. It''s a monster." Said the scuffy hairdy.


    "Then... let''s Kill it!"


    "Yeah!"


    "Wait." John intervened as he stretched out his hand


    "What?!"


    "Why are you stopping us kid?"


    "We''ll be able to beat it if we all charge at it!"


    "Move out of the way!"


    The males from her party were the only onesining.


    "Listen, by all means, we can all charge at that thing and kill it, but then what? You should know that there won''t be any way to split the reward as we can''t split a magic stone, otherwise it''ll lose it''s value. Therefore, I believe we should go in a certain order"


    "I agree with John, After all, what''s the harm in waiting your for your turn? Not to mention you wouldn''t be here if it wasn''t for him" Added Azure


    "Then, who will go first?" Thedy asked


    "We have to consider that we''ll only be able to beat this boss once as all four groups are in the room, the boss won''t be able to respawn after that, and we can''t just leave ande back because the correct door would''ve changed."


    Everyone listened as john continued to exin


    "In other words, one party will have to go and do the second-floor boss, and after the second-floor boss is done, another party can go. But only one party will have the right to im and fight against this floor''s boss"


    "I see... Now regarding my question, who will go first?" Thedy asked once more


    "Isn''t it obvious? It''ll be my party" John replied


    "Huh? Why should it be your party?" One of the guys in her party asked


    "Yeah, I don''t like this kid''s attitude, he''s been getting full of himself, all because he got lucky." Said Another


    "Enough. His party was the first party to enter so the right is his to decide, otherwise we''d be going against the guild rules."


    [The girls in her party were keeping quiet while the guys wereining even though it was obvious that it was due to me that they were given a chance. At least the leader has a brain.]


    "We''ll do the order based on the order at which we arrived. I was first, Azure''s party was second, the scruffy- I mean, Thedy was third and the Cloaked wasst. Are there any objections?"


    "None from me" Said Azure


    "None, either" Said Thedy


    As john nced towards the cloak party, he noticed that the person who appeared to be the leader shook his head.


    "Good." Said John as he turned towards the boss


    Serena, Ariel who were unexpectedly quiet, turned to the bridge with an annoyed look and began walking over it and Master Sylvia who john hadpletely forgotten Had already started walking ahead.


    "What''re you waiting for?" Serena asked


    "Let''s go john" Ariel said


    "Yeah, I''ming."


    John turned back towards the group one more time just to confirm something


    "I''m not a fan of getting backstabbed, it''s happened to me a few times, not a very fast learner, but when I do learn something, it''s quite hard for me to forget, so if there''s anyone that has anyints,e take them out on me now, because there''s no guarantee you''ll be able to do itter."


    No one said anything but no one looked surprised


    As john was about to head back since the person didn''t want to expose himself, one of the guys had finally managed to gather enough courage. It was a tall man who walked out of his party.

 Chapter 151 - Punishment

    As he slowly walked up to john and stood in front of him, john didn''t move a step or look intimidated. He towered over John with his height and seemed to be around 18 to 20 years of age judging by his face, but his frame wasn''t at all big, or medium, rather small.


    He carried a staff on his back, so there was no denying that he was a magician.


    "Yeah... I have one, I can''t stand that attitude of yours" Said the man as he ced his hand on john''s head


    The man then tried pushing his arm forward but it wouldn''t budge. John was standing at the edge next to the bridge, so getting pushed like that would have most likely killed any other normal person. However, john just wouldn''t budge"


    "Hu-"


    The man was interrupted as john suddenly grabbed on to his hand and sweeped his leg to trip him up. Because of this the man staggered towards the edge and when he did, John moved behind him locking the young man''s arm on his back.


    As the man leaned on the edge, he slowly began to grasp what had just happened


    "Eh? W-What? W-Wait, it was a joke... B-Boss! H-HELP! This kid is crazy!"


    "That''s enough." Said thedy


    "Enough? This guy just tried to kill me; you think this is enough? Nah, I think we''re missing something."


    John then let go of the man leaning on the edge and due to theck of bnce, he fell off


    "AAAAHHHH!!!"


    And then the scream stopped.


    "!"


    Both Azure and the Lady looked surprised, they really didn''t expect john to kill him. His party leader quickly ran towards the edge, to see if he had gotten lucky or survived the fall, and when she did, she couldn''t believe what she was seeing.


    "Listen. I''m willing to forgive that guy for now, but take better care of your party members." Said John as he began to cross over the bridge


    Curious Azure looked to see what thedy was witnessing; he was sure that John had killed the guy.


    As he walked towards the edge, he noticed that there was ice on the Area that John was standing, and as he looked down, before he even realised it, he let out a chuckle.


    The guy was frozen onto the wall of the edge, with ice. His whole body and mouth


    Thedy breathed a sigh of relief, she then gave a cold look towards her party member who was struggling to cry for help.


    Once John reached the other side of the bridge, he had finally caught up to the three who were waiting.


    "Took you long enough, you dealt with it pretty nicely though." Said Serena as she raised her hand for a high five


    "Haha, thanks" John replied as he gave her a high five


    "Well done!" Said Ariel as she raised her hand expectantly


    "Thanks" John replied as he high fived her too


    [Hm... We''re standing on the arena but the boss hasn''t been aggroed, well we''re still technically on the bridge side so I''m guessing it''s safe?] John thought to himself


    "We have other''s watching so make sure you properly FC"


    "Right"


    FC was the initials for Fake Chant, it was much easier and less tant than simply saying Fake chant whether it be by whispers or not.


    "Do we hold back?" Ariel asked


    "Huh? No one will believe them no matter what we do, ah wait, after the beach thing they might... Hm... Master what do you think?"


    "Who cares, go at it." Said Master


    "Thanks master!" Said john as he was about to head towards the monster


    All of the sudden, his arm was grabbed, it was Master Sylvia.


    "Stay, Serena, Ariel, You''re up." Said Master Sylvia.


    "Yes!" The two simultaneously replied


    [Wait, were they in on this? Did they really ask master to subdue me? Or was it master?]


    "What''s the meaning of this? John asked as he stared at his master"


    "There is no meaning, just watch."


    "But isn''t it dangerous for them to go alone?"


    "No matter what happens..." Said Serena


    "Don''t intervene, John." Added Ariel


    John then realised that the two were well aware of the risks, yet even still they chose to do it alone, this made john feel slightly conflicted.


    [We''re a party... Shouldn''t we be working together?]


    That was when john realised that the way he was feeling was how Serena and Ariel felt whenever he''d charge in or do things alone,


    "So, this is what it was like... to not be relied on... Man I really was an idiot..."


    [You only realised this now?] Zestari intervened


    [Oh, shut up!] John retorted


    John decided to watch the battle from afar, he was paying very close attention. Even though he was told not to intervene, there was no way he was going to let anything bad happen to them.


    -----------------------------


    Once Ariel and Serena reached a certain reasonable distance away from the possessed Oni, it raised its head. It truly looked terrifying, but the two girls had seen scarier.


    The Oni went from slowly walking towards them to running


    "Serena, shall we use that?"


    "Sure"


    As the ogre was about to reach them, the two simultaneously jumped to the side in opposite directions and began to go around the golem, while they began a fake chant.


    Wind, a lot of wind began gather in the air above and in between them, after that, the wind turned into a fiery ze red.


    As the Oni charged straight at Ariel, the zing red wind began to take the form of a hammer, and when it finally reached her, it quickly swung it''s sharp and heavy axe.


    John who saw this felt his heart sink, but contrary to his expectations, Ariel Avoided it by propelling herself in the air and a few meters away.


    [She''s using focusing on forming a spell, while using another spell to avoid the Oni... I knew they improved but... This was unexpected.] John thought to himself


    As the giant red wind hammer''s form waspleted, it gave off an intimidating presence, it was big enough to squash the entire Oni.


    But the spell wasn''t done there, particles of air began to gather under the giant hammer, and when a medium sized ball of air, around half the size of the Oni was formed, John realised what they were nning to do with it.


    Ariel propelled herself over to Serena and the rampaging Oni aimlessly swung it''s battle axe around, it seemed to be getting faster and stronger the angrier that it got, but before it could get any stronger.


    Ariel propelled herself all the way to Serena and as they left the hammer''s attack Radius which the Oni was right in the middle of, the Hammer Struck and the ball of air ignited


    "Intermediate Combined Fire and Wind Magic: Causa Satani ventus malleo!!" The two simultaneously shouted. Trantion: EX-PLOSIVE WIND HAMMER!!


    *BOOOOM!*

 Chapter 152 - Growth

    "Intermediate Combined Fire and Wind Magic: Causa Satani ventus malleo!!" The two simultaneously shouted. Trantion: EX-PLOSIVE WIND HAMMER!!


    *BOOOOM!*


    The loud sound of an explosion followed by a giant shockwave and gust of wind passed through the whole room.


    There was so much wind pressure that John felt like he would''ve been blown away out of the Arena if it wasn''t for the fact that he could use wind magic.


    Both Serena and Ariel who were closest to the explosion, seemed to have some sort of wind barricade around them which stopped the pressure from blowing them away.


    Master Sylvia on the other hand, was the only one that didn''t use magic and took the pressure on. But despite being hit by it, she wouldn''t move and kept a poker face on as the Air flowed through the hair.


    She looked unfazed from her perspective, but from john''s perspective, he felt bad for her hair and quickly formed an Air bubble around the two of them.


    John then quickly looked over at Master Sylvia once more to see how she was doing. He then noticed that her hair tie hade off, it was most likely due to all the wind pressure.


    [Master Sylvia without her pony tail looks just as beautiful as always]


    [Do you prefer older women?]


    [Can you stop with the weird questions?]


    John then noticed that Master Sylvia''s suit was unharmed


    [I wonder what sort of suit that is... Even after getting hit with all that air pressure, not a single cut was formed.]


    Master Sylvia wore some sort of special body suit outfit which covered her whole body, it seemed to be some sort of special armour.


    John first saw it a year ago, but john didn''t ask because of privacy and also because she never asked much about him or the fact that he could use magic without chanting.


    The dust cloud which was formed from the explosion was starting to disperse, and everyone''s attention was on John''s party


    The shockwave and wind pressure also reached them, but it looks like they all managed to hold on somehow.


    He could even hear a few words despite being all the way on the other side of the bridge


    "Woah... Those girls did that? Just the two of them?"


    "An attack like that... It was my first time ever seeing something like that..."


    "I couldn''t hear the name of the spell from here, but it was probably king ss..."


    The adventurers in thedy''s party muttered amongst themselves


    "Can you guys quiet down?!" Thedy asked as he stared closely at smoke


    Most of the smoke had dispersed and no sound wasing from the Oni, and just when everyone thought that it might''ve died, they could see it''s legs, it was still standing


    "Damn... That wasn''t enough to beat it?"


    "Makes sense, it''s impossible to one shot an A-Rank monster unless you have king-ss or above."


    "Nope, it''s finished" Azure interrupted with a smile


    Once the smoke cloud had fully disperesed, everyone could see it, and the sight they saw left them speechless. They had mistaken the ogre for having been left standing, but in reality, the only thing that was left, was it''s legs.


    The entire top half of the torso all the way to the head had been blown off, and a pure purple magic stone could be seen


    While everyone was surprised, the bottom half of the torso suddenly evaporated and all that was left was the pure purple stone.


    It''s size wasn''t big but John could feel the a great amount of magic powering out of it.


    Serena and Ariel then casually walked over to the magic stone before picking it up and raising it into the air.


    When john saw this he suddenly started tough


    "Haha... hahaha, those two really have improved." He muttered with a smile


    He then dispersed the air bubble and walked over to them, Serena who saw this as she slightly raised her hands to cover her mouth


    When john reached them, Serena was the first to speak


    "Hm~ So, john, do you have anything you want to say?" Serena asked


    Ariel also looked at John expectantly


    "Yeah, Good job you two."


    "Is that it?" Serena asked


    "Perhaps I may have been a little unreasonable in the past... But just know I never underestimated you two."


    "Ho~ Ariel, do you have anything you wish to say?"


    "Fufu... John... What I have to say is..."


    John was starting to get nervous by Ariel''s sudden change and mischievous smile


    [What is she nning?]


    "Nothing, as long as he understands."


    "You''re too easy going, Ariel."


    "Right back at you." Ariel responded with a smile


    "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "Nothing~"


    John watched as the two continued to talk and then turned to see if the other party had already starteding


    [Shouldn''t they be more worried about keeping everyone waiting? Well I guess it''s fine after that long fight.]


    [It''s not healthy to talk to yourself]


    [Do you have a grudge against me?]


    [Not at all]


    The other group of adventurers were already crossing the bridge and heading to John and his party, meanwhile John had lost track of master.


    After looking Around for a while, he found her at the door leading to the next floor which had just opened, she looked deep in thought.


    Almost like she wasmenting over something. Although John really couldn''t tell because her expression rarely changed, he was lucky to get to see it a few times, but the number of times could be counted with his hands.


    "Serena, Ariel, that spell you used, what was it?"


    "Oh that? It''sbination of two intermediate spells fire and wind, also the explosion spell you taught us."


    [Explosion spell? So I was right... They used hydrogen and ignited it with the hammer on impact... Aplex spell like that...]


    "Wait did you just say intermediate spell?"


    "That''s right, Although outbined Saint-ss spell would have been more effective, it''s too consuming."


    "Oi... Wait a minute... There''s no way in hell that was an intermediate level spell."


    [That must''ve been saint-ss at least, right?]


    [I told you, talking to yourself is bad for your health[


    [Zestari, that must''ve been saint-ss, right?]


    [Better, and not quite. The power output would beparable to the lower King-ss spells. But it makes sense, if you merge 2 saint-ss spells, that would naturally be the result.]


    "Really? I thought that was intermediate..." Serena muttered


    "Then what rank is it?" Ariel asked


    "Lower King-ss." John replied


    The two had a shocked look on their face


    "Why do you look so surprised...."

 Chapter 153 - 1st Floor Complete

    John didn''t know what to think, at school they could use the spells and chants just fine, well Serena could, Ariel took a while since she was new to chanting, but John didn''t pay attention to their progress and now he regretted it.


    "King ss... but if this spell is king-ss, wouldn''t that mean the one you used against the mermaids, emperor ss?" Ariel asked


    "True, I never saw you use a spell like that before." Serena added


    "Emperor? Spell?"


    "Eh? It wasn''t?"


    [Zestari you used an emperor ss spell?]


    [No, an emperor ss spell is on apletely different league from king-ss. If I had used one, the whole beach could have been wiped outif it was caught in the radius, even if I unleashed it on the off-shore. I used a king-ss, although it''s stronger than most.]


    [So you can use one!?]


    [¡­]


    John then a sting on his head, followed up by a throbbing sensation, one after another, memories of what happened that day started to flow by his head.


    As the memories shed by, John ced his hand on his forehead in an attempt to weaken or stop the pain, but it was no use


    "Hey? Is something wrong?" Ariel asked as she ced her hand on his forehead


    "..."


    "John?" Serena called out to him as there was no reply


    The two were now visibly worried, but john suddenly formed a smile as he said


    "Sorry, my head suddenly started to hurt. It''s fine now."


    "You don''t seem to have a fever..."


    "Mhm, it was nothing."


    "You better not be trying to act tough, if it still hurts, just be open about it and we''ll take a break." Said Serena


    She said it rather coldly, but even John could tell that she was also worried. Before he even realised it, the pain had suddenly stopped.


    "Yeah, don''t worry, I''m better for real this time, let''s go."


    ***


    "Then... Let''s all head to the next floor." John with a smile


    John had stored the magic stone inside of his special made dimensional ring. It''s capacity was 10 fold of what he previously used and it was also very expensive


    [It was worth it...]


    "Huh? What''re you talking about? Didn''t you say that we were going to go by an order?" Thedy asked


    "Yeah, what are you talking about?" Serena asked as she looked at him


    "That wouldn''t be fair. There''s surely going to be another puzzle on the 2nd floor, whoever solves it first should have the right to go first. I only solved the puzzle for the 1st floor, so it wouldn''t make sense to hog everything to myself" Said John


    Everyone was confused by John''s sudden changed and for a moment, they were quiet, and then started muttering amongst themselves thinking that I may be nning something evil.


    Azure was the first one to walk up to John and the first thing he asked was


    "Are you aiming to conquer thest floor too?"


    [Too? So he''s also going for it?]


    "Of course, if you''re also aiming to it, you might want to catch up soon."


    "I see... Well thanks for being considerate, and solving the puzzle may be faster with everyone there" Azure said with a smile


    There was something else behind Azure''s Smile, john didn''t know why, but there was something else behind his innocent look and smile. Almost like he was hiding his true power.


    [Zestari, can you feel anything off about him?]


    [You''ve been relying on me too much recently, figure it out yourself]


    [Wha- t out rejection...]


    "That''s right." John replied with a smile


    "Eh? He wasn''t nning on backstabbing us?"


    "He has no reason to, are you guys really afraid of a kid?" Thedy asked


    "..."


    "Then, John right? We''re grateful that you''re giving us a chance and once again I''d like to apologise for the way my a member of my party had treated you." She said


    "Ah, that''s right. I nearly forgot about him... Ah, I''ll be right back, also, no need to thank me, I just want everyone to have a fair experience. I may have been a little hasty and childish with my decision of the order, earlier so I apologise." Said John as he also bowed his head


    Everyone was starting to see John in a new light because of this, but they couldn''t get the fact that he was a kid in their heads.


    "You can be a surprisingly good, kid." Said thedy with a smile


    "I''m just not a fan of fighting."


    The moment john said that, he could feel the two girls beside him giving him the stare.


    "Haha, that''s surprising"


    [You should really go before the guy get''s a frostbite.]


    [Hasn''t he already gotten one?]


    [He would have if a soft someone didn''t make the ice less colder than normal.]


    [So you noticed... Possession]


    Darkness clouded John''s eyes and he muttered a few words which couldn''t be heard, before he suddenly vanished, leaving behind a trail of darkness.


    Ayda who saw this muttered "Hm... There really is more to him than meets the eye." While the purple haired girl and brown-haired boy in Azure''s party remained quiet.


    Azure who saw this had a smile formed as if he was enjoying his time so far, and Ayda who saw this looked annoyed.


    "Why do you look so happy..." She whispered to herself


    Those in the cloaked party showed no reaction, well even if they did, they were hiding their faces, so it wouldn''t be possible to see.


    While both those in thedy''s party remained speechless.


    Serena and Ariel felt like they could really rte with their reaction, John was the type of guy to surprise them all the time after all.


    After a short while, john came back with the guy next to him, he looked terrified.


    [I haven''t done anything to him... yet.]


    "Then, shall we go?" John asked


    John seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood which was unexpected as the guy next to him was on the verge of tears.

 Chapter 154 - The 2nd Floor

    As the whole group continued to descend down the stairs, John felt a familiar vibe which he was sure he had forgotten.


    Yes, there was no way he could forget, the change in the moisture in the air and the amount of water in the steps


    "God... I hate this part." John muttered as they were about to reach the bottom


    Ariel also seemed to have notice what the 2nd floor was going to be and looked a bit troubled, but she let out a sigh in regards to this and gripped her staff.


    Ariel''s staff wasn''t the same as the one of the past, she changed it half a year ago, or rather, she the changed the magic stone to upgrade it.


    John suggested that it would be better to change the whole thing, but she was insistent on keeping by iming that it was precious to her.


    Eventually John gave up and just upgraded it, but he never got to know why it was that precious.


    Serena''s Staff was also upgraded rather than changed saying that it was precious, when John saw this, he assumed that magician''s staff were probably precious due to all of the adventures they''ve survived with it.


    But in the end, John never got to hear the true reason out of either Serena or Ariel''s Mouth and he also didn''t change his gloves.


    As the group reached the 2nd floor, the amount of sorrow on John''s face waspletely visible to everyone else


    "Alright, another water floor" John muttered as he let out a sigh


    They were standing on an edge after reaching the bottom of the stairs, and in front of the edge wererge pirs with surfaces on them.


    Underneath the pirs were was water, and under that was...


    [John.] Zestari called out


    [You don''t have to tell me]


    "Silentium" John muttered after fake chanting


    Everyone looked a little confused by John''s recent action


    "Eh, didn''t the boy just cast a spell?"


    "I Wonder what it was for"


    "John, what spell did you cast just now?" Azure asked as he walked up towards the edge where john stood


    "Hm, look down there."


    Those who weren''t at the edge walked over and along with Azure, everyone looked down. Under the pirs there was water and if you looked closer, you could see the monsters which were down there Fallen mermaids.


    [Hm... could these mermaids have something to do with the event outside?]


    [It''s unusual but not entirely impossible, that being said, they''d have a time limit if they were to leave the Dungeon which created them.]


    [So it''s possible...]


    "There are fallen mermaids, Quick! Everyone use the noise-cancelling ear plugs" Said thedy


    [Noise cancelling ear plugs? Ah... So that''s how some adventurers avoided getting caught in the hypnotic sound attack]


    If they tried to raise a wall like john did, then the sound could just go around or over it and they''d still hear it. Sound works by vibrating the particles in the air after all. It some cases it can pass through or around walls.


    [But why would some people have the noise-cancelling ear plugs on stand-by at a beach? I doubt the adventurers that helped me were evil people that could have nned the attack... Could there be more to this than I thought?]


    [You might be on to something, but many adventurers bring those ear plugs to the beaches for all sort of reasons. Rxing is one of them.]


    [Hm...]


    Once everyone had put in the air plugs john decided to tell everyone something just in case


    "Ah, by the way, I forgot to mention this earlier, but within all these pirs, some of them are unstable, you could end up falling to your death."


    However, there was no reply, everyone had started tomunicate by gestures amongst their party members


    "We don''t have any noise cancelling ear plugs, so we''ll have to go together" John suggested to his party


    "Wasn''t that the n from the beginning? More importantly, you''re not babysitting them, they should know that some paths are irregr. The fact that they even brought ear plugs in the first ce, shows us that they''ve been to this floor." Said Serena


    "She''s right john, you don''t have to feel responsible for them, and Ms Sylvia, since you''ve been here before, do you know the right path or does it reset?" Ariel asked


    "It resets."


    "I-I see... I can use my wind searching spell to see one which is most likely to fall or whichever one looks unstable. What about you john?"


    "I can use deprehendre to see the right path, if you look carefully, all the paths look unstable, however, some have more mana imbued in them than others to reinforce them. In other words, If we jump on to the reinforced path, we should be fine."


    Once john finished both Serena and Ariel gave him an amazed look which quickly changed into a sad look of defeat from both.


    "That''s not fair..."Ariel muttered


    "Stop cheating..." Added Serena


    "Haha, alright, but we should probably get going, Azure''s party seemed to have already nned something."


    Ayda had started to chant something and it looked like she didn''t have her ear plugs on. Azure also took his ear plugs off before saying.


    "See you at the finish line."


    "Saint-ss Wind Magic: Griffins emtion." Ayda muttered


    Suddenly, Large gusts of wind began to gather in front of their party which stood at the edge, before taking the form of a big griffin twice the normal size.


    When azure saw this, he put his ear plug back on and waved at john before jumping on to the griffin.


    Everyone watched as the whole party jumped on to the griffin and mounted on it. When it was Ayda''s turn to jump, she nearly fell off, but the purpledy which was in front of her, managed to grab her in time


    Since everyone had ear plugs on, they couldn''t talk to each other, but I''m sure they knew that they all had amon goal


    To make it there first, but at the same time, no one was aimlessly charging in because they didn''t want to be mermaid food.


    Once everyone was mounted, The griffin began to p it''s wings sending gusts of wind everywhere, before heading straight to the door which led to the boss room.


    "If it''s a race you want.... Then it''s one you''ll get." John muttered with a grin

 Chapter 155 - The Race

    "Serena, Ariel, To beat them, I''ll need your help. Can I count on you?" John asked


    "You don''t have to ask" Said Serena


    "The role of a party is to help each other." Ariel said confidently


    "Then... Everyone hold on to me."


    Knowing that they had no time to waste, no oneined, and all moved in to hold to John. Serena wrapped her arms around john chest from the left side while Ariel did it from the right side.


    The two were blushing but weren''t opposed to the idea, it was probably embarrassing for them to do something like this in front of others or so john assumed.


    [Where is master?]


    Meanwhile, master had already started to shadow step from one path on to another, each path was a long jump away from each other, and she could 50 meters with every shadow step so she was skipping around 3 to 4 paths, she had started before anyone noticed and was already half way there.


    John himself only realised this now.


    "Alright, I want everyone to start gather air behind us, we''re going to use it as a catapult to propel us all the way to the other side, naturally we''ll be going fast, and I''ll also use ''that'' so we don''t fall."


    By that, john meant Levite, and his party members were already aware without him telling them.


    They began to gather air behind them, while fake chanting and avoiding the others around. Serena despite being better at using chant-less fire magic, she can use wind pretty good.


    While Ariel is better at chant-less wind magic but she can use fire magic pretty good too.


    Thebinations in their spells are soplex that John wouldn''t be able to do it himself if he wanted, for example, he''d need to have 2 minds to be able to merge them that perfectly.


    Serena''s ability to properly ignite all of the air particles formed by Ariel, and Ariel''s ability to properly manage to air particles to be ignited by Serena. They make an unstoppable duo.


    "John shouldn''t we also use an explosion to propel ourselves forward? We''ll cast a wind shield so we don''t get hurt by the st."


    "Hm that''s a good idea, then, we''ll go with that, gather as much hydrogen as you can and tell me when you''re about to ignite it.


    The distance from where they stood to the other side was around 800 meters, Azure''s party was 400 meters in while Master was around 550, even if master makes it there first, it wouldn''t count if they''re not there with her.


    "We''re ready" The two simoutaneously said


    "Then..."


    The amount of air that was gathered behing them was incredible, if they were to unleash it now, everyone would be sted away, people now started to notice what john and his two party members were nning and began to back away.


    "Leave thepressing to me."


    Bypressing it, they''ll be able to direct the explosion on the direction that they want and increase the speed


    Ariel had now stopped gathering air all that remained behind them was a insanely dense ball full of air, originally it wasn''t a ball and was just air twirling around behind them, but john gave it the shape of a ball as he added a circr spherical sphere on it


    "Compressing all of that air is going to be impossible..." Serena muttered


    "But this is john we''re talking about..." Ariel added


    "Ah, that''s right, I keep forgettingmon sense started to apply to him but still doesn''t click in."


    [These two...]


    The dense amount of air quickly began topress itself, and in a mere 30 seconds, it went from a ball twice their size to the size of a basketball


    "Serena, ignite it."


    Compressing exhauts magical energy, Ariel knew this because she''s triedpressing a few spells with wind magic before, whenever she did, she would be out of breath.


    Seeing john do it and look unfazed made her want to try even harder to do it properly next time but at the same time she felt another sense of defeat.


    Meanwhile Serena was on the verge of punching john for doing everything so perfectly well.


    Without wasting a second, it ignited. The inside which was colourless slowly turned into a reddish yellow ball.


    [Now that I think about it... Isn''t this just like my methrower explosion spell? Gather air, hydrogen especially,press it, ignite it. This could really kill someone... Luckily we''re the only party still at the starting point, the other parties had already started moving a while ago]


    The members of the cloaked party had started simultaneously jumping from one path to another, on the off chance that they got wrong path, they would quickly jump on to the next one. They were fast and nimble.


    While thedy was leading her party by jumping on to the path first to check if it was safe before jumping on to the next, she was also surprisingly fast.


    "Well then, everyone grab on tight" Said John


    The two girls both increased the strength of their hug and he could feel another sort of softness on both of his sides


    John was having trouble focusing as the two girls who he was attracted to were now hugging him with nearly all their strength


    Not just because he was getting flustered but because the hug was a little too tight.


    "O-on 3 we''re supposed to hop, okay? Also Ariel set up a shield please, I''ll make sure to set one up but two is better than one."


    The two girls nodded and waited for the count.


    "Then... One... Two... Three! Levite!"


    *BOOOOOOOM!*


    A loud sound of an explosion, resonated throughout the entire 2nd floor and an immense amount of wind pressure could be felt by everyone.


    However everyone stood their ground and no one fell off, they may have not been as strong as john, but even they had experience and valued their lives.


    Alongside the explosion some sort of missle could be seen heading straight towards the end of the 2nd floor.


    The people who saw it, couldn''t believe what they were seeing


    "Isn''t that?!"


    Azure and his party were on the 600 meter mark now, so the wind pressure didn''t reach them, however he still turned, while the griffin continued to fly, to see what all themotion was about.


    As he did a smile was formed on his face once again.


    There was John, Serena and Ariel, soaring through the air, quickly gaining up on them.

 Chapter 156 - The Wall

    There was John, Serena and Ariel, soaring through the air, quickly gaining up on them.


    Azure and his party members couldn''t believe it, they were right behind them. They all had a dumbfounded expression on their face


    The three were moving a lot faster than they initially expected, because of all the wind pressure hitting their face, john couldn''t properly open his eyes and see where they were going.


    So he thought, why not redirect the wind pressure? As they soared through the sky and quickly began to gain up on Azure, John started to manipte the air inches away from their heads.


    Instead of it hitting directly into them, he split it, redirecting it either under or above them. This generated even more speed than john had expected.


    But thanks to that, they could focus on the objective and see what was happening, properly.


    [120... no 180 km/h? It should take us less than 20 seconds at this rate but...]


    Azure and his party seemed to be already near the finish line, 750 meters at most, seeing this, john increased the already fast speed by gathering hydrogen air behind them on their legs and using it to propel them even faster, he then ignited it.


    *Boom*


    Their overall speed increase and now that there wasn''t any air pressure, they were moving unexpectedly fast


    [Over 200km/h]


    Azure turned once more to see what that explosion could have been, and in that instant, he locked eyes with John as the three passed right by him


    It felt as if time was moving in slow motion as they exchanged looks, John could even see the excited look on Azure''s face.


    And just like that, John''s team managed to pass Azure.


    But now that they had passed Azure, john had forgotten the most important factor and that would be, how to stop. Hitting a wall head on by moving over 200km/h, that could probably kill him.


    "Oi-"


    [How do Sto-]


    *Bang*


    They crashed straight into the wall, even the dungeon wall which was anti-magic resistant, wouldn''t be able to handle a non-magic impact from that much speed, and even cracked.


    And just like that, Just like that, all three motionlessly fell from the dungeon wall to the tform which was on the other side.


    Right before they hit the ground, Ariel used wind to make them fall without any damage and Serena helped by holding on to John with Ariel, at the same time, Azure''s partynded on the tform.


    "What happened?" Master Sylvia asked as she walked up to the three


    Johnid unconscious on the ground


    Right before they collided with the wall, John cast a wind shield and so did Ariel to cushion the collision and at the same time he moved his body to towards the wall to take the collision, unfortunately for him the dungeon walls were anti-magic, so they dispersed the shield.


    "John?


    "John? Hey, answer me, John!?"


    Ariel tried calling out to him but he wasn???t responding, seeing this, she quickly turned to azure''s party.


    "Serena, we need to get john a healer, now!"


    "Yes!"


    As the two were about to pick him up, john suddenly opened his eyes.


    "Wha-"


    "Eh?"


    The two girls were confused, this boy who had barely started puberty took a 200km/h impact from them, and he was still awake?


    "Si..Lentium..."


    John then rotated his head and faced the floor to hide his face as he shouted inside of the small sound proof field he made around his head, so that no one could hear him


    [Oh god... It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts]


    "... GAAHHH!!"


    He shouted in pain, as loud as he could as no one could hear him, at the same time, he began constantly casting heal on himself.


    "John? You''re awake?" Ariel asked


    "I guess it''s possible for him to even survive that..." Serena muttered


    "G-Get me... A healer..." John muttered as tears streamed down his face


    He forgot to remove the sound proof bubble, because of that, they couldn''t hear him, or see that he was trying to say anything since his face was facing the ground.


    "W-We should go call a healer..." Ariel suggested


    "R-Right?"


    As the two turned to go call for help, they noticed that Master Sylvia was already quickly bringing them over.


    Suddenly, John sat up and began rotating his body and back, a little bit of blood was also flowing down his head.


    [I feel a little light headed.]


    A small amount of steam could be seening out of where john was wounded in his body, mainly where there were cuts and blood.


    His body also started to get hotter.


    "John, you don''t have to force yourself, the healer will be here soon,y back down..."


    "She''s right john, if you don''ty down now, then I''ll just have to knock you out."


    John then got up in front of everyone, even the healer in azure''s party which had just arrived


    "Serena, you''re supposed to keep the person conscious." Said John as he rotated his neck and shoulders


    "It''s alright,mon sense doesn''t apply to you."


    "That''s rude" Said John as he began to do some stretches in front of everyone


    "John, what''s happening right now? Why is smokeing out of you and why do you look fine after that?" Ariel asked


    "Fine? I''m not fine at all! Do you know how many bones I broke? I was crying in pain."


    "Crying? You didn''t make a sound... More importantly, where''s all that steaming from?" Serena asked


    "Just a new spell thanks to that painful experience, usually, I''d never say this, but it might have been worth it."


    Even azure and his party members were dumbfounded, the guy hit the wall head on, without any magic cushions, just how was he fine? They all continued to watch without interrupting.


    "Now''s not the time to be making jokes!" Serena suddenly shouted


    "That could have been dangerous..." Ariel added


    John who saw this walked up to the two and wrapped his arm around both of them before drawing them in as he said


    "As long as you two are fine, that''s all that matters."


    Serena and Ariel then slowly pushed him away and gave him a chop on the head


    "No it isn''t, idiot!" Said Serena with bright red cheeks


    "S-She''s right!" Ariel added with also bright red cheeks.


    "Wait... I''m not... re..cove..."


    John fell over on to the ground and lost consciousness once more


    The two were embarrassed by John''s sudden manliness, and automatically reacted in that way, but when they realised it, they had knocked him out.


    "Uh..."


    Ariel and Serena then nervously looked towards the healer which was on Azure''s team.

 Chapter 157 - 2nd Floor Boss

    "..."


    Ayda let out a sigh before walking up to john and kneeling down besides him. She then ced her hands slightly above his head and began to chant


    "That john never ceases to amaze me... I''m not sure even I could have gotten up after getting hit by an attack like that." He said before letting out a chuckle


    [But you would have survived it?] Everyone simultaneously thought as they looked at him


    "Saint-ss Holy Magic: sacrum infirmos" Trantion: Sacred Heal


    A light-green light began to cover John''s body and shortly after his eyes opened


    "Where... Ah... right... I was talking about that new spell... what happened after that?"


    "Nothing!" Serena and Ariel simultaneously shouted, still embarrassed.


    "I see..." John muttered


    "Hm? That''s strange..." Ayda muttered


    "What''s wrong?" Azure asked as he approached them


    "His bones... They weren''t broken... He was only injured in his head?"


    "No, I''m sure I heard a crack..." Said Ariel


    "It definitely broke." Added Serena


    "Oh! I remember now... I was feeling light headed so I tripped and held on to you two so I wouldn''t fall and then you knocked me out!" Said John


    "Wait, you''re saying that happened because you tripped?!" Serena asked with an annoyed look


    "Really?" Ariel asked with a dejected look


    "Wait, why are you the ones getting mad?" John asked


    "Nothing." They simultaneously replied as they turned their heads


    [Zestari, did I suffer any permanent lethal damage to my brain to make me unable to tell between who''s in the right and wrong in this case?]


    [No, you continue to remain as dense as you''ve always been, or rather, I feel like hitting your head may have made you smarter.]


    [And I was a fool for asking you.]


    [Nheless, to change the subject of the conversation to avoid exining the new spell which you nearly gave out, even I didn''t expect that. You also didn''t trip did you?]


    [Is there anything you don''t know?]


    [How much magic power you used to reinforce your body right before you hit the wall?]


    [¡­]


    [I still deserve a thank you]


    [For?]


    [Protecting and healing your consciousness after your brain suffered a major impact."


    [Thank you, I don''t feel too different, are there any drawbacks?]


    [None, I cast the spell the instant you impact, so you''re perfectly fine]


    [I see... Thank you.]


    John was concerned about how she was able to use a spell despite him being under control, but he decided to keep that question to himself.


    ***


    "So, are you sure you''re fully recovered?" Azure asked


    "That''s right" John replied


    "You really surprised me, I thought for sure you had given up on the race and was nning to best in the order or something."


    "Haha, I''m not that kind."


    "I doubt that, you see those guys over there?" Azure asked as he looked at thedies party and the 5 who wore cloaks.


    "Yeah, what about them?"


    "I''d be careful around them, they''re hiding a lot of things"


    "As if their getup wasn''t tant enough... Don''t worry, I''m already being wary of them, and others."


    "Others, huh? I''m not surprised that no one in thatdy''s party has fallen yet, she''s a great leader."


    "If only her members had a portion of that." Said John


    "Hahaha, yeah, but anyways, you should probably get going, your party is waiting in front of the door"


    "Those guys... so impatient, but yeah, make sure you put on the anti-sound ear plugs after I leave, I''m sure master told you about my spell to make you take them off. Thanks for trusting it." Said John


    "So she''s your master... No problem, she had no reason to lie, I''m more interested in how she wasn''t hypnotised despite not having the anti-sound ear plugs"


    "She''s my master, after all. Well, bye Azurel"


    "May we meet again."


    John ran up towards his party, and the four opened the door and entered the boss room before it closed.


    "Now, let''s see how long it''ll take you to deal with the boss..." Azurel muttered as he put on his ear plugs


    --------------------------------


    As John and the others looked around the room, they noticed that there was arena likest time, but another edge, in front of it was a pit which was filled to the brim with water.


    "We''re not supposed to go down there, are we?" Serena asked


    "Do you have any better ideas?" John asked


    "... How about, we just throw down a bunch of spells and kill whatever''s downthere."


    "It''ll be a waste of magic power, we still have 3 floors left after this."


    "Didn''t you end up getting hurt so badly you lost consciousness? You''re thest person that should beining."


    "Sure, sure" John replied before running towards the edge


    "Hey wait!"


    He jumped off andnded in the water as he shouted


    *Ssh*


    "let''s go, the water''s pretty warm!"


    Ariel and Master Sylvia followed after and jumped in, Serena was the only one still on the edge


    *Ssh* *Ssh*


    "... Screw it. If anything goes wrong, it''s on you." She said before running off the edge and jumping into the water


    *Ssh*


    "It always has been" John muttered


    He then formed an air bubble and sound-proof field around them.


    "Alright... I wonder what''s down there..." John muttered as they began to slowly descend


    It was dark, pitch-ck just like before, the lights from the dungeon only reached a few meters down before the entire water was clouded in darkness


    "Lux" Trantion: Light


    3 Small orbs of a bright glowing light were formed and illuminated the whole pit. The bottom of the water pit could be seen but there was no monsters.


    Not only that, but the water was surprisingly clean in terms of John''s perspective


    [Deprehendre]


    "Posession!"


    As soon as darkness started to cloud John''s eyes, he froze the water around the air bubble and in that instant, something collided with the dark ice which was formed.


    "Deja-vu sure is handy... Now how should we deal with that..."


    "Ariel."


    Serena called out to Ariel and the two nodded at each other


    [Looks like you won''t have to worry about how you''ll deal with it.] Said Zestari

 Chapter 158 - A Water Guardian

    *Crack*


    Over and over, the dungeon boss, rammed at the Ice sphere john had formed. The outside couldn''t be seen as it was a dark ice sphere so they didn''t know what was attacking them


    "John, did you see it?" Serena asked


    "No... I only saw it''s outline thanks to deprehendre." John replied


    "Me too..." Said Ariel


    [She has a wind version of deprehendre... It works underwater?]


    *Crack*


    "Then, if we can''t see it without magic, that means it''s using something to coumage itself... Right?" John asked


    "Not exactly."


    "Then what is it, Master?"


    "It''s a elemental guardian bound to a water filled location."


    *Crack*


    "So it''s one with the water?"


    "In a way."


    When John heard this, he immediately began thinking how much of a pain it would be to deal with it. If it was one with the water, he wouldn''t be able to attack it as it could just slip through and it would be able to move around freely making it harder to attack


    "So how do we kill it? Do we have to evaporate all of the water or something?" Serena asked


    "No, to kill it, you have to either remove it''s water source or the opposite."


    "So we just remove it from the water?" Serena asked


    "That''s it?" John asked


    "But since it''s one with the water, wont it be impossible to remove it?" Ariel asked


    "Hm... Serena, Ariel, let John deal with this floor." Said Master sylvia with a grin


    [What?]


    "O-Okay, be careful and good luck!" Said Ariel


    "W-Wait, weren''t we supposed to be working as a party?"


    "Just think of it like something from back when we used to adventure" Said Serena struggling to hold back herughter


    [So this is her way of getting revenge huh...]


    "John, think back on what I taught you, you''ll be fine.


    [In what way?]


    ??Alright master, you three can wait in here. I''ll be back"


    Darkness clouded John''s eyes and before he vanished


    He was a few feet above the dark ice sphere which he had formed and there were no signs of the monster. The attacks had also ended a short while ago, meaning that it was most likely tired of attacking.


    [What she taught me... Don''t always rely on your eyes...]


    As he formed an air bubble on his head, John began to focus on his senses and magic perception, it was weak but he could feel it, a monster moving around in the area.


    [Deprehendre]


    When he did, his eyes widened, John could see the outline of the monster''s shape, it was like that of a serpent, and seemed to be around 3 times john''s size. it was charging right at him with its mouth opened


    The watery fangs in its mouth did not look like something to be taken lightly. As it reached just a few feet away from John he shadows stepped above it.


    It was fast, very fast, but John was not only faster but he also had something simr to a teleport.


    As the water serpent bit into the area where John was standing, John shadow stepped on to the top of its body which was outlined with deprehendre, and ced his hands on it.


    In that moment, where his hands were on it, he cast ''Verum cio'' and in an instant it froze up.


    [Eh? That fast?]


    While frozen, It looked like an ice sculpture of a sea serpent when it reality it was just a frozen sea serpant


    [What''s next? Don''t tell me the real boss is hiding somewhere? Depehendre.]


    Nothing, there was nothing else around him


    [Zestari, is this really the only boss here?]


    [That is correct, however, I would get it away from the water source if I were you. Personally, I wouldn''t want to waste time freezing it twice when I already managed to freeze it once.]


    John who heard this grabbed on to the sculpture and quickly propelled himself towards the edge which they had dropped off of.


    On the way there he decided to ask Zestari a few questions


    [Zestari, wasn''t the 2nd floor boss of a 5-floor dungeon supposed to be stronger?]


    [you seem to be forgetting the fact that you have many advantages over it. For one, you can detect it, two, you can freeze it in an instant, and three, you are faster than it. The fight was over long before it started.]


    John who heard this finally realised something, Zestari knew a lot, a lot about this world, a lot about the monsters, sort of like Serena, however there are things even Serena doesn''t know that zestari will.


    [And yes, it is strong. It''s name is Water Weird. ranked A once it''s inside of a big water source and B in a small one. Even A-Rank parties have trouble dealing with it because of how hard it is to detect even with a detection spell or how fast it is in water.]


    [Wait, if you knew what it was, why didn''t you tell me sooner?]


    [You''ve been relying on me too often.]


    [¡­]


    ***


    "So how long do you think it''ll take him to do beat it?" Serena asked


    "I''m not sure... I can''t hear any sounds of fighting, and I can''t really feel it''s presence anymore, maybe it''s already over?" Ariel asked


    "it''s been 2 minutes, even if he''s John, that''s a bit too muc-."


    "Alright, I''m back." Said john as he suddenly teleported in, interrupting the conversation


    He held on to a big light blue stone which was emitted a high amount of magic power.


    "..."


    No one said anything and the two girls just stared at john with a nk expression


    "I found the door to the next room, opened on the other side of the wall at the bottom on my way ba...ck...? What''s wrong?"


    "Nothing, let''s just head on to the next floor." Said Serena as the expression on her face changed from a nk one to a poker face


    "Master, Thanks i was able to quickly exterminate it thanks to your training."


    "Well done."


    Serena and Ariel formed an air bubble around their heads and john formed one around his and master''s before they left the ice sphere and headed towards to the next floor door

 Chapter 159 - 3rd Floor

    As they reached the door which was now opened, John strained himself to understand why none of the water would head to the next side, despite there being nothing to hold the water back.


    [Zestari, what sort of spell is this? It''d be quite useful to have at home, rxing and feeling the rain...]


    [It''s a type of barrier which prevents water from passing through, I don''t recall the spell name]


    [I see...]


    The four passed through the barrier and dropped on to the tform before the staircase. They were all drenched with water


    So to help, John gathered up all the water in their clothes and before turning it into warm vapour. Doing so, John noticed that Master''s Body suit hadn''t been drenched, it was only her hair.


    "Thank you..." Said Serena as she put on her hat.


    She has a string around it and always keeps it on her back if she needs to take it off, or before going into a water field. John had also dried her hat because he knew she''d always put it right back on.


    [It''s rare but getting to see serena''s cute and pointy ears once in a while is worth it.] John thought as he constantly nodded


    "Thank you too" Said Ariel


    Her hair was getting longer and with wet hair, she somehow looked more feminine, John was finding it hard to understand.


    "You''re wee, also serena, your hair is still wet. You don''t have to put your hat back on, since it''s just us"


    Serena''s ears suddenly twitched when she heard that, she then nervously stared at the hat before staring at john.


    "Besides, won''t it be easier for you to see without it on? You can put it back onter."


    "Y-You''re right, I''ve been using it too often... Okay, I''ve decided." Said Serena before lowering it back on to her back


    [The hat on her back... if you look closely... doesn''t it look like... A turtle?]


    John did his best not to snort orugh after thinking of this, Serena''s self-esteem without her hat was low enough.


    [Think of something else...] John implored himself


    "Alright, we should probably get going, so Azure and his party can have their turn" Said John as he started heading down the stairs


    --------------------------------


    "Hm... How long do you guys think it''ll take?" Azure asked


    "It''s been 2 minutes... give it another ten?" Ayda replied


    "You''ve been counting?" The purple haired girl asked


    "What else would I do, Jen? None of the other parties have arrived yet, well they''re near" Ayda asked


    "Keep an eye out for the cloaked party... They''ve been pissing me off." Said the brown-haired boy


    "Haha, Rohan, don''t worry, if they try anything... We''ll just have to teach them a lesson" Said Azure with a smile


    "That look... You''re nning something aren''t you?" Asked Jen


    "Hm... Depends on how things go"


    *Creak*


    The door which led to the boss room slowly opened


    "Oi... Are you kidding me? It''s been around 3 minutes and they''re already done?" Ayda asked


    "Let''s get going, we don''t want to keep them waiting now, do we?" Azure asked


    The brown haired boy and Jen followed behind Azure without a singleint


    "Am I the only normal person in this squad?" Ayda asked as she let out a sigh before following them.


    --------------------------------


    As they went down the stairs, John noticed the grain of sand on the stairs


    [Great. Desert on the third floor.]


    The familiar dry air and warm sensation could be felt as they got closer to the bottom.


    "John, this is a desert floor, isn''t it?" Serena asked


    "Right it is, and remember, if we see any buildings which might have a basement, avoid them." Said John


    "You don''t have to tell us, I have no ns in repeating what happenedst time"


    "Neither do I" Ariel added


    As they reached the bottom of the stair case, John noticed that the floor was covered in sand. He then slowly peered out of the doorway which was In front of him before looking around.


    The only thing he could see outside was sand and the sun.


    "Just to make sure..."


    John then peeked out of the door and checked to see if there was a giant stair case behind it, but there was surprisingly nothing.


    He stretched out his behind the door and couldn''t feel a stair case either


    "Hm... So dungeons can manipte the space inside of it."


    "John, how long are you going to take? Is there really a need to worry that much?" Serena asked


    "It''s fine isn''t it? He''s just being wary, I didn''t know he could do that..."


    "Ariel, could you please not say such things with such a straight face, It hurts and I might actually believe you..."


    "Eh? But I''m being honest?"


    "..."


    "Fufu..."


    [She justughed didn''t she...]


    "Then... Let''s head out"


    John was the first to step on the sand, with each step, he could feel his feet sinking deeper and deeper in.He could feel sand enter his choose and the boiling hot heatwave on his skin.


    "... cio."


    John raised his leg out of the sand before freezing it to use as footing. He repeated this with his other leg, and now stood on the ice he had formed.


    The others followed behind and instantly mentioned it


    "John, that''s not fair!" Said Serena


    Ariel on the other hand, created small mini tornados and her shoes and was basically floating on top of the sand.


    Master Sylvia seemed to have no problem walking on the sand. John quickly turned back to see if the doorway was still there and thankfully it was.


    "Serena, you can also use this move."


    "Won''t it be a waste of magic power? We never know when we might fight the boss"


    "I''m not sure about boss... But I suggest you make some sort of footing." Said John


    "Eh?"


    Suddenly, the sand underneath them began to sink and twirl, exactly like a water vortex but onnd.. Following that, some sort of mouth with razor sharp teeth could be seen in the middle of the vortex.

 Chapter 160 - Combined Spell Imitation

    Both Serena and Ariel seemed to be struggling to keep their bnce, so before the group could fall in, John created a small icy tform for them to stand on.


    Everyone got on and quickly managed to regain their bnce. Serena let out a sigh before saying


    "T-That was close... Man... Having john in the party sure is reassuring..."


    "Is that so?" John asked with a smile


    "I-I mean, It''s fine..." Said Serena as she turned away


    [The teasing never ends.]


    "Thanks John, I still haven''t managed to properly control the tornado spell, I thought I was done for" Said Ariel as she let out a sigh


    "You''re wee. Also, we''re still inside of a vortex, so it''s too soon to drop your guards." Said John


    Hearing this, the two girls snapped back into wary, battle mode


    "Did I really just drop my guard...?" Ariel asked with a shocked look as her voice trembled


    "It''s john... He''s spreading his recklessness to us..." Said Serena as she stared at John as if he were some sort of disease


    Ariel also looked at john with confusion and denial in her eyes


    [O-Oi... Can you two not stare at me like that.]


    The two looked at each other, nodded and then raised their staff. Serena formed an Arrow, however it wasn''t a normal arrow, it was big not only that, but hot, very hot.


    John wasn''t sure if it was because they were in the middle of a desert or if it was because the spell itself was hot, but it was still quite an achievement.


    "Elementary Combined Fire & Wind Magic: Sagitta ignis FRAGOR" Trantion: EXPLOSIVE Fire Arrow


    Shortly after the arrow waspleted and the tform was now only a few feet away from the monster''s mouth,


    Wind and Air particles began to gather both in front and behind the arrow, before it suddenly unleashed and propelled the arrow straight at the mouth of the monster


    *Poosh*


    On impact there was a small explosion along with the arrow prating through the sand worm''s mouth.


    After that, the sand stopped spinning and all that remained was a small hole in the middle of the vortex formed from the small pit


    "Yes!" Said Serena as she clenched her fist


    "Nice job, Serena."


    "You too, Ariel"


    "Hey, you two, I''ve been meaning to ask." John intervened


    "What?" The two simultaneously asked


    [How can you two know what the other is thinking just by looking at each other? Why would you name that elementary when that had as much fire power as an advanced ss or lower-saint ss?]


    "You know what, never mind." Said john


    "Are you sure?" Ariel asked as she stared straight at john


    "Yeah, I''m sure." Said John as he suddenly turned his head towards the sky,


    they were inside of a pit, the easiest way to leave would be to fly out. Suddenly, John stretched out his arm towards the area in front of the tform and began to gather ice


    "An enemy?" Serena asked as she raised her staff


    "Yeah, it''s close. But don''t worry."


    The ice took the form of a long spear and instead of it being a de made of ice at the end, it was a drill.


    The spear began to quickly spin with the help of wind magic, as john began gathering air both in front and behind it


    "That''s...!"


    Serena and Ariel watched as John with a straight face easily merged the concept of their spell with his


    [Colder... Make the ice denser... Lower the temperature...] John thought to himself


    "Triple Combination Magic... hm... let''s try it in the normalnguage. windy ming ice explosive drill."


    Both Serena and Ariel looked a john with a shocked expression


    A me as blue as the ice was formed behind the air particles which were in front of the spear drill.


    At the same time, a sand worm suddenly came out of the Area which john faced, it was big, they couldn''t see the body of the first one as they ended up killing it.


    But this one waspletely visible, a long scaly body which stretched out, it looked just like the picture of sand worms John saw in his previous life, the only difference was that this one was abnormallyrge.


    "verum cies murum" Trantion: True Ice Wall


    The Spear drill was propelled straight at the sand worm, and moved so fast it looked like a missile, it was much faster than Serena and Ariel''s Arrow.


    The Spear Drill went straight in to the sand worms'' mouth before an explosion was let out on the inside of it''s body.


    At the same time, a wall of ice was formed before getting hit directly by the momentum of the sand worm.


    *Crack*


    But that wasn''t enough to break it. Serena and Ariel who saw this, were preparing for another attack from the same sand worm. The ice wall was blocking their view so they couldn''t see what happened after.


    "It''s over." Said John as he dispersed the ice wall


    As the wall began to melt and the sand worm became visible, the two girls were left speechless, or more precisely, they had sort of expected something like this to happen.


    The other half of the sand pit which was on the other side of the ice wall, waspletely frozen, not only that but so was the sand worm.


    They also noticed that there was a hole in its body and the spear imnted in the middle of the ice, meaning that the spear drill had managed to pierce through its hard scales from the inside to get out.


    "John..." Master sylvia called out to him with a cold voice


    Hearing this, John started to sweat


    "M-Master?" John asked with a nervous smile


    [Ipletely forgot she was here...]


    "What did I tell you about using magic?"


    "Don''t go overboard unless necessary... Only use the absolute minimum..."


    "The beach was an exception, next time you break this rule without telling me, there''ll be punishment" Said Master sylvia with a grin

 Chapter 161 - 3rd Floor Boss

    "Y-Yes..." John replied with a trembling voice


    [Master can be scary when she wants to... I better be more careful...]


    Just thinking back on the punishments that he had received before sent chills down his spine.


    "Everyone ce your hand somewhere on me, we''re getting out of here."


    Once everyone''s hand was safely ced on him, john cast ''Levite'' and at the same time, gathered air beneath them


    The air got denser and denser and eventually raised them into the air.


    As they left the pit and the distance from them to the ground gotrger, Serena spoke up


    "J-John? What''s this?" She asked as she looked down


    Surprisingly enough she wasn''t clinging on to him like before, she seemed to be getting over her fear of heights, but her legs were still trembling as the wind was transparent, it was hard to see the tform without magic perception.


    "I gathered wind in the form of a tform to easily carry everyone up"


    John could see a door at the far end of the desert, it should take them a few minutes


    "You can do that?" Ariel curiously asked


    "Fortunately, yes."


    "Whenever I try, I''m not able to generate enough power to lift myself that far off the ground... if I generate arge amount, I''m sent flying..."


    [I''m more concerned for your safety...]


    "That''s because of levite"


    "The spell which affects the thing called gravalty?" Serena asked


    "It''s called gravity, and yes. I never really got to exin it to you too huh? I also never exined it to those adventurers... Thankfully they all got drunk and forgot about it, although if they see me again..."


    "Gravity, Gravalty, what''s the difference?" Serena asked


    "I''m pretty sure Gravity doesn''t have an L and has an I" Said John


    "So when are you going to teach us this gravity spell?" Ariel asked with an excited look


    "Hm... After we conquer the dungeon, exining it is annoying."


    "Thank you, John!" Said Ariel with a happy look


    After hearing that Ariel then started muttering a few words as she with a satisfied smile one her face


    "gravity... I''ll finally be able toplete ''that''..."


    [That? Why do I feel like I''ve justmitted a mistake?]


    ***


    The group had finally reached the door to the boss room, it didn''t take more than 3 minutes thanks to John''s flying wind tform


    "Is everyone ready?" John asked


    The three nodded and so he opened the door.


    From the outside, they could see an edge and another bridge which led to an arena. Only this time the arena was much bigger than before. The sky and desert waspletely closed off due to the wall and ceiling


    "Let me guess, the arena is a sand pit, and there''s going to be a giant sand monster in the middle." Said Serena as she walked in


    "You could at least act more afraid." Said John as he followed behind


    "Serena''s afraid of heights but not giant man-eating monsters..." Ariel muttered


    "I-I''m not afraid of heights!"


    "Mhm, sure."


    "It''s okay to have things you''re afraid of."


    "... Let''s just go deal with this, quickly."


    As the group walked inside and crossed the bridge, they could sense the movement of something inside of the sand pit which was ahead of them.


    "Great... Giving the monster the advantage like always... heh... I can''t wait to conquer you." Serena muttered


    [Someone looks full of energy; I''ll just act like I never heard any of that.]


    As they stood in front of the pit of sand, they began to wonder how exactly they''d defeat whatever that thing was.


    "You three will work together from now on." Said Master sylvia with a straight face


    If she was suggesting for the three to work together, then that could only mean that the monster was strong.


    "Then... No more jokes, we''re going to have to get serious." Said John as he adjusted his gloves and clenched his fist


    "Obviously." Said Serena as she put on her hat


    [Putting on her hat is the same as being serious? Darn it... I didn''t even get the appreciate the elf ears for long enough... I was too focused on the floor...]


    Ariel who saw that everyone was getting in battle mode, tapped the ground with the bottom of her staff and as she did


    The ground started to shake even more before a giant centipede came out of it. It kept it''s head submerged while it''s body and legs could be seen moving around on the Sand Area


    "Okay... I have a n." Said John as he saw this


    "What''s the n?" Ariel asked


    "I was about to ask the same thing..." Muttered Serena


    "Hm... both of you, grab on to my shoulders."


    "Huh?"


    "Okay?"


    As the two grabbed to his shoulders, John cast the same spell he had used before and lifted them into the air


    As the three stood on the tform directly above the sand pit, Serena finally asked the question


    "W-Wait, aren''t we supposed to be fighting the boss?" Serena asked


    "Ariel, Serena do you two trust me?" John asked


    They looked a little confused by john''s sudden question but both quickly replied


    "I do" Serena replied with a straight face


    "Of course," Ariel also replied with a straight face


    [They didn''t have to be that honest...]


    "G-Good... Then, begin charging up one of your strongest spells, I''m going to get that centipede toe straight up here, on my signal, fire the spell straight into it''s mouth."


    [It''s scales will be hard to prate, although I most likely could... We''re supposed to work as a team, it won''t matter if we don''t do it together]


    "A-Alright..." Said Serena as she looked down


    "Understood." Said Ariel


    "But if we fall..." Serena muttered


    "You better catch us." Ariel continued


    "Leave that to me." John said with a smile


    Darkness clouded his eyes before he suddenly vanished. Leaving only a trace of darkness behind, seeing this the two girls made the same dumbfounded look as usual

 Chapter 162 - 3rd Floor Complete

    John reappeared on top of the sand, thanks to deprehendre, he could see the centipede''s movements and figure clearly.


    The only problem now was...


    "Getting out of the ground..." John muttered


    However, his worries were quickly misced as the sand underneath his legs began to pull him in


    [It''sing]


    "I know." Said John before shadow stepping 5 meters away


    As he did, a the head of a giant centipede came out of the area where he was standing. Seeing as how it missed the centipede continued to move and was about to engulf it''s head back into the sand when all of the sudden


    "Nolite indurare" The Area where the centipede was aiming for suddenly turned into rock, making it m it''s head straight into it.


    *m*


    But even with that impact it looked unfazed and simply crawled backwards back through the way it came out of.


    Seeing this, John turned the sand where it was retreating into to rock, but had no luck, it was going down the same hole it hade out of, and there was not enough dense sand in the hole.


    Seeing this,John shadow stepped right in front of it, before he muttered


    "Saint-ss ice magic: Cavea principalis densa cies " Trantion: Dense Ice Cage


    Four ice walls rose around the giant centipede, forming a big cube. After that, Spiky ice pirs extended from the ice walls before heading straight towards the centipede to pierce it.


    However, on contact with its skin, the pointy edge of the ice pir broke and the centipede sessfully managed to retreat back into the sand pit


    "... I knew it''d be hard but..."


    [Looks like the only weakness is in it''s mouth... Alright, we''ll end it in this attack.]


    "I guess I''ll go for the head." Said John as he stood still and acted like he didn''t know where it was


    He was trying to bait the boss by making him think that he was vulnerable, and it didn''t take long for it to bite the bait.


    "Serena, Ariel are you ready!?" John shouted as he looked up


    He hadn''t checked on them earlier because he was focused on the centipede, but now that he was able to check, A grin was formed on his face


    "If I''m not careful... those two may end up passing me"


    [Bold of you to assume that they already haven''t.]


    They hadn''t replied and seemedpletely imersed in their spell, even for John, to do a spell like that alone would be insanely difficult.


    Suddenly the shaking on the ground got louder and louder, it was heading straight to john from underground


    "It''s here" John muttered as he jumped up


    Following his jump, the head of a centipede with it''s opened mouth came out of the ground.


    John cast both ''levite'' and velox but made sure to stay close to him so that it could think that it was about to eat him any second.


    [Just a bit more...] John muttered


    He was getting closer to the spell which was formed in front of the two girls, and the centipede was still rising from the ground


    [How long is this thing...?]


    "NOW!" John shouted


    The instant he shouted those words, the two girls unleashed the spell, despite being big, it was fast, if John didn''t shadow step away right before he shouted, he would''ve been hit from point nk, and he definitely wouldn''t have survived.


    The spell was amazing to look at even from John''s perspective. A giant rednce with a spinning wind drill at the tip. It seemed to have 5 fire arrows around the tip, and all of them had air particles gathered in front of them


    A spell thisplex, was something not even john expected, they had really surpassed all his expectations.


    The centipede with no time to react or avoid the attack, was hit from point nk. Thence entered through it''s mouth before the inside of it''s body started to ergen


    "Ignite!" The two girls shouted


    Seeing as how it was litteraly about to explode, john quickly shadow stepped next to the two girls before from an ice sphere around them


    *Boom!*


    Pieces of the centipede, were scattered all around the area evaporating upon seconds after doing so, and in the middle of the Sandy field, all that remained was a yellow stone. It was covered in blood but that evaporated shortly after.


    "You two okay?" John asked as he looked towards them


    "Of course, why don''t you try to imitate this one too?" Serena asked


    "You won''t be able to imitate this one" Said Ariel with a proud look


    [Eh? Are they mad at me because I mixed their concept with mine?]


    "Oi, don''t forget who taught you two chant-less magic in the first ce!"


    "That''s like saying the story that we wrote is yours because you taught us how to write..." Said Ariel


    [Ugh, she has a point... How''d she even thinks of such a good example? Also I was the one, who taught you about the explosive technique in the first ce...]


    John let out a sigh before propelling them and the tform downwards to the bottom


    "Alright, I won''t try to imitate it."


    "Huh? I who said you weren''t supposed to?" Serena asked


    "We want to see if you''ll be able to, if you can we''ll just make the next one harder to copy." Said Ariel with a confident smile


    "Huh? Really?"


    "Yeah? What did you think we meant?" Serena asked


    [I thought they were mad at me and thought of me as a guy who was stealing their idea.]


    "Exactly what you said."


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Serena asked


    "Nothing..."


    "Tell us..." Said Ariel


    "Haha, take a guess..."


    As the three continued to talk to each other, John was reminded of the premonition he had. It was obvious that it was something which was supposed to happen in the future, and at their current point. Serena and Ariel were already very strong.


    So just who.... Who could''ve been able to damage them as much as they did?

 Chapter 163 - 2nd Last Floor

    "So this is the fourth floor." Ariel muttered


    The four had already picked up the magic stone on the third floor after washing it with water before descending down the stairs.


    They were in a cave like hall with red moltenva flowing down the holes on the sides.


    At the end of the cave stood arge door which most likely led to the boss room. The cave itself waspletely lit up by all the fire andva


    "It''s hot..." Serena muttered


    If not for the fact that John was using both wind and thermal maniption magic, they would''ve been sweating bricks.


    "Let''s go... Just 1 more floor after this." John muttered as he began heading towards the door


    As the four walked towards the door, they noticed that something was strange


    "Hey... Shouldn''t we be getting attacked by monsters by now?" Serena asked


    "I was thinking the same thing... It''s too empty."


    "Yeah, I can''t detect any monsters around with deprehended either."


    "Another party has been through here, that is most likely why."


    "Another party?! A-Rank? Wow... I wonder what they''re like..." John muttered


    "Why do you look so excited? If they''re strong, they''ll beat the dungeon before us."


    "That''s impossible."Master Sylvia Said unintentionally


    "What?" The three simultaneously asked


    "What''s that-"


    John interrupted Serena by asking


    "Master Sylvia, what''s that supposed to mean?" John asked


    "The final boss, is something only an S-Rank party can beat." Said Master Sylvia


    "S-rank...?" Serena muttered


    "Then, how are we supposed to beat it?" Ariel asked


    To this question Master Sylvia simply smiled as she looked at the three


    "You''ll have to use your strongest spells" She said


    "And what if it fails?" John asked


    "Then we''ll try again tomorrow." Said Master Sylvia


    Judging from the straight face Master Sylvia had on, John could tell that she wasn''t joking. Not only that, but she was never much of a joker,


    "..."


    For a moment everyone was silent, or rather, they didn''t know what to say.


    "Then, that means we have to beat it in the first try." Said Serena


    "What do you mean by that?" Ariel asked


    "I don''t want to re do this dungeon, that''s boring and tiring, more importantly, I''m looking forward to the ball"


    "The ball?" Ariel asked


    "Mhm, I''ve heard that the sweets they serve there are amazing."


    "Ohh? Really?!" Ariel asked as her eyes began to sparkle


    "That''s right, they have all kind of voured cakes and pudding too"


    "Pudding?" Ariel asked


    "Yeah, pudd-"


    *Bang*


    Serena was interrupted by the door in front of them which was suddenly mmed open, a party of 4 emerged.


    "Tch! How many times do I have to tell you?! Use water magic the moment it charges up it''s fire attack!"


    The one who came out was a tall and muscr man, with a big frame, he wore light armour with shorts and magically enchanted gauntlets on his hand. Spiky long scruffy brown hair with a small scar on his eyes.


    "I-I didn''t have enough time to cast..." Said the girl mage


    She was around john''s height but looked older around 18, john himself was 5 ft 4 now. With short red hair and a fragile air around her, the girl seemed the be shivering in fear as the man shouted at her


    "Cut her some ck, she was too busy healing and protecting our asses." Said another guy


    Short clean dark orange hair with light armour and daggers on his waist, his frame was bnced and he gave off a calm and rxing vibe, he looked to be in his 20s


    "That''s right, she''s had the most assists so far, don''t take it out on her. Don''t forget that it''s temporary, just because we joined your party, doesn''t give you the write to force your job upon us." Said thest girl


    long, yellow hair, tied up into a ball on her head and dark blue eyes with a piercing gaze to them, like the other girl, she carried a staff and wore a robe, another magician. She also looked to be as old as the red haired girl.


    "Yeah, I''m the one who''s in the wrong, gang up on me, why don''t you? I''m doing you all favour, Tsk, we''re going in again."


    "Huh? Are you crazy? It''s wounds have healed since we left, we''re in no condition to fight."


    "Then don''te, I''ll kick you off the party and keep the reward for myself when I''m done," Said the guy


    Hearing this the girl angrily gripped her staff and hung her head


    "I-It''s fine, it''ll be better if we just do as he says..." Said the red haired girl


    [Zestari, Can''t she just take her part of the reward and head back?]


    [since he''s the leader, he''s probably holding all the magic stones they''ve gathered so far. If he were to head back and say they didn''t do anything to help, if they don''t have any evidence to support that they did, he''ll end up with the reward all to himself. So, in cases like these it''s better to obey.]


    [Huh, so things like these can happen...]


    [It''s quitemon.]


    "You heard the man, let''s go." Said the dark orange haired man as he ced his hands on the door


    "Fine..." said the yellow haired girl


    "Good, open the do-"


    "Wait." Said John as he grabbed on to the guy''s shirt


    "Huh? Where did this little punke from?" The man asked


    "You''ve had your turn, get in line." Said John


    The man made an intimidating, angry expression but without flinching John stared straight at it


    "Haha... I see..."


    Suddenly the man ced his hands and rubbed john''s hair for a while as he said


    "It''s just another person trying to get on my nerves..."


    The man pulled back his fist, before sending it straight towards john at a high speed.


    But the fist stopped right before it reached him


    "Tch, lucky kid, fine."


    The moment the man had shown hostility to John. Serena and Ariel had formed 10bined upgraded fire and wind arrows all formed around the man, pointing straight at him.


    Master Sylvia simply watched


    "Try it, we dare you." Said Serena with an angered look


    [John was prepared to fight the guy himself, but it seems like he didn''t need to] John thought to himself


    He was rather happy to see his friends get angry for him.


    "We''ll wait here, don''te crying to meter." Said the guy


    "Good." Said master sylvia as she moved her dagger away from his neck

 Chapter 164 - A Dragon!?

    [Master Sylvia? Usually she doesn''t step up...]


    "Do not attack my disciple without warning."


    Those were the only words master Sylvia said before she backed away


    "A dark mage assassin, huh... And two girls who are fast casters. Ha-ha... How did a kid like you get into a party like this?" The man asked


    "I''m the party leader." John replied


    "You? The leader? Ah yes, like a dog in a wolf pack"


    "You sure like to talk a lot, Mr. Could you please stop wasting our time?" John asked


    "That''s right, your voice went from intimidating to annoying very fast." Said Serena


    Ariel also nodded at that statement


    "Y-You... brat... go ahead, don''t say I didn''t warn you." Said the man as he sat on the ground


    His other members let out a sigh as they also sat down to take a break, seeing this, John walked up to the door.


    Serena and Ariel cancelled before Serena pointed her middle finger at the man and ariel stuck out her tongue before they followed behind.


    [They can be pretty cruel when they want to]


    [Says you.]


    As they stood in front of the door, John suddenly remembered something. "Wait here for a moment." He said before heading towards the two girls who were sat down near them


    When he reached them, they looked at him with a wary confused expression.


    "W-What do you want?" The yellow haired girl asked


    "What''s your names?"


    "Nothing, I just wanted to say that our party heard your conversation with him, you guys can head back now, if he doesn''t give you your reward, we can act as evidence that you did and you will get it."


    For a moment they had a hopeful expression on their faces but that quickly changed back to a wary


    "If you''re trying to take pity on us then we''re fine..." Said the yellow-haired girl


    "She''s right... We don''t want to cause you any problems." Said the red-haired girl


    "Pity? You''re misunderstanding something. Sure, I want to help but it''s not because I pity you, I just can''t stand jackasses who abuse their position to steal money." Said John as he looked straight at the man


    [Companies... So many cause others to go bankrupt, just thinking about it pisses me off.]


    [You''re unusually angry.]


    [It''s because I remembered something.]


    "You don''t really think we''ll let him abuse his power, do you?" Serena asked


    "So, don''t worry about anything, go get some rest." Said Ariel


    "You brats..." The man muttered as he red at the three


    Seeing this, Master Sylvia nced at him and he quickly moved his gaze


    "I''ll ask again, I''m john, what''s your name?" Said John before muttering a few quick words and casting ''sana'' / Trantion: Heal


    A warm yellow light enveloped his hands as he ced it over where they had cuts and bruises


    The two girls were speechless, but that speechless expression quickly changed into a grateful one


    "I-I''m Alphie" Said the red-haired girl


    "And I''m Cruz" Said the other


    "Alphie and Cruz... Nice names. You need to take better care of yourself, the healing" Said John with a smile


    Whether it was due to his kindness or looks, without john noticing, Alphie had started blushing, seeing this, Cruz formed a little smile.


    "T-thank you, John is a nice name too." Said Alphie


    "Thank you for offering to help us and healing us, we''re in your debt." Cruz added


    "Thank you Alphie. Don''t worry about debts Cruz, I''m doing this because I want to. what about you?" John asked as he looked at the guy with daggers on their team


    "Hm? I''m good, this man wouldn''t dare steal anything from me, he knows my older brother after all." Said the guy


    "is that so..." John muttered


    "You traitors..." Said the man


    "Traitors? Listen man, we''ve been telling you that we were tired, if you continue to put our lives in risk... I wonder what my brother will do." Said the boy


    "T-Tsk... We''re heading back after resting..."


    Hearing this a relieved expression could be seen on Alphie and Cruz''s face, while the boy just smiled.


    [That boy... Something feels wrong, am I being oversensitive?]


    [No, those two are definitely in it together. I rmend you finish the next floor as soon as possible.]


    [Understood.]


    "Then, we''ll on our way." Said John as he joined up with is party who were waiting at the door.


    "Be careful! The monster it''s an S-Rank... it''s..."


    -----------------------------------


    As the group entered the room, what stood in front of them was a creature which john had only ever seen in fantasies


    A giant cave like hall with a very high up ceiling. There were rocksying around and a pit surrounding the bridge which led to the area where the boss was at.


    [Of course, there''s always a pit]


    And in the middle of the pit stood a creature which surprised even John


    With fiery red scales covering its whole body, two legs and wings along with giant mouth, the creatureid in the middle of the room with its eyes closed, it was most likely asleep


    "Hey... Isn''t that... a dragon?" John asked with a shocked look


    Both Ariel and Serena looked nervous while Master kept the same expression


    [If that girl hadn''t told me earlier, I may have had a heart-attack, but didn''t she say it was wyvern?]


    "No, that''s not a dragon. Look it only has two legs." Said Serena as she surveyed it.


    The entire room was boiling hot, the other group seemed to have been sweating so this was probably the reason


    "A wyvern... is there even much of a difference?" John asked


    "Haven''t you heard stories? Dragons are more intelligent than wyverns and are a lot stronger. They can transform into humans and even use high level magic on top of being physically stronger. Although many assume, they look the same, Dragons have 2 more legs and look a lot bigger." Said Serena


    [A rampaging dragon is an SS-Rank threat which even an S-Rank adventurer party has trouble exterminating.]


    [SS-Rank!?]

 Chapter 165 - Triple Combination Magic!

    Hearing this, John realised something


    [Wait... For a dungeon to use a wyvern instead of a dragon... that means there are limits to what it can summon, right?]


    [That is correct, yes. Which is why it''s conquered after you beat the strongest which is on thest floor]


    "I see... Now I get it... Now I know how to deal with that guy..." John muttered


    Suddenly, the wyvern opened its eyes


    "It''s awake, we need to move now!" Said Serena


    "Right, everyone follow me, I''ll cancel out it''s fire attacks with water."


    The wyvern then let out a loud roar as it got up, it sounded like a mix of a roar and screech, it was loud


    ------------------------------


    "Tch, I warned them." Said the man


    The two girls however weren''t that worried, for some reason they felt like John was much stronger than the man had assumed


    "Be careful..." Alphie muttered


    -----------------------------


    "What''s the n!?" Serena asked as the wyvern began to p its wings


    "For now, stay close to me!" Said john as they got onto the bridge


    Slowly, they began to walk towards the wyvern who pulled back its head. As it did so, fire started to gather at its mouth


    Seeing as how an attack wasing, John stopped and together the three formed a barricade


    "cies Murum and Aqua Murum!" Trantion: Ice wall & water wall


    Two wallsprised of both ice and water were formed, one behind the other


    "Ventus Murum!" Trantion: Wind Wall


    A wall made of wind was formed right in front of the ice and water wall as the Wyvernunched it''s fire attack straight at them


    It was a strong attack made of pure mes, much stronger than John''s ignis if he were topare them. The wind wall was made to disrupt the fire and weaken it but didn''t do much.


    It was almost like a sma beam; it went through the wind wall and evaporated the water wall. And as it reached the ice wall, John began to pour more and more mana into it to harden it.


    "Just... a little.... LONGER!" John shouted as he formed another wall of ice behind it


    Suddenly, the attack stopped and all that was left was a giant cloud of steam which was blown away shortly after by the wyvern as it pped its wings and flew into the air


    As it flew through the air, it let out another deafening roar, it sounded even more like a high-pitched screech now than before


    "Silentium"


    John deployed a sound proof field after they had finally crossed the bridge


    "Thanks" Said Serena before she began gathering fire


    "Serena, should we use number 2?" Ariel asked as she started to gather wind


    "But we can only use that once... and we won''t be able to use number one for the next floor" Said Serena


    [Number 2? Number 1?]


    "If you guys have a strong move or something just use it, I''ll use one of the magic stones to recharge your staff''s mana." Said John


    Serena looked over at Ariel with slight hesitation and Ariel gave her a nervous smile


    [Seeing the two so nervous about a spell... They name upper-saint ss spells intermediate... So, I wonder what rank this one is]


    "Alright, fine let''s do it... John buy us some time." Said Serena as her fire began to take a form


    [What is that?] John wondered as he stared at the shape which was unfolding in front of him eyes


    "Don''t take too long" Said john before he propelled himself straight into the air


    [Possession, Levite, Velox]


    The wyvern who noticed that John was heading straight at it like a bullet. Let out another screech before it charged at John.


    John pulled out his daggers and was about to cast Ventus at its wings to cut it, when it suddenly stopped its charge and swung its tail straight at him.


    [It''s futile]


    John shadow stepped in thest second and appeared behind its wings, as he swung his dagger at it, to cut right through it, it was stopped after cutting in a few inches into its skin.


    "Tch, the scales are har-"


    It interrupted john as it let out another loud roar, which was most likely due to the pain it felt


    "ROOOARRR!"


    [Argh... My ears... Can you shut up!?] John thought to himself as he shadow stepped in front of its mouth and ced over it]


    [Freeze... Verum tenebris cies]


    From the inside of it''s a dark ice emerged and spread to the outside


    *Crackle* *Crackle*


    The sounds of crackles could be heard as the wyvern pped its wings and moved away from John.


    It was rapidly moving its head in an attempt to get rid of the ice, but that was showing


    "If fire won''t work... I guess it''s time I test that..." John muttered as he shadow stepped away


    Electric sparks began to zap the area around him hand as he felt his hand get number and number. meanwhile the wyvern''s mouth began to glow red as it started to heat up the dark Ice which john had formed


    Serena and Ariel who were nearly done with their spell, watched as the spell john was creating began to take the form of an electric blue trident


    [O-Ow... I can feel the electricity flowing through my arm...]


    The spear''s colour then changed from a light blue to a deep ck as dark sparks visibly flowed around John''s right arm


    For a moment, the white portion of john''s hair began to fade away, as his dark eyes began to have a spark igniting inside of it


    "Triple Combination Magic: Tempestatem inanis Trident" John muttered / Trans: Void Storm Trident


    Once the trident had taken its shape and air began to gather behind it, John ced his daggers back into their sheathe and grabbed on to the trident


    As he did so, parts of his sleeves began to rip apart but his gloves seemed to be doing fine.


    By the time John was ready, the wyvern had already melted most of the ice, and another sma beam seemed to be in the making

 Chapter 166 - Void Storm Trident!

    John waited for the dragon to finish charging it''s beam and once it was finally ready and it unleashed it upon him, he shadow stepped at thest second.


    As he appeared behind it, he pulled back his arm sending electric currents through the air, at the same time, he began to gather even more wind behind it, and used even more wind magic to rotate it


    Because of this, it started to spin so fast it looked like a drill, as the wyvern continued to release a zing red sma beam at the wall, it tried to turn around as it could feel john''s presence behind it, but it wasn''t fast enough


    [Lightning... Imagine an ionised path for all this electric energy to travel through...]


    Lightning is essentially an ionised path for electricity to travel through, John who knew this implemented it into his spell, the stronger and more urate the concept, the stronger the spell.


    With the knowledge to thebination of all three elements mixed with the speed of lightning itself, John had managed to create on of his strongest offensive''s spells yet


    [All that''s missing is a cool name... Ah, I got it.]


    "Scatter." John muttered as he threw the spinning electric trident straight at the wyvern''s back


    *Voom*


    A loud sound resounded through the room as Johnunched the attack. Serena, and Ariel had stopped their spell as they saw John manhandle the beast


    The trident was fast, so fast that John could barely see it''s movement. In an instant, there was a hole in the middle of the wyvern''s body along with a trident stuck to the wall.


    The wyvern stopped pping it''s wings and fell straight on to the middle of the rocky tform in the middle


    [T-That was fast...] John thought to himself with a nervous smile


    Even he didn''t expect the spell to overpower an S-Rank monster like that


    [You were lucky that it was only a wyvern]


    [Only?]


    [That''s right, beating them is Childsy, first the wings, then the mouth, although in your case, you didn''t need to get rid of the wings.]


    [Is the level of difference really that big between a wyvern and a dragon, then?]


    [Dragons can use magic, are intelligent and can transform. Wyverns are like flying birds which can breathe fire.]


    [You seem to really like dragons and dislike wyverns...]


    [We have a history.]


    [Hm... How old- are wyverns?]


    John felt like asking Zestari for her age, but when he did, he suddenly felt a shiver go down his spine so he changed the question


    [Wyverns... probably since the creation of this world]


    [Zestari... Are you a god?] John suddenly asked


    [Unfortunately, not, but I know a few people who have enough magic power to rival gods.]


    [So they exist...]


    John felt a surge of pain go through his right hand as he descended back down to the ground to get some rest


    Contrary to what he had expected, that attack took quite a lot out of him, so much that he was even struggling to catch his breath


    As he reached the ground, he noticed that the trident was gone and cuts and burns were left on his right arm after the attack


    [It''s iplete...] John thought to himself


    "J-John... Remind me why we wasted magic power to charge up our spell?" Serena asked as she walked up to him


    She then noticed the torn sleeve and cuts on his arm. It was strange because she hadn''t seen him get attacked, but the burns could have been from the dragons'' attack.


    "Your arm, how did it get bruised up this badly?" Ariel asked as she grabbed on to his arm


    As she was trying to assess the wound, she noticed that steam starteding out of it as it began healing itself


    Seeing this, she looked at john with a confused look before Serena decided to ask


    "John, did you finally stop being human?"


    "Why is that your first guess?"


    "It was bound to happen eventually..."


    "Come on Ariel, not you too... Have some faith in me, I''m still human"


    "Humans wounds don''t heal on their own!" Said Serena


    "It''s magic!" John replied


    "Magic?"


    "That''s right, after nearly paralysing myself, I discovered a new way to use ''Sana''" Trantion: Heal


    "A new way?"


    "Yeah, that''s right. I''ll exin it to you guys in a bit, wait here for me, I''ll be back in a minute"


    "Wait! ¡­ Why was he in such a rush?" Serena asked as she watched him teleport over to the giant red magic stone and put it in his ring.


    He then teleported over the door where they hade from


    "Why''s he going back there..."


    "Maybe something happened with that party?" Said Ariel as she watched him open the door


    "That''s the only exnation. Should we go help him?" Serena asked


    "No, leave him be. Rather than that, I''d prepare myself if I were you." Said Master Sylvia as she began to do some stretches


    "Yes..." The two girls replied


    Judging from the way Master Sylvia was acting, the both Serena and Ariel knew that whatever was waiting for them at the end, wasn''t something they could take lightly.


    --------------------------------------------


    "Alphie stay back..." Said Cruz as she extended her arm towards them


    "The moment you start casting, he''ll attack." Said the dark orange hair boy with the daggers


    "Aston, why are you letting him do as he pleases?" Cruz asked


    "He''ll reap what he sowed. Besides it has nothing to do with me." Said Aston as he watched


    "Y-You won''t get away with this..." Said Alphie


    The man towered over the two girls and gave them a look full of bloodlust as he said


    "You two would rather team up with a strangers party and go against me... You only have yourselves to me for this."


    "You won''t get away with this..." Said Cruz before she started to chant


    *p*


    Her chant was quickly cancelled by the man as he pped her right in the face


    "Chanting in front of me, this is why we can''t conquer this damn dungeon.... All of you all fools! Oi, what''s with that look?" Asked the man as he grabbed on to Alphie''s chin.

 Chapter 167 - Advent Of Malice

    Alphie continued to re at him, and while he was distracted, cruz started to chant once more. Seeing this, he swung his hand to p her, but she avoided it by stepping back


    "You don''t get it do you? Fighting back is only going to make things worse, besides, can''t you hear that? It''s been quiet, isn''t it obvious what happened? THe party who you were waiting for to help you, are gone."


    Hearing this Cruz slowed down her chant, he was right. Even if she had managed to get past him now, their whole dungeon trip would have been useless. Seeing this she stopped chanting.


    "Ah... That expression where all your hopes of crushed... I can''t get sick of it ¡­" Said the man with a wide grin


    But the expression of despair on her face changed into an angered one as she quickly muttered


    "Saint-ss Fire Magic: Flos ignea Cretaea" Trantion: Fiery Flower


    6 red hot petals were formed and merged together to form a flower


    "You little..."


    The instant the flower was formed, it unleashed a red beam aimed straight at the man, with no other choice, he let go of Alphie and stepped to the side to avoid it


    The flower had lost a petal before it quickly moved to shoot at him again when Cruz suddenly shouted


    "Alphie Now-"


    Before she could finish the man avoided the next st before he suddenly leapt at her, grabbed on to her neck and mmed her at the wall.


    "CRUZ!" Alphie shouted


    "I''m telling you... A magician is useless at close range"


    Seeing as how Cruz was in danger, Alphie began to chant but before she could finish the guy pulled back his fist and his gauntlets began to glow


    "Another word out of your mouth and she dies. And cruz, if you don''t think I see you noticed your spell charged up and aimed at us, then you''re beyond help. Try it, you can shoot it at us, let''s see who ends up getting hit."


    Hearing this, Alphie slowly shut her mouth and gritted her teeth as tears began streaming down her face.


    "Stop... That''s enough... We don''t need the reward... Just let her go... Please!" Alphie begged him


    Cruz was trying to say something but couldn''t speak as he was squeezing at hurt neck. She had stopped struggling and her Fire Flower spell dispersed into thin air.


    As she continued to re at him with her fierce yellow eyes she opened her mouth and began to mutter a few words


    "Come on now cruz, I''m giving you a chance here, beg for forgiveness. You should know better than to think you''ll be able to chant in this situation."


    Seeing as how she wasn''t stopping and her eyes were about to close, he moved his ear closer to hear what she was saying.


    "S...cum... Die..."


    Those were the only words he heard, and it was enough to make him snap.


    "Ah, is that so, then, I''ll grant you your death just like you asked."


    He extended his fist with his gauntlets which had been glowing for a while now, seeing this, Alphie screamed as loud as she could


    "STOOOP!-"


    "Tenebris Fulguranotiem" Trantion: Dark Lightning sh


    Suddenly a sh of electricity was seen and the man suddenly stopped moving. A split secondter he fell backwards to the ground and blood began to spurt out from cuts which had appeared all over his body


    As he fell down, confused, the man tried to get up, but legs wouldn''t move


    "W-What''s happening?" He asked


    As heid on the ground and continued to stare at the ceiling, a boy appeared over him and stepped on his mouth


    "Hey, old man. It''s been a while." That boy was john


    When Alphie saw john, an intense feeling of relief passed through her, so much that it caused her legs to give out. Meanwhile, Cruz smiled as she slid down the fall and fainted.


    Aston was the only one who couldn''t believe what was happening. Not only did he not see the boy or his movements, but he didn''t feel it either.


    "W-What did you do to my legs?!" The man asked


    "Ah, if I cut it off, then some high-level healing spell might''ve been able to fix it, so rather than that, I thought, why not just paralyse him? So, I broke the entire Lumbar section of your spinal cord, healed it but misced it."


    The man didn''t seem to understand so John tried exining it differently


    "The spinal cord is generally categorised of the sections; Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, Sacral, and cyx. The lumbar cord contains spinal cord tissue and nerves which controlmunication between the brain and legs. So, by breaking it, you won''t be able to control your legs. Easy to understand, right?" John asked


    The man listened with a frightened expression as the boy continued to talk about things he didn''t understand.


    "Hm... for my first try the paralysis went pretty well. I wasn''t sure if it was going to work out after healing you, but i can get quite lucky."


    "W-What are you talking about?" Aston asked as he moved away from the wall with a shocked expression


    "You, be quiet." Said john as he nced at him


    Aston couldn''t believe that he was the same kid he saw earlier, he felt like apletely different person.


    "Now, where was I? Ah, that''s right, Since I already healed it, you probably won''t be able to fix your spine with normal healing magic, although I''m not sure, this world can be messed up at times. Ah, but don''t worry, Healing just advances your body to recover, so I''m sure there isn''t a healing spell that can fix you."


    Hearing this the man suddenly lowered his back on to the ground. Tears were now going down the man''s eyes as it moved from the side of his face on to his brown scruffy hair. The expression of despair which he loved was now being disyed on his face.


    "What was it that you said earlier? I can''t get sick of it? Or something? Well, I''m sure you''ll enjoy looking in the mirror after this.. And since you can''t use your legs, you''ll have to look for another profession. Win, Win, right?" John asked

 Chapter 168 - Just What Is He Hiding?

    In the beginning Alphie was d to see John, but he was acting strange, it kind of scared her


    [John, calm down... John!]


    It was futile, John couldn''t hear Zestari''s voice,


    "now that I think about it... Rather than just paralysing your leg, wouldn''t it be better to paralyse your whole body?" John asked as he raised his hand


    "No... Please, I''ll stop, I''m sorry, I won''t do anything bad anymore, Please!"


    [Tsk, he''s losing control... And she told you not to recklessly use possession too...]


    "Ha... Now I understand why... That look of despair as you have all your hopes crushed, it really is the greatest feeling." John said with a grin


    "Stop!"


    John heard that word as two girls suddenly jumped at him


    "Hm? What''s wrong? Ariel, Serena?" John asked as theyid on the ground


    There was no longer darkness clouding his eyes, it was back to it''s normal green


    They raised their faces and the two had tears on their faces, Ariel had tears streaming down her eyes while Serena had an annoyed expression as she held it in, meanwhile, John was confused trying to understand what had just happened.


    "Um... why are you two crying?" John asked


    "I''m not crying!" Serena replied as she wiped away the small tears which were on her eyes


    "Because you were acting strange again! Like that time, you were cursed!" Said Ariel as she put her face down on his chest


    "Strange? What are you talking about? More importantly, We need to go and check up on the other party, those guys might n something." Said john as he slowly moved the two away to get up


    "You... don''t remember?" Aston asked as he walked up to the three


    "Remember?-"


    being asked that suddenly caused a surge of pain to go through John''s head, slowly but surely he was starting to remember what he had just done.


    "A-argh!"


    "Eh? John, what???s wrong?" Ariel asked


    All voices which were going through his ears sounded muffled and his vision became blurry, then all of a sudden, it stopped.


    "John, can you hear us? Say something." Serena asked as she ced her hand on his forehead


    "Yeah, sorry about that. I feel like I got cursed after defeating the dragon"


    Is what john said, but he knew very well that it wasn''t the case.


    "Wyvern, you mean, and I don''t think that''s poss-"


    "Anything is possible" Said John as he got up, interrupting her in the process


    John then began heading towards the man whoid on the floor, he seemed to have fainted due to all the stress and fear


    "John, Master sylvia is waiting for us" Said Serena as she got up


    Ariel also got up, without saying anything


    She, just like Serena had realised that John was hiding something and that something was wrong. But if he didn''t want to talk about it, they had no right to force him.


    [Zestari... Did you do this?]


    [If it were me, it would''ve been much worse.]


    [I see... So it was me... What happened?]


    [You lost control and your possession took over you]


    [I lost control?] John asked confusedly


    [So it''s like a curse?]


    [You could assume it as such, but they are fundamentally different. Rather than worrying about that, just know that you should keep possession off limits for now]


    [But the next floor is thest floor...]


    [Which is precisely why, we can''t have you losing control.]


    Everyone watched as john continued to stare at the guy without doing anything, they didn''t know that he was talking to Zestari and thought that he might have still had some anger left towards him


    [Can he be healed?]


    [By you, probably, by other spells, not unless they''re at least upper kingss with the ability to remodule a body.]


    [Things like those exist?]


    [Yes, are you going to heal him?]


    John looked at the man and thought about it for a bit. He remembered everything he had done to Alphie and Cruz and most likely other adventurers. John hadn''t killed him after he lost control because he wanted him to suffer.


    [No, I won''t heal him, being an adventurer doesn''t suit him.]


    ========================================


    After that, he walked towards the wall where Cruz had fainted. He quickly cast ''Sana'' on her and healed her neck wounds and cuts which were formed due to the fight


    "Alphie, can I count on you to take care of her?" John asked with a smile


    It was strange seeing him back to normal, but Alphie quickly nodded with a grateful smile as she replied "Yes!"


    "Then... All that''s left is..."


    John slowly walked towards Aston who had been watching with a dumbfounded expression for a while now


    "You can use dark and holy magic...? That''s amazing." Aston muttered as John got closer and closer


    Rather than looking scared, he looked excited


    "So, do you want to fight? I''ll have you know, my brother-" Aston asked as he pulled out his daggers


    Despite what he had seen, he wasn''t afraid of john. John on the other hand, interrupted him as he said


    "No, you didn''t do anything wrong, you just minded your own buisness. I just wanted to tell you to make sure you sort out the rewards properly, if you don''t you''ll end up just like that guy" John said with a smile


    "You think, I''m afraid of you? My brother will-


    [fulgurationem]


    In a split second, before the man could even finish speaking, John moved in closer to the mans ear before deactivating it as he whispered


    "I don''t care who your brother is, or what he will do, but I know damn well what the guild will if you don''t obey the rules."


    John didn''t know, but he knew it was terrifying


    Hearing that, Aston formed a nervous smile as he replied


    "I know, I''ll split it fairly, you don''t have to tell me."


    "That''s good." Said john as he backed away with a smile


    He then began heading towards the door to the next floor as he called out to the two girls who had managed to stop him


    "What are you two waiting for? Let''s go."


    "Yes..." Ariel replied before following behind


    As the two followed behind and stared at John''s back, she wondered if the person she was looking at, was the same mob they knew

 Chapter 169 - Emotional Gratitude

    As they began descending down the stairs towards the 5th floor, his two-party members had their eyes on him.


    John hadn''t said a single thing after, he just put the magic stone in his ring, and moved on.


    It was already strange enough that he was being quiet, but he also had a different air around him, Master Sylvia on the other hand seemed to have noticed but didn''t say anything about it.


    It was awkwardly quietly


    "H-Hey Serena... Shouldn''t we mention it?" Ariel whispered to Serena


    "I don''t think that''s a good idea... Let''s just watch for now." Serena replied


    As they got further and further down the stairs, they could feel a change in the air around them. The pressure was much stronger, the air felt thinner and everything felt heavier.


    John and Master Sylvia looked unaffected while Serena and Ariel while Serena and Ariel were disturbed


    As they got closer and closer to the bottom of the stairs, Serena got more and more annoyed


    "Change of ns, quiet John, is intimidating." Serena whispered


    She then moved in closer to John before asking. "John, let''s cut to the chase, were you cursed?"


    Serena wasn''t joking, she was genuinely worried but at the same time annoyed that he was keeping it to himself. Especially when they were about to have a battle they had never experienced before on thest floor.


    Rather than keeping away from each other, they had to at least try to understand each other ande up with a n. That was what Serena believed.


    "Cursed? Hm... Not really." John replied as he continued going down the stairs


    "Not... Really? Stop joking around, I''m being serious! If you''re not in top form, we''re turning back."


    "Aftering all this way? Didn''t you say you didn''t want to re-do everything?" John asked


    "... forgot about that. If we have to re-do it once more then we will." Said Serena with a serious look as she stared straight at him


    Seeing this, John started tough


    "Hahaha, Serena, that was unexpected." Said John as he continued to look down while descending


    "Wha-"


    Serena was interrupted by Ariel who with an also serious face asked


    "John, just tell us, are you cursed or not?"


    At first john wasn''t taking their worries lightly but after looking at their expressions, and seeing how genuinely worried they were, he decided toe out with it


    "No, I''m not possessed, but..."


    John looked over at Master Sylvia who nodded before he said


    "I''m having trouble controlling possession."


    John''s emotions and thought process was unbnced, he himself didn''t know why, it was almost as if, the dark spirit which he had conquered was trying to possess him just like Master Sylvia had said.


    --------------------------------


    In the middle of the fourth-floor boss room after dealing with the other parties Issue, Master had called out to john.


    "John, have you talked to the dark spirit inside of you?" Master Sylvia asked


    "Dark spirit? You mean the one from the trial?"


    "Yeah."


    "No, not yet."


    Hearing this, for a moment, Master Sylvia''s expression got colder, seeing this, John could tell that it was a bad sign.


    "You are forbidden from using possession. I told you not to over rely on it, just because you''vepleted the trial, doesn''t mean it''s over. you don''t have control of it yet."


    [I''m not in control...? Could it be trying to possess me or something?]


    "W-What... What happens if I were to keep using possession despite that?"


    Master Sylvia seemed hesitant to reply but went out and said it


    "You''ll be eaten."


    ------------------------------


    "That ability you gained from the trial right? The one where it lets you borrow power from the evil spirit that went inside of you?" Ariel asked


    Hearing this John quickly nced over at Master Sylvia who let out a sigh


    "I told them about it at the trial."


    "Okay, so if you can''t control just don''t use it?" Said Serena


    "Just don''t use it? It''s thest floor. I may not have needed it for the previous ones, but this is the heart of the dungeon... Can''t you feel all that magic power in the air?" John asked


    "Of course, we can! But no one''s asking you to sacrifice yourself over a dungeon, If things get bad, we run away and try again after some rest. Isn''t that how we do things?" Ariel asked


    "Ariel''s right, you''re always going overboard even when we keep telling you not to. Come on, John... Grow up."


    Hearing this, John could tell that his friends were genuinely worried for him, even if he already knew that, with everything that had just happened, hearing this caused tears to start to form in his eyes


    [Huh? When did something get in my eye] he wondered as he began to wipe it away with his worn-out gloves


    "Grow up... I never thought I''d hear that from you..." Said John as he covered his face with his hands


    "Wha-! What''s that supposed to mean?!"


    John moved his hands away from his eyes and turned to the two with a few tears formed on his puffy eyes as he let out augh and with a smile said


    "Pfft, Haha, You two are just... Thank you... Really, Thank you."


    "W-Well, as long as you''re better..." Serena muttered as she lowered her head and hat to cover her embarrassed face


    [W-What''s with this guy... How can he look so...]


    "You can make it up to us by being more careful in this floor..." Said Ariel as she quickly turned her head to hide


    [W-Why am I hiding...]


    The emotional face of the recently resilient John was a face both Serena and Ariel couldn''t get out of their minds


    "I didn''t mention this earlier but, this stare case leads straight to the boss room." Said Master Sylvia as the four had reached the bottom


    "Say that earlier!" The three shouted


    In front of the tform was a single giant door, there were mossy stone walls around every stair case, but this one in particr, including the tform was a pure white colour, exactly like concrete.


    "Beyond this door, is the final boss."


    As Ray heard this, he couldn''t help but gulp down the little air he had in his mouth, he was nervous, he had no clue or idea of what to expect.


    ***


    "Sorry... Everyone..."

 Chapter 170 - The Last Floor

    The group opened therge door which stood at the bottom of the small staircase they had just gone down.


    They couldn''t see anything on the other side, except a pitch white colour.


    "It''s Space magic, Master, doesn''t this mean..."


    "Yeah, unless we beat the boss or another partyes open the door for us, we won''t be able to make it back."


    "Ms. Sylvia... You''re joking, right?" Serena asked with a nervous look


    It was understandable, it was thest floor, thest thing they needed was for their fight to be in an unknown location.


    "I won''t force you three toe, John, this is one of thest things I can offer you as a teacher, for a disciple, you did well to make it this far." Said Master Sylvia


    Despite her straight face not showing it, John could tell that his master was troubled by something. But he couldn''t force his party to go through with something so dangerous too... He didn''t know what to say.


    "Isn''t it a bit toote to say that?" Serena asked


    "But didn''t you just say that you wouldn''t mind head-"


    "Don''t live in the past, John." Serena interrupted.


    [This girl...]


    "I agree with Serena. We should finish this off and go home." Said Ariel.


    Seeing how everyone was on board, John looked over at his Master with a smile as he said:


    "And there you have it, Let''s finish this and go home, Master."


    Seeing this, Master Sylvia looked at everyone before she turned to the door and said:


    "Be careful."


    She then walked through it. Right before she passed through, John could see a smile formed on her face. Those were rare but were a sight to look at.


    The three followed behind and walked through the door,pletely aware but unprepared for the difficulties which lied ahead of them.


    -------------------------------------------------


    After passing through the door, John opened his eyes. He was in a giant familiar room, which he recognised from the moment he awoke.


    "This isn''t the dungeon... Hey, Zestari." Said John as he turned around.


    Zestari was behind him, she stood there quietly without saying anything, he couldn''t tell what was wrong since her facial expressions were invisible to him, but he could feel that she wasn''t in a good mood.


    "Why aren''t you saying anything?" John asked.


    "Take a proper look around at the room."


    Doing as he was told, John looked around. It was then that he noticed, it was no longer half of the room which was clouded in darkness but around 3 quarters of it.


    "Do not use possession, no matter what. Promise me that." Said Zestari as she faced him.


    John didn''t have to ask to know what would happen if the entire room became clouded in darkness, in fact, he felt like Zestari might have been doing something to slow down the progression.


    "Don''t worry, I promise I won''t use it." John said with a nervous smile.


    "John, this isn''t something you can take lightly, your soul will be consumed. This isn''t just your consciousness... This room is linked to your spirit."


    As he heard this, not an ounce of surprise appeared on John''s face, only a smile as he said.


    "I know, I always knew. Don''t worry zestari, I won''t let myself be consumed, I promise."


    "John, Wai-!"


    -------------------------------------------


    John opened his eyes once more and couldn''t believe his eyes, he was there, on thest floor. Along with his master and friends.


    It was a big room, bigger than all of the rooms in the dungeon so far, walls were high and wide. It seemed to be made out of a special stone glowed a radiant white colour and appeared to reach over 100 meters in height.


    The ceiling was covered by a half sphere which stretched all around one side to the other. It seemed to be made out of something looking most likely like ss.


    And as they looked through the sphere, they could see the sky which was outside. There was no way that it was the real sky since they were 5 floors underground, but since they teleported through space, maybe they weren''t even in the dungeon anymore.


    Something about the sky felt wrong, it didn''t feel like the sky at all. It was night-time and there were stars, but the moon looked unnatural like a dark sun.


    Their attention was all focused on the sky, but it was quickly changed as they looked at what stood in the middle of the room.


    There was a bridge which led to an arena, much bigger than the other floors. It was surrounded by a dark pit. Something they had already expected.


    What stood in the middle of the room however, was unexpected.


    A single being?


    "A person?" Ariel asked.


    It was ady. She looked to be just as old as Master Sylvia, around her 20s. Long white hair with a medium-bnced frame.


    She had a lot of armour on her body, held onto a spear which was nted into the ground beside her as she remained in the middle with her eyes shut. Just by looking at her face, the word ''angel'' woulde to anyone''s mind.


    Well anyone except for John''s as he already had two angels by his side.


    "We don''t really have to kill another person toplete this dungeon now, do we?" John asked.


    Serena and Ariel both looked worried, they had expected a giant monster, but instead got another person like them.


    "Don''t worry, that''s not a person." Said Master Sylvia as she pulled out her daggers.


    They already had mes oozing out of them, from this John could tell that it wasn''t time to worry about whether it was a person or not.


    Not only that, but after taking a closer look, John could see the stains of blood on her armour and spear.


    "It''s a monster which has been forced to fight for this dungeon for years.. Rather than being worried about killing it, we should be worried about it killing us." said Master Sylvia as she began crossing the bridge

 Chapter 171 - The Final Boss Is An Angel?

    The three followed behind, both Serena and Ariel steeled their resolve to not hold back. Whether it was a person or a monster, if they went easy on it, then either John or Master Sylvia would be killed.


    John was worried about hesitating on thest second but after seeing the bloodstains on her spear and armour, he knew that this wasn''t something he could take lightly, just because she was a pretty girl.


    He could feel it, he wasn''t sure if he was just being oversensitive because it was thest floor or if it was because he was nervous, but he could feel death in the air.


    Not only that, but the magic power which was oozing out of her didn''t feel human, it belonged to nothing he knew, it was like the mix of darkness and light.


    As soon as the group had crossed the bridge and stepped onto the arena. The person''s eyes opened disying a bright and terrifying red glow.


    "Anomaly detected. Initiating Battle Mode."


    As soon as she said that, she raised the spear out of the ground, and with the same motionless expression.


    Seeing this, the group began to act. They already had a n formed.


    Serena and Ariel would be the spell casters and take care of long range, while John and Master Sylvia would be fighting at close range.


    "Let''s go." Said Master Sylvia before she vanished.


    The girl who carried the spear vanished at the same time. Seeing this, the three began to move closer in as they didn''t want to get knocked out of the arena into the pit.


    *Cling* *ng* *ng*


    As the girl continued shing with Master Sylvia. John wanted to quickly rush to them and join in to help Master, but before that, he had to make sure his party was in a safe ce.


    "Alright, this is far enough. Go help Ms Sylvia." Said Serena as she began to gather her fire.


    "This is our strongest spell, give us the signal whenever you''re ready!" Added Ariel as she began to gather her wind.


    John nodded before heading off to his Master.


    -----------------------------


    They were fighting in the middle of the arena, so it didn''t take long for him to reach them.


    *ng* *ng*


    "Tsk."


    From her fighting stance to her swings and thrusts, the girl''s technique was abnormally perfect and natural. The Complete contrary of Master Sylvia''s irregr style, but because of this, Master Sylvia had the advantage.


    Seeing as how she was being pushed back, John watched, there was no need for assistance, and if he were to suddenly join in now, it might break his master''s flow.


    With nothing to do, he watched focusing all of his senses in the fight.


    The one who had the upper hand at the moment, was Master Sylvia, while dodging all of the girl''s swings, she would asionally swing in the girl''s blind spots however, the girl would parry it in thest second to make it non-lethal.


    The girl''s armour was also deflecting and blocking most of the attacks, just from the sounds John could tell that it was hard.


    Even though she was getting pushed back, the girl stood her ground. What stood out the most was how her facial expression hadn''t changed for a single moment. Not even when she got hurt.


    The worst part was how the cuts would heal right after it was made, it was just like John''s recovery magic. He knew it would be a pain to deal with.


    Master Sylvia swung her dagger at her, it didn''t seem like she''d be able to avoid or parry it this time as she had focused on parrying Master Sylvia''s other swing.


    As the dagger got closer and closer to her neck, John could see it, inevitable death.


    "Level 1"


    In the instant that the girl muttered that, Master Sylvia''s swing was parried an inch away from the girl''s neck.


    Right after she parried it she used the momentum and spun her spear with the spear head, heading straight toward Master Sylvia''s Neck.


    Master Sylvia dodged it in thest second by bending backwards, but as she did, the girl stopped the spear above Master Sylvia before swinging it straight down at her.


    The difference in speed was clear, the girl was suddenly twice as fast. Darkness began to cloud Master Sylvia''s eyes but she hadn''tpletely entered the ''possession'' state yet.


    As Master Sylvia was about to tilt her body to the side to dodge.


    [Fulgurationem] Trans: Lightning sh


    A yellow sh suddenly appeared in front of her, and the one who stood in the middle of that sh, was John. He raised his daggers and parried the girl''s spear attack.


    Upon doing so, he got to see her monstrous strength from up close. The swing was so heavy and hard, that just by parrying it, part of the ground beneath him had cracked.


    "M-Master... Let''s fight... Together..." Said John as he struggled to keep her spear from going any further down.


    Seeing this, Master Sylvia, muttered a few words, vanished and reappeared in the air behind the girl before swinging her dagger straight at the girl''s neck.


    Seeing this, The girl took her attention off John and ducked, barely avoiding the swing, as she turned her body to the side.


    The girl''s attention wasn''t solely on John, and split in between him and his master. With this opportunity, the two simultaneously swung their daggers at her, Master''s swing was slightly faster but it didn''t make a difference.


    It was four swings. The girl seeing as she had no way to parry them, stepped back.


    [She fell for it.]


    It was a bluff, the moment she stepped back to avoid, Master Sylvia shadow stepped behind her and pierced the girl straight in the back.


    Master then quickly muttered another few words before the girl could pull out the dagger and leap away.


    "Tenebrae perussi furore mmae" Trantion: Consuming Dark Rage mes


    It ignited.. From the tip of Master''s Dagger which had pierced through one side of the girls body all the way to the other side, mes erupted.

 Chapter 172 - Angel: Level 2

    A lot of mes, it was hot to John who wasn''t even on the receiving end, he could feel the hot temperature all the way from where he stood.


    If even he could feel it, then he could only imagine what the girl was feeling, he was even starting to feel bad for her now.


    As the girl''s body was enveloped in dark mes, Master Sylvia suddenly pulled her dagger out and shadow-stepped away.


    The moment she did, the girl suddenly swung her spear at the Area behind her where master sylvia was standing.


    As the mes grew dimmer, John felt his heart drop, she was out healing the burns. Her face and body were all covered in mes, yet her clothes and armour hadn''t suffered any burns.


    On top of that, whenever a burn would form on her skin, it would quickly heal up


    She was trying something which was making the mes get dimmer but they weren''t disappearing.


    John couldn''t tell what it was, but whatever it was, he had to stop her from finishing it.


    [fulgurationem] Trans: Lightning sh


    John reached her in a sh and as he did, his lightning boost ran out, however he didn''t stop, despite being slower, he continued on with the attack and swung his daggers.


    At the same time, Master Sylvia shadow stepped behind the girl once more before swinging both of her daggers diagonally at the girl


    She had no way to parry both of them and no one to run to


    [It''s ov-]


    "Level 2."


    Suddenly an immense pressure of wind was emitted out of her which would''ve been enough to blow any normal person away, but John and Master Sylvia weren''t normal


    Even with that wind pressure they continued their attack, but before it could reach them, she barely avoided them as she jumped while tilting her body in a way where it made john''s swing pass right by her.


    It was unbelievable, not only did she out speed it, but she dodged it in a way which should''ve been impossible for someone with all that armour. she managed to out speed John''s swing.


    Master Sylvia''s swing was faster than John''s and managed to graze her neck but it was pointless as it would heal right away


    While she was still Mid-Air after the jump, Master Sylvia shadow stepped above her and was about to swing her daggers once more when all of the sudden she tilted her head to the right


    And in that instant, the girl''s spear passed right past master''s cheek giving it a small cut in the process.


    With that dodged, Master Sylvia continued her attack


    *sh*


    She cut the girl''s back leaving behind arge cut wound which was covered in mes. But as Master Sylvia did so-


    *Boom*


    She was hit by an immense wind pressure from the side, which sent her heading straight towards the edge of the arena.


    "Master!"


    Master Sylvia suddenly regained her bnced mid-air before she could reach the edge and shadow stepped to cancel out the momentum


    She shadow stepped to john''s side and watched as the girl in front of her began to form Air spears around her


    "She can use chant-less magic...?!"


    "John, back me up." Said Master Sylvia as she got in the counter stance


    Hearing this John got into the counter stance and let out a sigh to calm himself down and empty his mind before he said


    "Understood."


    For a moment it looked like the girl vanished, If John hadn''t had his eyes glued to her, he wouldn''t have seen it.


    She leapt at them. With his senses focused on her sudden movement, John and Master Sylvia both matched each other''s movement as they shifted their bnce to move their body in thest second the avoid her.


    It was the most basic move in the counter stance and the very first he learnt for said stance, yet it was also one of the most useful.


    As she passed by them, the wind spears which she had formed were propelled at the two. Master Sylvia cut the ones aimed at her but when John swung his dagger to cut the ones aimed at him, it went right through it.


    Or more precisely, It suddenly split from two spears into four so the dagger ended up missing.


    [!]


    As they were all about to reach John''s head, it suddenly dispersed


    "Verum Ventus clypeus" Trantion:True Wind Shield


    Right before it hit him, John formed a wind shield which managed to cancelled out the wind attack.


    [That was close...]


    John quickly rposed himself and entered back into the stance, and as he did so, he lost track of the girl.


    He had taken his eyes off of her for a single moment, and in that single moment, he lost track of her


    [Where is she?]


    He wondered as he looked around, then when he turned around, he noticed that she was behind him currently involved in a sh with Master Sylvia.


    John felt useless, without ''Possession'' He had no hopes of keeping up with them, but he didn''t want to sit back and do nothing.


    [Fulgurationem]


    Once more, John joined in the sh while pushing his body to go even further with the help of Fulgurationem.


    As he did so, the Electricity currents around his body became more visible and shocking, and his hair began to rise up.


    But before it couldpletely Rise up, his electricity boost ended, and his movements returned to normal.


    John couldn''t believe what was happening, hest 5 seconds longer than before with ''Lightning sh'' which is something he onlysts 3 seconds at most when he''s not using the dark version.


    Now that his body was getting more used to the spell due to his constant uses, he was starting to be able to use it for a longer period of time


    With a nervous smile formed on his face, John realised that the only way he could possibly be of use now, would be by improving his current spells.

 Chapter 173 - Evolving Lightning Flash

    "Ariel... How''s the spell going?" Serena asked.


    "I''m... doing fine... But it''s getting harder to control..." Ariel replied with an exhausted look.


    The two were panting and both looked out of breath.


    "Yeah... I can agree with you on that, but we have to hold on. Those guys have been going at it and have shown barely any signs of slowing down."


    "That''s right, they''re... amazing aren''t they...?"


    "Amazing...? I was thinking the word ''monsters'' would... suit them more..."


    "Will we really be able... to take that thing down with this spell...?"


    "I''m not sure... We never used it before... But we must do something..." Serena muttered.


    "Then... Let''s make sure to pour everything into this attack..."


    "Of course..."


    --------------------------------


    With John facing the girl head on while Master Sylvia attacked from her blind spots, the two continued theirbinations of attacks.


    But despite that, John was being pushed so far back, it was hard to consider his attacks valid.


    The girl''s attention was barely focused on him and focused more on Master Sylvia who would constantly shadow step to attack her blind spots.


    Even if Master Sylvia got the hits in, they would quickly just heal up, meanwhile, John was focusing his every sense to avoid all the iing thrusts from the back end of the spear and the sudden unnaturally fast swings.


    They weren''t getting anywhere, and were only wasting their stamina, the girl was being pressured and was being forced to move around but that was it. She didn''t look tired and hadn''t sustained any visible damage.


    His only other options would be to attack her with a magic attack, but judging by what happened with Master Sylvia''s spell, A magic attack wouldn''t do much of anything.


    John could feel it. His only option was to hope that Ariel and Serena''s attack would be powerful enough to get rid of that thing. His job was to gain them time and work to make them an opening.


    John tilted his entire body to the side, to avoid her diagonal swing as she spun her and as it moved past him, he cast it.


    [Fulgurationem]


    This time it worked, in an instant his ck hair rose up, the edges had a yellow spark and currents going out around him.


    [I''ll be able tost 10... no 15... seconds at this rate.]


    While she was still in the motion of a swing, John suddenly closed in on her and sent a kick straight to her chin which she avoided by bending backwards.however in that moment, Master Sylvia shadow-stepped down to her legs kicking it and knocking her out of bnce.


    As she began to fall over, John suddenly leapt above her with a kick in motion sent straight down at her.


    John moved very fast. Not only did his overall speed increase but so did his senses it was like the spell was improving along with him, John could finally out speed her.


    She tried to move her hands in time to block it but failed, John''s kick got past her hands and hit her straight in the face, before it mmed her head straight into the floor, cracking parts of the floor in the process.


    *Crash*


    [The contact... feels off?]


    As sheid on the floor, he retracted his legs and noticed that his legs had never hit her face, it ended up hitting a small wind shield which she had formed at thest second.


    [Oi... You''ve got to be kidding me, right?]


    John''s electric speed boost suddenly ran out, he wouldn''t be able to activate it for another minute due to how much strain it put on his body.


    As he and Master Sylvia moved in to finish her off now that she was on the ground, her eyes began glowing an even brighter red than before.


    The moment Master Sylvia''s dagger was about to reach the girl, she said it.


    "Level 3."


    In that instant, the shape of her pupil changed into an X and as this happened, Another wind burst came out of her which pushed back both John and Master Sylvia.


    This burst of wind was followed by mes which began to surround her along with a waternce which was formed right above her.


    John watched as she got up, without so much of a wound on her, he began to wonder if they could really beat something like that.


    While John hadn''t sustained any wounds either, only a few cuts, which he quickly healed after with ''Sana'' He couldn''t see himself winning the battle, no, more than that, he couldn''t see any of them surviving.


    John could feel how vast her magic power had gotten; it had suddenly leaped in levels the moment she said the word ''Level 3''


    [So she can increase her level? Is this the highest level? If not, then how are we-]


    Suddenly, the girl vanished from John''s line of sight, knowing that an attack wasing, John tried to jump to the side, but he wasn''t fast enough.


    [Fulgura-]


    The girl with her spear was now in front of him, with a thrust in motion heading straight to John. He wasn''t going to make it in time, Just how, how did she move so fast?


    The spear suddenly stopped right in front of John''s belly as he formed a wind shield in thest second, but it was iplete, she pierced right through it.


    [Cra-]


    Suddenly, John felt a push to the side. Not a weak one, but a strong and hard one.


    [...Eh...? What... just... happened?]


    He turned to see what had happened, when he did his eyes widened.


    The one who pushed him was Master Sylvia, she had a spear impaled in her stomach.


    The moment the girl pulled out the spear, Master Sylvia coughed out blood and copsed to her knees, John tried to move as fast as he could to stop her.


    [Fulgurationem]


    John''s hair rose and he desperately rushed straight at her, with Lightning sh.


    [I can make it!]

 Chapter 174 - Brink Of Despair

    He didn''t make it in time, the spear was swung straight down, and passed through the Area where Master Sylvia''s head had been, however, right before it cut through it, Master Sylvia vanished


    She shadow stepped away towards the edge. But even with this, John didn''t feel relieved. She was heavily wounded and needed healing.


    Instead of the girl attacking John, she prioritised Master Sylvia and leapt straight at her


    Without waiting for the cooldown, he cast Fulgurationem again


    [Fulgurationem]


    As his hair rose, he began to rush towards Master Sylvia, he was slightly faster than the girl but she had a head-start


    But before she reached her, Master sylvia''s eyes seemed to have lost life and she fell backwards from the Arena into the pit.


    Right before falling she fell, John saw a smile formed on his master''s face, as if she was content or satisfied with how her life ended. She also seemed to have said something, but john couldn''t hear it from where he was at.


    Seeing this, John dropped to his knees and stared at the before he muttered with a broken down voice


    "Mas...ter?"


    Tears began to form in his eyes as he felt blooming a seething anger


    "Master¡­? You''re¡­ joking¡­ right? Tell me this is all part of the n¡­ Tell me you''re going to teleport back any second so i can heal you..."


    John tried casting deprehendre, but there was nothing. Master''s presence was gone the moment she fell off.


    As he stared down at the neverending abyss, with anger disyed all over is his face, he began punching the floor over and over and over again in anger, his hand started to bleed and his vision was bing blurry from all the tears


    "Damn it¡­ Damn it¡­ Damn it¡­ IT''S ALL MY FAULT!!" John shouted


    Serena


    Before he could punch the ground again, he suddenly felt a rush of pain through it and lost all sensations over it. It was as if there was something biting his arm from the inside out on the spot where it once was.


    As he looked over to see what had happened, he noticed that his arm was on the ground, half of it had been cut off his shoulder.


    Blood was madly pouring out of the wound and he was starting to feel lightheaded.


    But despite that, despite all the pain, he didn''t let out a single cry of pain. The gush of blood began to slow down as air around him got darker and thinner


    John kept his head hung low as the girl stood beside him, before darkness began to cloud his eyes.


    She had not only cut off his arm but now nned to finish him off, just like she did to master. When this thought came to mind, John lost control.


    As the girl swung her spear down to cut off his head, It suddenly stopped, right before it reached John''s neck. It was stuck to something.


    confused as it wouldn''t move past that certain point, no matter how much strength she added, she decided to retract it, only then did she noticed what it had gotten stuck to. It was something dark which was formed in the air, it had no shape, it was as if the air itself had gotten hard.


    "It''s my fault¡­ That''s why¡­"


    With his head hung down, John slowly rose up, as he raised his face, she could see it. Cold, lifeless, hollow eyes which was filled to the brim with darkness.


    The air around them got heavier, so heavy that the ground began to crack.


    John''s hair turned a pure pitch-ck colour as dark magic began to ooze out of him. Blood stoppeding out of the wound along with a little bit of steam


    Suddenly, he vanished without so much of a hint.


    He reappeared behind the girl with only 1 dagger on his remaining arm, his expression was emotionless and calm.


    As he swung his left-hand dagger, the girl out sped him as she turned and swung her spear head at him, but when she did, John was no longer there,


    She then felt her legs get swiped and as she looked down, she saw John beneath her. He had kicked her legs to throw her off bnce


    However, unlikest time, it didn''t work this time, she ended up jumping in to the air, right before she fell, but that was John''s aim


    Now that she was in the air, she wouldn''t be able to escape his attack


    Arge dark cube was formed trapping the two inside, she tried to proprel herself out, but didn''t make it in time.


    Despite there being darkness everywhere, she could see John clearly.


    He shadows stepped above her with a one-handed diagonal swing in motion aimed straight at her head. His dagger was glowing a dark colour unlike the usual purple


    Having seen through the attack, she thrust her spear into the air, but hit nothing and instead


    *Stab*


    She was pierced in her stomach, By arge and pointy Dark Spike which came out of the dark. It went through the gaps in her armour and pierced straight through her


    Seeing as how she was in dangerous position, she tried to find a way out, but had no luck


    *Stab* *Stab* *Stab*


    Slowly, more and more parts, all over her body were pierced. By dark spikes being formed in the all-around her in the dark


    First Her legs and then her arms, one by one they were being pierced all over. She couldn''t so much as move, she was now In John''s territory


    "tenebris inferos" Said John as he quietly rose from the cube''s floor a few feet behind her Trans: Dark Hell


    As the Dark Spike was about to pierce straight through her heart, John leapt with a swing aimed at her head


    It was over, or so John thought


    "Level 4."


    A bright blinding glow came from the girl, following this, the darkness in the cube began to weaken and slowly disperse.


    John shadow stepped outside of the cube after grabbing on to his cut-off arm and watched from the outside as cracks began to appear and light began to flow


    It didn''t take long for the cube to crack, and all that remained was a girl in the middle.


    Her body was riddled with holes due to John''s attack, the big holes which you could see through, especially the one in her stomach was slowly starting to close up.


    John had missed her heart, not only because she had armour there but because she went up a level on thest second


    As John held on to his hand, he noticed the obvious change in her appearance after levelling up, she now had wings, pure white angel wings.

 Chapter 175 - Angel: Level 4

    "what''s happening?" Serena asked as she stared at the cube which was suddenly formed.


    "I-I''m not sure, I can''t see it from here, and my vision is getting blurry..."


    "Isn''t that John''s dark cube thingy?"


    "Yeah... Didn''t Master say something about him not being able to use the dark element... unless he''s in the ''possessed state''?"


    "John said he wouldn''t use it... So it''s probably Master Sylvia."


    "That makes sense... The spell has beenpleted for a while now... But I''ve already ran out of magic power on my staff... I don''t know for how much longer..."


    "Keep going for just a little longer, we must do it..."


    The two girls were already past their limit, but they knew that if they gave up now, it would be the end.


    Despite their blurred vision, they could see lighting out of the cube.


    -------------------------


    Her appearance became more angelic, two pure white feathery wings came out of her back, she levelled up again.


    [Damn it!]


    John didn''t want to give her time to heal up, but if she kept getting stronger, he didn''t know what to expect.


    Seeing this, John braced himself, and ced his arm over the area where it had been cut off of. Slowly, steam started toe out of the area and the arm reconnected itself to the area it had originally been torn out of.


    As John began to regain sensation over it, he slowly opened and closed the hand to see whether or not it was working as it should. There was a bit of a dy but it was good enough.


    The angel wasn''t doing anything, so it most likely had a period of cool-down after growing its wings, seeing this, John picked up his dagger entering his attack stance.


    Suddenly, the angel''s eye began to glow brighter and she vanished, or so it seemed.


    John shadow-stepped a meter to the side, barely avoiding the attack in the process. Not even half a secondter, she appeared beside him with her spear stretched out in the motion of a thrust.


    Seeing as how she missed, she quickly turned to John to attack again, but this time he had no ns to shadow-step away.


    He entered the counter stance and waited for her to attack. She covered a distance of 100 feet in less than a second, it was obvious her speed had increased once again after levelling, but it was fine.


    Even with her speed increased, John could see her movements.


    She leapt at him once again and thrust her spear straight at his head. To this, John simply tilted his head to the side before sending a kick straight at the side of her head.


    But she out-sped him as she ducked and spun her spear with the head going straight at John''s.


    John bent backwards barely avoiding the spear in the process. He was only on one leg, the angel took this opportunity and out-sped him once more as she ducked down and kicked him off bnce.


    John was about to fall to his back but before he could fully fall, the girl took advantage of this opportunity and tightly gripped on to the spear before getting up and thrust it down on to John''s stomach.


    As itnded on to his skin, John disappeared and reappeared above her, leaving a trace of darkness behind.


    But without even looking back, as if she had predicted that, the girl sent the back of the spear back up.


    *Stab*


    John shadow-stepped away with a stab wound on his chest, it hadn''t pierced all the way through as he managed to step back in time.


    He hadn''t expected for there to be a hidden de at the back of the spear.


    Blood was dripping off the small hole on his chest, but it began to heal up, as steam was emitted from the wound.


    At the same time, the girl noticed that cut healing on her arm. It was a cut that she got the moment she stabbed John.


    Seeing this, she leapt towards John and shed with him once more.


    Left, right, up, every direction or area which showed an opening, John aimed for it, but he was too slow, not a single cut, he couldn''t evennd a single cut on her.


    He was on the receiving end and being pushed back, every few seconds a new cut would form as he''d avoid the thrusts by using every portion of his body and flexibility due to theck of heavy armour to an advantage.


    If not for that, or for the fact that John was in the ''possessed state'' he''d be dead.


    He was at a great disadvantage, not only in speed but in strength, seeing this, John shadow-stepped back to collect his thoughts but she didn''t let him.


    She''d chase right after the moment he''d shadow-step, and he couldn''t go too far because Serena and Ariel were also in the arena.


    He had no other choice but to y his trump card.


    As she spun her spear, John ducked to avoid it and cast it.


    "Verum Tenebris Fulgurationem" Trantion: True Dark Lightning sh.


    "Verum Tenebris Fulgurationem" Trantion: True Dark Lightning sh.


    A dark electric spark began to pass around John''s body before his hair rose and spiked up, his body now highlighted by a dark lightning aura.


    He didn''t feel any strain or pain in his muscles, and he was so focused that circting the lightning around his body felt like breathing.


    He could feel it, the spell had evolved.


    As the spear passed right above his head, John sent a kick straight at her arm. She moved to dodge but wasn''t fast enough.


    As soon as John''s leg reached her arm, rather than kicking it, he wrapped it around her arm. To counter this, she threw her spear over to the other arm, but the time it took for her to get her other arm ready was more than enough for John.


    *Crack*

 Chapter 176 - Angel: Last Level 5

    He broke it, he broke her right hand. She swung the spear which was now in her left hand at John, but before it reached him, he Shadow Stepped to the ground behind her.


    *Voom*


    Leaving behind a crack and a sh of dark electricity, he leapt at her. His Lightning Form showed no signs of disappearing, and he was moving fast: not as fast as lightning, but faster than her.


    Before she could even turn, his daggers had already pierced her back. Stunned for a moment, she tried to kick back at him, but her armour made things harder. Not only that, but John began freezing her from the inside out, as well.


    He cast ''Tenebris cio'' and dark ice began to spread quickly from her back all the way around her body.


    Her movements were slowing down, and eventually no matter how much she struggled, without letting out so much as a word, she froze.


    He did it, he survived fighting her at her final level and froze her, and it was all thanks to possession. It boosted his senses to an entirely different level, a point where despite being slower, he could feel, see and avoid all of the girl''s high speed attacks.


    Hell, he didn''t even have to avoid it. His body automatically did it, as if it had its own ''will.'' That ''possession'' was a form of defence which gave your body another will along with boosting all of your senses and abilities.


    That is why John knew that if he had just dodged the attack, Master Sylvia would have still been alive. She would have been able to avoid most of the attacks. Even if she had to chant before Shadow Stepping, she still could have lived.


    She died because of him. He killed her. Just thinking about it made John''s consciousness and control over his body stray further and further away.


    Now that the boss was trapped in a Dark Ice Crystal, John sheathed in his daggers before stretching out his hand.


    Electricity began to gather in front of it sending dark sparks around the area in the process.


    With this in mind, John began to mix three of his elements to form his strongest offensive spell. The Void Storm Trident.


    As the electricity began to take the shape of a trident, John added a few adjustments. Instead of making it a spinning trident, he added a drill at the end and mixed some of the electricity which was flowing through his body with the trident.


    Lightning was an ionised path for electricity to travel through. With this thought in mind, he formed a path in his mind and grabbed on to the trident.


    His hand suffered a few burns and was shocked because of this, but he didn''t let go and even tightened his grip.


    John pulled back his arm with the Spinning Drill Trident pointed straight at the heart of the girl. He then began gathering air behind it to increase it''s already lightning fast speed.


    With a hint of hesitation, John slowed down as he was about to throw it forward, but that hesitation quickly disappeared as he thought about what happened to his Master.


    The Dark Ice Crystal began to glow from the inside. She was heating it up.


    Before she could free herself, he threw the trident forward, and as it left his hand, it''s speed suddenly increased, almost as if it was lightning itself. The trident passed through the Dark ice crystal and pierced into the magic-proof dungeon wall


    *VOOM!*


    There was arge hole in the middle of the Ice Crystal and the girl''s chest. The attack pierced and destroyed her heart


    Seeing as how it was over, John deactivated Lightning sh and was about to deactivate possession when all of the sudden he saw it.


    As his hair settled back down after he cancelled ''Lightning sh,'' he could see that the girl was still regenerating.


    The hole on her chest was closing, slowly but surely. He couldn''t believe his eyes; he had pierced her heart, so there was no way that she''d be alive.


    After focusing his hearing to see what the hell was going on, he could hear it. Her heart was still beating.


    Did he miss? Does she have more than one heart? Can she move it around her body? As these questions filled his mind, the ice suddenly began to crack.


    And as he was about to move in to stop her from doing the one thing he knew she was going to do, he wasn''t able to. His Lightning sh was no longer active.


    "Level 5."


    A beam of light was let out and hit the ceiling. Her eyes began to glow brighter and the amount of magic power that she had skyrocketed.


    Her wings were now glowing and the wound in her chest hadpletely healed.


    She opened her mouth and a loud echoing scream came out. John''s eardrums felt like they were going to pop


    John''s head was killing him, not because of the scream but something else. He had reached his limit with possession, and something was trying to take over.


    As he copsed to his knees,the scream then suddenly stopped. Two wind and two light spears were formed above her before she suddenly disappeared.


    Next thing he knew, she was in front of him with her spear in his chest along with the four other magic spears each pierced into both his arms and legs.


    John could feel his life being drained out of him. All hope was lost, and he was on the verge of losing control.


    [Do you want power?] a voice called out to him and asked.


    It didn''t belong to Zestari, but he recognised it. It belonged to the dark spirit which he had defeated in the trial.


    [Give me your body... And you''ll gain power...]


    The boss pulled out her spear from John''s chest, noticing that she missed his heart.


    When she did so, John coughed out blood from his mouth.


    As she pinpointed it and was about to pierce it again, she noticed the grin on his face.


    [Power¡­ Ah¡­ That''s right. I need more power.]


    John grit his teeth before he muttered.


    "I''m borrowing your power¡­ Zestari¡­"

 Chapter 177 - Zestaris Power

    She thrust her spear straight at John''s heart, at a speed faster than he''d be able to react to, but ended up hitting air


    John Shadow Stepped behind her, before she could evenplete the turn, he grabbed on to her head and moved to m her on to the ground


    But the his surprise, she didn''t budge, and instead, thrust that back of her spear at his head


    John avoided this by tilting his body and head back and while in that motion, he sent a kick aimed straight at her chin.


    However, she avoiding this, by also tilting her head back before grabbing on to his leg with her other arm


    But the moment she did, she lost her grip over it as John shadow stepped a reliable distance away.


    As she stepped in to chase him, she failed to notice the two orbs of pure electricity which was left behind by him


    Right when the orbs were about to hit her however, she swung her spear and formed two wind des which cut the orbs in half


    Seeing this, a grin appeared on his face as he muttered


    "Wrath of the thunder dragon."


    *Boom*


    Suddenly, A Lightning strikended right on the area where she was standing.


    Clouds could be seen in the sky above the ss dome, surprisingly enough the ss dome didn''t break.


    Despite all of that, she looked unaffected, no burn marks or nothing. She had probably formed a shield right before it hit, but the light from the lightning blocked John''s view.


    John didn''t mind at all, he had already expected this result, he only cast that move because he wanted to test something.


    She watched of the eyes of the boy behind her, began to glow a bright yellow colour despite being covered in darkness, once again, the air around him had changed. As his hair rose up with dark sparks going off around it, he suddenly vanished.


    John shadow stepped behind her and in that moment, two wind spears were formed, not any regr spear, they seemed upgraded, stronger than before.


    "Cancel" Said John as he swung his daggers straight at her head


    The wind spears dispersed, seeing this, she quickly moved her spear to attack him, and moved faster than him even though he was in his ''Lightning sh'' Mode


    [Stop]


    It stopped, the spear stopped right in front of his face, not just the spear but the entire girl''s body.


    With that moment, that single moment, John swung both of his daggers, straight at her neck.


    But he didn''t cut it, he stopped short, right before itnded on her neck. Because of that, she regained control back over her body and quickly swung her spear at him, but once again, he shadow stepped away


    Without any intention to give him a break, the girl stepped in to attack once more, with every movement and attack, the wind pressure would increase.


    ----------------------------------------


    "The illusion was smart, stopping short right before it hit so that she wouldn''t realise it????s real." Said John as he began to head over to his party


    [Illusion magic... I forgot the name]


    As John shadow stepped towards his party, he couldn''t believe his eyes, He knew something big wasing, but he never expected something like this


    "Hey... Serena... Who''s that?" Ariel asked


    "Hm...? Doesn''t that... Look like John...?" Serena asked


    "Yeah, it''s me, and I''m right in front of you two." Said John as he stretched out his hands


    The two girls were spooked, they nearly lost their grip over the spell. John''s voice was different and sounded like the mix of two difference voices, a male and a female one.


    "It''s the boss! Ariel, now!"


    Ariel nodded, and as the two girls were about to lower their hands to move the spell, they noticed that their body suddenly stopped moving


    [Stop]


    "it''s me, hold on."


    A light came out of both of John''s arms as he ced them on both of their heads. They could feel their vision return along with their magic power.


    "These hands... Serena, I don''t think it''s the boss."


    "..."


    They blinked a few times and their vision was back to normal, along with their strength.


    "So it was you... Do you know how long you kept us wai...ting...?"


    The expression of worry was now visible on Serena''s face as she asked


    "John... Did you... Use possession?"


    Ariel also noticed and was staring at John for a reply


    To this, John simply smiled and gave an apology


    "Yeah, sorry."


    Serena suddenly grabbed on to his colour, with a look of annoyment and anger far greater than he could ever remember.


    "Don''t screw with us! Are you insane!? Didn''t we tell you not to, no matter what?" She asked as she continued to push him back and forth


    To this, John stared straight at her, with an unmoving expression as he said


    "Sylvia is dead."


    Upon hearing this, Serena stopped, she didn''t know what to say


    John grabbed on to his hand and moved it off his cors before Ariel spoke up


    "Even still... Ms Sylvia... She wouldn''t have wanted for you to..."


    "I''d do nothing and what? Let us die?"


    To this question, Ariel simply lowered her head, seeing this serena asked


    "Even if we survive, what will happen to your soul!?"


    To this, John replied


    "It doesn''t matter, if I can kill her. Even if I have to die, I''ll avenge Mast-"


    John was interrupted by a p which suddenly hit his face.


    *p*


    It was from Ariel, and as he looked towards her in confusion, she suddenly forced a shout as she said


    "Sorry, but... You idiot!!"


    Her face was full of tears and her expression was a mix of anger and sadness


    John just stood there motionlessly, he saw the ping, but didn''t avoid it, or rather, he didn''t want to.


    For a moment serena red at John before turning to help Ariel who wiped her face


    Why? What did he do wrong? Why are they mad at me and not mad at the Boss for killing Sylvia? John wondered such things as he turned around towards the boss who was still fighting his illusion


    "I get it. You don''t really care about Master Sylvia, do you?"


    Upon hearing those words, Serena asked calmly


    "Is that what it looks like to you?"


    As John didn''t turn, he didn''t want to see the expression she was making, and so he began walking towards the boss


    "Attack when I give the signal, I''ve replenished some of your mana, even she won''t be able to survive an attack from that thing." Said John before he suddenly vanished


    From Serena and Ariel''s perspective, as He disappeared, they looked over at the boss and noticed that there was another John fighting the boss.


    "Serena... Why are there two johns?"


    "I''m not sure... But the John that we just talked to felt different..."


    "What should we do?"


    Hearing this, Serena looked over at Ariel and noticed that her eyes were a bit swollen from, but she had a different air around her, as if she was determined to do something.


    "No, let''s just watch for now, it did heal us. It might have really been John..."


    Upon hearing this Ariel nodded.


    "I won''t let you die...." She whispered to herself

 Chapter 178 - Overwhelming Presence

    On his way back, John ced his hand over his chest, he didn''t know why, his emotions should have gone dull after going into the possessed state, but his chest hurt.


    Before thinking any deeper about it, He focused on the boss, it wouldn''t take long before it noticed that it was fighting an illusion.


    But what stood out the most was the power flowing through him, along with the immense amount of knowledge which he couldn''t even process.


    He didn''t know why, but when he used the illusion spell it felt natural, on top of that, he felt like he could use all the other spells he had memories of, without the need for chants.


    Knowledge of the words which he would need to say, and knowledge of the spell itself, on top of that, with his understanding of concepts, it wouldn''t be a stretch to say he wouldn''t need any chants for a few of them.


    However, the total number of spells he could use right now were only 6, and they weren''t normal.


    "Zestari... Just what are you...?"


    [You called?] Zestari asked


    John was surprised, she was keeping quiet throughout the whole match, but just suddenly appeared as if nothing had happened


    [Where were you?]


    [Trying to keep you alive, do you know what you''ve done?] Zestari asked as she let out a sigh


    "Yeah, I made a necessary sacrifice."


    [No, a useless one. Your master is alive...]


    The moment John heard those words, he felt his heart drop


    [What?]


    [When did you learn to bring out my power?]


    [What did you... just say...?]


    [Noth- Jus... Tr... t- I''ll fix... I-]


    She was getting cut off, as if the connection between them was getting worse. John could also feel that he was slowly losing control of the form.


    But none of that was on his mind, do only thing was a single question


    [Did she just say, Master Sylvia is alive?]


    ------------------------------------


    "This kid... He just keeps making things harder..." Zestari muttered as she faced the man on the other side of the room


    After hearing this, the man suddenly started tough


    "Hahaha... After watching him all this time, you still don''t know?" The man asked


    "Be quiet."


    The spirit''s mouth was forced shut, even if he tried, he could no longer talk. Despite under the face beneath his long ck hair. Right now, he was in his true form.


    "You talk quite a lot for someone who enjoys taking over the body of a young boy."


    "It''s funny you should say that, when you do the same."


    Upon hearing this, Zestari looked troubled and annoyed, the spirit was getting stronger, or she was getting weaker.


    Only 1/10th of the room had light in it, and Zestari was doing everything in her power to maintain it. But she was slowly running out of options


    ----------------------------------


    How could she be so sure that master was alive? John couldn''t feel her presence no matter how hard he''d try, he didn''t want to believe it but a part of him did, Zestari never once lied, and she was always right.


    Suddenly, a loud ear-piercing scream came from the boss as she began to fly up


    [So those wings aren''t just for show... Looks like she''s angered after realising that it was an illusion]


    A glowing light sphere then surrounded her as she rose to the air, she seemed to be charging up an attack


    [So master is alive... Huh... I''ll take your word for it... Zestari.] John thought to himself without even noticing the tear which flowed down his eye


    Another light sphere was formed in front of the sphere in front of her, slowly elements began to gather in that sphere as she continued to let out a deafening scream


    First water, then earth, then fire andstly air. it began to mix and slowly the sphere began to darken


    "That looks dangerous... I guess it''s about time to end this fight, Thank you, Zestari, I''m going to borrow a few spells, if you don''t mind."


    John began to calmly raise into the air, before he vanished and suddenly reappeared in the air, a few meters in front of her.


    It took two shadow steps, but he made it.


    John looked at the attack which was just about to bepleted. If a giant dark sphere like that were to hit the arena, everyone would be affected, not to mention how it seemed to be aimed at Serena and Ariel


    She had noticed them


    "Cancel"


    With a single word, the Dark Sphere which was probably on the level of an upper king-ss spell if not emperor ss vanished. As if it was ripped out of the entire space itself.


    "Gravitas times one hundred."


    *Bang*


    In a single second, the Boss Angel crashed into the ground. However, despite that, she hadn''t gotten on her knees. She stood in her spot and began to gather wind.


    As she did, she noticed that the wind she was gathering was being pushed down by something.


    The human body can only handle 90x gravity, but that was back in his previous world, and that''s also without taking into ount the stress from walking and other activities which lowers it to 10x gravity. But she''s obviously more than 10x stronger than a normal person from John''s previouis world.


    "To not even fall to your knees... Well, it''s not unexpected from another world." Said John as he looked down at her from above


    Once her wind spells began to take shape, something strange was distorting the air around John''s shoulder, it had no shape as if it was invisible, but you could still see and feel it


    "Forbidden Magic: Void-eater spear." John muttered


    The air around the spear was being sucked in, it''s shape was like a spill but at the same time a drill, it''s form couldn''t be properly perceived by the human eye.


    John propelled the spear straight at her and as she moved to avoid it, her body suddenly stopped responding


    "Stop." John muttered


    With no way to dodge, she took the spear head on

 Chapter 179 - Devouring Black Hole

    The spear cut through her chestte and passed right through her chest, leaving nothing behind. The ground which it crashed into looked like it had been trimmed off along a part of the boss''s chest where the heart was supposed to be.


    Just like John had guessed, it wasn''t going to be enough.


    The hole had already started to heal and the Boss was already moving towards him, She crouched down, and began to gather air under her legs before propelling herself straight at John who was in the air


    But before she could reach him


    *BOOM*


    The loud sound of thunder roared throughout the room as a Thunder beast bit on to her and mmed her down


    "Mihi Vindicta: Kirin Scriptor... Sorry." Trantion: Kirin''s Revenge


    The blue lightning beast with horns on it''s head which seemedto have the body of a thin dragon. Roared as thunder echoed throughout the room and mmed the girl on to the floor of the Arena, cracking parts in the process


    As she held on to her spear, she tried to pierce it once they were on the ground, but the spear went right through it.


    "It''s body is made out of lightning, It''s useless." Said John


    The thunder beast let out another roar, before dragging her across the ground, straight on to the wall


    *BOOOM!*


    He dragged her across the wall nearly tearing the boss in the process, but before it could, as it let out it''s final roar


    The boss''s eyes suddenly began to glow a bright yellow colour along with her wings.


    The beast moved her from on to the wall before raising her back into the air, it nned to m her back down on to the ground to finish her off


    After that impact on the ground and wall from such a big beast, there was no way her bones weren''t broken.


    Right when it reached a reasonable height, which was above John who was in the air, it stopped and was about to do a turn before sending her straight back down.


    But before it could, another eye deafening scream could be heard from the boss, and another light Sphere was formed around her


    This time it had yellow electricity cracking through it, the sphere was formed around her and, because of that, the dragon lost it''s grip over her, and now had the sphere in it''s mouth with her inside


    It couldn''t fully close it''s mouth to break past the sphere


    "That''s enough, Rikirin."


    Just as fast as it had appeared, the thunder beast disappeared


    Meanwhile, the girl slowly began floating down pping her right wing and her left which had deformed from the impacts.


    "I''m surprised those wings are still intact."


    The boss was infuriated, the expressionless face it had was now reced with an angered one


    "This fight has been long, but unfortunately, I''m going to have to end it now. I''m sorry."


    As she charged at John with her spear stretched out pointed towards him and the Sphere around her, he muttered it.


    "Cancel."


    But to his surprise the sphere didn''t disappear nor did she slow down


    "I see..." John muttered as he stretched out his hand


    Once she was only a few feet away, she suddenly stopped, and in that instant, a distortion in the space urred before a ck sphere the same size as her appeared out of thin air, a few meters in front of her


    It was a ck hole, dragging and pulling all the air around the area into it. The Space around them was getting distorted and the area got darker as if all the light was getting sucked in to the hole.


    This was because no light could escape the clutches of a ck hole. When a small enough mass getspressed into a small enough space, the resulting object rips the very fabric of space and time, bing what is called a singrity.


    That was one of the concepts John had remembered learning after borrowing Zestari''s power.


    John shadow stepped away and watched from the sides as the ck hole began to litteraly eat everything around it.


    The hole roomcked light, and the one was was in the worst spot was the boss. It was pulling her in, but instead of letting herself get dragged in, she began to quickly p her wings at a speed much faster than before.


    But it was useless, she was getting dragged in slowly but surely.


    "NOW!!!" John shouted from the top of his lungs


    The sound resounded through the room as he amplified it with Sound magic


    Upon hearing this, it was unleashed, Arge humanoid female shape made of wind and fire was formed in the area where John''s two party members were at.


    It only formed a top part, but that shape along was big, around 10 x the size of John, truly gigantic.


    The humanoid shape was floating above them and held on to a ming bow with 2 arrows drawn. One made of pure sharp wind while the other was made of pure blue mes.


    The string was released and arrows were propelled straight at the ck hole. For were unbelievably fast for their massive size and were even spiralling together which gave it the form of a helix.


    "Stop. Attract." Said John right before it reached the ck hole


    The boss lost control of all of it''s body movements as it stayed in the sphere, before a force different to the ck hole pulled at it.


    The boss was pulled in between the giant spiralling arrow and the ck hole.


    *Voom*


    The spiralling arrows pierced through the defensive light sphere which surrounded the Boss before it hit it head on, Pushing it straight into the ck hole which was already dragging it in


    The boss tried to put up a fight and even let out another ear-deafening scream as it tried putting up a fight, but it was useless


    It happened in an instant, She suffered burns and cuts from the arrows as it pushed her straight into the ck hole, which devoured her


    Nothing remained, not even blood.

 Chapter 180 - A Demon

    A few seconds after she was devoured by the ck hole. The ckhole dispersed and the colours returned, the ckhole used so much power that john was now out of breath


    John began to wonder if what he did was really okay.


    [She was another person who was being forced to fight... Maybe we could have saved her...] He wondered


    A giant white gate was suddenly formed at the end of the room, thest floor waspleted.


    [Thank you...] Said a different voice


    John didn''t recognise the voice, it didn''t belong to neither the dark spirit nor zestari, but it sounded familiar


    John then quickly turned around back to where the ck hole was, before he said


    "You''re wee" with a relieved smile


    John then turned his head back down towards his party and began to descend from the sky


    He was drained, but he was feeling fine


    [I was told Master Sylvia was alive... Where is she?] John wondered as he looked around


    Suddenly, his head starting throbbing


    "Now now..." John muttered as he tried to hold it back


    But he couldn''t. With every heart beat the pain around his head and heart would get worse, His head was pounding in pain along with his heart.


    "Argh...!"


    He ced his hand over his head and closed his eyes in an attempt to ease the pain but it wasn''t helping


    "Stop..." John muttered


    His strength was fading, growing weaker, at an increasing speed.


    [Sana]


    John tried casting Sana all over his body but it didn''t help. His consciousness was fading and his vision was getting blurry


    "I can''t... fall asleep..."


    He was doing everything he could to stay up, but his body was already shutting off by itself


    As his eyes began to close... He began to wonder if this was going to be thest time he''d be able to see them


    "Master... Serena... Ariel... Sorry..."


    [Dying without even getting to tell them... How I felt... Damn... It...]


    John''s eyelids closed and he began to fall


    He was way too high up, without magic reinforcement, a fall from that Height would definitely kill him.


    However, Right before he hit the ground, he was grabbed by something.


    He opened his eyelids to see what it was, and with a smile over his teary face, he muttered


    "Thank you... Master... Sorry..."


    It was a ck shadow covering Master, a form she had used only once before when she killed all the assassins that attacked them.


    The shadow which covered her disappeared, and she watched as the boy whoid on her arms closed his eyes.


    "John... Hey... John! Open your eyes, John!"


    Master who was never disyed her emotions was clearly shaken up


    "Oi, Oi!"


    *Crack*


    A long dark hard horn suddenly popped out on the right side of his head, upon seeing this, Master Sylvia slowly ced him on the floor and stepped back


    John opened his eyes; they were no longer glowing yellow but now his pupils were filled to the brim with darkness.


    Dark air began to surround him, the pressure, air and feeling waspletely different from the normal John.


    John got up and looked around. A grin then appeared on his face as he began tough.


    "Hahahaha... Hahaha... Ha..."


    He then looked over at Master Sylvia, who was red back. due to her careless mistake, her one and only disciple was possessed.


    "Give it back." Master Sylvia calmly said


    "Back? After all this work, you want me to simply give it back?" John asked


    It wasn''t right to think of that thing as John, his voice alone was that of a grown man in a child''s body.


    "This yourst warning." Said Master Sylvia as she raised her daggers


    They became engulfed in a dark me as she entered the offensive stance.


    John on the other hand, Just stood there with an amused look


    Master Sylvia Vanished and reappeared behind him. As she swung the blund end of the dagger at the back of his nape to knock him out, she was stopped by something hard in the air.


    As then muttered a few words before she dropped down and tried to kick his legs to knock him off bnce


    Once more, the hard thing that blocked her appeared, however, her movement was a fake. Right as it appeared to block it, She shadow stepped in front of him beforending a kick on his face


    But the kick was cut short and never reached it as the same hard thing from before blocked it.


    Master Sylvia''s movements were slowed because of the wound she had suffered on her stomach. She was able to stop the bleeding but any more and she would open it up.


    "Is that all? That''s disappointing." Said John as he appeared right next to her


    Surprised, Master Sylvia turned to him when all of the sudden, she noticed that His dagger had stopped right in front of her throat


    She didn''t see it, his movement, it wasn''t shadow step, yet she couldn''t see or sense it.


    "Hm? He''s still fighting back?" John asked before letting out a sigh


    He moved his dagger away from Sylvia''s neck and turned to the gate before he noticed two girls standing in his way


    "Serena... and Ariel... Right? Don''t worry, I won''t kill you, just move out of the way." Said John as he began to head to them


    The two girls kept quiet as they gathered their elements in case they''d have to fight.


    He was stopped however, by Master Sylvia who grabbed on to his shoulder and said


    "Wait."


    "What?" He asked


    "Leave the boy''s body."


    In that instant, the boy grabbed on to Master Sylvia''s Arm that was on his shoulder and dislocated it.


    "You don''t seem to get it, so I''ll put it this way. I''m doing a kind act of sparing you, so don''t get in my way." He said with a smile


    "No, you''re the one who doesn''t seem to get it."


    Darkness began to surround Master Sylvia''s body covering every visible part of it. All the could be seen was a shadow over it and red bloodthirsty eyes.


    Even For Serena and Ariel who had seen that form before, they were terrified.


    "I''ll Say it again, Get out of his body." Said Master Sylvia with a distorted and scarier voice.


    Seeing this, John let out a whistle as he said


    "Wow, you managed to merge with your dark spirit.... I guess this might be more fun than I thought." Said John with a smile

 Chapter 181 - Who... Am I?

    As John opened his eyes, all that he could see was darkness,plete darkness.


    "Where am I...?"


    The sound of his voice echoed throughout the room and broke through the silence, as he pushed himself up


    The ground was warm and cosy, and he had a strange but powerful urge to sleep.


    As he stood up from the ground, he decided to ask thest question which had been on his mind


    "Who... am I?"


    ---------------------------------


    "So, Master... What are you waiting for?" Asked John as he tilted his head to the side


    He was shirtless, his clothes had torn in the fight yet there were no wounds in his body, not even scars. Her disciple had always been amazing, and she had noticed it.


    "John... I''m sorry."


    Upon hearing this, a grin was formed on John''s face, however it didn''t belong to him.


    The two stood there for a moment, before John asked


    "So, aren''t you going to att-"


    Without bothering to finish his sentence, he ducked, avoiding Master''s sudden fast kick in the process


    Seeing the kick John let out a whistle as he said


    "That was close..."


    As he raised his hand to the side, and blocked the kick Master Sylvia sent again after shadow stepping without warning


    Master Sylvia shadow stepped again, a few feet above him before sending a kick down, but without moving a single step off his spot, he blocked it as he raised his hand


    Seeing this, John let out a yawn as he asked


    "Is that all?"


    In that instant, A blow wasnded on his face sending him straight towards the edge of the Arena. To stop himself from going any further back, he pushed his leg onto the Arena''s floor.


    As he began to slow down, Master Sylvia appeared in front of him, she sent a kick moving from the sides aimed straight at his head, but he avoided it as he bent his body backwards


    Once the kick had gone past, Master Sylvia used the momentum and rotated her body mid-air before sending a kick straight down at him


    But as the kick got in motion, John already had his arms raised to block it


    As the kicknded, he moved his hands to grab on to Master''s leg when all of the sudden


    *Crashed*


    He took a hit to his face mming him straight down on to the floor, breaking it in the process.


    As heid on the ground, with a hint of confusion, Master sylvia spoke.


    "Just give the kid back."


    But to this, without bothering to get up, John began tough


    "Hahaha... Hahahaha... Perhaps I must have been trapped for so long."


    Suddenly, in a near instant, the boy who had been on the ground a second ago, appeared in front of her, and said


    "I didn''t know I was capable of being lenient, looks like that kid''s still active... My body just won''t move the way I want it to."


    Without attacking him, Master Sylvia listened on


    "Hey... How did you do that?"


    ------------------------------------


    John had been walking around in the pitch-ck darkness without so much of a clue as to which way he was going, or where he was going to.


    After a few minutes, he saw it, it was small and hard to notice it was there, a tiny point of light within the darkness


    With hope that he finally found a way out of wherever he was, he began to run to the light


    His legs were drained, he didn''t why but they with every step he took, the strain over it got bigger and bigger


    "Come on... Nearly there..."


    Forcing his legs to go above their limits, the boy continued to run with everything he had. The light felt like it was calling out to him.


    As he got closer and closer, he could feel his legs sinking in to the darkness along with an unbearable desire to sleep.


    But that didn''t stop him, he kept going, his will far outweighed his desire to sleep.


    Once he was only a few feet away from the light he stretched out his hand towards it


    ----------------------------------


    John opened his eyes once again and found himself staring outside of the window being more drawn in to the clouds with each second that passed.


    "John, um excuse me, John?"


    A voice called out to him, snapping him back into reality, John turned to the voice and saw a familiar face


    "Me...?" He asked with a confused tone as he pointed at himself


    "Yes...? You''re John, aren''t you? Also... We''re the only ones here..." Said the teacher as he looked at John with confusion


    Upon hearing this, John quickly turned to the window and as he barely managed to see his reflection, he sudden came upon a realisation


    "Ah... That''s right... I''m John..." John muttered before getting up


    John looked around; he was in a ssroom. There were empty desks everywhere, and the clouds were gathering up, a storm was on its way.


    "John? Is everything okay?" The teacher asked with a worried look


    Upon hearing this, John replied


    "Yes, everything is fine, sir."


    "R-Really? That''s good..."


    While the teacher was replying, John had already started heading towards the ssroom doors to exit it, when all of the sudden the teacher moved in front of him


    "Sir?"


    "W-Wait, There''s something I had to say."


    John had no reason to refuse, but he was in a hurry, he didn''t know why, but there was something that he didn''t want to miss.


    "What is it?" John asked


    "R-Right, John... You''ve recentlye to this school, and I''m sure it''s difficult to fit into the ss but you should put more effort into talking with them."


    To this, John simply replied with a confused expression


    "Yes...?"


    The Teacher didn''t understand his reaction, why did the Boy look so confused with that reply. But when he was about to ask John, he had already left.


    ----------------------------


    As he stood in the hall way and looked outside of the window, he noticed that even more clouds were forming up


    "This is a school...? What school...? My name is John... But who am I?" John asked himself these questions before turning his head down the hallway to where the sound wasing from


    As he did, his eyes widened, There was a group of girls heading in his direction and in the middle stood a single girl which stood out.


    She seemed to be struggling fitting into the conversation, as sheughed along with them


    John couldn''t make out what they were saying, but that didn''t matter to him. He wasn''t sure himself what mattered, but as he stared at the girl, a name suddenly popped up in his mind.


    One the girls noticed him staring right at Elena, and whispered it to the group


    "Hey, isn''t that the quiet transfer student?" One of the friends asked


    "Oh yeah, it is... Why is he just staring at you?" Another friend asked


    "Eh? Uhm... I''m not sure..." Said Elena as she stared back at him


    The girls walked past and, in that moment, one of the friends said


    "Hm... Maybe he has a thing for you."


    Suddenly, As Elena was about to walk past, John grabbed on to Elena''s hand


    "Elena....?" He asked with a confused expression

 Chapter 182 - Back To The Past?

    "Y-Yes?" Elena replied a little confused


    [Elena... Why does that sound so familiar... ]


    Before he even realised it, Tears began flowing down his eyes


    "What''s wrong with this guy?"


    "He''s crying? Lol, is this a confession?"


    One of the girls was about to pull out her phone to record what was happening, when all of the sudden, John said


    "Do you... Know me?" John asked


    As they heard this, one of the girls swung her leg to kick him in the stomach as she said


    "Let go of her already!"


    But John instinctively stopped the kick by grabbing on to it before giving her a re


    Seeing this, she nervously pulled back her leg as she said


    "This guy is a creep... Hey, let go of her hand or we''ll tell the teachers."


    "That''s right, tell him!" Said another friend


    [Damn it... If four people go at once to tell the teacher, I''ll be in trouble even if I''m not guilty...]


    Realising what he had just thought, John wondered why he had suddenly thought of such things.


    John subconsciously released his grip over Elena and she was pulled over to one of her friends who checked to see if there were any marks from John''s sudden grip.


    Once she noticed that there weren''t she let out a sigh of relief before pointed at John and said


    "Next time you do this, you''ll regret it!"


    Hearing this, John wiped his tears and bowed


    "Sorry!" he shouted before running off


    "A-Ah, Wait!" Said Elena as she tried to stop him


    But he couldn''t hear her, without looking back, he continued to run


    --------------------------------------


    "What is this...?" Ariel asked as she refused to believe what she was witnessing


    "Master Sylvia... Is losing...?"


    It was close quarter fight, the two were fighting hand to hand, and Master Sylvia had yet tond a clean hit.


    John send a fist straight at her faced which she avoided by tilting her head to the side and sending in a kick to counter, but John avoided it, just as easily as he avoided every other attack, before sending a punch straight at her belly where she had the wound


    It was hard to detect since it was covered by a shadow, but he was urately hitting at it, slowing her down even more than before


    Left and right, John began to rotate between his fists as he got control over the fights flow. Punching and kicking her in any ce that showed opening


    Master Sylvia was in pain and on the defensive, his punches were strong and fast, she would block the ones aimed at her stomach, but because of her wound, she was getting hit in other ces.


    Despite that she seemed to be holding on, waiting for something.


    John a side-kick straight at her head, and as she shadow-stepped beside him to avoid it, he crouched down kicking her off bnce


    As she lost bnce and was about to fall on to her back. John quickly raised his leg before sending it straight down


    His axe-kick however, didn''t connect with her as she managed to shadow step above him in time.


    Once she was above him, she twisted her body as she sent her elbow straight towards the back of his head, to increase the impact.


    However, before it could connect with his head, it ended up connecting with his arm which he had stretched back.


    The instant, he had a firm grip on her hand, he mmed her down., cracking the cracked ground even more than it already was


    As he moved in to finish her off, his hand stopped on its own before it reached her throat


    "Tsk... Fine."


    He then stretched out his arm to the side and formed a dark circr shield which blocked the iing fire and wind attack.


    He looked over to see where the attack came from with an unamused look, it was the two girls who he had decided to spare


    "It was fun at first, but I''ve wasted enough time here-"


    The instant he said the word he suddenly felt danger, the unamused expression quickly changed into an excited one as he turned to Master Sylvia whoid on the floor.


    "Fun...?" Said Master Sylvia, her voice sounded different and more sinister


    Darkness started to gather around Master Sylvia, as the shadow around her began to change.


    Master Sylvia''s air now felt slightly simr to John''s, a strange pattern appeared over her arm, and it glowed a dark colour.


    ------------------------------------------


    "What the hell is wrong with me..." John muttered as he let out a sigh and stared at his reflection in the puddle in front of him


    [What''s with this strange sense of deja-vu?] John wondered as he continued to look at the puddle


    As he continued to stare at his reflection, for a moment, just a single moment, it shed a reflection of someone else.


    John who had been focused on the puddle and couldn''t believe it.


    "A boy with yellow hair and green eyes...?" He muttered in confusion


    However, the image quickly disappeared before he could get a better look at it


    "What was... that...?" He asked as he ced his hand over his head


    He was confused, he felt like he''d seen that boy somewhere before, but just couldn''t reach it, something was missing.


    "What do I do now... It''s raining, but even if it wasn''t... Where would I even go?"


    As he tried thinking of something, a voice called out to him


    "John, You''re John... Right?" Said the voice


    John turned his head and it happened again, he felt a strange sense of deja-vu, like a feeling that it wasn''t the first time that this happened


    As the sound of the water dropletsnding on the ground, resonated in the background, John found himself staring at her. He didn''t know why but he felt sense of sorrow and happiness which couldn''t be expressed with words and subconsciously replied with a smile


    "I think." with a lost and confused expression

 Chapter 183 - Advancing Demon Form

    "You think...?" She asked slightly confused


    To this question, John simply nodded


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" She asked


    "I''m not sure, more importantly, It''s raining pretty heavily isn''t it?"


    "Right...? It doesn''t look like it''ll calm down soon..."


    "Yeah... I Wonder how I''ll get home..."


    "You don''t have an umbre?" She asked


    "Yeah, I forgot it at home again."


    [Again? Did I forget it before somewhere? Argh... I can''t remember...]


    "T-Then, want to borrow mine?" She asked nervously


    [What''s with this conversation...? It feels like... I''ve heard it before... If I remember correctly...]


    "And... And how will you get home?" John asked


    "I didn''t think that far ahead... Oh!"


    "What?" John asked


    As she was about to suggest her idea, John also moved in to say what he had remembered. This resulted in them saying it at the same time


    "How about we share?" They asked


    "Wha- Hey... Are you..."


    Hearing those words made John get his hopes up, maybe he''d find out what or who he was


    "Am I...?"


    "A mind-reader?"


    "Eh?"


    "Ah.. You know, those people that appear on the inte who can read minds." She said as she raised her finger


    Hearing this, John snorted before he started tough


    "Pfft... Hahaha"


    "What?" She asked visibly embarrassed


    "You actually believe that?" John asked as he ced his hand in his stomach


    "Some of them are real! Just because you haven''t seen them doesn''t mean they''re fake."


    "How do you know I haven''t seen them?" John asked with a smile


    "We-well..."


    She couldn''t think of anything, but despite that, she didn''t show any signs of giving up


    "Either way, they''re real, and I''ll prove it to you." She dered


    "How?"


    "I''m not sure, but I will. You''ll just have to wait to find out." She said with a self-satisfied smile


    "Sure, sure."


    "I don''t like that tone... Just watch, you''ll be mind-blown."


    "I believe you but we should probably start going home, the rain isn''t showing any signs of weakening."


    "You really believe me?" She asked as she stared straight at him


    "Surprisingly I do, Just because you haven''t seen something doesn''t mean that it doesn''t exist."


    [Just like the other world... What?]


    Once again, he said something that confused him


    Upon hearing this, Elena stared intently at him to see if he was being sarcastic again, but to this he simply stared back with a smile


    "Alright, Then, we''ll research together." She said happily


    "Why am I the one who has to research when you when you''re the one who said you''d prove it to me?"


    "If you don''t, I won''t let you use the umbre." She said as she looked away


    "Isn''t that a bit unfair?"


    "Take it or leave it."


    With no other choice, John decided to go along with it


    "Fine..."


    "Then, wee." She said with a bright smile as stretched out her hand to him


    "Yeah... Thanks." He said with an expression of regret as he grabbed it


    In that instance, an image shed through his mind along with the sound of a girl calling out to him.


    [John] Said the girl in the image


    The image was of a girl grabbing on to his hand after he offered it.


    [What was that?] John thought to himself


    "It''s toote to take it back." She said


    "I know." Said John as he grabbed on to the umbre for her


    She looked rather happy on their way to the gate, seeing it made him feel slightly relieved but he wasn''t sure why, he also wasn''t sure who that girl on the image was, but she felt important, like the sort of thing you''d never want to forget. It was on the tip of his tongue.


    [What was that?]


    ------------------------------


    As Master Sylvia''s pattern was formed, John asked


    "For a human to learn ''that'', I wonder what sort of experience you had to go through..." John asked


    Suddenly, Master Sylvia vanished without leaving a trace of darkness behind.


    She reappeared in front of John with a trace of darkness in the area where she appeared, and sent a kick straight down at his head. He avoided it by tilting his body to the side and in that instant


    He took four blows around his body before getting pushed back


    Master Sylvia vanished and reappeared behind him, sending a kick straight at him which he blocked, the instant he did, he felt 5 blowsnd on his chest with one of them being on his face


    Before he could rpose himself, Master Sylvia appeared in front of him, behind and then the sides, wherever he looked defenceless, she''d just appear there.


    She''d then either kick or punch him and despite him blocking it, he''d still get hit


    Master Sylvia disappeared and reappeared above him in order to finish him with this next attack, he already looked shaken up and off bnce.


    She appeared above him and sent a kick straight down at him.


    Rather than blocking it he decided to avoid it.


    But the moment he tilted his body, He was suddenly mmed on to the ground.


    As heid on the ground in confusion and pain, she reached out to his cor to grab it


    When she did a dark circle was formed in front of her blocking her from getting any closer, but that didn''t stop her hand. It went past the circle breaking it as if it were ss in the process.


    "What''s wrong?" Master Sylvia asked as she raised him up by the cor


    "Nothing, but you may have broke a bone or two." Said John as steam started toe out of it


    Seeing as how he was healing Master Sylvia was about to to m him down in hopes of knocking him unconscious when all of the sudden he said


    "I''ve finally figured out your trick." He muttered as he appeared above her before swinging leg down in a kick


    Master Sylvia avoided it as she vanished in thest second.


    As she looked over at John, she felt her heart sink. His hair was longer, two horns were now poking out of his head and he seemed taller


    "Ah... I''m finally starting to feel like myself again"


    This happening could only mean one thing, John was about to bepletely consumed.. Master Sylvia''s unease grew by bounds.

 Chapter 184 - Unexpected Arrival.

    John was much faster and stronger than before, he was bing less human.


    Along with the fact that he was less lenient and no longer pulled back his punches.


    Master Sylvia leapt straight him from the front trying to knee him in the chest, but to this he simply grabbed on to her leg before trying to m her down


    The moment he motioned it, Master Sylvia vanished behind him, but when she did, he also vanished behind her before mming her on to the ground.


    She got up clearly shaken due to her injuries, but he knocked her off bnce before motioning his hand to m her down.


    The pattern on her hand suddenly got thicker as she grabbed on to his arm before twisting it and breaking it while she bent back.


    But a little bit of steam was let out before his arm twisted back into ce. In that moment, he vanished behind her, and when she turned around to stop him, she was kneed in the back, before he reappeared again and mmed her down from above


    Master Sylviaid broken down on the floor. Unlike John she didn''t have any healing moves, Just simply her will and persistence.


    But her body was well past her limit, there was no point in increasing in strength or speed when the wound would only slow you down


    Not to mention hit hurt like hell too.


    As she starting getting up, she noticed that she wasn''t coughing out more blood than normal. When she looked down to her stomach to see why, she noticed that the wound opened.


    "I''m sure you already know this but, if you keep fighting whilst in that state, you''ll die."


    However Master Sylvia didn''t stop


    "Mind your damn business... And give him his body back... It''s because of me that this happened... Which is why, even if I have to die, I''ll bring him back... That''s what they would have done." Master Sylvia muttered with a smile


    "Hm... Then, before I kill you, I''d like to ask. Who am I? I can''t remember... I know I''m strong but... whose spirit am I?" He asked


    But to this question master sylvia simply said


    "Find out yourself."


    She was up, she stood with her back straight in a differentbat stance, ready to go for another round


    As John was about to move in to finish her, a grin formed on his face as he watched the two girls who had been watching quietly run to the front of Master Sylvia.


    "Stay back!" Said Serena as she aimed her Two fire and wind drill spears at him.


    They were out of magic; you could tell from the exhausted expression on their face and the way they were breathing.


    Seeing this Master Sylvia was surprised for a moment before a small smile formed on her face


    Ariel was being quiet and Serena just couldn''t tell what she was thinking.


    "Oh...?"


    Rather than stopping John took a step forward and then another. Serena didn''t know what to do, if she fired off the spells and he blocked them, then they''d be dead, but if he took it, he''d be able to heal himself


    "Sorry john, don''t hate on me for thist-"


    Serena was interrupted by the sound of the boss room entrance opening. John''s attention had turned to it to see who or what had opened it and when he did, an unamused look was visible on his face


    From the door, four people emerged, it was a knight who''s fashion-sensed could be questioned by anybody. With his blue hair and red eyes standing out as much as ever, his presence stole all the attention in the room.


    It was azure


    His party members were all standing behind him, Ayda with her braided green hair didn''t seem to happy while their assassin and the purple headdy looked bored.


    They entered thest floor as if it was something natural


    "Oh, it seems like you''ve beaten the boss... Am I interrupting something?" He asked as they walked over the bridge heading towards the Arena


    "Not at all! Please continue!" Said Serena rather happy that she was interrupted for once


    "Okay...?"


    -------------------------


    "You know, I was really surprised when you called out to me"


    "Really? Why?" John asked


    "Because you usually don''t talk to anyone... And who right in their mind would suddenly ask who they were?" She asked


    "..."


    "Even if it was a joke, you went to far."


    The two were walking side by side, with John being the one holding on to the umbre. People would pass by and notice them but wouldn''t say anything.


    With the sound of the rain dropping on the umbre and the ground beside them, John felt like they were the only people in the world


    "That''s because it wasn''t a joke" Said John


    "Eh? For real? You forgot who you were?" She asked


    "Yeah, I''m slowly remembering, but I suddenly forgot."


    "W-We should call the doctors, damage done to the brain can be permanent" She said as she quickly grabbed on to her phone which was somehowpletely dry


    When she pulled it out of her pocket however, John simply pushed it back down into her pocket as he said


    "It''s fine, if we keep walking I''m bound to remember something eventually"


    "How can you be so sure? What if you don''t?" She asked as she pushed back


    "I will, I know I will because this isn''t rea-"


    Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly realised what he was going to say


    [Real? This isn''t what?]


    "Rea? Rea what?" Elena asked


    "Nothing, Just trust me on this... Please." John asked


    Seeing how desperate he was being gave her the conclusion that he must have been afraid of doctors, so without pursuing it any further, she simply let out a sigh and said


    "Fine, but if you don''t remember anything tomorrow, promise me that you''ll go." she muttered as she stretched out her pinky


    John looked at it in confusion when she suddenly grabbed his arm and put his pinky around hers before moving it up and down twice and saying


    "I promise"


    She then looked over at him, and he assumed it was her way of telling him to do the same.


    "I also promise."


    Hearing this she showed a satisfied smile as she said


    "See? It wasn''t that hard."

 Chapter 185 - Unexpected Arrival (2)

    Once Azure and his party had crossed the bridge, the first thing he did was head straight to John and Master Sylvia


    Ayda followed behind as she could use healing magic, he seemed to have a grasp over the situation.


    Suddenly, Serena called out to him


    "Wait! That''s not John!"


    Upon hearing this, Azure turned to Serena and with a smile he replied


    "I know-"


    The instant he said that, he grabbed on to his scabbard before moving it behind him, blocking the attack which had been aimed at him in the process.


    "Hm... You blocked it... Who are you?" John asked


    "A demon who dares possess the body of a child has no right knowing my name. But I shall tell you one thing."


    Azure''s blue hair suddenly turned a glowing red in colour as he pulled out his sword. It was long, sharp and seemed expensive. Its colours were a mixture of gold and white, the sword looked like something that had never been taken off of disy due to how clean it was.


    "What''s that?" John asked without a hint of fear or doubt.


    "If you don''t give up control right now, you''ll regret it." He continued with a smile


    His sword began to glow a bright reddish yellow colour before he swung it


    ----------------------------


    As the two continued on their way home, they noticed that the air around them was rather quiet. John was trying desperately to remember where his house was, while Elena was trying to think up of a conversation


    "Hey, John, Remember the first day you came here?" She asked


    [I didn''t even remember when I got here but now that she mentioned it...]


    "Yeah, I think..."


    "Your amnesia made you forget that too...? Are you sure we don''t need a doctor?"


    "Yeah, I''m starting to remember, it''s fine, but what about it?" John asked


    "Well you see, on the first day... You acted a little weird."


    "I did? In what way?"


    [Hearing it might trigger something...]


    "Well, you were popr, and there were many people who wanted to talk to you, you know."


    "There was?"


    "Yeah... Until..."


    "Until?"


    "Until you made it seem like you weren''t interested in talking to them"


    "I did?"


    [Really? Me? I don''t feel like the kind to ignore someone...]


    To this she nodded before asking


    "Don''t you remember what happened?"


    John ced his hand on his chin as he tried thinking of something but his brain came out empty.


    [Damn it... Why can''t I remember] He wondered before shaking his head


    "Well you see... They asked you a lot of questions, and then to all of these questions, you only replied with-"


    She was interrupted by John who seemed to have suddenly realised something


    "Yes? I said Yes right?"


    "Yes! Yes was the only thing you said! When they asked where you came from you replied, yes. What do you like doing? Yes, couldn''t you think of a decent conversation?" She asked as she stared at him


    "Is that so... Wow I must have been a jerk..."


    Hearing this, Elena suddenly shook her head before saying


    "Not at all!"


    [What?]


    --------------------------------------


    The instant he swung it, a golden me erupted from the edge of the sword, heading straight towards the Area which he swung it


    John who saw these mes, formed a dark sphere around him to block it, but as if it was never there, the mes quickly passed through the sphere entering it and engulfing the inside in mes


    But before it could, John disappeared and reappeared outside of the sphere in an area where there weren''t any mes


    In that instant, Azure leapt through the mes before swinging his sword vertically at John.


    John avoiding it by tilting to the side, but in that instant, Azure changed the direction of the sword despite the motion and moment being aimed downwards, and shed John''s right arm


    Seeing this, the two girls along with Master Sylvia got worried as they thought that he might really kill John but at the same time, they noticed that John''s arm hadn''t fallen off, not only that but, there was no injury or blood.


    Despite that, John suddenly dropped to the ground and grabbed on to his hand, he had a calm expression but his arm was shaking.


    [Hm... My arm feels like it''s engulfed in mes and yet I can''t see it... It''s like a mixture of fire and the holy element...]


    "I see..." Said John as he suddenly appeared above Azure with his left dagger drawn


    He swung it down and yet without turning, the man blocked it by parrying it with his sword.


    He then turned to John and still had that same smile on his face. The moment John saw this, he felt annoyed.


    He vanished and reappeared behind Azure before attacking again but he was parried, John tried again and again, reappearing in any location that showed an opening.


    Behind, in front, to the sides, it was a barrage of very fast attacks, Serena''s eye''s couldn''t keep up with it, while Ariel couldn''t believe what she was seeing.


    Azure was on the defensive but not a single hit had beennded on him. Even if John was only able to use one hand, it was still unbelievable.


    As the barrage continued, darkness began to spread through the floor before in an instant, a square which covered a wide area was under them.


    Azure looked unfazed by this and a split secondter, the edge of the squares rose up forming a cube which trapped both of them inside


    He was now in John''s territory. John moved in to finish him off, in the dark, concealing his presence, when all of the sudden, a bright light came from the area where azure was standing, and the cube cracked letting all the light from the arena return


    [The holy element really is a pain to fight against at my current state... Should I leave? My form is still iplete...]


    John looked over at the man who had continued to remained on the defensive and found himself even more ticked off by his smile.


    [I''ll leave after giving him a good beating...]


    John decided to try something new, he reappeared in front of Azure before leaping straight at him


    Once he saw this, Azure moved his sword towards John''s swing to parry it, but in that moment, two dark spears were formed behind him, aimed straight at his back.


    There was no way he could defend all three attacks at once, they were all moving at the same speed and were already hard enough to sense.


    As John''s swing got closer and closer to Azure''s sword, it began to glow brighter, and right before it parried it, John found the sword going through his torso and the dark spears behind him. All in a single motion.


    "How...?" John asked as he fell on to his knees before he suddenly copsed to the ground.


    "It''s simple, I''m just that much stronger than you.." Said Azure as he ced his sword back into the scabbard.

 Chapter 186 - The Last Breath

    John nowid unconscious on the floor. After making sure that he was truly unconscious, Azure lifted him up and put him on his shoulders.


    John''s form hadn''t returned to normal yet, but azure could tell that he was still fighting for it back.


    "Hopefully this made things easier for you, John." Muttered Azure as he took John over to where the others were


    Ayda was currently healing Master Sylvia, she had started shortly after the fight began while John was distracted. Meanwhile, Serena stared at him with a dumbfounded expression while Ariel had her attention focused on John who was knocked out.


    "Is something wrong?" Azure asked with a nervous smile as heid John down on the floor next to Master Sylvia who was being healed


    Seeing as how the fight was over, Azure''s party began heading over to the group when Serena asked


    "You''re... An S-Rank adventurer, aren''t you?" Serena asked


    "That''s right" He replied casually


    "So that means you already knew which door was the correct one in the beginning..."


    "Haha, sort of but thanks to your party, we ended up being able to hide it."


    "Is it alright to be telling me this?" Serena asked


    "I don''t see why not, This dungeon is already conquered so it won''t make a difference. Besides I owed you guys"


    "For what?"


    Azure then exined it as briefly as he could.


    S-Ranks entering a dungeon or a city is a big-hit, so much that they''re often have bribery and assassination attempts on them, in a way to keep them from clearing the dungeon.


    Thanks to John, a rumour of the S-Rank in the city being a little boy circted. This made things easier for Azure and his party.


    "I see... I guess John''s heroic act saved him"


    ''The act of saving everyone in the beach''


    "Kindness is always repaid." Said Azure with a smile before turning to John


    "Hey, Azure... Thank you, John ended up like this because of us... And as much as I hate to admit it, despite being the 2nd oldest, I wasn''t able to do anything..."


    "No need to thank me, and I wouldn''t worry to much about it, You''ve probably helped in more ways than you noticed. More importantly... It''s too early to thank me, there''s still something left."


    Azure noticed that Ariel was checking up on John who was now on the ground, so he decided to warn her ahead of time


    "Ariel, right? John is fine but we''re going to have to tie him up. There''s no telling when he''ll wake up and knocking him out twice may just speed up the transformation."


    As she heard this, Ariel quickly got up before heading straight towards Azure


    As she stopped a few steps in front of him, he wondered if he she was mad at him for suggesting to tie him up, when suddenly Ariel bowed


    "Thank you for helping us!"


    Surprised, Azure raised his hands as he said


    "It''s fine, I was just repaying a debt, there''s no need to bow."


    "Debt?" Ariel asked as she raised her head


    "Yeah, it''ll take a while to exin, we should start tying him up now" Said Azure


    As soon as he said that, His party arrived and the purple haired girl joined in


    "If that''s what you need, I don''t mind doing it" She said


    "Ka, good timing. Do you two mind if we tie him up?" Azure asked


    "Not at all" Said Serena while Ariel shook her head


    "Great. Ka?"


    "I''m on it."


    Ka walked towards the unconscious John as she put on her gauntlets


    "Eh? Weren''t you a mage?" Serena asked


    "Nope, that staff was a cover-up"


    "Why would you hide it?" Ariel asked


    The girl stretched her glowing gauntlet towards John as she replied


    "So people can lower their guards in close range if they try to attack me. It always works."


    The instant she said that, Chain came from the ground before lifting John up and restraining him. Once that was done, the chains disappeared


    Seeing this, Serena though it would be a good time ask the question which had been on her mind for a while now.


    "Can you guys... Use magic without chanting?"


    -----------------------------------------


    [What?]


    "I mean sure you ignored me a few times... But you were never a jerk! You tried to help others when they were I need! But... Because of your bad reputation, they assumed you were bragging... You also always help out the teachers whenever they need it... You weren''t a jerk..."


    "Hm... You know a lot about me don''t you? Even though we never talk."


    Upon hearing this, Elena suddenly got embarrassed as she said


    "W-w-well... You''re just easy to notice!"


    "That''s your excuse?"


    "I can''t think of a better one..." She muttered as she let out a sigh


    Seeing this, John let out anotherugh. He didn''t know why but even though he wasughing, even though he found it funny... At the same time he found it nostalgic and saddening.


    As they reached one of the cross walks, John stopped moving


    "Ah, I I live around here, make sure you bring the umbre back to school tomorrow" She said with a bright smile


    As she began crossing the road, she spoke another few word


    "Thank you for today, I look forward to our research!-"


    The instant she said that, John grabbed on to her hand


    "Don''t... Go..." He muttered with a broken-down voice


    Seeing this, she walked back up to him and asked,


    "John...? What''s wrong?"


    Hearing those words, reminded him of a memory he wouldter hate himself for forgetting


    As the truck appeared in the near distance, John formed a sorrowful smile on his face as he said


    "Thank you..."


    Tears began to stream down his eyes as he said it again


    "Thank you... Very much..."


    Before she could ask anything, John ran straight towards the middle of the road and at the same time a truck got closer and was now beeping


    Running boy hit onto the truck, he felt the feeling of someone pushing at him from behind but they weren''t fast enough


    *Bang*


    As he stared at the sky from the ground, he noticed one thing about this world. He felt no pain.


    Once he turned his head to see what had tried to push him, he felt his already weakened heart sink.


    Thereid Elena, her eyes were opened and they were gradually losing life. There was a lot of blood on the ground which he was sure belonged to him, but he also knew a part of it belonged to her.


    "E..le...na...?" She asked with a broken down voice


    However there was no reply


    "W..hy... Why... did... you... Ju...mp...." He asked as he took hisst breath

 Chapter 187 - The Sacred Sword: Lightbane

    "Nope, The process for using chant-less magic is tooplicated." Azure replied


    "So you''re saying you know a magician that can?" Serena asked


    "I know a few, although they keep their methods secret, I have seen them use chant-less magic." Azure continued


    "That''s right, It''s not something just anyone can do, but why the sudden question?" Ayda asked


    She remained seated next to the unconscious John and now healed Master Sylvia.


    Serena realised that their secret was now at risk due to her mistake and began to panic


    "Y-You were using fire and holy spells... The power which came from them didn''t seem like the one on the level of an essory."


    There are certain essories which can carry or hold magic spells of an element, Like John''s dimensional ring. Although they are expensive, it wouldn''t be unusual for an S-Rank adventurer to have one


    Ayda gave Serena look of doubt unconvinced by her excuse, but decided to go along with it.


    "Ah, right. They weren''t really spells, just magic attacks which came from this." Said Azure as he pointed at his scabbard


    "A magic sword? Isn''t it impossible to make one with two elements?"


    "It''s rare but not impossible" Replied Ayda


    "That''s right, and besides, This isn''t just an ordinary magic sword, it''s a sacred treasure." Said Azure as he pulled it out


    He raised the sword to the air before it began to glow


    "The sacred sword: Lightbane."


    Serena was amazed, To be able to see 2 scared treasures in a single week was something she had never expected to happen to her


    "That exins it... But to be able to wield it, S-Rank adventurers are on a whole other level..."


    Sacred treasures aren''t ordinary weapons. It''s said that if a normal person were to try to use it, it''d be useless, only someonepatible with it can use it.


    For example, A person who went down the path of darkness would not be able to use a holy sword due to theck ofpatibility, just like a person who went down the path of light would not be able to use a dark sword.


    "You think...? I feel like John is the one on a whole other level." Said Azure as he turned to him


    "What makes you say that?" Ariel asked


    [Both you and John can''t be considered humans at this point.] Serena thought to herself


    "To be able to fight back possession at his age... Not only that, but to be able to use four elements along with the dark element... I wouldn''t have believed it until I met him.


    Hearing this, Serena and Ariel both felt their heart skip a beat


    [Huh...?] Serena asked


    [How did he know that John was an elementalist?] Ariel asked


    Suddenly, It happened.


    The feeling of darkness in the air, sinister enough to send Chills down their spines came from Ayda''s direction. As they turned to see what it was, it was John, more precisely, the thing which had been possessing him. It had woken up again.


    He noticed that he couldn''t move as if he was bounded by some sort of chains before he let out augh


    "Mere humans dare to chain me up...? I''ll kill you... I''ll kill you all..."


    John then tried to break apart the chain with pure force, but it didn''t work, his arm wouldn''t budge. He tried shadow stepping away but it also didn''t work.


    "It''s pointless, no matter what you do. You can''t break these chains." Said Ka as she walked up to him


    "I can''t break these chains...? Really...?" He asked as he hung his head


    Once again, he started tough, not a simpleugh, but a creepy and sinister one which would send chills down any normal person''s spine. But the parties which were there, weren''t considered normal.


    Seeing this, Azure pulled out his sword and held on to it in front of him, while he entered a strange stance before he said


    "Ka, Ayda, and the otherdy, step back"


    Without a hint of hesitation, the three stepped away from John and in that instant, a hole opened on his back before darkness began to gush out of it.


    Everyone watched as the darkness began to take a shape of dark feathery wings as if they were that of a fallen angel. But the wings stopped halfway through the process and looked like more sinister and disturbing. Like that of a devil.


    At first the wings were being held back by the chain, but shortly after, they broke. Ka tried adding even more chains but the moment they grabbed on to John, they would break as he applied force.


    The transformation was now nearing it''spletion but it was still iplete.


    Blood started to gush out of Both John''s back and eyes as he fell on to his knees before shouting in pain.


    "Argh... AHHH!!"


    As Azure''s party was about to move in to intervene thinking that it may have been toote, Azure gestured for them to wait.


    John still hadn''t lost... But it was a risk, in the off chance that this form waspleted, there''d be no turning back.


    "Wait... John''s body is fighting it back... It''s not over." Said Azure with a nervous expression


    ---------------------------------


    John opened his eyes once again, and this time, found himself in a bright white room. As he looked around, he noticed that there were still tears on his face due to the recent event.


    "Damn it... That dark spirit made me do another trial..." John muttered


    "So you realised?" A familiar voice asked


    John turned around with anticipation and there she was, the one who had saved him countless times and helped him in dire situations.


    It was the one and only, Zestari. Her face was still unviewable as it always had been


    "Yeah... Realised... But it felt so real... Honestly, I wasn''t sure at first... When we reached the cross walk, I regained all my memories and thought that I had returned to the past... But it was too good to be true."


    [So I realised that the only way toe back was to get run over... I just didn''t expect Elena to...]


    "You did well to realise... Had you not made your decision; you would have been stuck in that fake world, doing exactly what It would have wanted...."

 Chapter 188 - Welcome Back!

    "Honestly, I wasn''t sure whether or not it was the right choice... But I have people waiting for me, friends who mean the world to me right now... I don''t have time wasting on that Dark spirit''s mind games."


    Zestari wasn''t certain, but John seemed different, maybe having an option to change the path changed him in a way. But she could tell just by looking that he had slightly matured.


    "It must have been hard... Sorry..." She Apologised


    John didn''t know why she was apologising, but before asking that, he had another thing to ask


    "What happened to the room...? Where is all the darkness?"


    "This isn''t your consciousness... I guess you could say it''s a space I created where that guy won''t hear us."


    [Is she referring to the spirit?]


    "What happened, to him...? Or rather... What''s happening outside?"


    Once John asked this, Zestari remained quiet as she looked up at the ceiling.


    "John, promise me that you''ll be stronger... Much stronger than you are now... Because at this level... You won''t be able to stop it."


    [It...? More importantly...]


    "Why are you telling me this now? That was already the n, wasn''t it?" John asked


    Hearing this, Zestari looked once again at John before asking


    "That was wasn''t it...?"


    [Why does it feel like she''s saying goodbye...?]


    "Hey... Did something happen? What''s wrong?" John asked with a worried expression


    "Nothing, nothing at all, wake up, John. Hopefully one day, we''ll be able to meet again."


    [Wake up...? Why is she talking like that?]


    "Wait, Zestari... You aren''t leaving somewhere are you?"


    There was no reply. As he moved in to ask something else, he suddenly felt his mind being pulled somewhere along with an urge to sleep.


    "Wai-"


    And just like that, he disappeared from the room.


    "Honestly... You??re such a handful." Zestari muttered before disappearing


    -------------------------------


    John slowly opened his eyes before breathing in as much fresh air as possible. He looked around and noticed that everyone was here. Not just his party but even Azure''s party.


    "What''s going on...?" He asked with a confused tone


    He was kneeled on the floor and everyone looked at him nervously in an attacking stance


    John tried moving the chains but it wouldn''t budge.


    [Zestari, what''s the situation?] John asked


    There was no reply. As he continued to stand there in that position, he looked over at the area where both Ariel and Serena stood.


    They looked nervous about something. As he continued to stare at them, Ariel noticed something was different about him and asked


    "Hey... Isn''t that, the normal John?" Ariel asked


    "He hasn''t changed... But, you''re right... He feels different than a while ago."


    [A situation like this... Now I get it, I went on a rampage... Everyone is here... Did I hurt anyone?]


    John''s body felt much different, his eyes hurt like hell along with his forehead, and he felt something on his back which he could move.


    He turned around to see what it was and couldn''t believe it. It looked like a dark wings, but uplete, it was nauseating, and even so more the fact that it wasing out of his back.


    [There''s a hole in my back...?]


    As he tried to move, a surge of pain passed through his back, eyes and head.


    "Argh..." He muttered as steam began toe out of him


    The wounds were closing, and at the same time, he felt something crack into his skull


    He looked up and around but there was no one near himor anything which could have seeped something into his skull


    [What was that?]


    And then the wings suddenly retracted into his back, in a fast speed as if it couldn''t wait to get back in.


    The feeling sent cold shivers down his back, he wasn''t going to be able to get it out of his head anytime soon.


    "You''re John... Right?" Ariel asked as she walked up to him


    "Foolish Ariel..." John muttered with a deep tone


    Hearing this, Ariel was about to step back, when all of the sudden, John raised his head and with a smile said


    "Of course, I''m John."


    Before Ariel could do or say anything, Serena said


    "Wait, If you''re really John, tell us something only John can know." She asked


    [What do I know that he doesn''t? Hasn''t he been watching my every move since possessing me... Hm... Then it has to be something before the trial.]


    "Yeah... There''s that secret you made me promise not to tell anyone, when you''re sleeping you tend to-"


    Suddenly, Serena dashed all the way Azure''s side to John as she ced her hand over his mouth.


    "S-Something else! Besides, haven''t you seen me sleeping recently, on the trip here? That example doesn''t count!" Serena askedpletely embarrassed


    For a moment Ariel looked confused, and then she realised what John was talking about


    "Ah! John, could you be referring to how Serena snores and drools over her pillow?" Ariel asked


    Hearing this, Serena quickly turned to Ariel before dashing at her and pulling at her cheeks


    "Ariel, you... traitor!" Serena shoutedpletely embarrassed


    "Ow, W-wait, Serena- Sorry!"


    As Serena continued to pull at Ariel''s soft cheeks, she seemed to be calming down. Not only that, but John also wanted to try pulling it.


    [Zestari, is everything okay?] John asked once more as he got up


    "I guess that confirms it? Wee back, John." Said Azure as he walked up to John before stretching out his hand.


    His party was all here, Ayda, Ka and the brown-haired boy which John barely saw speak.


    [Hm... Am I being oversensitive right now, or is there something off about his hand? Not just that but, my senses... They feel... Different... Higher but more natural.]


    John found it strange by the fact that he couldn''t detect any sort of spell or attacking from his hand, but the handshake felt off.


    "Thank you." Said john as he shook Azure''s hand


    Seeing as how nothing happened, Both John and Azure let out a sigh


    "Why are you sighing?" John asked


    "That was just to see if you were really back, if you were still possessed, I would have been able to tell."


    [Tell...? What are you, a priest?]


    As he was about to ask something, he felt the pressure of something hitting into him, which caused both him and that person to fall over.


    As the twoid on the ground, Ariel showed him a happy bright smile as she said


    "Wee back!"


    At the same time, he saw Serena walk up to their sides, while she also said


    "Wee back...." Still a bit embarrassed from what happened

 Chapter 189 - A Soul Gem

    "Thank you... I''m back." Said John with a smile


    As she saw Serena stared straight at John''s eyes. Confused, John stared back.


    "You really are back to normal..." She muttered as she let out a sigh


    [Eh? That was her way of finding out?]


    "That''s what I''ve been trying to say."


    "Well it could have been the dark spirit trying to fool us." Said Serena


    "Fair point."


    Seeing as how everyone was gathered, Azure got straight into the point


    "Now that you''ve cleared the dungeon, I rmend walking through the gate before anyone else tries to steal it."


    [Ah... That''s right... We''ve just cleared the dungeon...]


    "Alright, Then we should probably get going." Said John


    "Yeah, I don''t want to stay here any longer." Added Serena


    No one had any objections about leaving so without waiting any longer, they began heading towards the giant gate which had formed. On top of that, John had something he had to do.


    He suddenly stopped and then turned to Azure and his party who was behind him.


    "Thank you!" Said John as he bowed to Azure


    Even though it was hazy, John was slowly regaining memories of what had happened. After causing master all that pain, he wouldn''t be able to forgive himself if he didn''t apologise.


    Seeing this, Azure let out a smallugh before saying


    "It''s fine, don''t worry about it. Besides I was just repaying my debt."


    Hearing this, John looked confused as he asked


    "Debt?"


    "It''s a long story." Said Azure with a nervous smile


    As curious as John was, they had just finished a dungeon. He didn''t have any time to waste.


    "I see... Then, tell me all about it after." Said John with a smile


    "Alright, you can count on me." Azure replied as he smiled back


    As the two parties continued to head to the gate, John noticed that Serena was asionally ncing at him.


    When he turned towards her to see what was wrong, she mentioned it


    "Hey... John... I''ve been wondering this for a while now... But when is steam going to stoping out of your body? And..."


    Without saying the rest, she simply stared at his bare chest.


    John quickly realised what she meant by this and began to feel gratitude towards both himself and master for enduring all of that training.


    He no longer looked like the skin and bones you''d find in a chicken shop. He was now very wel built with toned muscles.


    "And?" John asked as he pretended not to know


    "N-Nothing, more importantly, The steam..." Said Serena as she quickly turned away


    "Ah... This, Sorry, I can''t really get rid of it right now... If I do... I might faint"


    "Faint? Is it still trying to take over you?" Ariel asked as she walked closer to them


    "Not exactly, it''s just, the pain I''m feeling all around my body is too intense."


    "Need healing magic?" Ayda asked from the back


    [Does everyone here have super hearing?]


    "No, it''s fine."


    [This is good practice, and besides, all the wounds are already healed. Healing magic won''t stop the pain.]


    Ayda nodded without saying anything else


    "Hm... Most people who have managed to suppress the dark-spirit transformation ended up unconscious for over a week." Muttered Ka


    [Wow...]


    "I got lucky." Said John


    "Luck? I think it''s a lot more than that." Said Ayda


    John''s body wasn''t hurt but it was experiencing the drawbacks and strains of forcefully cancelling the transformation after it had progressed to such an extent.


    So rather than healing himself, he was simply weakening the pain to a bearable extent by continuously circting ''Sana'' throughout his body.


    Before John could say anything, Azure intervened


    "Now, now. There have been cases like John, so let''s not assume anything"


    The two girls nodded but Ayda motioned her hands to her eyes and then pointed it at John. As if she were trying to tell him that she''s watching him.


    To this John just smiled back, and the girl seemed a little annoyed by it. Serena also listened in and seemed to have a few questions in mind, but kept them to herself.


    While Ariel seemed to bepletely focused on something else.


    [Thanks Azure, also, did he say something about cases? They''ve been talking like they''re familiar with this whole dark spirit thing... Should I ask? But what will Master- Wait a minute, where is Master?]


    As he looked around, he realised that Master Sylvia wasn''t around.


    He stared at his hand which was currently emitting a bit of steam as he cast ''Deprehendre''. In that moment, Master Sylvia suddenly appeared in front of the group, with a weird crystal in her hand.


    The Crystal was a pure white colour, the amount of magic power being released from it was not something which he had ever seen from a magic stone. It was big and calm. John wouldn''t have noticed it if he hadn''t had his heightened senses along with his magic perception.


    Without saying anything, everyone watched as Master Sylvia walked up to John before facing him and handing him the crystal.


    "What''s this?" John asked as he held on to it


    "A soul gem, it came from the boss, it''s yours."


    "What''s a soul gem...?"


    Before Master Sylvia could say anything, Serena replied


    "A soul gem... Worth thousands of gold coins... Not many people know much about it aside from the fact that it''s a crystallised soul... But I''ve heard that it''s currently being researched, and can be used to boost a beings or weapon''s magical power by bounds depending on the amount."


    "So, this is a soul which has been solidified?" John asked


    "Yes... If we go by your words, we could say that. But I''m not sure myself." Said Serena


    [A soul gem... So, this contains the Soul of the boss...? Not many people know about it but there should be someone... Maybe I can help the boss or something? I don''t know...]


    As john wondered what he should do, he heard a voice in his mind


    [Consume it.]


    It was quiet and sinister, and did not sound like Zestari.. It was the dark spirit.

 Chapter 190 - The End Of The Dungeon

    [Consume it.] Said the voice


    As he heard this, John looked at the stone in his hand, before calmly replying to the voice in his head


    [I refuse.] Said John as he ced the Crystal into the dimenisonal ring


    [¡­]


    [where''s Zestari?]


    [¡­]


    There was no reply. John tried asking again, but the voice was gone.


    Seeing as how there was no point in persisting, John put the stone into the dimensional ring, beforedoing what had been on his mind since he regained his memories


    "Thank you! I''m sorry... Master..." Said John as he bowed


    Everyone was surprised. John had been looking gloomy which should have been natural but they never expected him to be this energetic after everything that had happened.


    Seeing this, Master Sylvia stretched out her hand towards John.


    As john saw the shadow of her hand approaching his head, he was expecting some sort of smack or punishment for all the trouble he caused


    Because of him, Master Sylvia nearly died. Not only that, but while he was possessed he hurt her. She had to fight to get him back, Just like everyone else.He felt both guilt and gratitude inside of his young immature heart.


    But despite all of this, Contrary to his expectations, Master Sylvia ced her hand on his head before moving it around it as she said


    "I''m d that you''re fine and Thank you too..."


    [What...?]


    Suddenly, one by one, water droplets began to slide down the face of the boy who had remained bowed without moving.


    As they started tond on the floor, he tried to understand why, Just why wasn''t she mad after everything that he had done?


    "Aren''t you mad?" Asked John as he raised his teary face and began to wipe it


    The steam had no effect whatsoever on his tears, despite him wanting it to. He also didn''t want them to see him cry.


    "Why would I be mad?" She asked as she continued to pat his head


    Everyone quietly watched as the two interacted with each other


    "Because I... Because of me... You nearly..."


    "John."


    Master''s tone suddenly changed from a light one to a cold on as she moved her hand away from his head


    "Yes...?" John asked nervously


    "Whatever happened to me was due to my carelessness. Rather than that, just be d we''re all fine."


    Upon hearing those words, the tears which John desperately tried to hold back could no longer wait.


    He moved his hand away from his face and showed Master Sylvia a bright smile on his teary face as he nodded and said


    "Yeah... Thank you... Master."


    Seeing this, Master simply gave a soft smile back


    ***


    [Why am I feeling relieved... Even if I''m the only one that knows, there was still a person amongst us who didn''t end up fine... Damn it...]


    As they stood in front of the giant gate, John clenched his fist before muttering


    "She''ll be fine... I know she will... She knows everything, after all..."


    While John worried about such things, Serena who was next to him, suddenly asked


    "Azure, what happened to the other party wearing cloaks?"


    With his hair now back to the normal blue, Azure replied


    "They were a bit troublesome to deal with, but they''re gone."


    "Eh? You dealt with them?"


    "Yeah, If they''re prepared to take a life then they should be prepared to lose theirs." Said Ayda


    [So there was something fishy going on, but what...]


    As if having read John''s mind, before he could even say anything, Ariel asked the question


    "What was their aim?"


    "We''re not sure, they refused to answer our questions, more importantly, you should probably start heading inside." Said Azure as he pointed at the gate


    Seeing this, the party turned to it as John asked


    "Aren''t you guysing?"


    ??We''ll go after. You four were the ones who havepleted this dungeon, so ording to the guild rules, all the treasures belong to you. We''ll leave the dungeon before it copses, and besides, we still have to go help thatdy''s party get out." Said Azure


    "Are you sure you''ll be able to make it in time?" John asked


    "Of course." Azure replied with a smile


    John was a little nervous and thought that Azure might be hiding something which is why he didn''t want to go, but left it to just him being oversensitive again.


    "Hm... Is there anything bad that we should expect after going through the gates?" Serena asked as she stared at Azure


    [And there goes me being oversensitive]


    "Not that I know of, there''s a treasure room on the other side, along with the dungeon''s core. But the moment you pass through the gate, the dungeon''s core will stop functioning and the dungeon will copse. If you want, you could even sell the cor-"


    "That''s not what I meant, most normal people would be dying to go through the gates if it contained treasure, are you sure your party doesn''t want anything?" Serena asked


    "I''d be lying if I said we didn''t, but we have our pride as adventurer''s. Taking someone else''s reward is unnecessary, and we''ve conquered a dungeon recently so we''re doing quite well on funds. The only thing to look forward to would be..."


    Azure was interrupted by Ayda who said


    "The rare magical items and the Sacred Treasure."


    She seemed very excited as she mentioned it, but quickly shook her head and rposed herself when she noticed everyone staring at her.


    "I-I See... Sorry, I was quick to assume things." Said Serena


    "It''s fine, I''d do the same if I were in your shoes." Said Azure


    John felt a great sense of respect for Azure after everything, he nned to get him something as thanks for everything that he had done for them.


    "Then, we''ll be heading off, Hopefully we get to meet each other soon." Said John as he waved at them


    "Hopefully not..." Muttered Ayda


    "Yeah, next time try not to lose control." Said Ka with a smile


    The brown haired boy nodded and Azure said


    "Yeah, next time let''s spar. In was nice meeting you, John."


    John nodded as he said


    "It was nice meeting you too, Azure."


    Before turning to the gate and walking through it.


    Serena, Ariel and Master Sylvia all followed behind.

 Chapter 191 - The Treasure Room

    "Holy crap..." Said John as he stared at whatid in front of him


    A treasure room, it was a treasure room. A giant room with piles of gold lying around everywhere. Clean white walls and a floor, nomps to be seen but the room was dimly lit up.


    "Whoa... John, Look at all this gold!" Said Serena as her eyes sparkled from staring at it


    "How many sweets can we buy with all of this...?" Ariel asked


    In the middle of this sea of gold coins floated arge purple cubic stone. John felt a high amount of magic power being emitted from it but it was still less than the Soul gem, a lot less.


    [It''s probably the dungeon''s core.] John thought to himself


    The core seemed to be slowly but surely growing dimmer, seeing this, John decided to speak up


    "The core is growing dimmer, we have to... hurry..."


    He gradually slowed down once he noticed that everyone had already gone exploring.


    "Alright then." Said John as he tried to hide his pain


    Seeing as how everyone was already doing what they wanted, John decided to do the same.


    As he walked to the piles of gold, he got to see first-hand what money could do to someone.


    The easily annoyed Serena jumped straight into the pile of gold coins. But if he was being honest, he would have done the same.


    Meanwhile, Ariel was just staring at the amount in front of her without moving, John couldn''t tell what she was thinking, but didn''t really want to.


    And Lastly, Master Sylvia hadid down on the gold and was moving her arms and on the pile as if it were snow.


    But since her expression was unchanging, she didn''t look like she was having much fun.


    "Hm... Since the dungeons going to copse..."


    As John got closer to the gold, he noticed that there were gems and other valuables inside them.


    "What... What is this...!?" John suddenly eximed as he grabbed on to his arm


    Before he grabbed it, that same arm was slowly moving towards the pile of gold coins. It wasn''t some sort of spell, but rather, his desire. John was never the type of person to overthink or worry about money, he was a kid after all. But when being presented with such a huge amount of something the human mind associates with power and happiness, it begins to show one''s true self.


    [Money... Is... Scary...] He thought to himself as he let out a loud sigh


    "Well then, dimensional ring, show us what you can do." John pointed the ring at the pile of gold in front of him


    And seconds after, it was all dragged inside into the ring. It happened rather quickly; the money was covered in a purple light before it disappeared. John could feel the weight of the ring increase so he knew that it was safely stored inside.


    "I feel like this ring is one of the proudest things I''ve invested on." He muttered before doing the same in another area


    John went around the area, storing the piles of gold inside of his ring. The piles had other treasures, but he''d rather go through it in a safer area where he knows the dungeon won''t copse.


    As he continued to do these things, he noticed that there was a door on the other end of the room. It seemed to lead to another room.


    As he reached Ariel''s area, he noticed that she had crouched down and was quietly muttering


    "340... 345... 350... 355..."


    [She''s counting the gold...?]


    "H-Hey, Ariel, it''s fine, there''s no need to... Ariel...?"


    As John ced his hand over her shoulder, and saw her face, he noticed that she looked like her soul was seeping out of her.


    "A-Ariel?"


    Suddenly, she snapped back to reality before hastily looking around and asking


    "Eh? Where am I? I had this weird dream where there was... gold everywhere..."


    As she continued to look around, she suddenly asked


    "It wasn''t a dream, was it?"


    To this, John simply shook his head as he said


    "No, don''t worry. You''re not the only one, look at Serena." Said John as he pointed to their left


    Serena''s body was submerged in the pile of gold and her head was the only thing poking out


    "Serena...? Are you okay?" Ariel asked with a worried expression once she noticed


    Serena who somehow managed to hear this, nodded and shook her head at the same time.


    [No seriously, does this girl have super hearing? Or is it some sort of spell?]


    "This... This is what money can do to a person..." John muttered as he gradually began to lose faith in humanity


    "Wha- Did you say something John?"


    "No, not at all. More importantly, give me a second, I still need to get this pile and then the other piles." Said John as he stretched out his hand clenched into a fist


    And just like that, it was covered in a purple light before it disappeared and was stored inside of the ring.


    Ariel looked amazed by the ring, John didn''t often use it for things such as these.


    "Let''s go Ariel, Time to collect the rest." Said John as he began heading towards Serena


    Seeing this Ariel nodded, took area where there had been a pile of gold before following behind.


    There was still a few pieces of gold on the floor left behind, but they didn''t have any time to waste.


    Once John finally reached Serena, the three just stared at each other.


    "So, how long are you going to stay in there for?" John asked as he stared at Serena


    Serena moved her eyes away before saying


    "I''m stuck."


    But she didn''t seem embarrassed or unhappy about it. She looked like someone who had spent years looking for their home, only to realise it was right in front of them.


    Not happy, nor sad, just neutral.


    "Do you need help?" Ariel asked


    "No, there are still other piles,e back for meter." Said Serena


    Hearing this, Ariel moved closer to John before whispering


    "John... Serena''s acting weird, maybe there''s some sort of spell or monster to this pile of money..."


    "There isn''t. I''ve checked, and don''t worry, this is just what money does to people. It''s dangerous."


    As she heard this, Ariel got slightly worried about the thought of being consumed by the desire for money in the future.

 Chapter 192 - Johns Sacred Treasure

    John went through the whole room; it took around 10 minutes for the mountains of gold to be stored safely away.


    It was around 20 mountain piles in total. John couldn''t even imagine how many coins he had in total but knew it''d be somewhere in the thousands or possibly tens of thousands. The room wasn''t really that big.


    "With all this money... It should be possible." John muttered


    "Possible for what?" Ariel asked


    "To buy the one thing I''ve been dying to buy ever since I lost my memories" John replied


    "Which is?" Serena asked


    "A secret" He replied with a smile


    [I can''t wait to see their reaction...] John thought to himself without noticing the grin he had on his face.


    Serena felt a cold shiver once she saw John''s cold grin while Ariel wondered what it could be.


    "Let''s go."


    Master Sylvia was waiting for them at the door, which lead to the other room.


    "I wonder what''s in the room..." Muttered Serena


    "We would''ve been there by now, if somebody hadn''t stopped us because they wanted to enjoy the ''moment'' for a little longer" Said John


    "You''re referring to me, aren''t you?" Asked Serena as she stared at him


    "Who else would I be referring to?" Asked John as he stared back


    "You can''t me me for wanting to swim in a pool of gold!"


    "What kind of argument is that?"


    "You two, don''t argue now..." Said Ariel as she intervened


    Following that, a voice came from the side of the room they were heading to.


    "Hurry up."


    It was from Master Sylvia, despite being unintentional, she sounded very intimidating from those words alone. Even while knowing that it was unintentional, he still didn''t want to keep her waiting or get on her bad side after the moment they all just had.


    "Truce?" John asked as he turned to Serena


    Seeing this, she quickly nodded before saying


    "Truce."


    And just like that the three quickly and quietly walked towards Master Sylvia.


    Once they arrived at the door which blended into the wall, Master Sylvia gave them a quiet stare before asking


    "Do we have everything?"


    John looked around and then realised that he hadn''t gotten the magic core.


    "Oh, wait, give me a second-"


    The moment he said that, the room began to shake, as if there was an earthquake.


    Seeing this, John stepped on the ground expecting to find himself standing in front of the core, but contrary to his expectations, he didn''t move from his spot.


    "The tower, it doesn''t have much time, hurry up, John!" Said Serena


    "[Ah right... I don''t have posse- Maybe it''s better if I don''t say the word so that I don''t identally activate it.] Thought John as he propelled himself straight to the mana core


    As he flew towards it, he stretched out his hands, clenched into a fist, before stopping and activating the ring right before he reached the core


    It was a Purple Stone in the shape of a cube, decent in size yet vast in magical power.


    "Hm? Is it impossible...?"


    The ring activated but the core wasn''t stored inside. Confused, John stretched out his hand towards it and could feel a strange rythamic beating from it. Almost as if it had a pulse


    "What...?" He asked as his finger touched it


    The instant his finger did, the core disappeared, and the weight inside of the ring, significantly increased and he felt a slight surge of power


    [What''s this...?]


    John was snapped back into reality by the sound and shaking of the earthquake


    "Velox, levite"


    He lifted off the ground before propelling himself straight towards the door, it took around 3 seconds to reach it, and the moment he did, he noticed that his fatigue from using all that magic power, had disappeared.


    Now that John was there, they all opened and passed through the door


    [Did the core do this...?] John wondered before running through the door and closing it behind him


    However, all of his thoughts were quickly overwhelmed and forgotten due to the sight in front of his eyes.


    It was another room, and it wasn''t loaded with gold, but something much more valuable. There were disys and within them, contained weapons which gave off an overwhelming presence


    On the wall besides the weapon disys contained another door. Only this time, it was glowing a white colour, indicating that it wasn''t a normal one, and was probably the exit.


    There were 3 weapons on disy. On the left there was a small light wand with a reddish blue stone on the edge. It gave off a light, and safe aura as the magic flowing out of it, flowed calmly


    On the right was a long, dark rapier with a yellow magic stone at the edge. The magic flowing out of it was overpowering, it gave off an intimidating and dark aura.


    Master Sylvia stood and watched, ignoring the shaking, as the three each moved towards the treasure.


    They all had the same thought in mind. It was as if the weapons were calling out to them.


    "This feels familiar..." Muttered Ariel


    "Yeah... This feels dangerous... Maybe it''s a trap?" Serena asked as she suddenly stopped


    John however kept moving, ignoring all sounds around him


    "Hey, John, maybe you should wait a little-" Said Ariel


    Without replying, John stopped and stood in front of the weapons disy before stretching his arm out, to the weapon in front of him.


    They were two daggers which seemed to have some sort of small clock installed on the de. Its appearance was like that of any regr dagger, along with the de, and yet, it felt so much different.


    He grabbed on to them, and felt a strange sense of power. He also noticed something different about the air and sound of shaking. Almost as if it had slowed down.


    The instant he turned around to see if it was all in his mind, everything returned to normal.


    [Was it just my imagination...?]


    "John! Are you crazy!?" Serena shouted as she stood a few feet back


    She had all the right to be mad, they had to go through hell to bring him back from a possessed state, after all.


    "Don''t worry, These are sacred treasures" He said

 Chapter 193 - Serena And Ariels Sacred Treasure?

    "Don''t worry, These are sacred treasures" He said


    Hearing this, the girls snapped back into reality as Serena asked


    "Sacred treasures?!"


    Ariel looked surprised as well, but remained quiet. It was as if she already knew what they were.


    "Yes, they are sacred treasures." John repeated


    "This isn''t something to take lightly..." Muttered Serena


    She was a bit embarrassed from being the only one surprised and began to wonder if her party members even had any desire for money or treasures.


    "I know, I''m very surprised. It''s not like this wasn''t expected after defeating all of those bosses." Said John


    He used a sarcastic tone which was easily noticeable for Serena


    "You enjoy this, don''t you?" She asked


    "I''d be lying if I said I don''t." He replied


    After their interaction, Both Serena and Ariel began heading to the weapon which called out to them.


    With each step, the closer they got, the more power they could feel from it. Just from seeing what a sacred treasure alone did to John, The two could tell that this would be something big.


    Once they finally reached their choice, they both quietly stared at.


    After a good few seconds, they both stretched out their arms to grab it, and the instant they did.


    *Crack*


    A me spiral was formed around her, spinning at an unimaginable speeds, on top of a Water spiral which also span above her on top of the me spiral.


    The strange thing about it was that the fire seemed to be merging with the water, without evaporating. Shortly after, the mes began turning white. Excited he began to wonder what would happen next, But before John could see anything else, it suddenly dispersed into the air.


    [It stopped just like mine...? Is there something necessary or cancelling out the activation?]


    John was interrupted by the sound of the tower shaking getting stronger not to a level where everything was falling, but as if it were cracking from the inside out.


    Seeing this, John knew he had to hurry, right as he was about to tell Ariel to pick her''s, he noticed that she already did


    And in that instant a small light sh appeared and passed through the whole room in an instant, nearly blinding John or anyone who was watching in the process.


    Shortly after the light was gone, everyone watched as a light mysterious glow surrounded ariel, it looked angelic in a way, if John''s guess was correct, that was the holy element in it.


    "What''s... That...?"


    There was something creeping around the holy sphere, it didn''t seem like it was part of the light. John felt a sense of familiarity with it, as if he knew what it was. But it was hiding itself.


    The strangest part of all of this was how Ariel''s wand, changed, colours from a darkish one to a fully light one.


    As if trapped in some sort of daze, the two girls who had their eyes closed, had finally opened them.


    "What... happened?" Serena asked


    She looked down at her hand and noticed that the wand that she had grabbed was on her hand but was surprised by how she didn''t feel any different.


    "Hm... Ariel, did you notice anything different?" Serena asked as she looked towards Ariel


    Ariel didn''t reply, she seemed like she was asleep and yet her eyes remained open.


    "Ariel...?" Serena called out to her once more


    "Huh? Eh? Yes?" Ariel asked suddenly turning her head left and right in surprise


    "Are you okay?" Serena asked


    Even John took that as a sign of something he should worry about, these two had different awakening times than him. It also took them a while to realise.


    "I-I''m fine!" Ariel replied hastily


    She looked shaken or worried about something, but whatever it was, she was really bad at hiding it.


    "I-Is that so...?" Serena asked


    She didn''t look convinced at all, she could also tell that ariel was hiding something.


    "Yes..." Ariel replied


    "Then, did you notice anything off? I feel like my mind shut off after I grabbed the wand... and then suddenly I woke up and it was with me, I can feel a sense of power now, but I don''t know... It feels weird." Said Serena as she raised the wand to inspect it


    [She didn''t notice the water and fire spiral she created? Does that mean what happened to me wasn''t all in my head?]


    "Off... I''m not sure... I also feel a sense of power but... It''s like... N-Nevermind..."Said Ariel


    She definitely looked worried about it, and John didn''t want to interrupt them but.


    "What''s it like?" John asked


    Ariel looked like she didn''t want to talk about it, but at the same time, she could tell that John was going to be persistent if she didn''t.


    "It''s like there was something else there... Hiding away in the light." She muttered


    [That sounds just like... Me...?"


    Hearing this, John didn''t know what to do, should he tell her? But what would he even say?


    Suddenly, the shaking in the room leapt in bounds, it was starting to copse


    *Crash*


    Parts of the ceiling crashed down on the weapons disy before the three leapt away from it.


    Without saying anything, everyone knew what they had to do. They all began heading towards the exit, and Master Sylvia who was the first one to reach it, waited for everyone to go past.


    Right before John went past, he turned around to see what was outside of the copsed ceiling, and the instant he did, he felt even more confused that he had been during their stay at the dungeon


    It looked like he could see stars through one of the holes in the ceilings, as if the room were trapped in some sort of broken-down space in a gxy.


    But before he could see the rest, Master Sylvia passed through dragging John with her.


    "Wai-"


    The word was cut off as John left the room.

 Chapter 194 - *Dont Open This * Volume 3 Ending

    John decided to leave the girl forst, dealing with the others was the best option for now. But he still had to scare her or neutralise her in a way.


    Because of this, he stretched out his arm to grab her and, in that instant, he quickly pulled his body back, avoiding the sh which was sent at him by a hair strand.


    As he avoided it, wind pressure came out from the other end of the de, shing at his arm.


    *sh*


    John''s right arm was cleanly cut off, falling to the ground with his right dagger still in it''s grip.


    Without giving John a second to rest, the man quickly turned the direction of the de, before heading straight towards John''s head


    As the de got closer and closer, John could see wind forming in front of it.


    And right as it was about to hit him, he shadow stepped away.


    *Voom*


    Sharp wind cleanly cut through the area where he had stood, as it formed a giant sphere of rampaging wind.


    The man responsible for this, was the same purple haired man that John had lost sight of in the beginning of the battle. He carried a strange green and ck sword which resembled a katana.


    John reappeared, behind the man''s head, with blood pouring out of the half of the right arm which had been cleanly cut off.


    The man quickly turned back and right as he swung his sword at John, John swung his arm which was missing the other half at the man''s face, making some of the blood enter his eyes.


    In that moment, the man closed his eyes while continuing his swing, forming another sphere of cutting wind right in the area where John was standing.


    But before it could hit him. John shadow stepped to the man''s side, before swinging his left arm which held on tightly to the dagger straight at the man''s head.


    Right as it reached the man''s neck, John felt a strange thud before his dagger and left hand were pushed back.


    Following that, shes of wind were sent all around the man, and John who was within the range was about to take all of them head-on.


    But once again, John shadow stepped away before it could hit him.


    The man slowly pulled back his sword before wiping his eyes and turning to John who stood a few feet away from the two.


    He watched as steam was let out of John''s cut off arm while blood dripped out of it. Yet despite all of that, John didn''t let out a single sound.


    "Did you get it?" The man asked


    The girl who was next to him, bent down to the ground before grabbing on to John''s cut off arm and saying


    "Yeah, fighting is bad but I''ll allow it this time."


    The moment she grabbed on to John''s hand hand, she ripped off her dolls hand, before it slowly got bigger.


    Once it was big enough to fit in John''s hand in the ripped off sleeve, She ced John''s hand in it before chanting a few words.


    As she did so, The purple haired man looked over at John who wasn''t making any moves, he just stood there, quietly with his head hung.


    "Done." Said the girl


    Seeing this, the man charged straight at John.


    John who saw this, raised his head and was about to move his body to dodge, when all of the sudden.


    He realised that his body was paralysed. He couldn''t control it.


    As the man swung his katana straight at the immobile John, for a moment, just a single moment, John''s eyes glowed a bright yellow colour


    And in that instant, he muttered


    "Cancel."


    The man dropped his guard, thinking that John was immobile, Swinging his sword straight at him. But right as he did.


    John tilted his body to the side, before electricity began to flow once more through it. The emotionless gaze remained on his face as he muttered the words.


    [Gravitas x 50, Modero]


    The purple haired man''s eyes widened, as he lost sight of John''s movement. His body grew heavier and heavier as he tried to move away


    *sh* *sh* *sh*


    When he came to it, He had received shes all over his body, causing him to fall to his knees.


    John was surprised, The man''s body was being protected by a strange wind armour, making all of John''s strikes shallow, but despite that, he was still able to hit him in the vital points.


    Seeing as how he stood no chance; the man formed a smile on his face before saying.


    "H-How did you... Hmph... It''s your win. Kill me."


    His voice sounded rather calm for someone who was asking to be killed, he seemed satisfied with the result of the fight.


    Hearing this, John raised his left hand before swinging it down, when suddenly.


    He stopped, not because he felt pity for the enemy, but because of the strings which had grabbed on to his hand and the young girl who had moved in front of John''s attack.


    "S-Stop..." She muttered


    Her eyes closed, legs trembling in fear, and her voice breaking as she let out the quiet plea for him to stop.


    The purple haired man''s eyes widened as he watched the girl stand up for him. He then looked over at John whose expression remained unmoving.


    John tried moving his left arm, but the string was wrapped around it tightly.


    He turned back and noticed the brown-haired boy he had knocked into the wall, was slowly walking to them, with blood dripping down his head.


    "D-don''t hurt them..." The brown-haired boy muttered


    He had his arms stretched out and with stringsing out of the edge of the gloves he had on. John who saw this, looked back over the girl whose eyes were still closed as she tightly held on to the doll.


    The emotionless expression on John''s face changed into an angered re as he stared straight at the girl and a man.


    Seeing, this the man got more and more nervous before saying


    ", who told you to help me? Go away, I lost, and it wasn''t even a fair battle... I''ve lost my morales but at least let me go out with my honour and pride." Said the man


    "No." The girl replied


    "ILA! Stop being stupid! You''re just a kid! HE''LL KILL YOU!"


    "I DON''T CARE!!" She shouted out from the top of her lungs


    The whole room fell in silence as she said


    "Everyone... My friends... Family... Even my parent''s abandoned me... Yet you were the only one who offered me help and took care of me... IF YOU''RE GONNA DIE THEN I''LL BE ALL ALONE AGAIN!! SO PLEASE! DON''T GIVE UP!!"


    Hearing this, the man''s eyes widened, small tears began to form on his eyes as he muttered


    "Yeah, you''re rig-"


    He was interrupted by a sharp pain which passed through his arm. Confused, he looked over at his right arm which held on to his sword, only to see it lying on the floor in the ground.


    "Be quiet." Said John


    "ARGH..!!"


    The man grabbed on to the area of his arm which had been cut off before squeezing it tightly. Blood was heavily pouring out of it. Faster than it did with John.


    The girl who saw this quickly turned to him to help him and the Curley haired boy tried pulling John''s left arm back, only to realise the his strings had been cut off.


    "H-How... These strings are made of pure magic concentration... They can''t be cut..." The boy muttered


    John crouched down to the man whoid on the ground while facing the girl as he said.


    "What gives you the right to decide who gets to give up? All of those lives taken on that day, all of those people who are suffering till today... What makes you think I''ll let you guys continue to live your life In happiness?" John asked


    He stared straight at the girl straight in the eyes. She stared back with tears forming in her face, she stared into the darkness which could be seen within John''s eyes and began to feel fear brooming from within her.


    "W-we weren''t the ones that k-killed them"


    John''s eyes began to glow a yellow light as he muttered


    "Even Serena... Someone who had nothing to do with it, ended up being kidnapped because she was rted to me... That boss of yours, I won''t forgive him."


    "I-I said-"


    She was interrupted by John once more who said


    "I don''t care, look at me in the eyes and tell me you''ve never killed anyone innocent for that guy before."


    She struggled to look John in the eye, the amount of bloodlust he was releasing was intense, on top of that, she couldn''t deny it.


    "Wrong answer."


    "D-Don''t hurt her... If it''s a life you want... Take mine... Don''t be a coward...." The man muttered, His voice clearly weaker than before.

 Chapter 195 - Going To The Tailors (Post-Dungeon)

    "Sir, is this to your liking?" Asked the man in the butler outfit as he showed a suit which was on disy


    "Hm... Might I call you Sebastian?" John asked as he stared at the suit


    "Of course, sir, you may address me as whatever you''d like." Replied the butler


    A rather tall man, wearing a butler uniform, he maintained a professional and straight stance, and gave off a calm and loyal vibe.


    Short Slick Gray well-maintained hair and a wide Gray moustache above his mouth


    "Very well, Sebastian, this suit does look quite fine." Said John as he inspected it


    "It is of the highest quality, my good sir." Replied Sebastian


    Hearing this, John gave the suit a closer look, he inspected every fibber, every detail, making sure that it was truly in top quality.


    "Sebastian." Said John


    "Yes, sir?" Sebastian asked


    "Might I hear the name of the man who made this?" John asked


    A ck suit which showed no signs of having been used or unmaintained, there were many words where one could use to describe it, but to John, just one word came to mind.


    [Perfect.]


    "Of course, sir. This suit was made by me." Said Sebastian


    "Sebastian." Said John once more


    "Yes, sir?" Sebastian asked once more


    "This is perfect, you are truly talented." Said John


    "Your words are too kind" Said Sebastian as he bowed


    Hearing this John nodded


    "May I take your measurements, sir?" Sebastian asked


    "Why, of course." John replied with a smile.


    Sebastian pped his hands and not before long, a group of three girls appeared with some sort of measuring tape.


    "Um, Sebastian...?" John asked, his voice slightly cracking due to his nervousness


    Seeing this, Sebastian gave John a small smile as he said


    "Best of luck, Sir. These three are highly skilled."


    The girls who heard this smiled as they said


    "Leave it to us, young master!"


    "Not trying to brag, but our skills are indeed as mentioned."


    "We''ll make sure your measurements are perfect."


    "Eh?" Asked John in confusion


    The girls then grabbed on to him and while smiling, they began to drag him to one of the rooms


    "W-Wait, S-Sebastian, Help!"


    Sebastian who saw this, simply waved while smiling


    [Y-You traitor!] John shouted in his mind as the door to the room he was dragged to closed.


    ***


    "Hey- What? Why do you look so drained?" Serena asked


    "I was betrayed." John muttered


    "Betrayed? By who?" Ariel asked


    "By Sebastian..." John replied


    "Who''s Sebastian?" Ariel asked


    "Ignore it Ariel, it''s just John being weird again." Said Serena


    "Oi."


    "What?" Serena asked


    "I-"


    John was interrupted by a female servant who suddenly approached their group and said


    "Your suit will be ready tomorrow, young master."


    "Thank you, where may I send the payment?" John asked


    "Eh? Why is he talking like that?" Ariel asked


    "Just act like you don''t notice, Money has managed to change even John." Said Serena


    Hearing this, Ariel was now even more worried about the term money, Serena could tell by the look of fear on her face.


    [Did I over do it...? It''s probably a bad Idea to make her think of money as something scary...] Serena wondered


    The two girls watched as the boy in front of them, walked with thedy to pay for the suit before Serena said


    "I can''t believe this day actually came... I thought for sure we would have died in the dungeon." She muttered


    "Yeah... It makes me feel strangely happy... Especially how Master Sylvia ended up being alright at the end." Said Ariel


    "Mhm, I''m d he exined it to us, I was surprised and confused when he suddenly bowed to her and started crying."


    "Me too! But when that happened, I don''t know why but... The emotional side of him, makes me feel like..."


    [I have to protect him] The two thought to themselves


    The two looked at each other and nodded before smiling


    "Let''s go make sure he doesn''t end up wasting more than he should." Said Serena


    Hearing this, Ariel nodded and in that moment they heard John ask


    "Can someone call for Sebastian? I''d like to award him."


    ***


    "40 Gold for a suit... That''s quite cheap." Said John as he hopped on to their carriage.


    Master Sylvia was seated in the front, protecting it in case anyone would try to steal it.


    "J-John...?" Ariel asked even more worried than before


    "Just act like you don''t notice." Serena whispered


    "Yes?" John asked as he turned to Ariel


    "A-Are you okay?" Ariel asked


    "Never been better." Said John as he sat down and stretched out his hands.


    "O-Okay..." Said Ariel


    Master Sylvia turned back to make sure that everyone was ready, and once she saw that they were, the carriage began moving, the one driving it was Master Sylvia.


    "So now we''re heading to a ce to get Serena and Ariel''s dress, correct?" John asked


    Hearing this, Master Sylvia nodded.


    "I see..." Said John as he took in a deep breath before staring at them


    "What?" Asked Serena as she avoided eye contact


    "Is there something on my face?" Asked Ariel as she ce her hand on it


    "No, it''s nothing, I was just wondering what you two would look like in a dress." Said John


    "That''s it? Don''t get your hopes up... It probably wouldn''t suit me" Said Serena as she let out a sigh


    "For me, I''m not sure... I never really used them much before." Muttered Ariel as she hung her head


    John understood why the two reacted in this way. Serena was an adventurer, she also didn''t look like the type to socialise much, while Ariel used to be rather poor before meeting them. She didn''t seem like the type to be able to go out or enjoy being in a nice dress.


    "I wouldn''t worry too much about it, you two are natural beauties, I''m sure it would look good on you both." Said John with a smile


    "Wha- Don''t do that!" Said Serena as she stared at him embarassingly


    "Right, right!" Ariel added also a bit embarassed


    "Don''t do what?" John asked with a smile


    "You know what!" They both simoutaneously said


    Seeing this John let out augh before looking outside of the carriage.


    People walked by and had seemed to have gotten back to their daily lives, which had temporarily changed a few days ago.


    It''s been a few days since the Dungeon was cleared. John and his party were now searching for clothes to wear for the ball which would be tomorrow.


    A lot happened after they had cleared the dungeon and quite a few things had changed, but overall, everyone is doing fine, or so John believed.

 Chapter 196 - After The Dungeon

    Right after clearing the dungeon


    ------------------


    "Wait- What...?" Asked John realising what had just happened


    They were no longer in the dungeon, or rather, they were now standing on sand. Their whole group was there, Master Sylvia, Ariel and Serena.


    The sound of the waves scraping away at the shore, along with the nice and fresh breeze. There was no mistaking it, they were outside


    The Night Sky could be seen showing them that it was night time


    Surprised, John quickly looked around hoping that no one had noticed their sudden appearance or found it strange. Thest thing he wanted was for people to know that he was the one that cleared it.


    Thankfully, the beach was sort of empty and no one ended up noticing them.


    But just as they let out a sigh of relief, a loud sound resounded through the beach, along with an immense amount of wind pressure and a beam which was sent straight to the skies


    "What''s... That?" Ariel asked


    The four along with the few people around watched as the beam pierced and moved the skies


    The gatekeeper which they had met earlier also seemed confused by the sudden development and stared at it.


    "This is what happens once a dungeon is cleared." Said Master Sylvia


    The instant she said that, a small piece at the top of the tower broke off, and was heading straight down to the entrance.


    This wouldn''t have been a problem if the guard who John saw this morning wasn''t there.


    Instinctively, John cast simultaneously Cast Furtim, Levite, Velox Duplici. Making him disappear from their sights and move as if some sort of cannon towards the falling objects.


    The nostalgic feeling of flying through the real air and not a fake Dungeon one, made his heart beat faster and faster.


    He moved fast, so fast that the object wasn''t even halfway down by the time he reached it, but once he did, he barely had any time to think.


    [What do I do?] He wondered as the object quickly made it''s way towards him.


    It was a big piece from the wall, five times his size. If he broke it, it would end up falling and hitting on to whoever was underneath him. He needed to do obliterate it.


    He stretched out his hand and thought about the feeling of using Zestari''s ck Hole. He tried remembering the process but had no luck. Every ounce of knowledge he had gained after borrowing Zestari''s power had disappeared.


    "Damn it... If only I knew how to use that ck Hol-"


    In that instant, a Small iplete ck sphere was formed above him, it began to pull in absorb all the air around him and slightly distorted the space around him as it slowly and weakly pulled him in.


    But it wasn''t strong enough to put him in danger, nor could it absorb the light around it.


    [What?!]


    It onlysted for a few seconds before it suddenly disappeared. But because John''s attention had turned to it, he ended up forgetting the most important thing.


    *Crack*


    The part of the dungeon which had copsed ended up hitting him straight in the back of his head or so it seemed.


    *Tick* *Tock*


    It slowed down right before it him, giving John time to cast a spell to stop it


    [Ventus!]


    It had stopped short, or rather, John forced it to as he managed to gather wind above his head in thest second.


    A few parts of rubble managed to crack off and get past but it wasn''t enough to kill someone.


    "Levite." Said John as he ced his hands on it to make it lighter.


    The piece which was about to fall straight on to the guard''s head was now slowly descending.


    [What...? What''s happening right now?! Did that thing slow down before hitting me?] John wondered as he watched it descend


    He wasn''t sure if he was just seeing things or if it was just part of his imagination, but he knew one thing, for sure. At the corner of his eyes, right before it hit him. He heard the sound of a clock.


    Confused, John stared at his sheathe where he had put the Sacred Treasure Daggers. He had ced his old daggers into his dimensional ring after.


    Before he even realised it a smile was formed on His face as he muttered


    "Interesting..."


    [I should''ve just done this earlier, but I ended up discovering something interesting, so I guess it''s fine. Hopefully the guy will be-]


    John stopped talking once he looked down. The guy who he tried to save had already moved away from the entrance, meaning John had just waited his time.


    Feeling while feeling slightly embarrassed, John looked up to see how the situation was doing and when he did, he noticed it.


    Cracks began appearing throughout the tower, mainly around the middle. Seeing this, John felt his heart sink


    "Oi, No one told me about this..." Said John with a nervous look


    If the tower continued to break like this then, it would end up falling straight down on the other buildings and stalls filled with people around the beach.


    The tower was very long. John was worried just thinking about the damages and casualties which would be caused.


    "Damn it..."


    He took in a deep breath and deactivated Furtim, and waved his hand gesturing them that he needed help.


    Because of his act, not only his party but the people around could seem him flying.


    ----------------


    They had started evacuating but stopped once a man pointed out that there was a boy floating around in the air.


    "What''s that?"


    "Is that a kid?"


    "He''s flying...?!"


    "What''re you waiting for?! RUN!!" Shouted a man as he tried to move through the crowd of people which began slowing down


    Once the man noticed that everyone''s attention seemed to be on something in the air, The man also turned to see just what was wrong with them.


    When he did his eyes widened and he also stopped running


    "What the hell...?" He asked as he stared at the boy who was flying around the tower


    The tower was breaking down and parts of it were falling down and yet the boy was using some sort of magic to slow them down.

 Chapter 197 - The Heroic Act

    While everyone was confused and amazed at the same time, one of the adventurers recognised the boy and a smile was formed on his face when he did.


    It was one of the adventurers which had helped John on the day where the mermaids attacked.


    A tall, big and muscr frame man with Brown hair with an eye patch on his left eye. He carried a long sword on his waist and gave off a strong and powerful vibe.


    He turned to all of the people who had stopped beforeunching a small fire ball into the air to grab their attention


    And just like he had expected, he ended up grabbing the attention of many with his strong voice.


    "ATTENTION! DON''T LET YOUR CURIOSITY GET THE BETTER OF YOU! HOW LONG DO YOU THINK THAT KID CAN LAST IF HE HAS TO WORRY ABOUT YOU ALL?! GET ON THE MOVE! LET''S HELP HIM IN OUR OWN WAY BY LEAVING THIS AREA!" The adventurer shouted from the top of his lungs.


    Hearing this, the people began to realise that them being them being there was making things harder on the kid who was fighting for them.


    They had been moved by what the kid had done and wanted to help in any way that they could.


    "H-He''s right!"


    "What''re we waiting for?! Let''s go!"


    "Let''s help that boy!"


    The crowd began to evacuate the area as fast as they could. Some hoped that this act wouldn''t be seen as an act of being a coward but an act of helping a hero.


    "I''ll leave it the rest to you, kid." Said the adventurer


    -------------------------


    [Velox Duplici] Thought John


    He propelled himself to the nearest falling object before cing his arm on it and muttering


    "Levite"


    In that instant, the falling object''s drop slowed down and John moved on to the next one. He repeated this process over and over, aiming only for the big ones.


    "The small ones are getting through, but the guard is gone so it looks like everything is fine-"


    In that moment, From the corner of his eyes, he noticed it. There were adventurer''s rushing out of the tower.


    He recognised them, some of them were one of the groups which he had seen on the first floor of doors while the others he couldn''t recall


    There were no signs of Azure''s party, the Scruffy hairdy''s party or the cloaked party anywhere


    "Damn it... I forgot about them." Said John as he propelled himself back to the front of the tower


    His objective was making sure none of the objects which fell from the front would hit the adventurers, all though, he was certain that they wouldn''t need it.


    [I''ll do it just to make sure.]


    The tower was copsing at a fast rate, not only that, but the crack around it was nearly about to connect on all sides, once that happened, then it''d be game over


    "Velox"


    John propelled himself to two walls which had cracked off and were now simultaneously dropping towards him.


    To this, John propelled himself in between them while stretching out both hands and cing each on them as he cast


    [Levite]


    That ended up slowing him down, giving him time to move to the next one, but it was after that, that things started to get out of hand


    *Crack* *Crack*


    More and more cracks began to appear around the giant tall tower and from the middle up, it slowly began to fall forward


    "Crap, Are they ready yet?!" John asked as he turned back to check on them.


    When he did, he was amazed. Before he had even realised it, a smile was formed on his face as he thought about how lucky he was to have such reliable teammates.


    John raised his hand, gesturing them to wait, and as the tower began to slowly fall forward straight towards him, he lowered his hand


    Serena and Ariel who saw this, Unleashed their spell sending arge spiralling wind cannon straight towards the Tower.


    The adventurers which were leaving the entrance ran as fast as they could once they noticed that the tower was about to copse on them, but at the same time, they couldn''t take their eyes off the spell which had just been unleashed and the boy who was flying above them.


    John propelled himself down to avoid the wind pressure and watched as the the immense amount of wind pressure hit on to the tower, causing it''s fall to slow down but not push it back.


    However, the attack wasn''t dying out, it was only increasing in strength as the two girls continued to pour everything, they had into it.


    Seeing this, John rose back up to the middle of the tower while keeping away from the pressure of air which was currently pulling at it


    The tower was tall, around 1 kilometre tall if John was to try to take a rough guess, his ability to estimate was high so he believed that he was right on that mark even though he hoped that he wasn''t.


    The amount of pressure which he would need to push something that big back, instead of destroying it would be immense if he were to only rely on wind


    As he turned back and looked down at all the people which were doing their best to get away, he realised that there was no way, something like this wouldn''t do severe damage to the city if it were to fall.


    "Looks like I''ll have to go all out..." Said John as he propelled himself towards the tower which was currently falling down and ced his hands on it


    [Levite, Levite, Levite, Levite]


    He continued casting it over and over again, so that the spell could fully reach every inch and corner of this tower, he needed to do whatever he could to decrease it''s weight


    [Levite, Levite, Levite, Levite, Levite, Levite...]


    He could feel it getting lighter, and as he did, he made sure to gather and gather more and more air behind his legs


    "Come... ON!!!" He shouted


    [Levite, Levite, Levite, Levite, LEVITE!!]


    And then as if it were some sort of explosion, he unleashed it.

 Chapter 198 - Sacred Treasure Art: Revert (Time)

    A Magic circle was formed under his legs as he continued to gather air there. Surprised, John unleashed the air and propelling him straight forward


    He began to move the broken half of the tower back as the air continued to unleash itself at rapid rates.


    "Argh... Work... Damn IT!" He shouted as he poured all of his power into pushing it back.


    His aim was to push it straight into the ocean or at least get it to bnce off to the other side, but he just didn''t have enough power.


    The tower long tower had stopped descending, but the tip of it was starting to slowly tilt downwards as there was nothing up there to stop it.


    If it continued to tilt downwards, then the edge would just end up crashing straight into the city .


    Seeing this, John began to wonder what he should do, he couldn''t cover two parts at once. Now he had regretted his decision of not going to the middle.


    "Damn it... Their wind pressure is just about to run out... Damn it... Think!" He shouted at himself


    He wracked his brain, while feeling the weight on his shoulders increase with each second that passed.


    "If only... If only I had more time..." John muttered


    In that moment, he felt it. The weight of the tower was decreasing, and most importantly, his speed was increasing.


    However, he shortly realised after looking around that it wasn''t only his speed, but the whole world around him, had slowed down.


    The seagulls which were flying at the beach were now moving at half their normal speed.


    As he turned back and looked down to check Serena and Ariel''s movements were also significantly slower, but only to around half of their normal speed.


    They were gathering wind and charging up their spell.


    It was as if he was watching a video in 0.5x speed, John couldn''t believe his eyes. It was sort of like enhancing his senses with magic, but things were much slower and he himself didn''t slow down.


    "This... is amazing..." He muttered


    The feeling of the wind on his body had also slowed down, and he felt unnaturally calm. Everything slowing down felt as if it was natural for him.


    "I see..." He muttered as he stretched his arm back


    In that instant, he said the words


    "Sacred Treasure Art..."


    A magic circle appeared slightly in front of his arm, rather than looking like the normal magic circle which was two triangles on top of one another with runes around it, this magic circle was like a clock.


    *Tick* *Tock*


    The sound of a clock could be heard as John moved back and moved his hand forward


    "Revertatur" Trantion: Revert


    In that instant, the copsed tower, began to move back. There was no force pushing at it back, and yet it was moving backwards to its spot, as if it were being reyed.


    The long-copsed tower, slowly moved away from him and began heading back to its original spot, along with some of the fallen rubble.


    John watched this as if he had already expected it to happen, or rather, it felt like it wasn''t his first time doing it, it felt as if he had done it before and could do it again.


    For a moment, the tower began returning to it''s spot.


    *Tick*


    Suddenly, it stopped dead in its tracks. The effect of the art ran out. The tower was too big. On top of that time had reverted back to it''s normal speed a while ago.


    "But this is fine... It''s nearly vertical now..." Said John as he propelled himself to the middle


    The tower which was on a near-horizontal position had now returned back to a near-vertical position, John had now had an opportunity to strike.


    Once again, he gathered a lump of wind on his legs before using it to propel himself forward, on top of that, he began mixing hydrogen particles into some of the air gathered


    [Ignis]


    *Boom*


    An explosion was let off under his legs giving him an extra boost forward, the now lighter tower was moved a tiny bit back thanks to it.


    Seeing this, John did it again, while also making sure that he wouldn''t get hurt by formed a small wind shield above the hydrogen explosion wind under him.


    *Boom*


    And again


    *Boom*


    The tower was being slightly pushed back, but it wasn''t enough. On top of that, he could feel his consciousness fading.


    [Did the Sacred Art move take all of my magic power?] He wondered as he looked at his gloves.


    The magic stones werepletely dried out, he''d never seen them so used up before. But even though they were in that condition, he continued to push through.


    "If I lose consciousness now... It''s all over... Should I use revert again?" He asked


    He knew that if he did, it would definitely be over if he lost consciousness, as he began to wonder how exactly he would deal with this, he suddenly noticed the clouds gathering in the sky, away from the tower.


    [!]


    He turned his head to see what it was, and in that instant, he saw it.


    From the area where all the clouds were gathering, it emerged. It looked like the top of a spiraling hurricane or tornado. It was a massive amount of wind which span as it headed straight towards the tower.


    Confused, John looked down at the ground to see what was happening and noticed that there was a squad which stood out near the beach.


    There were around 20 all wore silver armour except for the two in the lead. The one in the right, carried a long sword on his waist as he wore his golden yellow armour while the one on the left, wore a robe and a staff.


    He couldn''t see their features properly from where he was at, but decided to worry about itter.


    [The Royal Knights?]


    His staff was glowing, he was most likely the one who had cast this spell.


    The tornado was nearly as wide as the tower. It was gigantic. The very few people who were still there stared at it.


    "What the hell..." Said John as he stared at it with a nervous smile


    [That''s heading straight at me!?]

 Chapter 199 - The Sacred Treasure Of Time

    It wasn''t every day that you could see such a big spell.


    The tornado quickly made its way towards the tower before crashing into it.


    *Crash*


    A few pieces copsed but the tower remained intact. John made sure to grab and slow down the falling pieces with levite as he watched the tower get pushed back.


    He could feel the wind pressure all the way from where he was at.


    He turned towards the squad once more to get a better idea of just how strong they were, when all of the sudden, he made eye contact with the two who were in the lead.


    [Furtim]


    John quickly turned back to the tower after they made eye contact, he felt a chill go down his spine at the thought of that guy finding out his identity


    [There''s no way he''ll remember my face at night, right?]


    John supported the Tornado which was currently pushing the tower back as he also used wind magic to propel himself straight towards it.


    [Come on...]


    Together, now at a much faster speed than before, the tower was getting pushed further and further back.


    ------------------------------


    "Serena, let''s unleash our third wind attack for an extra boost."


    Hearing this, Ariel nodded and the two released the third attack which they had been preparing


    "Saint-ss Combined Wind Magic: Spiralling Burst Cannon!!" They simultaneously shouted


    In that instant, an intense amount of wind pressure in the form of a cannon was sent straight at the tower and began pushing at it.


    Now there were three strong forces pushing the tower back and it was working.


    The attacks continued to push at the tower with everything they had. Thankfully they were blunts so they weren''t breaking it down, but there was a risk of the tower breaking from the pressure


    John could try to reinforce the tower, but there was no way he''d have enough magic power to do that, or enough time even.


    Their best bet was to hope the tower would hold on enough.


    Eventually, the tower was pushed so far back that it was now pointing straight at the sky. Seeing this, A smile was formed on john''s face as he jumped away from it.


    "Just one more push..." He muttered as he began gathering air behind him.


    At the same time, He grabbed on to the daggers which he had on his waist and gathered wind in four different areas in front of him


    The air which was being gathered was being gathered at a moderate rate, but John needed it to be bigger. He needed it to be gathered faster.


    "Faster... Faster... Sacred Treasure Art..."


    The at which the wind was being gathered, was getting faster and faster along with the sound of a clock resounding in the background


    *Tic* *Toc*


    The same magic circle with the form of a clock was formed in front of John as he stretched out his hand


    "Antecessum" Trantion: Advance


    The minute hand in the magic clock moved to one and in that instant, the four areas where the air was being gathered, suddenly significantly increased in size.


    He had also noticed that once he used advance, the clock on the daggers also moved along with the clock on the magic circle


    *Toc*


    The minute hand moved to 2 and once again, the air increased in size, it was now four giant lumps of air which was gathered.


    John felt drained, but he already understood what was happening.


    His sacred treasure''s ability, it was the ability to control time. However, he wasn''t sure to what extent, the only thing he knew he could do now was revert, advance and elerate.


    And all of these came at a great risk, it took too much magic power.


    "When was thest time... I felt this tired from using magic...?" John asked as he panted heavily


    He raised his arm into the air pulling all the four lumps above it, merging them in the process.


    The result was a giant ball of air without shape, it was as wide as the hurricane which was still going strong and around the size of the tower


    As he lowered his hands, he could feel his vision getting blurry and his muscles were dying out.


    "Now that everyone''s seen my face, If I''m going to go out... I''ll have to do it in the coolest way possible." Said John as a smile formed on his face


    Once his hands were lowered, he shouted out through the top of his lungs


    "GOO!!!!!"


    The Giant lump of air was propelled straight at the tower, crashing straight into it and pushing it further and further back than it already was.


    The tower was no longer vertical and was now falling over to the other side. They had done it, the tower was going tond on the water where there was no one.


    The lump of air, hurricane and spiralling cannon pushed the tower off of it''s broken base and made it tilt itself in the air as itnded straight into the water and sea


    In that instant, the loud sound of a crash resounded through the beach alongside the sound water sshing everywhere


    Waves were sent straight towards the shore.


    -----------------------


    Everyone who was either near or far watched as the young boy floated in the air under the silver moon.


    Many thoughts passed through their mind but most had amon thought in their minds


    "That kid is a hero..."


    "H-He did it!!!"


    "That kid is amazing!!"


    "he must be the S-Rank adventurer!"


    "I''ve never heard of an S-Rank adventurer being that young in years!"


    The crowd cheered as they watched at the valiant figure of the boy. However a few noticed that something was off.


    "H-Hey, is he okay?"


    "He''s falling straight down..."


    "He''s out of mana! Someone help him!"


    But no one would be able to make it in time.


    John looked down wondered if all the adventurers managed to evacuate as the bottom half of the tower seemed to be copsing.


    However, despite trying to help, he waspletely out of gas, his muscles were numb and he felt nauseous.


    On top of that, he was currently falling head-first.


    "Damn it... After all that magic power I used in the dungeon, I even had to use some heavy time manipting magic... God... This life is hard..." He muttered as he continued to fall


    The feeling of the air as it hit his face was enough to make him feel rxed


    "But it sure is satisfying... I feel so bad-ass right now... Damn, Hopefully Master Sylvia catches me soon..."


    John continued to ramble on, not worried at all by the fact that his head was getting closer and closer to the ground. The wind pressure starting getting stronger along with his speed as he began descending faster


    "Hm... Anytime now..."


    He began to grow more and more worried


    "... Master...? The ground is getting a little too close..."


    He was now only 50 meters away from the ground


    "Master!-"


    [Releasing 1st Layer of magic seal]


    "Wha-"


    A voice yed out in his head and before he could even recognise or think about it, A blue glow came from inside him knocking him unconscious in that instant.

 Chapter 200 - 1st Layer Of Magic Seal Released.

    "..."


    John slowly and quietly opened his eyes before looking around. He had expected himself to be in some sort of pce guest chamber and yet contrary to his expectations, he was inside of an inn.


    As he thought about it, he caught something on the corner of his eyes, hiding next to the bed.


    "What''re you doing?" John asked as he leaned over and looked down


    It was Ariel, she had an embarrassed look on her face and gave him a small nervous smile once they made eye contact


    "H-Hey..."


    "Are you okay...?" John asked


    "Eh? Ah, Yes! How are you feeling?" Ariel asked before suddenly getting up


    [How I''m feeling...]


    "I''m having trouble controlling my magic power right now..." John muttered as he put his hand to his chin


    [Why...? Does it have something to do with that voice I heard? Removing 1styer magic seal... Also, wasn''t that Zestari? It sounded like her, but she sounded weak...]


    "Is it because you went overboard with your magic power yesterday?" Ariel asked


    "I think it''s something else, but let''s just go with that. More importantly, why were you crouched down next to the bed?" John asked


    Not even a second after he did, Ariel hastily replied without looking him in the eyes


    "I dropped a coin."


    "..."


    "..."


    John quietly stared at her with a look of doubt while Ariel quietly and nervously stared at the wall


    "How long was I out for?" John asked


    "A few days." Ariel replied


    "And the situation?" John asked


    Hearing this, Ariel put on a serious face before replying


    "It''s not major, but the Royal knights are interested and in the lookout for you, judging from what Master Sylvia said. As an S-Rank adventurer, you should be able to avoid them and you don''t really belong to the city, so everything should be fine." Said Ariel with a smile


    "I see..."


    [If I fake being an S-Rank adventurer, they''ll leave me alone. Also they won''t be able to kidnap me like the King of Halfaust did. I doubt anyone would, aside from an S-rank Adventurer himself]


    "And..."


    "And?" John asked


    "When you started falling a bright blue light came from you and pierced the skies... What sort of light was it? And why is the amount of magic which I can feel from you even less than before...?" Ariel asked


    "A blue light...? I''m not sure, I can''t realy remember. I closed my eyes and woke up here. And wasn''t the amount of magic you could feel before nothing?" John asked


    "Yes, I couldn''t feel anything before, but now... It feels like there''s something there now, only, it''s like it''s missing something, like it''s less than before..."


    [My magic capacity dropped? Is it because I ended up using all that magic power? Or is it because of the sacred treasure?]


    Once he reminded himself of the Sacred Treasure, he quickly moved the nket off of him before stepping straight onto the cold wooden floor.


    "Eh? Wait, you need to rest." Said Ariel as she tried to stop him from going out


    "Hm, Where''s Master Sylvia and Serena?" John asked as he looked around


    His dimensional Ring was still on him, but his daggers were gone. Ariel probably took them off so he could sleep peacefully, but he needed something different right now.


    "Hm... I think they''re eating downstairs" Said Ariel


    "Have you eaten yet?" John asked


    Hearing this, Ariel slowly shook her head before saying


    "I was going to eatafter. One of us had to be on the lookout for you." Said Ariel


    [Lookout? What does she mean?]


    "Lookout?" John asked


    Once she realised what she said, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands before saying


    "Nophthinmg" Trantion: Nothing


    "..."


    ",,,??


    Once again, John quietly stared at her, and now she quietly stared at the window


    "Have their been any kidnap attempts on me?" John asked


    "D-Don''t worry! M-Master Sylvia dealt with it..." Said Ariel, with a worried look on her face


    "Hm... Perhaps I should evacuate the civilians and destroy this city..." John muttered with his hand on his chin


    "EH?! N-N-"


    Serena was interrupted by John who let out a smallugh as he said


    "I''m joking."


    Hearing this, Serena forced a smile before saying


    "Heh..."


    ***


    "Are you sure you''re feeling better? You were asleep for 4 days, 4!" Said Ariel unpleased of the idea of him going out


    "Don''t worry, we''ll wear masks and our identity will be hidden."


    "That''s not the problem!"


    John had ow fully equipped his armour and clothes and daggers which had been lying around under the bed. What he needed right now was to go prepare for an event which would be happening tomorrow.


    "You said 4 days... We wasted 1 day in the dungeon meaning we only have 1 more day till the 30th... And that''s when the ball starts..." Said John


    "Are you talking about the invite from the duke the ball...? You''re still going?" Ariel asked surprised


    "Of course, I am." Said John


    "W-Why? Things aren''t like you think right now... The dungeon copsing has be a hot topic amongst the people... If anyone finds you... You''ll probably receive a lot of gratitude and happiness due to having stopped it from copsing onto the city, but at the same time..."


    "I know, there will be people mad at me for taking their source of ie which was already hard to take advantage of." Said John


    "So you know!"


    John made his way towards the door and she followed behind letting out a sigh while doing so


    "I know, but we have to attend that ball, there''s something I must do." Said John with a smile


    Ariel didn''t know what that smile meant but it looked like there was a bit of evil behind it.


    "What''re you nning?" She asked


    "Nothing much, I''d just like to have a little talk and see what it''s like for nobles."


    Ariel could tell that John was nning something, but decided to give up as he was showing no signs of stopping. But suddenly, he did. As he grasped the door handle he stopped and had a serious look on his face.


    Ariel took this as some sort of threat was approaching, so she pulled out her staff and began gathering air. When all of the sudden, John said


    "I forgot to brush my teeth...."

 Chapter 201 - The Young Boy And Girl

    After getting john''s suit, the group were headed to the next closest tailor where they specialised on dresses for girls


    As they passed through the streets, John watched as the poor kids continued to y around with an expression of Joy on their faces


    The streets were slightly clean, themoners were forced to clean them after all, but no matter what happened, there''d always be a difference in treatment. The world was an unfair ce after all. But even the poor can be happy with what they have.


    "While the rich, thirst for more..." John muttered


    "Hm? Did you say something?" Serena asked as she suddenly turned to him, stopping their conversation.


    "Nothing at all..." John muttered as he looked outside


    Hearing this, the two looked a little confused, but continued on with their girl talk. John was a bit bored and lonely, despite having no interest in girl talk, he couldn''t think of anything to talk about.


    John quietly watched as one of the kids, a young boy, who was ying tag with another young girl and their friends.


    [Look at how happy they look... If I ever make a city or kingdom, I''d make sure everyone would be happy.] John thought to himself


    Suddenly, the two kids who were ying tag with their friends, bumped into a man. He seemed to be slightly over 6 foot and appeared to be drunk.


    [This carriage is moving rather slowly.]


    There was another carriage in front, giving John enough time to see the whole situation. The man began talking and despite John being quite a distance away, he could hear it over the other sounds which came from food stalls, people walking and talking.


    "Hey! Brats! You just got my shirt dirty... You''ll have to pay for a new one!"


    [What? Is this guy serious? More importantly, I''m not even using magic to increase my senses and yet I can still clearly hear them...]


    The two kids in front of him were terrified, so much that they began to shake in their spots while their friends ran away as fast as they could while shouting "Retreat!". The guy towered over them, they looked no older than 6.


    The girl moved in front of the boy with his legs trembling as she said


    "S-Sorry... W-We don''t have any m-money..."


    They both had the look of terror in their eyes, well it was normal. Especially when the guy was releasing his bloodlust.


    "No money...? Tch, guess I''ll just sell you off as ves." Said the man as he stretched out his hands


    "W-We didn''t do-"


    Before she could finish, the boy grabbed on to the girl''s hand before pulling her away from the guy


    "Run!" He shouted before the two began to run


    The man who saw this formed a small grin on his face before chasing after them. They took a turn along with the man and disappeared from John''s line of sight.


    "So it was intentional... He nned this from the start." John muttered with a small grin


    John got up and began doing a few stretches, seeing this, Ariel asked


    "John, are you going somewhere?"


    "Mhm, I''ll be back soon. How much longer till we get there, Master?" John asked


    "1 Minute, Be quick." Said Master Sylvia


    Hearing this, John happily nodded before hopping off the moving carriage.


    "Now, Let''s test out this sacred treasure..." John muttered


    -------------------------


    The kids ran and ran as hard as they can, going through crowds of people, hoping that the man would give up, but he showed no signs of doing so.


    He continued to chase after them, as if there was nothing more important.


    "H-HELP!"


    "PLEASE!"


    The two cried out for help but there was no reply, no knights could be seen in the area, and most of the civilians just ignored it, as if it was something normal.


    Seeing this, the kids had no choice but to somehow shake him off. They took a sharp left turn straight into the alley, hoping that they would be able to find a path that only they could fit through.


    And once they did, they found it. A small hole on the wall which they would be able to get through


    "Quick! You firs-"


    The boy suddenly stopped talking when he realised that the girl was no longer with him. He turned around and noticed that she had been caught by the guy


    "You have some nerve, trying to get away from me..." Said the man as he gripped tightly on to the girls hand


    The girl tried struggling out of his grip scratching at his hand and even biting it, but she had no luck.


    "Quiet..."


    The guy stretched out his right hand and gripped on to the girls head


    "AAH!!" She cried out in pain


    The boy watched, desperately trying to think of something to do. They were in an alley, so they could only go forward and back. On top of that, they were the only ones there.


    Anyone who passed through on the outside showed no interest. But he couldn''t just sit back and watch without doing anything. The boy noticed a piece of broken grass on the ground, and without even thinking about it.


    He rushed over to it, and picked it up before charging straight at the man who was about to m his friend on to the wall.


    "LET HER GO!!" The boy shouted


    "Oh...? I finally found you after all this time. Sit back quietly." Said the man as he sent a kick straight at the boy''s head


    The boy ducked just in time, barely avoiding and stretched out his dagger straight towards the man''s arm.


    But before he could pierce it, the man suddenly moved the girl in the way In thest second. And in that moment, the boy tripped.


    "Sacred Treasure Art..."


    The broken ss on his hand got closer and closer to the girls, he couldn''t stop it, he tried moving his hand, but wasn''t fast enough.


    He was going to stab her at this rate


    "WAI-"


    "Modero." Trantion: Slow down

 Chapter 202 - Worth Thousands Of Gold

    As the broken edge of the bottle moved closer and closer to the girl, the sound of footsteps could be heard.


    *Tap* *Tap* *Tap*


    Right when it about to pierce her, the footsteps stopped, and a yellow sh appeared and it happened it before any of them could see it.


    John was holding on to the boy''s hand as he carried the girl on his shoulder.


    "What?" The boy asked as he hastily looked around


    He had no idea what had just happened. He saw a yellow light and felt something pull him back. When he came to it, there was a person standing in front of him.


    On top of that, that person now held on to his friend on his shoulders. He couldn''t believe it.


    "Hey little guy, need some help?" John asked as smiled at him while crouching down.


    John''s face was covered with a mask, so the boy couldn''t see it, but it didn''t matter. For a boy who had always been ignored when he asked his help from anyone other than the ones who knew him, he didn''t know how to react to John''s words.


    "W-What''s... when did... Who...?"Asked the girl


    She seemed just as confused, but she suddenly quieted down once she heard her friend start to talk


    Tears poured out of his eyes as he clenched his chest and asked the words


    "Please... Help... Us..." He asked as he bowed


    Hearing this, John gave the boy a headpat before walking towards the man.


    "Hm...? How did you...? A mask...?" The man asked as he looked over at his hand.


    He now held on to air.


    He was surprised for a moment, but didn''t look afraid.


    "Interesting..." He muttered


    He was able to see John''s movement but wasn''t able to react.


    Once John stood right in front of him, without trying anything funny, the man asked.


    "Hey, hey, listen to me for a second. That kid is worth thousands of gold coins. People are looking for him all over the continent." Said the man


    Hearing this, John turned towards the kid. He looked nothing more than an ordinary boy and his magic power wasn''t anything that big.


    "Interested, right? How about it? We split the rewards between me and you sixty to fort-"


    John interrupted the man as he pulled out a coin from his dimensional ring and asked


    "Heads or tails?"


    "Huh?"


    John let out a sigh and repeated it


    "Heads or tails?" He asked once more


    "What is heads... Or Tails...? Are you messing with me, kid?" The man asked looking slightly angered now


    "Alright, since you''re taking too long to decide, I''ll pick heads." Said John before throwing the coin into the air.


    As it continued to spin, it suddenly dropped down forming a small crack on the ground. The coin showed no signs of being dented as John picked it up.


    "Looks like I win." Said John as he showed it to the man


    It showed heads. Surprisingly enough, some gold coins are different around the world. The one in Halfaust had a certain face on the coin, while the one in Asteria and the dungeon showed a different one. The one thing they had inmon is that they all showed a face.


    "Win...? Are you... Trying to buy time?" The man asked before quickly looking around


    But the moment he turned around, he noticed that John was standing behind him, with his arm moving towards the him.


    Surprised, the man stepped back and began to chant something, but before he could even finish, he suddenly dropped to the ground.


    "Wha-"


    As heid on the ground, John crouched down next to him.


    "Hey... Do you want to be paralysed?" John asked


    Hearing this, the man now hastily swung his arm at John, only to miss in thest second. He was felt both confused and scared of the kid in front of him. He didn''t know what was happening.


    "I''m joking." Said John as he now stood next to the two young kids who were also confused


    A trace of yellow sh was left behind as he disappeared from the man''s side


    "Let''s go." Said John with a smile as he grabbed on to their hands


    Hearing this they nodded, and followed him while holding his hand. They easily walked past the man who was no longer putting up a fight.


    "W-Wai-"


    The man froze once John turned back to look at him. He never knew it was possible to feel such a sinister aura and bloodlust from a kid.


    "Yes?" John asked


    His voice was calm yet cold enough to send shivers down the mans spine.


    "I-I apologise... I promise I''ll never try anything like that again, so please-"


    Without even bothering to listen to the man, John took the kids outside of the alley.


    [W-What the hell... Was that kid...? My hands won''t stop shaking..." Said the man as he moved his arm to grab it.


    In that instant, he realised. If he had angered that kid or if the kid decided to go back to finish him off, then he''d definitely die.


    The man got up in fear before quickly running towards the outside of the valley


    When he did, he heard a voiceing from the inside. He turned around and saw the same kid from earlier.


    "Don''t try anything funny or you''ll regret it."


    Those were the kid''s final words before he instantly climbed up the walls with his body clouded in a yellow electric light.


    --------------------------------


    "Thank you, Big brother!" Said the girl as she suddenly hugged John


    A young girl with a small figure. Her hair rather short, it reached up to her chin and didn''t look like it had been cut. A mixture of light green and yellow, a rather unusual, hair colour. She wore slightly old clothes but they were clean.


    "Thank you for helping us." Said the boy as he bowed


    A young boy with an also small and skinny figure. Short pink spiky hair with an observant look. The clothes he wore were dirty but they were in surprisingly good condition, which was strange for someone homeless.


    The boy had piqued John''s interest. Something about being worth thousands in gold, Just who was he?


    [Well, It''s none of my business. That''s right... Didn''t master tell me to be quick? Crap!]


    Before Dashing away, he needed to get this girl who was now lynched to his legs to get off of him.. But before he could, they made a request.

 Chapter 203 - The High-Class Female Tailor Shop

    "Argh... I''mte." John muttered as he entered the shop


    He was mostlyte because he was held back by those kids, but he didn''t mind. Not only that, but if he waste then that would mean that he''d be able to see them already in their dresses.


    He was nervous but at the same time, looking forward to it.


    As he entered the tailor, the first thing which stood out about it was the floor. It was shiny, so shiny that it appeared to sparkle.


    Like the tailor john went to, this one stood out. Two floors high, arge clean shop with plenty of clothes and options to pick from.


    There were clothes being disyed around in clothing rails sort of like how it was in John''s previous life.


    On top of that, the lighting was great, everything was disyed clearly, and there were a few counters.


    "This shop is ahead of it''s time..." John muttered as he walked inside


    The tailor shop he had gone to before was sort of like this, but all the suits were either inside of a closet or just on disy through some sort of closet with a ss.


    Once he was inside, he was quickly greeted by one of the maids who appeared at the door.


    "Hello dear customer, how may I help you today?" She asked with a smile


    It was a high-ss shop, not only that but, the first floor was also quite big. John wondered what was on the second floor as he greeted her back.


    "Hey, I came here to find my group. They''re probably trying out the clothes that they''ve chosen by now."


    John knew that they weren''t on the 1st floor, he couldn''t see them anywhere around and could feel their presenceing from the 2nd floor.


    "Hm... It''s not really allowed since I wasn''t told anything... But, sure, follow me." She Said with a smile


    [That''s strange... I''ve been being treated rather nicely today... Even though I''m just some random kid...]


    Suddenly, John realised something.


    [This isn''t because of the rumours that are going around is it? Damn it, is it my mask?] John wondered


    Without saying anything, John simply thanked her before following her


    "Thank you." Said John


    A girl who seemed to be in her 18s, slightly long pink hair and pink pupils, yet a sharp and calm gaze. Good proportions and a fit, slim build. As John got a closer look at her, he was reminded of the young boy who he had helped a while ago, almost like a feminine version of him.


    "No need to thank me, there are quite a few groups here... do you mind giving me details about your group?" She asked


    Hearing this, John nodded, he was taken too far back due to how kind she was being, he felt a little hesitant to trust her but was also having his faith in humanity restored.


    "Two young girl- A-Ah, I mean... One young girl and two adults. One of them is short with moderately long hair while the other is kind of tall with long ck hair tied up in a pony tail.?? Said John


    "Hm... I think I recall a group like that..." She muttered as she ced her hand on her chin


    "Really? Where are they?" John asked while faking a relieved look


    "They should be in the changing rooms, if I recall correctly... But."


    "But?" John asked


    "Guys aren''t allowed there unless they are apanied by the girls themselves before going up." She said


    Hearing this, John let out a sad sigh before saying


    "I see... I''ll just wait for them down here then." Said John


    "Understood, I hope they don''t keep you waiting for too long." Said the maid before quickly heading to the door once more to help whoever else needed it.


    "She sure is hard working... I didn''t even have to act like a rich boy." John muttered


    So without nothing to do, John waited.


    One minute passed, and there was no sign of them going down the stairs.


    .


    Another minute passed, and they remained upstairs. He could see the mana in their body moving around, but they looked undecisive about something.


    .


    5 minutes had now passed and still no sign of them. Slightly worried, John began to wonder if he should maybe sneak in with Furtim activated.


    But thankfully, there was no need for that, they had started going down the stairs.


    "Jesus... How long did they intend on spending in there...?"


    They looked bothered by something and even looked a bit nervous. As John got closer and called out to them, a relieved expression appeared on their faces as they let out a sigh. Everyone except for Master Sylvia who rarely changed her expression.


    "John, Just in time." Said Ariel with a relieved smile


    "Eh?" John unintentionally let out


    [What''s going on?]


    "We forgot to get the money to buy it, so we ended up waiting in the changing room, while trying out new things, but you never showed up." Said Serena


    "I''ve been waiting down here for 8 minutes" Said John


    "Then why didn''t you just go up?" Serena asked


    "I''m not allowed to go into the changing rooms with you unless I apany you at the same time as you enter." John replied


    "You look rather happy for someone who''s been standing here for 8 minutes." Said Serena as she stared at him in disbelief


    She was right, without him even realising it, John was rather happy and excited to see them in their dresses.


    "It''s your imagination, more importantly, what did you guys get?" John asked


    They weren''t holding on to their clothes and he couldn''t see it anywhere.


    "After trying it out, you''re supposed to return it until you actually buy it. Also, we''ve already tried it out for today so there''s no need to do it again." Said Serena


    After she finished, John wanted to tell them that he wanted to see what they looked like in it, but the words just wouldn''te out.


    [I guess as I''ll have to wait until tomorrow...] Thought John as he let out a sigh


    "Alright, Let''s go buy it and go home..." Said John dejectedtly


    The two girls wondered why John so depressed, but decided to wait until after they left the store before asking

 Chapter 204 - Future Images Of The Past?

    The two girls wondered why John so depressed, but decided to wait until after they left the store before asking


    ---------------


    On their way back home, John decided to separate from the group, telling them that he had something to do.


    Master Sylvia who heard this, gave him permission and the two girls told him to be careful. John himself still had one more thing he had to deal with today which is why he suddenly suggested this, but they didn''t have to know about it.


    His sudden decision however, ended up costing him more than he imagined.


    ==========================


    "So it''s finally today..." Muttered John as he got up before heading towards the toilet.


    His spiky hair was now rather curly and messy due to the sensation of the soft hotel bed which he had slept on.


    His green eyes rather cloudy and hazy from memories of whatever happened on the previous day.


    "Argh... Why does my head hurt so much." He muttered as he walked into the bathroom.


    As he stared at his reflection in the mirror, he finally noticed it.


    "Wait a minute... This isn''t my room!?" He nearly shouted


    Surprised, John quickly looked around. Clean toilet, concrete sparkling floors, a nice bright light in the ceiling along with the refreshing smell


    [What''s going on...?] He asked himself


    "Where... Am I!?"


    He quickly looked over at the bed which he hadid on and couldn''t believe what he saw.


    It was clean and big, almost like the sort of bed you''d find on a high-rated hotel, if he were topare it to the other inns or hotels he''s been to in this world.


    Confused, John ran towards the bedroom door to leave it, and as he opened it.


    And there she was. Master Sylvia, standing in a long ck dress, waiting right outside of the room.


    Seeing someone that he knew, made him feel a sense of relief.


    "Master..." John muttered with a happy smile


    "Put on some clothes the ball is today." Said Master Sylvia before she suddenly left


    "Clothes?" John asked before looking down


    Once he did, he noticed that he was shirtless and only wearing shorts.


    "... Ball...? Ah... That''s right, there''s the ball today, damn... I nearly forgot." Joh muttered


    ***


    John got changed and before quickly heading to outside to the carriage which awaited him. Today was the day of the ball, but he couldn''t remember what had happened yesterday.


    "The suit... Was it ordered to my room or did Master Sylvia put it there for me? More importantly... How the hell did I end up in here?" John asked as he turned around


    A Large building around 4 stories high. It stood out from all the other buildings in the area, and had a luxurious look to it.


    "When the..."


    Suddenly John felt a pain on his head causing him to stagger as he walked towards the carriage. The pain got stronger and stronger to the point where the whole world seemed to be spinning around him.


    [Argh... Why... Does it hurt so much...?!]


    Memories of what happened yesterday slowly began returning to him, and when it did, before he even realised it. Tears were streaming down his eyes as the memory reyed in his mind.


    --------------------------


    It was shes of memories, and they were inurate it was like watching an old movie from the 20th century.


    "Please... Help... us..." Said the two kids near him


    He remembered them, they were the kids that he had helped before, he knew that, but what he couldn''t remember was what happened after that.


    Suddenly, the scenery changed to him meeting up with the kids again, and with them was a familiar girl who looked like the pink-haired boy he had met.


    [Isn''t that the maid that I saw before...?] John wondered


    His head was aching but the pain gradually weakened, and he began to see events which had yed out yesterday, or so he believed.


    -------------------------


    John was snapped back into reity as Master Sylvia ced her arm on his shoulder and said


    "Take in a deep breath, and let it out." Said Master Sylvia


    Hearing this, John quickly did as he was told. He took in a deep breath, and let it out in a single motion.


    As he did so, he could feel his senses return to him and his heart rate had stabilised.


    "Thanks... Master..." Muttered John as he took in another deep breath before letting it out


    Master gave John a head pat before she said


    "You look nice."


    After doing so, she headed towards the carriage leaving John alone for a moment. She knew better than anyone that she needed to let him have some time to reorganise his thoughts.


    John noticed two things as he watched his master head back to the carriage. The first was the carriage was a different onepared to the one from before.


    This one looked more luxurious, clean and expensive, while the other was just a simple merchant carriage.


    But all of that slipped out of his mind as he thought about the images that he saw. He felt something odd with them.


    "Strange... Rather than it just being something of the past... It felt like... A premonition..."


    [Like a vision of the future... Another vision of the future? It feels like something Zestari would do, but it''s fundamentally different...] John thought to himself


    John''s entire mind was confused, he didn''t know what to trust or what to think of or about anymore, all he wanted was to find something to distract his mind.


    "I''ll figure it out soon... But for now... If those were really images of what might happen then..."


    John paused for a moment before looking over at his new sacred daggers and saying


    "Then I''ll have to find a way to change it..."


    After muttering that, he headed straight towards the carriage while trying to think of positive things such as how Serena and Ariel looked, but no matter how hard he tried to take his mind off of it, he just couldn''t.


    "Sorry guys... I''ll be back.... Modero." Trantion: Slow Down

 Chapter 205 - The Confusing Twist

    "Hm... Where''s John?" Ariel asked as she looked outside of the carriage


    "He''s out there with Master Sylvia, isn''t he?" Serena asked as she peaked out.


    The two girls looked around but John was nowhere to be found. Seeing this, they quickly got out of the carriage checking to see if he had been kidnapped or ambushed but they couldn''t detect anything.


    Ariel cast her wind search spell before looking around, but unfortunately, she couldn''t feel a trace of John nearby.


    The two girls turned back to the carriage and noticed that Master Sylvia was just waiting there for them to get on.


    Confused, the two girls approached Master Sylvia as Serena asked


    "Ms. Sylvia, wasn''t John here a second ago?" Serena asked


    Master Sylvia who heard this, Shook her head without a hint of change in her expression


    "Did we imagine it...?" Ariel asked


    Master Sylvia wasn''t one to lie, she also never joked around making it harder to doubt her. But they were certain that they saw him.


    "Then, Where is he?" Ariel asked


    Hearing this, Master Sylvia stared at the sky where clouds now began to gather


    "There''s going to be a storm..." Master Sylvia muttered


    The two girls were confused for a moment until Serena asked


    "What...?"


    "John isn''t here, he''s heading to the ball. Get in the carriage, we''re about to follow him." Said Master Sylvia


    "Why didn''t he just go with us?" Ariel asked


    Master Sylvia who heard this formed a small smile on her face as she said


    "Because he''s john."


    ------------------------------


    In the same alleyway as John had helped them before, the two kids could be seen once more.


    "Big brother, you''re here!" Shouted the pink-haired boy happily as he rushed straight at John to hug him


    "Big brother!" Shouted the girl who was with him as she also happily rushed straight at John for a hug.


    John was slightly pushed back as the two both jumped together at him, as they tightly hugged him, he could hear them quietly chanting a spell.


    But before they could finish it, he suddenly ced his hand above their heads before saying


    "Sana."


    In that instant, a holy glow appeared in front of his palms as he moved it towards the back of their heads.


    As the light hit them, the transformation was undone. John could see their true forms.


    Two guys in a dark robe. It covered not only their faces but their entire figure.


    Seeing as how their spell had been broken, they stepped back, but before they could make some space to cast the other spells.


    John vanished from their sights before grabbing on to the back of their head and mming them straight down into the ground from behind.


    John used so much power that their heads were submerged into the stone floor in the alleyway knocking them out in that instant.


    Now that they were unconscious, John grabbed on to them and was about to drag them out of the alleyway to ask the questions which had been on his mind, when all of the sudden.


    Two people rose from the shadows at the end of the alley, Both fully cloaked just like the two who John had knocked out.


    Seeing this, John let out a sigh before letting go of the two on his hand and quickly freezing them in an ice cube


    "So, what are you waiting for?" John asked as he red at them


    The amount of bloodlust he was releasing was intense, they could tell just by looking at his face that he wasn''t nning on sparing them.


    Without saying anything, they charged straight at John, but before they could even react, John appeared in front of them and mmed them straight into the walls beside them


    *Crash*


    He moved around his head and did a few stretches as he watched more and more of these people appear from the shadow.


    Without a single care in the world, John began doing some stretches.


    Despite not having said a word, John''s anger reached out to them. There were many of them, two in the entrance, five hanging on the walls in the alley and over 10 looking down at him from the top of the small buildings.


    John raised his hand and that instant; an electric ice sphere was formed. They watched as the sphere split into many small pieces which extended into spiky poles.


    "Electro maism..." John muttered


    Suddenly an electric spark surged and began to flow through them, the spikes looked rather sinister and the attribute of electricity only made things more interesting.


    As they saw this, they were about to retreat, but by then it was toote. John had already locked on to every one of them.


    "Advanced Combined Magic... Killer Poles." John muttered


    In that instant, as if they were some sort of cannon, they were all propelled at once. One for each.


    Without having so much as an opportunity, to avoid it, one by one the cloaked people were getting pierced.


    Despite that, they didn''t make a single sound and after being pierced, their body would just turn into dark air and disperse. John knew that they were puppets, the ones which he had mmed had already dispersed along with the rest.


    Once there were no more puppets, John lowered his hand, and was about to leave the alley, when all of the sudden, a sound came from behind him.


    *p* *p* *p* *p*


    "It''s a miracle... A young boy was given the gift of using magic so well... Not only that, but I can sense a profound amount of talent from him..." Said the person as he pped his hands


    Their voice sounded like that of a male.


    Their figure was cloaked but they were already different from the shadow''s John had just dealt with.


    "I was waiting for you." Said John as he turned to the man with a face of rage and hate


    "Waiting for me...? That''s strange... I believe this is the first time we''ve m-"


    The man was interrupted by John who suddenly appeared in front of him with electricity flowing through him


    *Boom!*

 Chapter 206 - The Reckless Threat

    In a sh, John appeared in front of the man before sending his arm which had a red sphere formed on it, straight at the man''s head.


    The man who saw this, tried to avoid, but he wasn''t fast enough, without deflecting or blocking it, the man took the magic attack straight at his cloaked head.


    *Boom!*


    High amounts of wind pressure flowed to the back of the alley, as the man fell on to his knees and copsed to the ground.


    John turned back wondering if anyone noticed the explosion. He made sure to cast silentium right before it did explode and contained most of it, so it should have been fine.


    No one had noticed. Upon seeing this, John looked back over to the man whoid on the ground and stretched out his hand towards him, but when he did.


    The man''s body dispersed into thin air, leaving a trace of dark air behind. Seeing this, John let out a sigh before turning around.


    The man who he had just attacked was now behind him near the exit of the valley.


    "Wow... That was close..." Said the man


    He seemed to be keeping a certain distance away from John, indicating that he probably wouldn''t be able to keep up this spell that he has been using.


    John who noticed this, began to slowly walk towards him and the man simply stayed on his spot as he said


    "Wait a minute, I''m not done talking to you."


    However, to this, John simply asked


    "Where are they?"


    The closer John got, the worse it would get for the man. Seeing this, He slowly submerged himself in the shadow near him.


    But rather than stopping him, John quietly watched as he stopped moving. There was something off about John, something the man could sense.


    "I just want to have a talk." Said the man


    His voice could be heard all across the alleyway as it was covered in shadows everywhere due to the height of the buildings beside it.


    Hearing this, a small grin was formed on John''s recently expressionless face as he said


    "Go on."


    The man who heard this, had expected a reply like that. So without waiting for long, he went straight into it.


    "Join us. You meet the requirements."Said the man


    John who heard this, asked


    "Requirements?"


    "That''s right, you possess the ability to use the dark element... On top of that, you can use magic without chanting... And you''re able to use the Lost sacred treasure of time... It''s amazing..."


    John continued to listen without saying a word


    "You probably have many questions... All I can tell you now is that you''ll be treated highly and be able to have ess to whatever you desire. If you join us, you''ll have power, money, women, anything you''d like. This was the message I was told to ry to y-"


    Before the man could finish, he was interrupted by John who had startedughing.


    "Haha... Hahahaha... Ah... You''re in no position to offer me anything." Said John as he covered his face with his hands


    His eyes were losing it''s colours and turning a pitch ck, but at the same time it was being suppressed by something.


    "Sit back, quietly." Said John as he moved his hand away from his face


    His eyes were now back to normal.


    "Regarding your offer... I''ll decline." Said John without moving from his spot


    Hearing this, the man quickly replied


    "It''s pointless trying decline Even if you say no to me, they''ll just keep sending more and more people after you. And if we don''t do it, others will. How many groups do you think are after you? One...? Five...?"


    The man continued to talk without a care in the world and with a feeling of safety as he believed that John wouldn''t be able to find nor catch him.


    "over 10 well known groups are... One of them is the dark mage guild... We can give you safety... We can give you what you want... So stop being stubborn and just ept it."


    After saying this, the man let out a smallugh as he said


    "If you don''t, then, we won''t just be forcefully taking you... We''ll be taking everyone you care about. From you to your party to anyone you care about... Including those three who you travel with... We''ll force them to work for us to the point where-"


    In that instant, the sound of a clock''s tick was heard and lightning clouded John''s body before he disappeared from the man''s sight, before appearing in an area where there was a shadow.


    Seeing this, the man panicked for a moment, but before he could say anything else. John submerged sent his arm straight to the shadow on the ground, submerging it in the process before he grabbing a hold of something and pulling it out.


    "Wha-"


    The man was suddenly pulled straight out of the ground and without letting go of him, John stared at him, face to face.


    And as he did, the man could feel the fear in him start toe out. John was unleashing so much bloodlust that the man could barely breathe.


    "Wait... Even if you kill me, they''ll just send another after, there''s no reason to..."


    John interrupted the man once more as he began to tighten his grip over the man''s throat


    "You... What did you just say? That you would do...?" John asked


    His eyes were now once again, slowly getting clouded in darkness, he could feel a bulge in his skull as if something was trying toe out


    But once again, he suppressed that darkness as he continued to tighten his grip and let out a sigh


    The man was trying to say something, but he could no longer breathe. He was trying to push John away, but the difference in power was as like the difference between ake and an ocean.


    "S..."


    Before he could finish, his eyes closed and he fainted. Seeing this, John let go of his neck and grabbed on to the man''s robe before pulling it back.


    "...."

 Chapter 207 - The Guilds Ways

    The three arrived in front of the gates to a giant mansion. As they looked around, they could see that they weren''t the only ones there. Other nice-looking carriages belonging to others nearby could be seen.


    There was a cue of carriages a few carriages which were waiting in line for their turn and a single


    They weren''t the type of carriage used by merchants but simr to the luxurious one they had. It was the type of carriage used by nobles.


    "...Getting a new carriage was a surprisingly smart idea..." Serena muttered in disbelief


    "In the beginning you thought john was just wasting money." Ariel muttered with a smile


    "... Thanks for reminding me." Said Serena slightly annoyed


    They blended in perfectly with the other carriages, showing them that John had already foreseen something like this happening.


    Once it was eventually their turn in the cue, they were asked for their identity or invitation letter.


    "May I check the invitation letter?" The guard asked


    Hearing this, Serena pulled out the letter which was given to John from her bag, before handing it to the guard.


    After receiving it, the guard gave a look inside of the carriage to confirm something before whispering to the other guard next to him.


    Serena and Ariel found it weird, but before they could say anything. The guard handed them the letter back through the carriage windows as he asked


    "Is your fourth party member not with you?"


    As they heard that they nced at each other with as if asking each other how they should answer to that question, and if it was really safe to go inside.


    But before they could say anything, Master Sylvia who was at the driver''s seat, spoke up.


    "He''ll be here, shortly. Is there anything else?" She asked


    Hearing this, the guards shook their heads before opening the gates and saying


    "No, not at all, enjoy!"


    Master Sylvia took that as her cue and the carriage began moving forward as the horses pulled at it through the gate.


    As they passed through the area, they made sure to get a good look around.


    Arge private owned territory with a big mansion at the middle of it. There were many carriages stationed near the front of the mansion.


    Once they were a certain distance away from the gate, Ariel nced at Serena once more and Serena who saw this nodded


    "So their aim forinviting us is john?" Ariel asked


    "Possibly... Maybe they found out about ''that''..." Serena muttered...


    Ariel didn''t want to believe it but she knew better. Their aim was definitely John, now the question was. What did they want to do with him?


    "Should we head back?" Ariel asked


    "No, let''s just stay here..."


    "But isn''t it risky...?"


    "John will end uping here sooner orter, so it''s best if we stay here and wait. Besides, I doubt there??s a person in this city which will be able to do anything to him"


    -----------------------------


    "Where... What... Who... The n... Must bring back... The magician..." The man muttered as he suddenly woke up


    He was in some sort of cell with his arms and legs bound by a chain. Torturing tools and saws.


    He looked around and noticed ady smiling as she grinded a sharp metal to on the grinder. The sound of it resonated throughout the silent hollow dimly lit room.


    "Ah... You''re awake now, that means we can finally start." Said thedy as she stopped using the grinder and slowly walked towards him with the tool on her hand


    A tall slim build with a nice body. Her gaze underneath her pitch-ck hair braided hair and sses made him feel like they''d pierce right through him. On top of that, she had this sadistic grin formed under her ck eyes.


    The closer she got, the bigger his fear grew


    "W-Wait! Wait, Wait, Wait, I''m sorry, Wait, ST-STOPPPPP!!!"


    ***


    "Hello, Adventurer John, we''ve managed to safely extract the information like you had asked" Said one of the guild''s receptionist as she came out of the backroom with a smile.


    She carried a bag of coins and secretly handed it to John as she looked around making sure that no one was watching.


    Once John was about to ask what the bag was for,as if she had somehow read his mind, she replied.


    "The bounty which was on him, he was being targeted by the guild for a while now, so the bounty umted on him may be to your liking." Said thedy


    Hearing this, John grabbed on to the bag, before looking over at her one more time with the intention of asking something.


    "And the de-"


    John was interrupted by the girl who suddenly spoke over him


    "The details are right here in this sheet of paper." She said with a smile


    As John held on to the paper, he looked over at her once again. His perspective on guild receptionists had changed, and he now felt like he should be more careful and wary around them.


    "Thank you." Said John as he turned to the entrance


    Right when he was about to leave thedy asked one more question.


    "There are 50 gold coins in that bag, are you sure you don''t need to count them to make sure?"


    "No, it''s fine. I trust the guild, and you seem experienced in your job. I doubt you''d make any mistakes like that." Said John as he ced the bag into his dimensional ring


    Hearing this, thedy gave him a smile before she bowed and said


    "Thank you, and good luck on your next trip!"


    As john left the guild, he could feel quite a bit of eyes gathered on him.


    [Looks like the S-Rank thing is still a hot topic... Now I know why azure was so grateful...]


    John looked over at the details written on the small piece of paper he had received before he muttered


    "So that''s where you are...."

 Chapter 208 - It Took You Long Enough.

    Inside a base quite far from the city hidden within the ins and darkness, a group of 5 could be seen seated on a table all waiting for a person to arrive.


    The five were all unique and different in their own way, both in appearance and personality.


    The shortest one was a girl who quietly hummed as she waited.


    She appeared to be in her 15s and had the sweetest and purest looking smile on her face she moved her head from side to side swinging her brte hair in the process as she swung her leg back and forth in excitement.


    To her right was a man who appeared to be in his 20s or 30s, he just stayed quietly in hit seat with his arms crossed and eyes closed while he waited. He had short purple hair with a small ponytail at the back


    Opposite to them, were another two. The one on the left was another man who appeared to be on his 20s. Scars and bruises could be seen all over his body as he leaned back and forth on his chair with a pissed off look on his face.


    His short red hair seemed to easily define what type of person he was and how he was feeling.


    The one next to him who appeared to be slightly younger just looked up at the ceiling with his eyes closed hands on his chin as if he were thinking of something.His long scruffy brown hair covered his eyes, he was the strangest one of the group and no one could tell what he was thinking.


    At the end of the table, next to the four, was a man who appeared to be in his teens, around 18 years of age. He had long white haired which was braided from around the half to the bottom along with edges dyed green all around.


    He had a small smile on his face as he leaned his chin over his hands which rested on the table. Unlike the other four, he perfectly suppressed his bloodlust, making him seem like the least dangerous one.


    But to be able to aplish something of that level, only made him seem even more dangerous than them.


    The short red-haired man was the first to speak up


    "Tch, how much longer will we have to wait? Huh?!" He asked as he mmed his hand on the table


    The scruffy brown-haired teen then nearly sprung up before turning to the red-haired man and saying.


    "H-He''ll be here soon, just wait for a l-little longer..."


    He seemed very nervous and possibly afraid, but it was hard to read his expression or even understand him because his hair covered it.


    "Shut the hell up! We''ve been waiting here for 30 minutes!" The manined


    The others including the girl just quietly listened, undisturbed by the red hairs sudden outburst.


    "Wai-"


    The brown-haired teen wanted to calm the man down but he was interrupted by the girl on the other side who suddenly stood up on her chair and raised the weird feminine wand she had in her hand.


    The wooden shape of the wand made it look crooked and sinister this sinister appearance contradicted with the small heart at the end of it.


    The girl pointed her wand at the red-haired man as she said with a smile


    "I''m getting tired of listening to yourins"


    In that moment the red-haired man angrily got up from his chair and grabbed on to his sword which began to glow as he asked.


    "The hell are you pointing at?!"


    Seeing this, the girl''s wand began to glow as well, forming a strange sinister shape in the middle of the air, while a dark wind began to surround the man.


    The brown-haired boy wanted to stop them from fighting, but he knew that there''d be nothing he could do at this point to stop them. So, he ended up letting out a sigh before sitting back down and watching just like the other two were.


    Right as the two were about to sh, there was a change in the air in the room as the sounds of the door creaking open could be heard.


    In that instant, both of their magic spells were rendered useless and dispersed on it''s own into thin air.


    Seeing this, the two who were about to fight, turned to the door and watched as the one they were waiting for entered.


    "While it is nice to warm up I''d rather not have to fix a broken room, so I ask of you two to take your grudges outside next time. Is that understood?" He asked


    A young boy who looked no older than 14, pitch short, smooth pitch-ck hair and eyes coated in darkness


    The red-haired man sat back down as he clicked his tongue while the girl nodded before bowing and sitting back down.


    "Good."


    Everyone watched and listened quietly as the boy walked towards the unupied chair at the end of the table.


    Once he reached it, he took a seat, before giving everyone a smile and saying


    "Now, I''m sure you are all wondering why I brought you here... You''ve all waited long enough, so I''ll just get straight into it. ''It'' Has awakened"


    Hearing those words, the air once again changed in the room. The white haired man who had been quiet and the purple haired both simoutaneously spoke up as they asked


    "What?!"


    -------------------------


    A young boy could be seen standing in front of arge storage room in the middle of many others. There were guards at the door, but they were easily knocked out before they could even notice.


    Without wasting a single second, John broke down the entrance to the storage room as he didn''t have a key and entered inside.


    Many boxes could be seen around in the storage as the light from the outside lit everything up making it possible to see.


    And in the middle John could see three people unconscious on the floor.


    "It took you long enough."

 Chapter 209 - Ive Seen It All.

    "It took you long enough." Said the voice


    John traced it and found himself staring at one of the containers on the right side of the room. From there, came footsteps which resounded throughout the quiet room.


    Quiet steps which came from behind the container to the middle of the room where the threeid unconscious.


    There were steps, they were definitely there, yet no person could be seen.


    Was it a ghost? Some sort of sound maniption magic? Or maybe the space itself was manipted? John didn''t know, he didn''t know what waited for him if he decided to step foot any further.


    He knew that it was a trap and yet, without a hint of hesitation, he began to walk towards the middle of the room.


    Upon doing so, he could not only see it but feel it. Faint lines and distortions in the air which indicated that there was something there, along with the small amount of magical power oozing around.


    Whoever or whatever it was, tried to suppress it, but it was nowhere near Master Sylvia''s ability.


    Once John was around 10 meters away from it, the figure got rid of its camouged state allowing John to see its entirety.


    The person hid their face under the hoodie of their dark cloak. Seeing this, John grabbed on to his daggers and was about to pull them out in case the person would suddenly attack him, but before he could, the person suddenly dropped down to their knees.


    It wasn''t as if the person had been hurt or lost their footing, they voluntarily did it. They dropped down to one knee and ced their hand over their chest as they kept their head down.


    It was a position that John recognised, one which a person would usually use when meeting a king. Seeing this, John let out a confused


    "Huh?"


    "Wee back, my king. It appears that you have awakaned."


    Upon hearing this, John asked


    "King?"


    John''s confused reaction didn''t seem to bother the person at all.


    "That is right. It appears that you have yet to take over this ones body but I already have a n to help you, my king." Said the person


    The voice sounded like that of a male, but John couldn''t see their face, so he couldn''t verify it.


    "King this and king that, I''m sorry but..."


    John suddenly vanished and appeared next to the cloaked person before asking


    "Could you please stop wasting my time?"


    Seeing this, the person''s eyes widened as he felt sparks of electricity zap him from John''s sudden movement. He wasn''t able to see it at all.


    Now that the person was terrified, John was about to go over and help the 3 which were unconscious on the ground.


    He could tell from the moment he had walked in that they were who he was looking for. The pink haired boy, his friend andstly, the pink-haired maid john had met.


    "So the premonition was right... Then that means after this..."


    John stopped moving and motioned his lips for the word ''wait'' as the man behind him suddenly shouted


    "W-Wait!"


    Upon hearing this, John turned around and red at the man. The man had his cloaks hoodie lowered so he could see the person''s face.


    Colourless eyes and long orange hair above his orange eyebrows. He appeared to be in his 18s and had a rather masculine yet soft looking face, which at first, didn''t seem to harbour any evil, however, John knew exactly what was behind it, and it angered him.


    Without saying anything, John continued to re at him. Seeing this, the man continued to speak, stuttering at the same time due to how nervous he was.


    "D-Don''t go any closer. Otherwise, they''ll die." Said the man


    John who heard this, looked over at them and then looked over back at the man. Thinking that John was now afraid and worried, the man continued to talk


    "T-That''s right, If you do as I say, I-I''ll let them live, but if you don''t they''ll die." Said the man


    "Die?" John asked as he tilted his head


    The man gulped the little saliva he had as his throat and mouth began to dry out.


    "Y-Yeah... I imnted explosive magic circles inside of them only I can deactivate them. If I die, they''ll automatically explode, if you threaten me or don''tply, they''ll explode. S-So what''s it going to be?" The man asked with a nervous smile


    For a moment, John did nothing but just stare at him, and eventually, darkness slowly began to cloud his eyes once more.


    Seeing this, a smile of excitement and joy filled the man''s face. It was working, whatever he had nned was working.


    But suddenly, the darkness suddenly fled back inside returning John''s eyes to normal as he ced his hand on his face and began tough.


    "Hahaha.... I know." Said john with a bright smile


    Hearing those words sent shivers down the mans spine. Just what did John mean by he knew?


    "You... know...?" The man asked


    "That''s right... I know, After all, I''ve finally remembered." John happily replied


    The man began to panic and raised his hands


    "Y-YOU THINK I''M JOKING?! I-I REALLY WILL KILL THEM!" Said the man


    As he heard this, the smile on John''s face disappeared as he coldly replied


    "Go on, but the instant you do, I''ll kill you."


    Those words just aggravated the man even more, if worse came to worse, seeing those three die would trigger the reaction in john''s anger allowing for his king to gain control.


    "FINE THEN!" Shouted the man as he moved to swing his arm down.


    But before it even began it''s motion, he felt something off. His hand, it was sent flying off.


    "Hu-"


    Without even gaining an understanding of what had happened, the man suddenly felt sharp pain of something going through his chest.


    As he looked down to see what it was, he coughed out blood as he muttered the words


    "H..uh...?"


    As he moved his head to turn around, he noticed John standing behind him, coldly staring at the dagger which he had used to pierce the mans back.


    The man wanted to say something, but couldn''t. Before anything else could happen, he was suddenly frozen from the inside out.


    But before he could be fully frozen, he used his veryst breath to shout it


    "ACTIVATE!!! *Cough*"


    *BOOOOOM!*

 Chapter 210 - The Future And The Past

    The loud sound of an explosion resonated throughout the garage as storage boxes were blown away.


    Smoke and dust filled the room making it harder and harder to see.


    Meanwhile, the man formed a small smile on his face as he was about to close his eyes. The feeling of aplishment was going to be the veryst he''d feel before dying, he hadpleted his objective. Or so he thought.


    For some reason, despite the fact of their having urred an explosion right in front of them, they hadn''t been blown away.


    Confused he tried his best to keep his eyes opened as he muttered


    "W...Wh...?"


    The words wouldn''te out no matter how hard he tried.


    "I told you, didn''t I?" John asked as all the smoke in the room suddenly dispersed as it was hit by arge wind pressure


    Seeing this, the man turned his head towards John whose eyes had formed a dark green colour. He couldn''t understand what john had meant by his question.


    The n should have been perfect, he had even imnted the bombs on the inside of them. He was sure he did... So then how?


    The man looked to the middle of the room where the threeid unconsciouspletely unharmed or hurt.


    How? Just how did things end up this way? The man couldn''t understand, He needed to know, even if it was thest thing it''d be.


    "You''re curious aren''t you? Why your ns failed, why the three were unharmed, and how I knew everything." John asked


    The man who heard this, slowly nodded his head, confused as to why and how he was still alive.


    "I''m lightly healing you just so you can live long enough to hear this. Your n, your ideas, all of it, I''ve experienced it before."


    The man still didn''t understand so John tried exining it differently


    "I''ve seen all of it happen before. It was like a dream but everything felt real... Probably due to this dagger."


    John moved the dagger which was pierced into the man''s chest as he said that, causing him to let out a painful scream


    "GAAH!"


    "It hurts, doesn''t i-"


    John was interrupted by the sound of another scream as he identally moved the dagger again


    "AAH!"


    "This is no where near the pain they would have felt after you blew them up... Damn it..."


    Tears began to stream down John''s face as he asked


    "Why...? I did as you said so why? Why did you kill them!?"


    "GAAAH!!! I DON''T KNOW WHAT YOU''RE TALKING AB- AAAH!"


    "That''s right... That was just a dream, or some sort premonition regardless of how real it felt. Since you don''t know, then you''ll die without knowing."


    "Wait! How did you-"


    Before he could finish, john froze him uppletely from the inside out. All organs including his heart were frozen.


    Once he was done, John pulled out the dagger from the person''s back before kicking the person???s frozen figure.


    John watched it fall without raising a single finger to stop it, and as itnded, the sound which was simr to that of a ss breaking, resounded throughout the hollow quiet storage room as the person''s body broke into many pieces.


    After that, John slowly walked to the middle of the room where the threeid unconscious. He had seeded, he managed to stop that person''s ns.


    In the beginning he was confused about the visions and even doubted them, but they turned out to be real.


    As john got closer to the three, he began to think back on everything that had happened.


    ----------------------------------


    "Big brother, please help us." Said the two simultaneously


    John who heard this, stopped for a moment and thought why not listen to them before going to meet up with the other two


    "Help? With what?" John asked


    He was slightly interested in the bounty which was on the kids head, what did they want with him? Who was this kid?


    Although John knew that he had to hurry, at the same time, he wanted to find out.


    The boy was afraid to speak up so the girl ended up speaking up for him.


    "There are people after him..."


    "People, who?" John asked


    The two kids shook their heads


    "We don''t know..."


    [They don''t know?]


    "When did this start?" John asked


    "1 week ago... Big sister at the orphanage told us to hide and..."


    They started to tear up as she was about to say it, but before she could, John gave her a pat in the head before asking


    "What are your names?"


    "Saphir..." muttered the girl


    "Hayden..." muttered the boy


    [Saphir and Hayden... Huh?]


    "Are you two siblings?" John asked


    "No, we''re husband and wife, we met at the orphanage." Said Saphir with a proud smile


    Seeing this, Hayden started to blush a bit as he looked down


    "I-I see... W-Well, How exactly do you want me to help you?" John asked


    "Please make the bad guys stop going after us." Said as he bowed


    John who heard this, suddenly ced his hand under his chin before he asked


    "Hm... Hayden, is it just the two of you now?"


    "No, my sister is also with us." Said Hayden


    "Your sister?" John asked


    "Mhm, she''s at work." Said Hayden


    [At work huh... Hm... If he has someone to look after him, it should be fine to leave him with her for today... I could take them to their sister and give them a safe ce but... What do I do...]


    "Can you two meet me here tomorrow at this time? In this exact spot? Until then, do whatever you can to stay away from others, here''s a gold coin. Buy yourself a meal and then find a ce to hide, understood?" John asked


    "But what about my sister inw?" Saphir asked


    "If you know where she works, tell her to do the same thing I just told you, I''lle pick you guys up here tomorrow and we''ll decide on what to do after. Understood?" John asked

 Chapter 211 - The Dream Of The Future

    It should have all worked out, John should have picked them up, given them some form of protection and tried to find out what exactly had many people after them.


    It was what he had nned and it was what he believed would have worked, however, it didn''t.


    That night, John had a dream, a dream of everything that would happen on the following day. It was so real it hurt, Just thinking about it gave him a hollow empty feeling on anger and despair.


    Everything about it was real, the pain, the sensation, the conversations, all of it.


    In the dream, John went to the spot where they had promised to meet but was ambushed without finding a single clue as to where they were.


    He easily dealt with the ambusher and tried asking questions but it didn''t work. The man ended up getting away and John failed to gain the necessary information from them.


    After this, he continued on the day like normal and was about to head to the ball after promising Master Sylvia and his two-party members that he''d go after dealing with what he had in n.


    But that was when it happened, an explosion came from somewhere east of where he was at in the city. It was so loud that it managed to rm even the guards in the area.


    John thought off checking it out, so he quickly cast ''furtim'' and ''levite'' before rushing to it.


    He arrived there faster than anyone so he rushed to check it out before anyone else could.


    However, even now he regretted that decision.


    There were many storage rooms piled up next to each other in that area, yet the explosion seemed to havee from one storage room in particr.


    At first, after walking inside, he couldn''t see anything through the piles of smoke and mes which were around, but after walking for a while.


    He found himself standing in front of a single burnt corpse part. There were probably other parts scattered around but John couldn''t bring himself to look.


    "What...?" He muttered; his voice cracked ever so slightly


    John couldn''t believe what he was staring at. Or rather, more than that, he didn''t want to.


    His heart rate got faster and faster as dark air began to surround him. His eyes began to cloud themselves in a violent dark colour and John began to clench his fists harder and harder.


    John squeezed his hands so tightly that he felt like it would break but just as he was about to lose himself in his rage, he remembered Zestari''s sacrafice for him.


    He hadn''t heard her voice ever since she disappeared in the dungeon, but for that moment, just that single moment, he thought about her and gained strength.


    His eyes began to glow a bright yellow colour suppressing the darkness within seconds before it eventually calmed down and returned to its normal green once the darkness was finally gone.


    John panted heavily before all the food that he had in the morning felt like it was going to burst out of his throat.


    He turned around and leaned down before vomiting parts of the bread and milk which he had for breakfast.


    "Who... Did this...?" He muttered as he wiped his mouth


    Right as he asked that, a person came out from the Shadow''s slowly walking towards John.


    "It failed...? My n failed? Impossible... The king should have been able to awaken after this sacrafice, so why...? How...? I even kept that brat and his sister alive, but for what? Maybe killing the young girl alone wasn''t enough?" The person asked himself as he continued to walk towards John


    John who heard this, slowly raised his head and turned to the person as he asked while tilting his head


    "...What did you just say...?"


    After that, electricity quickly began to pass through John''s body in a way that it hadn''t before. Metals and broken steel panels on the ground were beginning to being pulled towards John as he quietly muttered


    "Modero." Trantion: Slow down


    --------------------------


    "And then I woke up...What sucked even more about all of this was how I couldn''t remember a single crap about what happened... Hell I still can''t even remember most of it." Muttered John as he crouched down beside the three


    He carefully inspected if they were harmed before casting ''sana'' on each of them.


    "Sorry... If only I had remembered that the storage was the area..." John muttered


    They weren''t hurt and just like the other man had noticed, they werepletely unharmed.


    The reason for this was simple, right before the man activated the spell, John activated his spell ''revertatur''.


    What John reverted was only their body without including the spell. He reverted their body a single minute back, right as the spell activated.


    This caused the original spell that he had cast on them to be erased once their body rewinded as the person''s spell wouldn''t be able to go back in time with the body If the spell had been activated at the same moment unless it was John''s spell.


    After that, John created a fake explosion after creating a fake shield for them shielding them from the explosion. He had no idea whether it would work or not, but it was a gamble.


    "There isn''t a particr need to cast sana, but just in case, he did anything else to you three..." John muttered


    A glowing light surrounded them as theyid on the ground, as he looked at the three.


    Saphir, Hayden and an older sister who had the same pink hair as him. John instantly recognised the older sister as the girl who he had met at the restaurant.


    "So even a girl as nice as her was going through these sort of difficulties..."


    John ended up saying words that he never once thought he''d say.


    "King, huh... Maybe that might not be so bad... If I''m able to create a peaceful and equal kingdom stronger than any other, then it''ll be fine."


    Just as he said that, he stopped healing them and got up before giving a look around the room


    "If that''s your attempt of hiding your presence, than you may as well quit trying." Said John as he let out a sigh


    He formed a small ice sphere around the four before saying.


    "As much as I''d love to stay and fight, I have to go."

 Chapter 212 - The Successful Escape

    "As much as I''d love to stay and fight, I have to go." Muttered John as he entered into the ice sphere he had formed.


    Seeing this, those who hid in the shadow, quickly rushed out in an attempt to stop him. But before they could reach him. A bright light shone above the Ice sphere and clouded the entire room.


    This got rid of all the darkness and shadow causing all who were hiding to be explosed.


    Surprised, they tried to head back into the nearest shadow, but before they could.


    The sound of a clock was heard and an explosion followed after


    *BOOOOM!*


    An immense amount of wind pressure mixed with mes was sent throughout the entire storage room, burning many of the boxes and severely injuring many of those who weren''t able to make it to the shadow in time.


    The explosion was so loud it resounded throughout the entire storage room, and other areas in the city, rming all who were nearby.


    Before the explosion could even calm down, many left the shadows and rushed towards the Ice sphere. They knew they wouldn''t have much time now as it was the 2nd explosion. The knight squads would have arrived in any minute.


    As they reached the ice sphere, around 5 of them, cast a ''dark spike'' spell and once the spikes were formed, they quickly pierced through the ice sphere before even more spikes extended from them in an attempt to stab and pierce every single area on the inside of the ice sphere.


    After that, one of them, cut off the top of the ice sphere with a swing of a dark sword, expecting to find their target in a near-death state, however, contrary to their expectations, they found nothing.


    It was empty,pletely empty.


    One of the cloaked men turned back and faced a teenager who slowly walked out of the shadow.


    Seeing this, the man bowed and all the others followed after. The girl looked no older than 18, yet she was the one in control.


    With each step, the smile on her face grew dimmer, as she asked


    "Where are they?"


    To this question, the man who had originally cut off the top of the ice sphere answered


    "M-Mydy, They disappeared..."


    Hearing this, the smile on the girl''s face hadpletely disappeared. She then asked


    "What?"


    Pitch-ck long hair tied up in twin tails. A nice, well bnced frame with quite the re. If there was one thing any of them would hate about her, it would be her attitude, which terrified them.


    "I-I said, t-they dissa-"


    Before the man could finish, he was suddenly pierced by a dark spike which came out of his shadow.


    Confused, he tried to say something, but before he could. More spikes came out of the area where the spike had pierced him, piercing his whole body in the process.


    He coughed out blood as it poured out of his body before he finally dropped to the floor.


    Seeing this, she raised her hand and another man in a robe quickly went to her side.


    "Clean it up." She said


    Without wasting any time, the man nodded before doing exactly as she told. He began to chant something and a small dark rectangle was formed underneath the corpse of the curently dead man.


    After that, the dark rectangle opened up, causing the corpse to fall inside of the it, and once the corpse was gone, the dark rectangle disappeared.


    "Good, now I''ll ask again, where are they?"


    ----------------------


    "Mn... W-Where... Where am I...?" Asked the pink haired older sister as she got up


    She couldn''t feel anything underneath her, and could feel a little bit of rubble falling on her face as something moved her forwards.


    Confused, she lookeused, she looked around and noticed that she was inside of a small tunnel, and before she could even understand what sort of situation she was in. John called out to her


    "Hey, you awake?" John asked as he continued to motion his hands


    With each motion the tunnel would extend, and the rocks in front of him would fall down. On top of that, the dirt and rocks above, would sit in ce.


    The weirdest part was how the boy was doing all of this without chanting, as if it was the easiest thing for him


    Surprised, the girl stared at John in confusion and fear, she couldn''t remember what happened or how she ended up here.


    Seeing this, John put a smile as he said


    "Don''t worry, I''m here to help, although it may be a bit diffucult to understand right now..." John muttered


    Suddenly, her eyes rose as she seemed to have recognised the boy in front of her


    "Y...You''re... The boy from the other day...?!"


    "Mhm, that''s me" Said John slightly happy that she had remembered.


    Hearing this, she once again, took a look around before asking


    "Where are w-"


    She suddenly stopped once she realised that her legs weren''t touching the ground. She was floating.


    "A-Am I dead!?" She asked as she began to swing her arms and body around in panic


    "Woah, calm down, you''re perfectly fine." Said John


    [Didn''t she look moreposed before? Well I guess her reaction does make sense...]


    "F-Fine? H-How?! I''m floating!?"


    "It''s okay, it happens, it''s part of life."


    "In what way!?"


    After putting in enough force, she managed to tilt her body, vertically and got her legs on the ground.


    Seeing this, John deactivate Levite on her, but because it was so sudden, she lost bnce and was about to fall when suddenly


    "Careful." Said John as he stopped and grabbed her before she fell


    As she rested on his arms and stared into his eyes, she got bright red. How was it that a kid could look so manly? She wondered


    "I-I-I''m fine!" She nearly shouted as she got back on her foot


    "Good, let''s get going."


    "Wait, you still haven''t exined how.... Is that, hayden?" She asked as she finally noticed her brother floating beside her.

 Chapter 213 - Tunnelling Underground.

    "H-Hayden!? Saphir?!" She shouted as she moved to give them a hug.


    The two floated horizontally in the air, it was quite horrifying, even for John who knew it wasn''t rted to ghosts or poltergeist, yet the girl showed no fear or care and quickly wrapped her arms around both of them


    Pushing the three close together.


    "I-I''m so d, you''re fine..." She muttered as tears started to stream down her eyes.


    She hugged them with so much strength that it nearly looked like they couldn''t breathe, but John thought that it''d be fine to just leave them be like that for a while longer


    After what seemed to be a minute passed, the girl let go of them before checking up on them personally.


    "Why aren''t they waking up?" She asked


    "I didn''t notice any problems after the survey, they''re probably just tired. Just give them some time, more importantly, can we start moving? Even if we''re underground, and I''ve used every ability I have to hide our presence, I don''t know what sort of tricks they might have up their sleeve." Said John


    "O-Oh, Right, sorry..." She muttered as she suddenly let go of them


    Once again to her surprise, they were floating, her first thought was that it''d be a flying spell, but did they really work in a way like this? If they did, then that must''ve meant that the boy in front of her was a really strong magician.


    She was worried for them, but at the same time, felt like they were being protected, so the least she could do was make it easier for him. She was also worried about what to give John as thanks, her memories were still hazy, but she knows that she was ambushed.


    "Um... What''s your name?" She asked


    "John and you?" John replied with a smile


    "John, that''s a nice name... My name''s Lydia."


    "Thanks, yours too." Said John as he continued to motion his hands.


    John was just about getting tired of moving his arms up and down to make it seem like it was some sort of magic item or something which he''d be able to use to exin instead of simply saying it was chant-less magic. But by this point he didn''t care.


    "Hey-" They simultaneously said


    Since they spoke in the same time, and ended up cutting one another off, Lydia quickly said


    "S-sorry, you first."


    "It''s fine, and thanks, what I was going to say was... Wait."


    John slightly raised the hand where he kept his dimensional ring, and tissues were pulled out of it. He then washed his hands which had been coated in dirt and rubble with water magic before handing it to Lydia


    "Here."


    Confused, Lydia grabbed on to a few tissues before asking


    "Eh? What''s this for?"


    "You have a bit of a runny nose and your eyes are quite swollen. You can just use them to wipe it, you have such a pretty face after all." Said John before turning to the direction where they were heading.


    Still more rock and dirt that he was going to have to move, they had a long way to go until they could fully leave the reach of those persistent guys.


    "Huh?" She let out in confusion


    Seeing as how there was no other choice, John let out a sigh as he asked


    "Hey, Lydia, as thanks for saving you, keep this a secret."


    John lowered his hands and began to focus, he needed to create a path for them to go through to get out of the groups vicinity, meaning they were going to have to be able to move and run as fast as they could.


    The only way to do that, would just be to make a bigger path and do it faster than before. John didn''t have a choice, and at this point, it didn''t matter if his secret was exposed.


    "cuniculum" He muttered / Trantion: Tunnel


    An in that instant, the dirt and rocks in front of them, began to spread out, forming a wide tunnel big enough for them to walk and pass through.


    On top of that, the ceiling of the tunnel was being held by magic, so John wouldn''t have to worry about it copsing on him.


    "Let''s go." Said John with a proud smile before turning around


    When he did, he got to see the look of Shock and disbelief in Lydia''s face. She was so unconvinced that she may have thought that she was still stuck in some sort of dream.


    "A boy who can create a tunnel in seconds without breaking a sweat... Me, my brother and my sister inw are safe... Is this a dream? You''re not real are you?" She asked as she began pulling John''s cheek


    "eh aimmm (I ammm) eeet isshh (It is)" John muttered


    [So she''s in denial now...?] John wondered as he let her pull it.


    Once she realised that the soft feeling in his cheek and the sharp pain in her stomach, she realised that it really wasn''t a dream or heaven.


    "John... Are you really the S-Rank young adventurer that everyone is talking about?" She asked


    John who heard this, began to move forwards through the tunnel and gestured her to do the same, before replying


    "While I was the one who dealt with the fallen mermaid attack, I''m not an S-Rank adventurer." Said John


    "It was you? You''re the famous person who ended up saving everyone in the beach? Despite going against an army of fallen mermaids?" She asked curiously


    Her eyes sparkled in amazement, she seemed like the type that was a fan of the so called heroes.


    "It wasn''t just me, it was other adventurers in the area. But I guess you could say I helped lead it..." John muttered


    "So the rumours of you clearing the dungeon, were really true..."


    "I guess... Thanks to my party."


    "That''s amazing... It probably took a lot of hard work..."


    "Yeah... That it did."


    As they continued to walk, John wondered how the two girls were doing.


    [Are they worried...? I suddenly left without saying anything... Nope, I''m sure they''re more mad at me than anything... Well it should be fine."


    It was then that John realised that he was subconsciously thinking of them


    [Huh? Why am I thinking of this right now...? How long has it even been since west saw? 2 hours? That means the balls started by now... I wonder if there are any other other guys dancing there with them...]


    Suddenly, John quickly shook his head before tapping his hands on his face


    [Concentrate, you need to get these people out of here alive]

 Chapter 214 - Getting A Maid

    "How much longer, till we''re able to get out?" Asked Lydia


    They had been walking for around 20 minutes since she woke up, and they ended up taking a few turns while doing so.


    "Not much longer, we''re nearly there." Said John as he continued focusing his magic on prolonging the tunnel


    Whenever he did, Lydia would look even more surprised than before. It was hard to believe that a child could aplish something like this.


    What''s more is how he didn''t look tired at all.


    As they continued to walk, Lydia wondered just how he was making her young brother and sister inw float. She didn''t want toe out and ask, but she was curious at the same time.


    "Um, John-"


    Lydia was interrupt by John who suddenly stretched out his arm as he stopped. He looked confused about something, but wasn''t saying anything.


    Lydia watched as John moved his head from left to right as if he were searching for something. But they were surrounded by earth so there was no way, she''d be able to understand what it was.


    "Jo-"


    Before she could finish her sentence, the remaining sound which was supposed toe out, suddenly disappeared.


    Surprised, she was about to ask once more, when she finally realised. No sounds wereing out.


    John gestured to her, for her to be quiet before raising his right arm to the dirt ceiling.


    Then, with his left, he quickly gestured her to get closer to him before grabbing on to the two kids who were unconscious.


    Worried that they may have been caught, she did as he said and when she did, John spoke


    "Grab on to me, anywhere, Quick!"


    Hearing this, She quickly grabbed on to his right arm and in that moment she could feel the ground and dirt around her start to shake.


    "Furtim, Levite."


    Something wasing, but right before they could see it a hole big enough to fit the four of them, was opened on the ceiling before they were suddenly propelled straight up and through it.


    [EEEHH!?!] She shouted in her mind as they flew straight upwards.


    All the dirt in the way was rapidly moving to the side before returning back to it''s original spot as they passed through, but Lydia was too afraid to notice.


    From her perspective, it looked like they were going hit the rocks head on.


    And before she even realised it, they had left the ground and ended uping straight out of a grass field.


    As they continued to fly up, she made sure to hold on as hard as she could on to both John''s arm and the two kids.


    "W-Waiiiiiit!!" She cried out


    "It''ll be fine, just hold on tight." Said John with a smile


    Even though he knew he shouldn''t he was still enjoying her reaction.


    She did as he said and tightened her already tight grip around his arm, before he suddenly propelled them forwards.


    As they flew forwards, she looked down at the city from above.


    It was amazing. She could see the people working, the beach, the little remains of the recently conquered Dungeon.


    She was speechless as she stared. John also took this opportunity to get a better view of how the dungeon had ended up.


    There were a few people there but the beach was rather empty. The Dungeon tower was gone and a giant hole remained in the ground, with floors to them.


    These holes were what could be seen whenever the tower was destroyed or a dungeon waspleted.


    "You can see everything from here..." She muttered


    As she stared at the houses beneath her, she could feel herself calming down.


    "That''s right. This is a great spot to cool off." Said John


    "Yeah... More importantly... If we''re up here, won''t that just make it easier for them to see us?" She asked


    John who heard this shook his head before saying


    "No, I put a spell on us, we can''t be seen or heard, don''t worry." Said John as they continued to fly forwards


    They weren''t going any lower or higher, and seemed to be around 500 feet in the air judging from John''s perspective.


    But Lydia had no idea where they were going


    "It should be around here somewhere..." John muttered


    "What should?" Lydia asked


    "The ball, duke is holding one and my parties waiting for me. It''s probably been about 3 hours since I left them... Luckily the sun is still up."


    "3 Hours...? Ball...? I just realised that you haven''t exined anything yet..."


    "I''ll exin itter, for now, you have two options or three, I''m not sure."


    Confused, Lydia nodded, while also keeping in mind that they were still in the air. She didn''t lighten her grip for a single second.


    "What are they?"


    She already knew what it was going to be without asking, She believed that John would probably deem them as people too dangerous to be around, so he''d leave them off somewhere safe or something before leaving.


    "Option 1, I can leave you anywhere you''d like and you can use whatever sort of n you''ve been using to stay away from those guys."


    Hearing this, she felt her heart drop. She was right, there was no way he''d want to help them. No one took the adventurer guild request either. It was a miracle that they were even still alive in the first ce.


    "Option 2, you can tell me why they''re after you so badly and I''ll see if I can find someone to stay here with you and help you."


    "Eh?"


    "Option 3... Is like option 2, but what''ll happen instead will be me being the one doing the helping."


    "Huh?"


    "But if you do choose option 3, then you''re going to have to go back with me to the Magic Academy only then will I be able to help"


    "Wait, hold on, you''re going to fast, what?"


    "What I''m trying to say is.... I''ll employ you as my personal maid" Said John with a smile

 Chapter 215 - Always Prepared

    "Personal maid...? Me?" Lydia asked with a surprised expression


    John misunderstood her question as her being offended so he quickly apologised


    "Sorry, I guess that did sound a bit rude..."


    "Huh? N-no, not at all, sorry, I was just taken aback for a moment... Did you really just say you want to employ me?" She asked once more


    "Yes... Is there a problem with that?" John asked


    "There isn''t but... Won''t that just make things harder for you?" Lydia asked with a worried look as she hung her head


    She didn''t want to cause John any more trouble, especially after everything that they had done. But once she hung her head, the thought quickly transitioned to her being afraid for her life as she saw just how far they were from the ground.


    "Harder? Don''t worry, if it''s a fight they''re looking for, I''ll give it to them. And if they''re stronger than me, then I''ll just ask a few friends from school to help me." Said John


    "Friends? Wait a minute, you''re still in school? Are you a teacher?" She asked


    Hearing this, John gave her a nervous smile before saying


    "W-Well, I guess you could say that... But I''m still on my 2nd year of education..."


    "What? What sort of school is capable of creating such a being on only his 2nd year... Are the 3rd years monsters?" She asked


    "Hahaha, no, I''m kind of a special case. But if you''re still wondering what school it is, it''s the Magic Academy in Xoleria." Said John with a smile


    "Xoleria... So you''re from there..." She muttered with a slightly saddened tone


    [Hm?]


    "Is something wrong?" John asked


    "No... Not all."


    Her expression slowly changed from a happy one to an empty one. Just how could she be rted to Xoleria?


    John wanted to ask but knew it wasn''t in his say, so he simply took her reply to heart and made sure to find out after.


    [It could be rted to why they''re being chased. I haven''t asked her yet, but I feel like this isn''t something one would be able to freely talk about. Then again, I can''t protect something if I don''t know what I''m protecting.]


    "We''re here." Said John as he suddenly stopped in the middle of an expensive area inside of the city.


    There were mansions all around along with a few trees. The area was definitely a rich area just like the one in xoleria, but this one in particr seemed to be the biggest. There was a gate and some sort of transparent wall, which went all around it.


    He could see a few social workers, guards and gardeners doing their job peacefully.


    [At leastmoners are allowed in here, unlike Halfaust]


    One wouldn''t be able to tell from looking at it from the ground, but the walls also stretched out to the sky, forming a dome which covered the entire mansion and it''s property.


    "Hm... I''d be able to break it, but I don''t want to get in trouble for doing something like that, so let''s just head through the entrance."


    John moved a moderate distance away from the mansion gate before he began to descend, when Lydia suddenly asked


    "John, this is one of the properties owned by the duke, it would be a bit weird for us to enter with our current clothes."


    "Don''t worry, I have a n for that."


    Johns clothes were dirty, just simple clothes which unfortunately ended up, taking in too much of the dirt and mud underground. On top of that, John''s hair also collected a bit of dirt, and his shoes weren''t the most suitable for such an event.


    However, John already knew all of this and he already had a n in mind. Right as theynded, Lydia let go of his hands before she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.


    [She''s rather quick to adapt, a second ago she was crying from ascending.]


    John then noticed that her legs were still shaking, and she was struggling to stand up


    [It''s still progress.]


    "You''re right, for an event such as this, one must be presentable. Luckily I had this all nned." Said John


    "A n?" Lydia asked


    John raised his hand which held the dimension ring, before something was suddenly pushed out of it, sent straight up in the air.


    Two shoes followed after, and John made sure to grab them all before theynded on the floor.


    Lydia was surprised, but at the same time she wasn''t. A dimensional ring was rare to find but not umon. At least not for certain people.


    "A suit... How long have you kept that in there?" She asked


    "I put it in there this morning right after leaving Master Sylvia and my party. I didn''t want to get the clothes dirty after all." John replied as he began to pull off his shirt.


    "You have a party? And why did you have to leave them this morning?"


    "Because, I needed to save you three and show up for the event"


    [Although I didn''t know you were included, but now I do.]


    "Us three...? Did you know this was going to happen? That sounds a bit..."


    She couldn''t understand him and was now even more confused than before.


    "I''ll exin it to you while we get changed, here take this dress." Said John as he pulled out a pink dress from his ring.


    The quality was high and it seemed specially designed. Lydia could tell from the ornaments on it."


    "Wha- I couldn''t possibly- Wait, Why do you have a dress in there?"


    "Just in case."


    "In case for what?"


    "More importantly, we should start getting changed. I''ll exin it while we do so."


    "But getting changed out here..." She muttered as she looked around


    They were standing on a small field near the rich area, but if a person would pass by they would be able to see her getting changed. On top of that, John was a guy and getting changed in front of one, even though he was a kid, would be embarrassing.


    "Underst-"


    She was cut off by John who suddenly said


    "Terra Tholus" Trantion: Earth Dome


    Suddenly, the earth rose around her, forming the top part of a sphere which covered her. John then made sure to cast ''lux'' and leave the light on the inside for her.


    The walls also weren''t going to get her dirty as he had solidified it, meaning mud wasn''t going to be a problem.


    All he needed now was to get changed and exin


    "Do you think you''ll be able to properly get changed? I''ll give you the shoes once you''re done. I can even wash and dry our hair."


    "What are you a moving salon?"


    "I wouldn''t mind if I was but is itfortable?" John asked


    "Yeah, this is good, thank you..." She said with a slight creak in her voice.


    John looked over at the two kids who continued to float next to them and wondered what he should do.


    "God, they look possessed... I was never a fan of horror movies, so this is just terrifying." He muttered


    "What?"


    "Nothing, Also where do I begin....?"

 Chapter 216 - Past The Gate

    "John... Do you really think they''ll let me in with you?" Asked Lydia as she nervously looked around.


    "Rx, it''ll be fine." Said John with a smile as he tried to calm her down


    "But they''ll know I''m just a maid..." Lydia muttered


    John gave Lydia another look. Her long pink hair, shining after having been recently washed and dried. Her pink dress matched her pink eyes and pink lips disying her good proportions and feminine older sister aura.


    "No... I doubt that." Said John as he continued to stare


    For a maid, she was quite the beauty and she was an adult.


    [With her looks, there''s no way she wouldn''t have been able to find a good husband even if she was amoner.]


    "What makes you so sure? it''ll be obvious that I''m amoner if they see me..." Lydia asked as she looked at her dress


    "Hm... I once heard this story as a kid, A young girl had lost her family and became dirt poor. One day, that girl was granted a wish and she wished to be able to go to the prince''s ball which was being held for him to find a worthy marriage partner."


    Lydia listened in closely, immersed in John''s story.


    "What happened after?" She asked


    "She ended up dancing with the prince and they ended up together. The end"


    "Eh? That''s it? Really?" She asked slightly saddened that it ended that fast


    "There was more, but we''re about to reach the gates, so we''ll have to leave it forter." Said John as he ced his hand over the ring.


    "It''s a promise." Muttered Lydia as she watched him pull out masks.


    John pulled out to masks with rather nice-looking ornaments and designs on them. They were small enough and were meant to be ced around the eyes, so that the persons face and mouth could still be seen.


    It would just be harder to recognise who exactly it was as the eyes would be covered. But John doubted that no one he knew wouldn''t be able to recognise him.


    "Huh? Did you say something?" John asked as he handed her, her mask.


    "Did the mask have to be pink too...?" Lydia asked


    "I got various different colours."


    "Isn''t that just a waste of money?"


    "Don''t be silly, It''s a necessary investment. I''ve been an adventurer for over a year now, I''m an expert."


    "Only a year?"


    "That''s right."


    "Most people can barely make it to C-Rank after a year"


    "Is that so..."


    "Yeah, that is so... Just what kind of school did you go to...?"


    As the two reached the gates where other carriages could be seen around, they stopped in front of the gate before one of the guards went over to them.


    "You are standing in the duke''s territory. State your business." Said the guard


    Lydia gave Johnthe ''I saw thising'' look, while John simply smiled back before saying.


    "I was invited here." John proudly dered


    "Where''s the invite? And why didn''t youe in a carriage?" He asked as he looked Them up and down.


    "The invite? It''s right here, of cours-"


    John suddenly stopped talking once he remembered what he had done with the invite


    [I gave it to Master and Serena...]


    "You were saying?" One of the three guards asked as he approached John


    There were quite a few guards, two guarding the gate, and others guarding the ball from the inside. John could tell due to the amount of magic which was oozing out of it.


    "I just remembered, I handed it to my party who''s inside. If there are any other ways to confirm my ident-"


    Before John could finish, one of the guards ced their hands on his shoulder before saying


    "Listen kid, go somewhere else, don''t start causing problems here. Some of the most well renowned families in the city including the duke himself, are here." Said the guard


    John listened to this without saying a single word.


    "Rather than just causing problems for yourself, why don''t you just make things easier and head back home?" The man asked


    As Lydia moved her hand towards John''s shoulder to pull him away, She noticed a drop in the air''s temperature. Everything was getting colder.


    John let out a sigh, his breath visible due to how cold it had gotten as he said


    "How impudent, to not recognise the very own S-Rank adventurer which you invited to your party... Perhaps I should remind you?" John asked as he stared straight at the guard


    Intimidated, the Guard stepped back for a moment, his expression changed from one of the realisation to despair shortly after.


    "You''re really him...? I-I apologise, I failed to notice something so simple. You even match the description... I hope you''ll find it somewhere in your heart to forgive this old man." Said the guard as he suddenly crouched on the floor and bowed


    [Eh? What?]


    Confused, John quickly looked around, the attention of the some of the other guards were on him. One of them even whispered something to another, before that say person went running off as if he were trying to make a report.


    "I-It''s fine, I''m not mad, I was just trying to prove a point. There''s no need to bow, please raise your head." Said John with a troubled look


    "T-Thank you... I had no idea that you were that S-rank adventurer... P-Please, pass through." He muttered as he pointed towards an entrance beside the gates.


    [Are S-rank adventurers really that scary?]


    ***


    Lydia let out a sigh of relief as the guards let them through the entrance without noticing what they had been hiding.


    The two stayed quiet after passing the entrance, and once they were a good distance away, she finally opened her mouth


    "John... while it was a good idea, you should be more careful, people are quick to misunderstand when ites to cases where the other has arge amount of power."


    "Yeah... Sorry, I didn''t know he was going to react that way, and I doubted that he''d believe me."


    "N-No, it''s mainly my fault, so sorry.... More importantly, where will we put them?" Asked Lydia as she pointed at the two kids who were invisible two others

 Chapter 217 - The Debutante Ball

    "They''re still asleep, we''ll leave them in a bed somewhere inside of the mansion, I''ll think of a way to keep them hidden. Besides, we had no choice, we can''t just leave them at an inn. Staying with us is the best thing we could offer them at this moment." Said John as he nced at them


    "I agree, I''m also happy that you made that choice."


    "Good, anyways, why don''t we take a break from everything that''s happened today and enjoy ourselves?" John asked as they stood in front of the Mansion


    Lydia who heard this, started looking left and right and seemed like she really wanted to get something off her chest.


    "A-Are you sure they won''t notice...?" Lydia asked


    John was surprised by how cute and childish her question was, and quickly replied.


    "Depends. If you''re asking whether the nobles will notice your beauty or if they''ll notice that you''re amoner."


    "You know what..."


    "I''m joking, don''t worry, they won''t notice thetter, and even if they do."


    John stretched out his hand towards Lydia and she hesitantly grabbed it before he pulled them closer and closer inside.


    "They won''t do anything, you''re here as part of my invitation after all. Judging from what I''ve seen, S-Ranks have a special authority."


    "But Is it really okay to keep lying about it?"


    "Even if we do, it''s mainly because everyone else is saying it. I''m just going with the rumours." Said John with an amused look


    "You''re enjoying this, aren''t you..." She asked


    "Maybe a little."


    As they opened the door and walked inside, John was impressed. Arge hall on the first floor with many nobles around, drinking and talking amongst one another.


    All of this one the first floor, made it seem as if the mansion itself was made solely for balls and celebrations.


    The tables, food, sweets, they were all set in tables that could be seen near the walls and around the hall. But the Hall was big enough to fit all of them so it was fine.


    The sounds of chattering reached John''s ears as they stepped inside. John was in a tailored ck suit with a ck bowtie, while Lydia wore her pink dress.


    After entering, the two attracted quite a bit of attention, a few nobles had their eyes on them. It was probably because they heard the rumours or because they weren''t doing something they were supposed to.


    There were other kids around, so age wasn''t a problem.


    As they walked towards one of the tables near the east, John wondered if there was some sort of tradition or something he had to do, but before he had even realised, most of the people had taken their attention off of him and went back to do what they wanted.


    "Did we do something wrong?" John asked


    "No, nobles tend to assess the value of a certain noble to see if they should make connections with them. In this case, they quickly lost interest."


    [Hm... Do mostmoners know this?]


    "Is that so..." john muttered slightly confused


    He looked over at Lydia and she had a gentle smile put on her face, as she walked around. But for some reason she looked like she didn''t like it.


    [Is it because her brother and sister inw are floating right next to us...? And shouldn''t secuirty be better?]


    John wanted to find his party before leaving the kids in their room, he just didn''t know how.


    As they reached one of the tables with food, The two stopped and John managed to get a good look around.


    [First let''s pry into some conversations]


    Lydia watched John trying to understand what he was nning or doing but had no luck. Before she even realised it, her stomach let out a small growl


    *Grooowl*


    She quickly turned to John before letting out a sigh as she realised that he didn''t notice, but suddenly he mentioned it.


    "Why don''t we grab a bite?" He asked before turning to the table


    For a moment, just a single moment, Lydia screamed of embarrassment in her head, before doing the same. Fortunately for her, her smile didn''t let out or disappear.


    John looked at the table and checked it''s contents while listening in on the nearby conversations.


    "For both the duke and the earl to create a party... This is an interesting turn."


    "The earl''s 2nd daughter has yet to make an appearance..."


    "And that boy over there... I''ve never heard or seen him before; what rank is he?"


    Before john could hear anything else, he realised Lydia was waiting for him, so he quickly got what he wanted.


    There was cake, cupcakes, biscuits, and all sort of other simple meals. To john''s surprise, there was a croissant which he ended up getting along with a bit of chocte.


    [Whoever brought these ideas, sure knew what they were doing. That''s if they were brought by a single person. I wonder just how many people have been reincarnated to this world...]


    "Lydia, aren''t you going to get anything?" John asked


    "B-but, I''m just a maid..."


    "So you''ve decided to go with it? I thought you wouldn''t want to since you never gave me the answer back then..." John muttered as he took a bite of his croissant


    It was nice and crusty, or rather, it was really good. So good that John was taken back for a moment


    "Of course, it''s a great offer..." Lydia muttered with an embarrassed expression


    "Don''t worry, you may be my maid but that''s only for the future and when we get back, so for now, enjoy yourself and worry about thatter." Said John as he took another bite


    "Is that really fine?" She asked


    "Of course, you have the consent of your future master or employee after all."


    "Is that you, John?" Asked a familiar voice


    John turned to see who it was and when he did, his face was filled with surprise.


    It was Zakaragi and Tiana

 Chapter 218 - Zakaragi And Tiana

    "Zakaragi... Tiana...?" John muttered


    Zakaragi stretched out his hand to give John a handshake, while Tiana asked


    "Why do you look so confused? Aren''t you the one that nned this?"


    John shook Zakaragi''s hand before he wondered


    [nned this? I mean I did tell Master Sylvia to pick you up, I''m just surprised they found you... The day before yester ¨C I mean, yesterday, we couldn''t find you, and just got a nice looking dress which looked like it would fit you from the tailor shop.


    To John''s surprise, the orange dress they had gotten was quite good. It sorts of matched with her brown hair.


    "Haha, you saw right through it. So I''m guessing they were able to properly get you? And zakaragi, it''s nice to see that you''re doing well." John asked


    "d that you are doing fine." Zakaragi replied


    "Properly... Well you see... They went looking for me, but the one who found me, was this guy." She muttered with an annoyed tone


    [Oh, he actually found a way for her toe? That must have required a lot of courage, to bring amoner to a noble party. If either of them got caught, both would get in trouble, but Tiana would probably suffer more... It should be fine as long as they''re careful."


    "You''re wee." Said Zakaragi


    "I never thanked you." Muttered Tiana as she suddenly nced at him


    "One day you will." Zakaragi replied with a smile


    "Yeah, right."


    She quickly shook her head to the side, wounding Zakaragi''s already wounded heart, even more. Zakaragi who heard saw this also seemed to have taken a heavy hit. Even though he was hiding it, John could tell that he was hurt. After all, John would''ve also been hurt if it had happened to him.


    John who saw this, let out a snort as he struggled to hold back hisugh, causing the two to feel slightly embarrassed.


    Zakaragi cleared his throat before returning back to his professional self, before saying.


    "Well, then. Once again, John, it is a pleasure to have you here."


    "The pleasures all mine." John replied


    John knew it, Zakaragi''s family was indeed the earl''s family and the party which was being held by the duke was for them hence why Zakaragi said it in a way which made it seem like he was party responsible for setting everything up.


    "John, when are you going to introduce us to that beautifuldy next to you?" Tiana asked as she gave him a sort of doubtful stare


    "Oh, right. Sorry, This is an acquaintance of mine, her name is Lydia."


    Lydia got In a familiar position which John could easily recognise. She ced her fingertips on the edge of her dresses skirt before slightly raising it as she lowered her body


    "Like you have heard, I am an acquaintance of John, My name is Lydia Haley, it is a pleasure to be able to attend this event."


    She spoke in a soothing way with a kind smile formed on her face. John was surprised, could every maid present themselves so elegantly?


    "N-Nice to meet you, Apologies for thete introductions. You can call me Tiana" Said Tiana as she awkwardly repeated the same motion


    It wasn''t as refined as Lydia''s but it was presentable and rather good. John wondered who taught Tiana that, or could everymoner do things which most nobles can? John didn''t know, and he also didn''t want to ask.


    The two smiled at each other, before Lydia''s attention was grabbed by Zakaragi who gave also introduced himself


    He gave Lydia a slight bow before introducing himself.


    "My name is Zakaragi Von Courtenay, Second eldest son of the earl Gerald Von Courtenay. It is a pleasure to meet you."


    [Courtenay, so that was hisst name? I don''t recall him ever mentioning it...] John thought to himself


    "The pleasure''s all mine." Said Lydia as she repeated a quick and slight version of her elegant movement.


    "John... You''re not cheating on Serena are you...?" Tiana suddenly asked


    "Cheating?"


    "Oh... So it was Ariel...? Ah... John are you a yer?" Tiana continued


    "I think you''re misunderstanding something, I''m single, no engagement, No girlfriend, just loneliness."


    "Eh? Really? I thought for sure that you would be dating one of them?"


    "You did? Why?"


    [I mean... The closest we ever got was when they were drunk... I''m not sure if they were ying or not, and they don''t really act lovey-dovey around me, so did either of us really look like a couple?]


    Tiana gave John a confused stare before letting out a sigh


    "Nevermind, more importantly, have you talked to them yet?" Tiana asked


    "Unfortunately, I haven''t seen them since I arrived." John replied


    "Is that so..." Tiana muttered as she slowly walked towards Lydia''s side


    "Then, We''ll stay with Lydia and show her around, meanwhile, you go look for them." Tiana happily suggested


    "What? But to just suddenly leave after bringing her here..." John muttered as he nced at her


    [Not to mention how her brother and sister inw are literally invisible and floating right next to us. This looks just like a horror movie, in a way.]


    "It''ll be fine, Tiana and Zakaragi look like very kind people. You should go and enjoy yourself." Said Lydia


    "Are you sure?" John asked


    [I mean I do want to see them, and if Zakaragi and Tiana are offering to help, then that''d be great but, what would I do about her brother and sister inw? Maybe I''ll be able to find a room for them to sleep in or something?] John asked himself


    "Of course, I still want you to enjoy your time at the event after all. You''ve helped me a lot today, I can''t possibly take your free time." Said Lydia


    "Is that so... Alright... Thanks Lydia, Zakaragi and Tianaa, I''ll be back before you know it." Said John, seemingly excited


    They could tell that he was looking forward to seeing them, but right as John was about to leave, he was stopped By Zakaragi who ced his hand on John''s shoulder and inched in closer before saying


    "Be careful, there''s something off about this event."


    John heard those words, and tried not to make much of a reaction before nodding.


    "Thanks, I will." He muttered

 Chapter 219 - The Real-Time Clock

    As John walked away, through the hall towards one of the doors to one of the other rooms, Zakaragi asked the question that he had in his mind for a while now.


    "Is it just me, or did it feel a bit windy near John?"


    Lydia who heard this, remained quiet, unsure whether or not she was supposed to tell him or not. Since she didn''t know, she just decided to go with thetter.


    "It was probably your imagination... So what do we do now?" Tiana asked


    "Let''s just try to enjoy it." Said Zakaragi as he looked around


    There weren''t any dances nor music, only people talking amongst each other, waiting for the Earl and the Duke to make their speech and introduction.


    The party hadn''t started yet, but it sure was taking a while to.


    "Also, what did you tell John, earlier?" Tiana asked


    "Nothing much, Just told him to enjoy his time."


    "Is that so..." Tiana muttered as she stared at him


    Zakaragi, reflexively looked away without even realising it, seeing this, Tiana continued to stare, and as Zakaragi could feel himself getting more and more nervous, not because she might figure out what he said, but because she kept staring at him.


    Eventually, Tiana gave up and let out a sigh before turning to Lydia.


    "Miss Lydia, is there anything you''d like to do?" Tiana asked


    "Just Lydia is fine, I may not look it, but I''m 17, so miss is a bit..."


    Lydia hung her head down at the thought of being much older than she had originally thought and Tiana who saw this, felt bad for doing so.


    "A-Ah, I didn''t mean it like that, it''s just because you''re older and an adult and... Sorry..."


    "I-It''s fine... And regarding what you asked... I''ll just do whatever you two n on doing, don''t mind me, please, carry on."


    "R-Right..."


    -------------------------


    As John walked through and past people, he noticed that there were quite a few kids his age or slightly younger, meanwhile, the rest were either teenagers or adults,


    he managed to find an area which wasn''t upied before initiating his n


    [Since, I can''t see them... I''ll just have to find them.]


    After confirming that no one was around, John quietly muttered the words.


    "Verum Deprehendre" Trantion: True Detect


    Unlike the normal detect, True detect is more urate and allows John to pinpoint things more precisely, the only difference is that the range is lower and can only reach around 50 meters before it starts to exhaust John''s mana.


    John looked around before seeing it. Two areas highlighted, each with the shape of a girl. He had set It to find Serena and Ariel''s Magic trace, but they were both the same colour. Both were highlighted in a nk white aura.


    [What''s happening? Usually there''d be colour to it, so why can''t I...]


    As john wondered why the spell was malfunctioning, he took a good look at their locations. One was in one room on the left side of the mansion, while the other was a few rooms away.


    John didn''t understand why they were spread out, or what exactly they were doing. He also didn''t know why Deprehendre was malfunctioning, but decided to just ignore it and go to the closest one which was just a few rooms away.


    [Maybe it''s because I haven''t used the ''true'' version in a while...?]


    Without wanting to waste any more time, John began heading to the closer light. He opened the door to the next room before passing through it, thankfully he wasn''t stopped by anyone.


    [So I''m guessing you''re allowed to walk through the mansion... When''s the dancing going to start? It''s been over 3 hours... How long do these usually take? I mean we got ready 4 hours earlier than the time we were supposed to arrive, meaning it should be starting soon.]


    "if only I had a clock."


    The instant John said that, he heard the sound of a clock ticking and right in front of him, a transparent blue sort of clock, appeared.


    *Tic* *Toc* *Tic*


    With every second that passed, the hand in the clock moved as well. There was no mistaking it, it was disying the time.


    John''s Sacred Treasure was in his ring, he put his sheathe and his other clothes and armour, all into the ring, so that fact that his Sacred Treasure was still responding despite being in the ring, was quite the discovery.


    John quickly looked around and let out a sigh of relief once he realised that the other hall which he had entered was empty. Well partially, there were a few servants walking around, but they didn''t seem to notice.


    There were windows on the hall which allowed you to see what was outside, judging from the entrance, they were on the east side of the building.


    The trees in the territory outside were visible, John could also see that it was getting a bit darker.


    "Okay, the time is around 4.30 Pm, thank you, now close, quick!"


    In that instant, the clock suddenly disappeared, and fortunately, no one noticed it. It''s not like there would have been a problem if they did, he just didn''t want them to start suspecting him of nning something.


    [This sacred treasure... The dimensional ring stops the time of whatevers inside from progressing, meaning you can store food in there for days... So if my sacred treasure is still functioning despite that... That can only mean one thing. Not only can it control time, but it''s immune to spells rted to it.]


    "Just how much amazing are you...?" John muttered with a hint of excitement in his voice.


    As he walked through the halls, he waved at the servants which were doing their work, and they bowed in return. None seemed to be enjoying the day or happy, they seemed more sad than anything.


    [It''s probably because there''s an event today, so more work for them...] John thought to himself as he opened the door at the end of the hall


    "So, either Ariel or Serena should be right on the other side of this do-"


    John was interrupted by a sound which came from the other side of the door as he opened it.


    "Since you''re single, how about we get engaged?"


    [Engaged?]


    Once the door was fully opened, John could see the situation.


    It was Serena and a boy who john didn''t recognise talking to each other.


    "What?" John unintentionally let out

 Chapter 220 - The Misunderstanding

    "Since you''re single, how about we get engaged?"


    Hearing this, John unintentionally let out the words


    "What?"


    Suddenly, the attention of the two, turned to John who was on the other side of the door.


    [Engage? Serena... And him?]


    "Huh? John, when did you arrive?" Serena asked


    She wore a long silver dress which matched the colour of her soothing silky long hair. She even wore cosmetics which brought out the full extent of her natural beauty. She didn''t wear a hat, but her hair was long enough to cover her ears as they weren''t visible.


    There was no doubt in John''s mind that she looked beautiful, she reminded him of the moon. But as much as he wanted to continue to appreciate it, his mind was filled with confusion


    "Just now..."


    John wanted to say something, but kept quiet before he nced over at the boy who had asked Serena to get engaged. He wore a white clean suit with polished shoes. He also had a calm and independent air to him. Long blonde hair, which was tied up in a pony tail at the back, along with oceanic blue eyes.


    Tall, and was most likely around his 16s or 17s. John had no doubt that this man was popr with the girls, and judging by the situation, he was making a move on Serena.


    John hung his head for a moment, as he tried to think about how to deal with this, but he couldn''te to any conclusion.


    Serena who noticed John''s sudden weird act, realised that he might have been misunderstanding something.


    "Wait, John, it''s not what it looks like, he-"


    Before Serena could finish, the man interrupted as he got closer and asked


    "Are you a friend of Serena''s? I''m sorry, but could you please give us some time alone?" The boy asked


    "What? There''s no need for tha-"


    Serena was interrupted once again, as the boy asked


    "Unless, there''s a reason you can''t?"


    [...Modero] Trantion: Slow down


    Time slowed down to around 0.5x it''s normal speed, it was like watching a movie in slow motion, but none of that matters, all John needed right now was time.


    He needed to think about what exactly he had to do.


    [Cancel]


    Serena was starting to get annoyed from being interrupted so deeply and John who heard this, took in a deep breath before letting it out


    A smile was formed in his face as he ignored and walked past the guy before standing right in front of serena.


    [Keep your cool, keep your cool, keep your cool]


    He held on to her hand lowering down to one knee, and as he did so, he moved his head closer and closer to her hand.


    Before Serena had even realised it, John had given her backhand a kiss before saying.


    "Hey, your beauty''s stands out as always."


    "Eh?!" Serena unintentionally let out before backing away


    Her face was bright red, she never expected John to be this straightforward, and for some reason, he looked even manlier today. She wasn''t sure if it was the suit or the air around him, but she was surprised.


    John ignored Serena''s reaction before getting up and turning to the man who had a displeased expression all over his face.


    "I apologise if my party member has caused you any trouble, but we''ll be taking our leave now, unless there''s something you wish to discuss with him?" John asked before turning to serena


    Serena who heard this, suddenly snapped back into reality before saying


    "Huh? Ah... Right. Adam, thank you for the offer, but... I''m an adventurer, I travel around and I love exploring the world, so getting engaged to a noble right now would be very restricting... And also..."


    Serena suddenly nced at John who had his eyes closed with a self-satisfied smile face as she said


    "There''s this idiot and a cheerful party I have to take care of, so I''ll have to decline."


    Right after she said that, John moved up to her before grabbing on to her hand and saying


    "Let''s go."


    "An adventurer huh... So you were bothmoners? Tch, how disgusting. I can''t believe I suggested such a thing to a pile of dirt... Go enjoy and die in your little adven-"


    The boy suddenly stopped as he felt a chill go down his spine. Confused he looked around and noticed John smiling at him. It was a smile and yet it felt like there was a scythe ced right in front of his neck.


    "Why''d you stop? Go on." Serena asked as she began doing some stretches mainly around her arm on her dress.


    "Serena, what are you doing?" John asked


    "Nothing, I just want to get a little closer to hear what he has to say. Don''t try and stop me." She said as she was about to walk up to him.


    "Stop you? It''s between you and him, don''t mind me." John muttered with a smile that showed that he could already tell what was about to happen


    [Beating up a noble would be bad, but it should be fine as long as there isn''t any evidence] John thought to himself


    Intimidated by Serena''s sudden change in attitude, the boy took a step back


    "Y-You know well who I am, just try and hurt me, I dare you."


    "Hurt you? I just want to hear what you have to say. What were you saying about us being a pile of dirt and disgusting?"


    Having found a little confidence, the Adam quickly replied


    "You heard me, I said go enjoy your fake adventures with him and go meet the tragic end which you deserve. Y-You''re both trash."


    The smile in John''s face disappeared and turned an expressionless re which was sent straight towards the boy. Seeing this, the boy shut uppletely.


    "How disappointing. I expected you to be a lot different than this, but I guess it was all an act. Also, I''ll say this now. It''s your mouth so you have every right to say what you''d like. I don''t care, about what you call me, but watch what you say about my friend."


    John could feel the pressure which Serena let out just as she said those words, and it made him feel quite pleased.

 Chapter 221 - Intimidation Threat

    The boy was so intimidated that he was struggling to breathe. He panted heavily before slowly falling to his knees.


    "Let''s go, John." Said Serena as she suddenly turned around and grabbed on to John''s hand


    John let himself be pulled and together the two walked back from the direction John hade from.


    As they walked through the hall, the two looked at each other, before smiling at each other.


    "Thanks, you really can be kind when you want to." Said John


    "What''s that supposed to mean? I''m always kind. You just haven''t realised it." Serena replied rather happily


    "Really? I''m pretty sure I would have, if you did."


    Hearing this, Serena let out a snort before she startedughing


    "If only you did..." She muttered as she let out a sigh


    "What''s that supposed to mean...?"


    "See, like I said, you don''t notice. But let''s leave that forter, I have a question."


    ??Don''t just side-track it like that... And Sure, what do you need to know?" John asked


    "That thing you said about my beauty standing out... Was that true...?" She asked as she looked at him


    "Hm... I don''t know, was it?" John asked teasingly


    Seeing this, Serena stared at him closely with a curious look


    There were times where she thought she could understand him and others where she couldn''t.


    "I''m joking, I was being honest, you do look... b-beautiful today."


    [Ah, crap, I lost my cool]


    "W-why are you only getting nervous now-"


    After she said that, she tightened the grip around John''s hand but in that instant


    *m *


    the sound of the doors at the end of the hallway behind them were mmed opened. Surprised, the two let go out of each other''s hand.


    They turned to see who it was and both had a displeased look on their faces when they realised it was Adam


    "You''d really rather pick that boy over me?" He asked with a pissed off expression on his face.


    Serena who heard this let out a sigh while John quietly watched.


    "Of course."


    The boy expected something else, but that was it. Serena turned around and continued to walk to where they were heading to John. The boy didn''t get an exnation of why she had made that choice and that only infuriated him more.


    "Damn it... You''ll regret this!!"


    The two ignored his threat before opening the door to the room main hall which was the door in front of them.


    Everyone was eating there, and the boy wouldn''t be stupid enough to attempt anything. If he did, then John nned on stepping in.


    "Don''t ignore m-"


    The two walked through the door before closing it, making it so that the sound of whatever he was going to say wouldn''t reach them.


    The sound of chatters and rich noblesughing amongst each other, could be heard throughout the room.


    John couldn''t see Lydia, Tiana or Zakaragi anywhere, but he wasn''t too worried about it


    "So, what now?" Serena asked


    "Now, I need to find a ce to put these two before looking for Master Sylvia and Ariel."


    "Right..."


    Serena looked rather down, she probably wanted to do many things in the party to enjoy it. Seeing this, John tried to think of something fun the two of them could do and he eventually got an idea.


    "The party looks like it''s about to start, so we should hurry up and get these two a ce to sleep."


    "These two?" Serena asked


    "Look at what''s on my right." Said John as he ced his hand on her shoulder


    Serena nearly let out a scream as she saw the two kids floating next to John. It managed to catch her off guard, thest thing she expected was for it to be the spirit of two kids.


    "John... Why are there two spirits following you?" Serena asked


    "Spirits? Where- Oh, they aren''t sprits, they''re living people."


    Hearing that, Serena then gave John a look of disgust


    "So you''ve fallen this low..." She muttered


    "Oi, stop assuming things! And could you stop looking at me like that?"


    "So, how did this happen?"


    "It''s a long story."


    "There better be a good reason for this."


    "There is."


    She gave john another stare before eventually letting out a sigh


    "Alright, where do we put them?" Serena asked


    "I was hoping you''d know that." John replied


    Serena ced her hand on her chin as she tried to recall where exactly it could have been, before saying.


    "There are a few rooms where we could put them... But I mean anyone could just walk in so it might not be safe."


    "That''s great! Let''s take them there quickly so we can have some time for ourselves."


    "Okay, but like I said, anyone could just walk in. Judging from their clothes, they''remoners. If anyone were to find out, they''d be punished for trespassing without permission."


    "Don''t worry about it, I''ll make sure they''re unnoticeable." Said John reassuringly


    Hearing this, Serena nodded, before pulling him towards the other side of the hall. John used this opportunity to see if he could find Lydia, Tania or Zakaragi, but he had no luck.


    [Where did they go? Should I just try finding them with deprehendre...? But I have a lock on Ariel''s magic trace right now... They should be fine, I mean I can still feel their presence here, I just don''t know where.]


    John eventually decided to just leave it for now, and if they still didn''t turn up after he came back, then he''d start searching.


    [Speaking about Ariel... Why do I have a bad feeling...]


    The direction they were heading to, was the west side of the mansion judging by the entrance. Meaning he was heading on the direction where he had seen the other light. Which Is obviously Ariel as Serena was the one with him.


    "Hey, Serena. Why did you and Ariel split up, anyways" John asked


    At the same moment, Serena opened the doors to the west hall.

 Chapter 222 - The Dark Source

    As they walked past the door, Serena looked around trying to confirm if there was anyone nearby listening in on them.


    When she did so, she noticed a man in the main hall where they had just been, looking at them and just as she did, the door behind them closed


    "She suddenly disappeared and I''m not sure where she ran off to." Said Serena as she grabbed the handles of the door which had just closed


    "So I''m guessing the reason you''ve been walking around is because she disappeared?" John asked


    "What else would it be? "


    Just as she said that, she stared John straight in the eye as if trying to convey a message and John easily understood it.


    [So something happened to her... Is what you''re trying to say]


    "I see... Silentium. Alright, we''re free to talk. So exin the situation properly."


    Seeing as how he got the message, Serena then let go of the handles before saying


    "Ariel is strong, I know that she can handle herself, and we''re together for most of the time, There''s no way I wouldn''t notice something happening if she was right next to me, but.. One second she was there and the next, she was gone..."


    "Gone?" John asked


    "Yeah, I took my eyes off of her for a few seconds and then she just disappeared. I told Master Sylvia and she went to look for her but I haven''t seen her since."


    Serena was being rather cool-headed despite all that happened, she looked worried but at the same time, she had faith.


    "Ariel is strong, and I can still feel her presence in the mansion. Which is why, we need to find her fast."


    Serena then noticed that John was staring at the ceiling above them with a confused expression


    "John? What''s wrong?" Serena asked


    "Wait here." Said John before dashing off through the hall


    "Eh? Wai-"


    It was toote, John disappeared. As she stood in her spot alone, she wondered if he had found something out.


    She got up and began running following behind him


    "That face... Just what did he see? Either way, I''m sure he''s about to do something stupid again... I need to hurry before-"


    Serena suddenly stopped when she noticed the two kids in front of her,ying on the ground. She ced her palm on her face before saying


    "Really...? You left them here with me? How am I supposed to find a ce for them to stay protected by myself!?"


    ------------------------------


    As John ran through the corridors, he began thinking about what was it that he had seen


    [What was that? Why...?]


    He mmed open the door, before turning right to the stair case, as he ran up the stairs he asked it again


    [Just why? Why?}


    Once he was on the second floor, he looked left and right before heading right. He continued to run at a fast pace and he mmed opened the door.


    As he passed through the right corridor, he could see doors which led to rooms on the right and left. The room was lit up by the ceiling lights just like on the first floor.


    As he got closer and closer, he feeling of darkness got stronger and stronger.


    And when he finally reached the room, he quickly mmed the door open before running inside.


    After he did so, he simply stood near the entrance as he stared at the young girl who stood on luxurious balcony in her room.


    Her face calmly stared at the sky which was cloudy blocking out the sun which still hadn''t set.


    In that moment, a breeze passed by, and her hair as if it were a part of it, moved in the same direction as the breeze flowed through it.


    Her long ck dress had some rather interesting ornaments on them, it suited her look so well and looked so amazing that it would have been impossible to assume that she wasn''t a noble.


    John who had been side-tracked for a moment, quickly went back to his normal thoughts as Ariel turned.


    For a moment, just a single moment, her eyes appeared to be clouded in darkness, but it quickly disappeared once she was facing John.


    "Eh? John...? Why are you here?" Ariel asked


    [Was I just imagining it...? It''s back to normal... And her eyes... what was that?]


    John didn''t understand, he didn''t but, felt as if deep down he already knew.


    "Am I not supposed to be here?" He asked as he got closer


    "i''m not sure... Where are we?" Ariel asked as she ced her palm on her face before looking around.


    [She doesn''t know where she is?]


    "You don''t remember?" John asked


    "Remember... Argh..."


    The expression of pain could be seen all over her face before her eyes closed and just like that, she copse to the ground.


    John quickly ran over to her side to see what had happened


    "Oi, Ariel, what''s wrong?" He asked as he slightly shook her shoulders.


    There was no reply, her eyes were closed but she was still breathing.


    [She''s unconscious... This... What does this mean...?]


    While John listened to Serenas perspective while they were downstairs, he cast Verum Deprehendre as he looked up to check up on Ariel, and when he did so, he noticed it.


    Ariel''s magic power, which was showing a light glow, had turned into a dark one, so dark John couldn''t believe that it was her.


    After all, he had never taught Ariel dark magic, and she couldn''t use posession, so there was no way it could have been her.


    But once he got closer to the room, the feeling of darkness was stronger, yet when he entered the room, it hadpletely disappeared and returned to normal.


    John cast Sana on Ariel before taking in a deep breath. After he did so, he got up before looking around the room.


    "Come out, stop hiding yourself."


    [There were only two possible exnations for this, the first would be that There was another dark magic source interfering with Ariel''s source which caused John to misunderstand it as being ariel''s and the other is that.... The source itself was Ariels]

 Chapter 223 - The Duke And The Earls 2nd Daughter

    "Come out, stop hiding yourself."


    John looked around the room, it was quiet, so quiet that the only sound he could hear was the sound of the breeze as it entered through the open balcony.


    But there was nothing, not a single change in the air, nor did John notice anything different.


    "I know you''re here." He said as he closed his eyes


    [Deprehendre]


    Nothing, the only presence he could feel in the room was his and Ariel''s. As he faced her direction, he could see the colour of her magic power which remained white.


    John found it strange how even with the normal version of deprehendre, he couldn''t feel what sort of aptitude she had. The reason for this was because whenever he would use deprehendre, he would be able to sense a persons aptitude for an element, whether it''d be fire or water.


    But now, her magic power didn''t show any aptitude but simply the colour white, did this mean that her aptitude grew? Or did it mean that she lost it?


    "But that doesn''t matter right now... What matters now is getting her a ce to rest." John muttered as he crouched down


    He picked up Ariel and could feel the warmth of her small body through the dress as he did so. When he did, he ced his forehead on hers to check her temperature as both of his hands were upied with carrying her.


    [She''s burning up... Sana.]


    As he moved her to his back, he activated Sana on them to make it so that, the pain she was feeling would weaken


    "What do I..."


    John looked around once more before realising something


    "That''s right, Master!"


    With Ariel on his back, John left the room and began heading back the same way he hade from. He made sure to keep furtim active so that no one would notice them.


    [I need to find Master and Sylvia... There''s no point in staying any longer.]


    --------------------------


    "Where... Why aren''t there any safe ces?" Serena asked


    The boy who John had left for her was asleep on her back and she hadn''t a clue where to put him.


    As she stood in front of one of the rooms near the hallway, she could feel herself being watched. As she turned to the source, the feeling disappeared.


    Seeing this, Serena let out a sigh tightening her grip around the boy as he slept around her back.


    She then continued to walk, waiting for an opportunity to strike if anything happened. Despite being arrogant at times, she was a veteran adventurer and possessed high levels of magicbat power.


    "If you want to try something, just try it." She muttered


    -------------------------


    Suddenly, the light in the main hall let out and a single light remained pointing at the top of the stair case in the main hall


    "Good afternoon everyone!"


    An old brown-haired man with a trimmed beard on his chin. His big frame was the result of training rather than simply eating along and he had the air of a friendly person around him. A man who appeared to be on his 50s or 60s


    Arge smile was formed on his face as he made his announcement with a cup of wine on his hand.


    Beside him stood a man who appeared to be slightly younger than him. A normal frame yet it still looked trained, along with a sharp and keen air.


    He wore sses on his face and had a shaved blonde beard around his mouth. A man who appeared to be in his 40s


    In front of the two men stood a young girl with long silky hair which reached her waist. Half of the hair was blonde while the other half was blue around the waist.


    She had a gentle air and mature air around her as she maintained a smile on her face.


    "Thank you all foring today, I''m sure I''ve kept you waiting long and I do apologise for that. There were a few inconveniences but we''ve dealt with them. More importantly, today is the day we introduce the earl''s 2nd daughter. Keira Von Courtenay "


    As he introduced her, she grabbed on to the tips of her dress before slightly lowering herself as an act of introducing herself and showing respect.


    Seeing this, most began pping and stopped shortly after the brown haired man raised his hand


    "She has just turned 14 and has many respectable traits which even I admire about her. I hope you''ve all enjoyed so far, there are many things I''d like to say but I''d rather maintain my title as a man of few words."


    Many of the noblesughed at his little Joke and in that moment. People began muttering amongst each other while Lydia, Zakaragi and Tiana quietly watched.


    "Dad, duke and sis..." Zakaragi muttered


    "Well then, are there any words you''d like to say?" The duke asked the young girl


    Hearing this, she nodded before clearing her throat to try and project her voice across the room, something the man next to her had just done.


    "Thank you all foring, I hope you''ve enjoyed the event so far and continue to enjoy it! That is all."


    After she was finished, everyone began pping, and the duke gave her the sign that she could go down the stairs.


    And as she did, music began ying in the background. It was gentle yet loud enough to be heard throughout the whole hall.


    The light followed her down the steps and once she reached the bottom, a boy her age walked up to her before crouching down and giving her a light kiss on the back of her hand.


    He then asked her to dance and she quickly epted.


    "It''s like watching a y... I''m not sure how to feel about it since my sister is the main character..." Zakaragi muttered


    He then looked towards Tiana who looked really interested in the dance, but tried her to hide it.


    "Will you dance with me?" Zakaragi asked as he extended his arm

 Chapter 224 - No More Games.

    He did his very best and just let the words flow out.


    Tiana who heard this looked him in the eye to see if he was joking before saying


    "No"


    In that moment, Zakaragi felt like he had been stabbed 50 times in his heart.


    "I-I see..." He muttered as he hung his head


    "I don''t know how to dance, and besides, We can''t leave Lydia here alon-"


    Before she could even finish, a random boy came up to Lydia asking her to dance.


    "U-Um, could I have this dance with you?" He asked


    He looked to be in his 16s and had wavy brown hair. It was hard to see from his suit but his frame looked well-built and he gave off the air of a gentle and nice young man.


    Lydia was about to refuse but then she remembered what John had said, she was supposed to enjoy herself. On top of that, this young man did put his feelings on the line to ask, declining would have been quite rude.


    "John told us to enjoy ourselves, so I''ll be epting this young man''s offer. If you don''t know how to dance, Zakaragi can teach you." Said Lydia with a smile


    "Hm... I guess you do have a point... And if you''re fine with it..." She muttered


    She looked at Zakaragi once more who slowly raised his head as he listened in on the conversation.


    His feelings were restored once he realised it wasn''t because it was him, but because they couldn''t leave Lydia alone. However, it still hurt.


    "So? Will you give me this dance?" Zakaragi pushed once more


    Tiana was still a bit hesitant to refuse, but she took his hand.


    "Y-Yeah... Thank you." She muttered as she hung her head


    Zakaragi was worried that she felt hated it and felt forced to do it, and right when he was about to ask, he noticed that her face was quiet red from blushing.


    Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief and formed his own smile as he said


    "I can''t understand you at times..." Zakaragi whispered


    "Hm? Did you say something?" Tiana asked


    "Nope." Zakaragi replied


    Lydia and the young man next to her, watched as the two walked towards the middle of the room to dance.


    The room which had been dark now lit up as more nobles began inviting others to dance, while others appreciated the 2nd daughter''s magnificent dancing ability.


    Zakaragi was determined to be able to teach Tiana and put on a good show, while Lydia stood there next to the young man who also watched


    "They look cute together, don''t they?" Lydia asked as she watched them


    Zakaragi started off with something basic and held on to Tiana while slowly moving around. He seemed to be teaching her the right technique for moving around.


    But while doing so, she stepped on him a few times.


    "I guess the fate really is a thing." Said the young man as he watched them


    In that moment, Tiana stepped on Zakaragi with her heels and Zakaragi yed it off as it not hurting as he continued to dance with her.


    "Fate, huh..."


    "So, do you still want to dance?" He asked as he extended his arm once more


    Lydia looked around and saw that mostly everyone was dancing. She was going to have to find a way to blend in and didn''t really want to stand out. So naturally, she epted.


    "If I''m good enough." She replied as she grabbed on to his hand


    -----------------------------------------


    The clouds in the sky grew darker and darker as rain began to fall. Not a calm and gentle one, but one which came before a storm.


    While this happened, Serena cotinued to walk through the halls. Some of the maids noticed, but they didn''t speak anything of it.


    It was strange, the maids were ignoring everything that was happening while only focusing on their jobs, but Serena didn''t question it. It was the least of her worries.


    "Why does he always-"


    "Always?" John asked as he suddenly appeared behind her


    In that instant, Serena subconsciously activated the spell she had hidden. A small orb ofpressed mes was sent straight at John.


    Luckily for them, John was able to react in time.


    [cio, antecessum]


    *Tic* *toc*


    Before it came into contact with him, John froze it and sped up the freezing process by a minute making the orb,pletely freeze in a split second.


    On top of that, a transparent clock was formed in front of him. But Serena didn''t seem to notice it.


    The frozen orb of ice dropped straight on to the ground as John stared at her. At first, Serena avoided his look due to guilt, but then remembered that this wouldn''t have happened if he didn''t sneak up on her.


    "Sorry, but this wouldn''t have happened if you didn''t sneak up on-"


    Serena suddenly stopped talking when she realised the girl on John''s back.


    "Who the hell tries to blow up-"


    John was interrupted by Serena who quickly moved in to check on Ariel.


    "Ariel...? What happened to her?!"


    "I''m not sure..." John muttered


    "Create the anti-sound barrier you usually make." Said Serena as she crouched down.


    She put the boy on her back on the ground before grabbing on to something she hid near her shoe. It was the light, fire and water wand she had gotten from the dungeon.


    "I already did."


    "While I was looking for a room to stay, I could feel someone watching me." Said Serena


    "How many?"


    "Just one, can''t you find them?"


    "Easier said than done. This ce is full of people, I can''t differentiate them. It could be anyone."


    "I see... So we''ll just have to force them out." Said Serena as she began walking towards the main hall.


    Before she could get away, John stopped her in the middle of the hallway. He actived ''furtim'' on the boy before using ''levite'' and wind magic to carry him.


    "What are you doing?" John asked


    "What do you mean? I''m going to give them a greeting." Said Serena


    "You don''t know how many there are, or who are they. It might not work-"


    The instant he said that Serena shouted


    "Who cares?! These bastards hurt Ariel! Doesn''t that anger you!?"


    John who heard this, unfastened his tie before saying


    "I wasn''t finished. It might not work, so..."


    Air began gathering around John''s legs as the rxed and easy-going poker face expression he kept on disappeared.


    "I''ll join you."

 Chapter 225 - Found You~

    "So like this...?" Tiana asked as she tried imitating the correct movements


    Unlike before where she was stepping on his shoes, she was now able to move around freely matching the song''s rhythm


    "I think I''m getting the hang of it." She said with an excited look in her face


    Zakaragi watched as Tiana began to enjoy herself, at first, she seemed to be hating it as she couldn''t properly match the movements but now it was the opposite.


    As the two continued to dance, the doors on the west side of the hallways opened up for a moment before closing


    And in that moment, two people passed through it.


    "Follow the n." John whispered to Serena''s ear


    "D-Don''t do that, and I know." Serena replied as she felt a shiver go down her spine


    "Sorry, I keep forgetting how much you hate whispers." Said John


    "I don''t hate it..." Serena whispered


    "Hm? What was that?" John asked


    "You have the ability to hear things from around the room but you didn''t hear that?" Serena asked


    "That''s because I wasn''t using magic this time... And that is a fair point..." Said John


    Serena let out a sigh and John extended his hand to her.


    "Can I have this dance with you, youngdy?"


    "I like your manners, young man. Why not?" Serena asked as she took his hand


    Together the two walked towards the middle of the hall, while making sure they wouldn''t bump into any of the other nobles who were dancing.


    Once they found their spot, John wrapped his right arm around her back while he stretched out his left hand to the left, to hold on to Serena''s arm which had also been stretched out.


    John was relieved to know that the hours he spent practising before in his previous world and in this world weren''t a waste.


    [Luckily, some of the dances here are simr to my previous world''s one. This one in particr.]


    Once Serena wrapped her left arm around John''s back, and slightly tightened the grip around his right arm, they began to move.


    Slight steps back and forth, left and right. They matched the song''s rhythm in their own way.


    Serena was surprised that John knew how to dance, Just as John was also surprised that Serena could dance and decided toment on it


    "You''re quite the dancer, aren''t you?" John asked


    "You''re not too bad yourself." Replied Serena


    "Was that apliment?"


    "I don''t know, was it?"


    The song''s rhythm began speeding up, and so did they. Their movement was gradually getting faster to match the rhythm and before they realised it, they were immersed in the dance.


    The two were dancing in sync, right as one took another step, the other followed, it was as if they could reach other''s mind.


    Left, right, back and forth. John was putting in every bit of technique and movement he could do.


    As the song began reaching its climax. John took a step back before spinning Serena by moving his hand with hers over her head.


    Right after two spins, John pulled her in closer. The sudden movement, caused her to slightly lose bnce, and as she lost her footing and was about to fall.


    John caught her as he grabbed on to her waist, causing her to lean back on his arm while perfectly timing it to the end of the song.


    As the two stood face to face, they took deep breaths as they tried regaining all the energy they had wasted.


    The dance was intense, not just physically, but mentally. John hadpletely underestimated its difficulty.


    "So, was it?" He asked before pulling her in closer.


    They were closer than before and now stood face to face.


    "Yeah..." Serena muttered as she stared into his eyes


    Without saying anything else, the two just looked straight at each other. Before he even realised it, John was moving in closer and closer to her face as he stared at her small pink lips.


    Instead of moving away, Serena slowly closed her eyes.


    And right as their lips were about to touch, Serena opened her eyes before moving her head away.


    Suddenly, the people around them began to whistle and p their hands


    "Splendid! Splendid!"


    "Did you see those two? Such technique!"


    "Which family do they belong to?! For kids to dance better than adults..."


    But john couldn''t hear it, all he was thinking about was how Serena had avoided their kiss at thest second. Realising what he had done, John quickly apologised


    "S-Sorry..." Said John as he hung his head


    "N-No, it''s not you, it''s... My fault... Sorry..." Said Serena as she also hung her head


    The mood around the two was ruined, and John didn''t know what to say.


    [Was I too forceful...? Argh... I knew something like this might happen, but...]


    The two stopped moving and John quickly tried thinking of a way to change the subject and fix the mood but he couldn''t, all he could feel was a sharp pain near his heart which felt like it had sunk.


    *Crack* *Crack* *Boom*


    Suddenly, the sound of windows breaking resounded throughout the mansion. Following that, the main door burst open.


    As the rain and wind entered with intense force, darkness travelled on the floor from the outside of the mansion to the inside.


    But not only from there, From all the entrances around the main hall, the west hall door and even east hall door. Darkness wasing through there, and within that darkness, came out people in cloaks.


    However, John''s attention turned from them to the main entrance as he felt an greater presenceing from there.


    The sound of footsteps resounded through the dark hall as young boy who seemed to be as old and as tall as John came out of the darkness and entered the room.


    With smooth pitch-ck hair, eyes coated in darkness a normal build. Everyone quietly watched as the boy walked inside. No one screamed or moved, Not because they thought of it as some sort of prank, but purely due to the fear they felt as the boy released his dark pressure.


    A grin formed on his face as he spotted John within the crowd.


    "Found you~." He said in a yful tone

 Chapter 226 - Deep Pure Hatred

    "Found you~" Said the boy with a yful tone


    The whole room was silent, everyone remained petrified in fear. They were surrounded and on top of that.


    "So they''vee... John, get ready."


    She grabbed on to her wand and began thinking of a way to deal with them as she hid her weapon.


    "John, let''s... John?"


    Serena stopped as she looked over at John, he wasn''t moving and simply stared straight at the boy in front of him.


    Darkness began to surround the two as the expression of rage was disyed all the way across John''s face.


    "John...? Hey, what''s wro-"


    Serena was interrupted by John who suddenly clenched his fist and muttered


    "You... You''re..."


    "Hm? Has the king awakened, or... Maybe you know me?" The boy asked with an excited look


    There was no way John could forget. He had never met the boy before, but that face, that feeling, and the rage from that time. They were all the same as the one he felt in the premonition he had gotten.


    [He''s the guy... That hurt them... So badly that they could barely breathe...]


    Even if it was just a vision that Zestari had showed him, john could still feel it. The dangerous pressureing out of this guy, it was in a way simr to the guy from the 1st dungeon.


    Nheless, he couldn''t understand why he was so aggravated from a vision which might not even happen. It wasn''t just anger, but a feeling pure hate.


    His mind was starting to cloud itself


    The people cloaked in the shadows didn''t move and simply awaited orders from the young boy.


    Serena quietly nced at John before grabbing on to his hands. What he needed now was to calm down. His eyes were slowly being clouded in darkness and he was starting to lose control.


    If he did anything reckless now or if he really did lose control, and what happened in the dungeon were to happen again. Everyone standing in the room would be killed. That was the feeling Serena was getting.


    "So, how long are you going to keep me waiting? I asked you a question" Said the boy


    Suddenly, a noble male came out of the crowd before quickly walking towards the boy.


    He looked to be around 18 with darkish yellow hair and a rather big frame. He slowly walked up to the kid and the kid simply stared in his direction with an unamused look.


    Those who were cloaked on the shadows, showed no signs of movement as the man walked up to the boy.


    "Hey, kid, do you know who I am? You think this is some sort of jok-"


    "Move." Said the kid as he let out a yawn


    In that moment, without a single chant being said, the young man was not only impaled by dark spikes which formed on the air around him, but he was hit by a dark force which sent flying straight at the east wall.


    *CRASH!*


    His lifeless corpses slid from the wall on to the ground, his body riddled with holes as it was stuck and submerged partly into the wall which had broken from the impact.


    For a moment there was nothing but silence, which was broken as the boy began walking towards John.


    Following that, there was panic, people began to scream in fear as they stared at the disfigured body of the person who was alive just a few seconds ago.


    As they began to push and shove and look for an entrance, the fear in them grew once they realised all the exits were blocked.


    Meanwhile, John just stood there with Serena in the middle of all the chaos. Serena''s priority was to make sure John wouldn''t go berserk, and contrary to her expectations, her holding on to his arm helped a lot.


    But she knew she wouldn''t be able to protect them on her own, but she had to do something.


    As she looked over at her sacred treasure, she could feel it calling to her and, in that instant,, she was pushed by one of the nobles who was trying to shove himself out of the group.


    "Hey! Watch it!" Said Serena


    "Noisy, Kill them all, leave the king, and the important ones alive." Said the boy as he suddenly stopped a few meters away from the front of the group.


    The moment he said that, The people who wore cloaks charged straight at them. All at once. Some carried weapons while others chanted, but regardless of the method. They were about to unleash an all out attack.


    But suddenly, they were all stopped by an invisible force, as they reached the same distance away from the group as the young boy had.


    They couldn''t move any closer, and it was then that a man spoke up from the top of the stair case.


    "So you actually came... Oh, how I''ve waited for this day... The day when I could get my revenge... Apologise... APOLOGISE FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER!!!" The duke suddenly shouted


    The smile on his face hadpletely disappeared and only an angered expression could be seen on his face.


    "Who are you?" The boy asked with a confused look


    Hearing, this, the duke ced his palm on his face as he started tough. Everyone watched as he slowly went mad.


    "You don''t remember huh... I see... Then, i''ll just make you. RICHART!!!"


    In that instant, a bright glow came from the west entrance, lighting up and dispersing all the darkness around it.


    From there, came a familiar face which Serena recognised. Short silky blue hair and blue eyes. It wasn''t azure but a man who looked very simr if not for the face structure and eyes.


    It was Mr. Richart. As he entered the room, he swung his glowing sword throughout the room and a sharp beam of light was let out, cutting through parts of the darkness in the area.


    "Sorry if I''mte."

 Chapter 227 - Indescribable Dread.

    Once he was inside, he got a good look around. Following that, other knights entered the room from the same entrance.


    They all wore silver armour with a uniquely shaped crest of a wolf.


    "Stand-by." Said Richart to his squad


    The members quickly got into the stand-by position as they replied


    "Yes sir!" They shouted simultaneously.


    They wanted to help, but they all knew they''d only get in the way. The level of the opponent they were facing was not something one could deal with without holy magic.


    "W-We''re saved!"


    "The Earl''s and Duke''s Knight squad are here!"


    "P-Please help us!"


    They shouted and began to cheer in happiness. Assuming that they were safe, some nobles quickly ran towards the Knight squad, leaving the area which the cloaked mages couldn''t pass through.


    In that instant a dark circle was formed above each of their heads individually as the boy raised his hand and pointed at them


    "DON''T LEAVE THE GROUP!"


    The duke tried to warn them, but by then it was toote.


    "What''s thi-"


    Richart swung his sword in an attempt to cut through the dark spell before it could activate, but he was a second toote


    All the nobles with a dark circle above their heads, were struck by a dark beam of light on their head, causing them all to copse.


    They weren''t unconscious, anyone could tell just by looking. It looked as if they had the life sucked out of them.


    At the same time as that happened, Richart''s sword light passed through all the people, cutting through the darkness in the area before reaching John.


    A few dropped to the ground as the light hit them, before revealing their true form.


    Richart was right, some of the people hidden amongst the nobles were traitors or part of the enemy. He could see that as their transformation and cloaks were nowpletely visible as they dropped to the ground after taking the attack.


    Because the hidden cloaked people had fallen over and copsed amongst the group of nobles, it caused them to start suspecting each other on top of moving


    As it hit John, he fell on to his hands and knees, before mming his head straight on to the ground.


    "ARGH!!" He shouted in pain


    The darkness inside John''s eyes was beginning to be forcefully suppressed by John.


    Serena who watched didn''t know what to do, John was in pain and healing magic wouldn''t help him. Even if it did, she couldn''t use it.


    "Not... Now..." John muttered as he continued to force the progression back


    The only thing she could do now, was support him as she waited for a moment to strike.


    "You can do it John, just... Focus on my voice... I''m here and I''ll stay here with you..." Whispered Serena to his ear as she wrapped her arms around him before pulling him closer to her chest.


    Hearing this, John could feel the pain in his head decrease, on top of that, he could feel a warm light enveloping him.


    As he slowly opened his eyes and looked over at Serena, he noticed that her Sacred Treasure was glowing. It was strange, it felt like holy magic. But normally, that would just cause him pain, it was something else.


    It felt so warm that the feelings of anger and hatred which were progressing the possession in him began weakening.


    And in no time, John was starting to feel like himself again. Seeing this, the expression on the boy''s face went from an unpleased one, to a bored one.


    "Tch, and so she helped stop the transformation... Well it''s fine, it''s not like him transforming after us meeting was part of the -"


    Before he could finish, he stretched out his arm to the left, forming a dark shield, as he stepped back.


    Not even a secondter, a beam passed through the shield shing it in half in the process.


    Had the young boy not moved, he would have been striked.


    "G-GET HIM RICHART! PLEASE MAKE HIM PAY FOR WHAT HE DID!" Shouted the duke as tears began flowing out of his eyes


    "This is yourst chance to turn back." Said Richart as he approached the boy with a glowing sword


    "Kill him." Said the boy


    In that instant, a few groups of the cloaked people charged straight at Richart, each with their individual weapons and abilities.


    But with a single swing, around half of them were wiped out. The other half which survived, continued charging straight at him.


    The main weapons they used were scythes. As they got in close, they swung their scythes straight at him while others at the back chanted.


    They swung and swung and swung, but Richart avoided all of it with minimal effort. Theirbat power was significantly low, they were levels beneath the Knight squad which he put on stand-by


    As the ones on the back were near the end of their chants, Richart swung his sword sending a beam of light which knocked them all out on impact.


    The nobles in the crowd watched speechlessly as Richart easily dealt with them. He wasn''t part of the Royal knight squad, but he was definitely talented enough to be in it.


    Serena watched with surprise as Richart easily avoided their swings while sending sword beams with every swing.


    Richart was prolonging that fight, while making sure that no one was getting hurt, almost as if he was waiting for something.


    Serena then noticed the asional nce he had been giving John, checking up on him every minute. Seeing this, Serena was certain. Richart needed John if he wanted to help everyone.


    But John was fast asleep on Serena''s Lap, and she didn''t know what might happen if she tried to forcefully wake him up


    [Where''s Master Sylvia?!] Serena wondered once more


    "John... Wake up... I won''t be able to protect you and save everyone at the same time... I''m not like you..." Serena muttered as she hung her head


    Suddenly, the boy called back his tropes as he realised that his numbers were quickly going down.


    "Get back."


    His troops quickly did as they were told, and withdrew back to the shadows.


    Their numbers had decreased significantly, and it looked like it wasn''t unlimited.


    Seeing this, Richart began heading towards the young boy, taking it as a request for a 1 on 1 duel.


    As Serena saw this, she slowlyid John on the ground before getting up.


    "What am I doing... Sure, I might not be able to do what he can do... I might not be as strong or as fast as him either. After all nothing is equal or fair in life... That''s the case... But."


    Serena''s silver hair began to glow a bright radiant yellow colour as the wand in her hand began to shine brightly.


    "But, if I don''t give it my best, how could I ever be able to face him? He stands in front of danger ahead of others, helps them and even saves them. A hero... My hero..."


    Orbs of mes were formed around Serena as she calmly said


    "That''s why, this time, I''ll be the one to save you.... And I''ll make them pay for hurting Ariel."

 Chapter 228 - The Nobles Hope

    Richart charged straight at the young boy and the young boy slowly walked towards him.


    The boy suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Richart.


    Richart quickly turned as he swung his de towards the boy, but as it made contact with him, it felt as if he were slicing through air. Mist could be seen as the boy disappeared.


    Confused, Richart tried to get an understanding of what happened, but before he could, the boy reappeared in front of him, before disappearing and reappearing again above him.


    Having somewhat predicted that, Richart, faintly pointed the back of his de at the Boy''s head, and as the boy descended a dark circle was formed above both of them as he raised his hand.


    But in that instant, a beam of light came out of the back of Richart''s sword piercing the boy'' straight in the middle of the boy''s head and magic circle above him.


    As the beam of light passed through his head, a small amount of mist could be seen as the boy disappeared once again, meanwhile his dark magic circle was broken.


    Everyone watched in surprised.


    "H-He''s amazing!"


    "W-We''ll be able to get out of here alive!"


    The 2nd youngest daughter of the earl who was watching shouted


    "You can do it Richart!"


    As the boy reappeared a few meters in front of Richart, a small cut could be seen on his cheeks as a bit of blood began to pour out.


    Seeing, this, the boy let out a sigh before the expression on his face changed to a cold smile.


    The people who watched in the area, felt a chill go down their spine as the boy began releasing even more bloodlust than ever.


    The boy then began slowly walking towards Richart as he muttered a few words.


    Before the boy could activate whatever spell he had in store, Richart leapt straight at him, and in that instant.


    Richart''s arm right arm which held on to the sword was chopped off.


    "Argh..." He let out as blood began pouring out at the part where it had been cut off


    He didn''t know or see how, but he held in the pain as he gritted his teeth before jumping back to regain his thoughts.


    But the moment he did, dark circles surrounded him before they joined up and formed hexagonal prism around him.


    Richart hastily looked around but there was no where to run. Right the circles were about to activate, he leapt straight at his severed arm whichid on the small pool of blood on the floor.


    In that instant, the circles activated before a dark sphere engulfed Richart.


    Everyone watched in fear as many long thin needles began to form right outside of the mini sphere.


    The pointed needles were at least a meter long and looked extremely sharp. Being pierced by one of those would probably be unimaginably painful, and yet there were over 20 of them


    Everyone watched quietly as the duke shouted


    "WAIT-"


    But it was no use, the boy muttered the word and in that instant, all the needles pierced through and inside the dark sphere.


    The empty silence quickly disappeared as one of the girls in the group screamed


    "NOOO!"


    The dark sphere then began topress itself even more, so that it could squeeze whatever was inside.


    "S-stop... STOP! PLEASE! JUST LET HIM GO! YOU''VE CAUSED ENOUGH PAIN" The duke shouted


    The boy simply made a confused expression before sending a smile in the duke''s direction.


    He then quickly looked over at the Dark Sphere as he saw the look of surprise on everyone''s face.


    Light began to pierce from the inside to the outside of Sphere forming gaps from within.


    Everyone saw that light as a ray of hope, Richart was still alive, he hadn''t given up. Suddenly, they all began to cheer for him.


    "KICK HIS ASS, RICHART!"


    "TEACH THAT KID A LESSON!"


    "RICHART! RICHART! RICHART! RICHART!" They shouted in union


    "Shut up.?? Said the boy before ring at them


    In that instant they all quieted down. No one wanted to risk angering him, even if they were safe for the moment. If they behaved until the royal knight squad arrived, they''d all be fine, or so they believed.


    The boy began walking up to the dark sphere which had now began to crack due to how much light wasing from within.


    As the ck sphere cracked open, a blinding light was let out to the outside, causing everyone in the room to close their eyes.


    The boy however didn''t flinch and stared straight at it.


    As the light let out people began to open their eyes and when they did, it widened.


    Richart''s uniform top had been torn to shreds, his armour were scratched, and he remained motionless as his eyes appeared to have had the life sucked out of them. His ripped off arm was still holding on to the sword while being held by the left arm.


    He wasn''t moving, and the people who saw this began to worry as theirst ray of hope was about to disappear.


    "O-Oi... Please tell me he''s just acting..."


    "Richart...?"


    "Richart... Don''t die..."


    "What''s wrong with him?!"


    "Only one..." The boy muttered as he stared at the dark needle which had pierced into Richart''s skin.


    He then disappeared and reappeared in front of the motionless Richart. He had probably used up all of his remaining energy to counter the needles and break out of the dark sphere.


    "RICHART!! GET AWAY!" Shouted the duke as he began to rush towards him


    The duke pushed and shoved people out of the way but he was too far.


    The young boy ced his arm on Richart''s chest, a dark magic circle was forming on Richart''s chest because of this.


    "You were strong, it''s a shame that you''ll have to di-"


    *BOOM!*


    The boy was interrupted as he was hit by a strong hot pressure in his face which sent him flying straight to the wall.


    *CRASH!*


    Part of his back was submerged into the wall as he tried to understand what happened. It was then that he saw it.


    A girl with yellow moderately long glowing hair stood in front of Richart. Her elf ears were pointing out and her hands were coated in a strange golden me while her legs were coated in a glow

 Chapter 229 - Serenas Resolve

    As the boy continued to stare at her in both confusion and amazement, he could feel a sharp pain slowly spreading through the area where he was punched.


    It felt like he was being burned by something. But as he looked to check on it, he couldn''t see anything, he couldn''t see it, but he could feel it.


    "I see..." He muttered as he stared at Serena


    Serena slowly pulled Richart towards the group while coating him in the same golden me she had around her arm.


    "Those mes... So she can use the holy element..." He muttered as he disappeared


    He reappeared right behind them, to stop them from entering the group. When all of the sudden, he was hit by a strong pressure of golden mes from above.


    Right as it hit him, his body turn to mist as he disappeared and reappeared in front of her, to attack.


    But right when he did, an orb of pure golden mes hit him right in his chest causing him to go flying into the invisible dome around the group.


    As he was just about to touch it, he quickly disappeared before reappearing above Serena.


    But when that happened, countless golden fire arrows which were on stand-by in the air charged straight at him.


    "What!?"


    He quickly disappeared, dodging the arrows by a split second, before reappearing a moderate distance away from them.


    Seeing this, Serena simply looked at him as she said.


    "What''s wrong? Scared?"


    How? Just how was Serena reading all his moves, it was almost as if she had nned them. As he tried to figure it out, he finally noticed.


    Countless threads and spells could be seen camouged in the air. Invisible to the naked eye but it could be sense if one focused hard enough.


    "That''s right, no matter what you do it''s no use. I''ve already set up traps around the whole room."


    Serena stared straight at him as she said that, and he could tell that she wasn''t bluffing. The reason why she was casting her spells insanely fast and the reason why she looked so confident.


    The moment he ignored her and didn''t consider her a threat, he fell into her trap. Seeing this, he took in a deep breath before cing his palms on his face.


    "Haha... Hahaha, No use? Learn your ce."


    A distortion appeared in the space in front of him before he pushed his arm straight into it.


    Serena watched as he pulled out a long pitch-ck scythe with an unbelievably sharp edge.


    Even more dark magic power was flowing out of it. It was so dark that the air itself and the lights in the room were beginning to grow dimmer.


    Serena who saw this made sure to keep the me coating active on Richart. He was still alive, although it was weak, he still had a pulse.


    The reason why he was motionless was probably due to a mental attack after he was ced into the dark sphere.


    As the boy began walking over towards Serena with the Scythe, she felt a chill go down her spine.


    There was something about that Scythe, something aside from the darkness. She could feel something in her telling her to be wary with it.


    Seeing this, Serena moved Richart into the group before turning back to find the young boy.


    He was nowhere to be seen, and everyone was too shocked and surprised to say anything.


    Suddenly, Serena took in a deep breath before letting it out. She closed her eyes and began to slowly walk away from the group.


    She didn''t know what the boy was but it was fine. She had a feeling that she''d be able to notice it.


    Serena felt something, and the instant she did, she sent a yellow me orb which was formed over her hand straight at it.


    *sh*


    The orb was cut in half, and so was a stand of Serena''s hair, on top of that, it was as if the space right beside her had been scraped away.


    Confused, Serena tried to step away, but she couldn''t move. She looked down at her legs to see what happened and noticed that the boy''s shadow hadtched on to her shadow.


    It felt as if she was paralysed, she couldn''t move. And in that moment, he quickly swung his Scythe diagonally at her head.


    A bright light was released from Serena''s legs as they were coated in glowing water. The water ended up causing his shadow to quickly move away from anywhere near her legs, and that was when she activated it.


    Golden butterflies quickly formed out of the thin air from around her before parrying and blocking the Scythe''s attack.


    They were small but unexpectedly strong, passing through the scythe before heading straight for him.


    Seeing as he had no choice, he shadow-stepped away once more. But serena didn''t want to waste this opportunity, the tides were now in her favour.


    "Sacred treasure art... Golden Butterfly."


    The butterflies began to spread out, each charging at him in their own pace. He would shadow step away but they would still follow him.


    He was starting to lose his patience; He was being forced to retreat from a mere kid. The instant that thought came up, he stopped moving.


    The butterflies didn''t waste a single second as they charged at him while spacing out between each other.


    They were smart, it was if they had a mind of their own. Rather than being together making it easier to be scraped away, they were split up so that he wouldn''t be able to get all of them.


    He raised his scythe and once again, Serena got that exact feeling of danger.


    "When was thatst time, I was humiliated this badly? Much less by a kid...? Sacred Treasure Art: Devour."


    A dark glow came from his sacred treasure as he swung it down.. And in that instant, everything in the direction he had swung was scraped away.

 Chapter 230 - Golden Butterfly Vs Void Eater

    "What the..." Serena muttered as she slowly looked behind her


    The trees could be seen from the inside and a could breeze could be felt as a hole on the ground extended all the way throughout the right side of the room.


    Serena tried to understand it but nothing made sense, just how was it possible for something like this to happen? Was it really magic?


    The ceilings and walls were gone, along with the floor having been scraped away. But what stood out the most was the fact that half of the hall and a quarter of the mansion was gone.


    The screams and shouts of panic, resounded throughout the open room as people noticed that half of the others in their group had been wiped away along with the mansion.


    Parts of corpses which hadn''t been scraped awayid on the ground beside them and the anxiety within them also grew stronger.


    "H-HELP!!"


    "G-GET US OUT OF HERE!!"


    "S-SOMEONE PLEASE!"


    Serena took in another deep breath to calm herself down. Had she not followed her instinct and stepped to the side, she would have ended up just like them.


    "You... Why...?" She asked with her voice slowly breaking as she clenched and tightened the grip on her fist.


    As she looked around for him, she took in a deep breath to calm herself. Getting agitated now would only disrupt her concentration.


    But she promised herself, that she was going to be satisfied until he paid for all of this.


    People began to push and shove trying to get away as they could from the outside of the group. Because of this, Richart who still had the dark mes around him, ended up getting pushed further and further into the group.


    The defensive transparent dome had been destroyed, so there was nothing protecting them anymore. They were surrounded and the exit which had been opened as they made a hole in the Mansion, was quickly covered by even more of his shadow followers as they appeared.


    That moment that Serena focused on something other than Richart, she ended up losing sight of him.


    Just as she lost sight of him, the sound of the duke telling everyone to calm down, resounded as she felt a shiver go down her spine.


    As if moving to save her life, her body subconsciously ducked, and in that instant, she could feel the air above her being scraped away.


    She looked up and her glowing golden eyes noticed a scythe going right past her.


    *Voom*


    The scythe with the same momentum as it had, did a quick turn before swinging down vertically straight at Serena. But without running, or hiding, Serena simply leapt straight at the boy in front of her with four golden me orbs and 5 golden arrows formed.


    Even if she had dropped her guard, her traps were still active. Not to mention, from this distance, even if he were to teleport behind her. The golden butterflies which were just about to reach them, would deal with his attacks for her.


    He wouldn''t be able to scrape away or erase all the attacks she''d send at him, so the tides were still on her side, or so she thought.


    Just as she sent the attacks straight at him, a smirk was formed on his face as he muttered


    "Void Eater."


    Suddenly a distortion was formed in the space right in front of them and Serena who couldn''t stop her momentum was about to get caught right in the middle of it.


    Air was being sucked into it like some sort of drain, she knew that if she was caught in between it, there''d be nothing left.


    As parts of her life shed right before her eyes, they began to glow even brighter as a few butterflies were created in front of her before pushing her back.


    They hit her with enough force to send her flying a good distance back, while at the same time, not hurting her.


    As they did this however, they ended up being sucked into the distorted space in the process.


    Serena expected the boy to chase, however, he simply stood in his spots as the butterflies from before caught up to him.


    Just as they were about to attack him, he disappeared once again, just like she had predicted, The question was, where did he disappear to?


    Serena used her legs to stop the momentum she had gotten when she was pushed back, before eventually stopping on her tracks. She couldn''t go any further back otherwise; she would have ended up getting the others caught up in the fight.


    Eventually, she could feel it, at the entrance to the main hall. There he stood, next to a guy with curly brown hair covering his eyes.


    He wore a cloak but didn''t bother to cover his head. Serena couldn''t feel bloodlusting out of him, but she could still feel danger. She used magic to increase her hearing sense to listen in on their conversation


    "Sir, the royal knights are already on their way... We won''t be able to hold them off for long... So could you, please stop ying around and capture the targets...?"


    [Sir? Did he just call him Sir? And did he just say ying around...?]


    The boy let out a sigh before saying.


    "The whole point of this is to awaken the king. We just need to make sure he''s watching. But, you''re right. I have a better idea."


    [Awaken the king...? Watching? Is he referring to-]


    Serena''s line of thought was caught off as even more dark air began to surround the boy. One by one, people began to have difficulties breathing. The entire room was affected as he muttered the words.


    "Complete posession."


    His already dark hair, began to grow a dark colour as dark shadowy gloves and boot ssuddenly formed over his arms and legs.


    His ears grew slightly more pointy as his hair began to grow longer and longer.


    Serena didn''t know what to say or do, she couldn''t just run and leave everyone here to die, but their objective was them... Maybe running would have been the better choice.. She didn''t know and she hated it.

 Chapter 231 - Serenas Bravery

    Deep down, without her even realising it, she was still hoping that John could wake up and help her fight, even if he never acted like it. He was very smart, he would have definitely known what to do. Or so she thought


    But just as she thought that, she smacked her face with both hands before saying.


    "No... I said I''d protect you, and so I will... Just like you protected us." She muttered as she kept her eyes on the boy.


    Pointy ears, long smooth ck hair, pitch-ck pupils with a calm emotionless gaze over them.


    With each step and movement that the boy made, darkness could be felt as it was left behind.


    It was the same feeling Serena would asionally get from master Sylvia, only much worse.


    As serena was about to get in the position for the next trap, she realised something.


    Her legs weren''t moving, not only that, but her entire body. Was it because she was scared? They were shaking but it wasn''t something which she wasn''t used to.


    As she got a closer look on her shadow, she noticed that it was standing on another shadow.


    It wasn''t just any shadow, the room still had light in it, so it didn''t make sense for there to have been a shadow


    Confused, Serena looked around before her eyes widened.


    The boy had no shadow, or more specifically, the entire room was being covered by his shadow alone


    "W-What...?" She let out in confusion as she stared straight at the boy.


    His shadow was the shadow which covered the whole room.


    "So you''ve realised..." He whispered as he suddenly appeared right next to her.


    Serena felt a chill go down her spine as she quickly leapt away from him. As she did so, she nced around and noticed that everyone else was also frozen in ce.


    "You can move?" He asked as he catched her


    As he ced his arm around her to keep a hold on her, Serena engulfed her body in golden mes, causing him to quickly let go.


    In that instant, Serena formed a small golden orb above her, before propelling it straight at the person behind her.


    However before it hit him, he disappeared.


    Serena turned before looking around. She couldn''t find him anywhere.


    As shended on the ground, the shadow moved away from her leg which was coated in a golden me.


    She stared at the ground and move her leg around before figuring something out.


    "I see... So that''s how you can move... Either way, it doesn''t matter. This fight is already over."


    Ignoring what he said, Serena quickly looked around, trying to see if she could pinpoint the area where the voice wasing from.


    As she did so, the butterflies reached and surrounded her. Her control over them wasn''t strong but it was high enough.


    "Go..." She whispered


    Half left while the other half stayed. They went straight to the area where the voice hade from.


    She calmly waited and the instant she got a reaction, she quickly turned with a golden orb and arrows formed above her hand.


    When she propelled them, she noticed that there was no one behind her


    "Wha-"


    *Pierce*


    Serena''s eyes widened as she felt a spear pass right through her stomach.


    As she looked down, she could see drops of blood begin to flow out a fall a small pool on the floor.


    Confused, she slowly turned her head around to see what had happened, and there he was, standing right behind her with a smile on his face. He held on to his scythe and the handle which pierced her.


    She grabbed on to the handle and tried to pull it out of her but couldn''t. He was holding on to it tightly.


    "Argh..."


    She held in the desire to scream as she red at him. All she needed to do was get away and heal herself, she still had a chance.


    The man moved the spike around, causing both the pain and need to scream increase. But Serena simply gritted her teeth as her butterflies suddenly charged at him.


    As one of thended on him, he quickly pulled the spear out before disappearing again.


    As this happened, despite healing the wound, her vision became hazy and her head began to spin.


    "The scythe drains your life force and has a fast-acting poison, there''s another girl so I have no use for you. Go to sleep and never wake up"


    Serena who heard this slowly shook her head as a golden me was formed over her wound, before it began slowly closing it.


    She then fell over to the floor, her heart beat getting slower and slower.


    As sheid on the floor, she continued to take deep breaths while stretching out her arm to the group.


    "J...ohn..." She called out to him


    Her eyelids grew heavier and her breaths became more and more shallow.


    "I..."


    As the boy swung his scythe down to finish her off, a bright glow came from there area where she was pierced.


    It shined brightly throughout the room, causing both the boy and the shadow to move away from the area.


    "What?!"


    The light began to crystallise around Serena, starting from where she had the wound, all the way throughout her body.


    After around a minute, the light disappeared, and what remained shocked the young boy


    "This... Hahaha... Looks like we ended up finding something of equal value after all..." He muttered


    He raised his hands and everyone watched with confusion as he said


    "We''re retreating."


    ***


    John slowly opened his eyes, feeling the cold breeze on his shoulders.


    As he got up, he found himself on someone''s back. It was soft and warm.


    "Hey, master..." John muttered


    Master remained quiet as she nodded.


    And as he was about to ask her, where they were his eyes suddenly widened as he remembered what had just happened before he fainted.


    "Hey... Master... Where is, everyone...? And Where is serena?" John asked


    Master Sylvia suddenly stopped walking as she said


    "I don''t know."


    "What?"

 Chapter 232 - The Loss.

    Master Sylvia suddenly stopped walking as she said


    "I don''t know."


    "What?" John asked


    Without saying anything else, Master Sylvia continued to walk. They were right outside of the mansion and were heading to their carriage, Other nobles could be seen heading home too.


    Some crying, some traumatised, others in rage. They seemed to beining to the royal knights who werete to party.


    The sun had set it was dark out, the entire garden and area around the mansion was lit up by a strong light


    The one who was taking most of theints, was the same guy from before. The one who John assumed to be the leader.


    But while all of this happened, John felt as if time had stopped. He wasn''t interested in it nor did he care to check.


    The only things which he could think of was the words his Master had just told him.


    [I don''t know?]


    "O-Oi... Ma-master... You''re joke- joking right...?" John asked


    His voice broke in between the sentence and he himself didn''t know what to say. There was no way anything bad would happen to Serena, or so he believed.


    [It''s Serena after all... She knows how to take care of herself. There''s no way anything bad would happen to her... I get it... Master''s ying a joke right now... Aren''t you master?]


    Master continued to walk without saying anything.


    "Master... Oi... Master! Why aren''t you saying anything...?" John asked


    Master suddenly stopped before turning her head to the side.


    "She was kidnapped."


    The moment John heard that, he hung his head.


    As Master Sylvia began walking again, with his head still hung, john asked.


    "Where were you?"


    There was no reply, the only sound which could be heard were the sound of footsteps.


    "Where''s Ariel, Lydia and the kids?"


    John had hidden them, but he wasn''t sure if Master Sylvia would find them. If they woke up, they''d be able to be able to get out of their spots.


    "In the carriage."


    "Then, where were you when everyone was under attack?" John asked


    Master Sylvia stopped walking before letting John stand on his two feet.


    "Where were you?" Master Sylvia asked


    "I was- I was... I..."


    John stared at the ground below him and stared at his own shadow as he replied


    "I couldn''t control it... I-"


    John was interrupted by Master who said


    "Don''t question where others were, when you slowed others down yourself."


    She then continued to walk in the direction she was originally heading.


    John clenched his fists, not because of how Master sylvia hadn''t appeared to save them, but because of how right she was.


    He did nothing, he couldn''t do nothing, despite all his training, he still ended up being useless when it counted the most.


    Blood began to drip to the ground as John continued to clench his fist. He was tightening his hand with every passing second.


    "De... Depre..."


    Without finish, John cast ''levite'' on himself before propelling himself straight up to the air.


    "Velox."


    Like an air cannon, he flew straight up into the air. As the wind pressure hit on to his face, he looked down and noticed that there were a few who had their eyes on him.


    Some started pointing at the sky, but he didn''t care anymore.


    As he reached the clouds. He stopped before getting a good look around.


    He couldn''t see anything which showed signs of Serena anywhere. As he looked at the duke''s mansion, his eyes widened.


    Over a third of it, had been removed, almost as if a giant finger had juste out of the sky and scraped away at it.


    "Serena had to deal with all of that, alone...?" John asked


    He was afraid of checking, but it was hisst his hope.


    [Deprehendre]


    He pinpointed it to Serena''s magic trace, and got nothing.


    "Deprehendre."


    Once again, there was nothing


    "Deprehendre."


    John took in a deep breath before saying it again


    "Deprehendre, Deprehendre, Dreprehendre... Drepre... Damn it..."


    His eyes started to tear up as he continuously failed to track her.


    "Work, damn it..." He muttered as mmed his hand on his leg.


    *p*


    As he did so, the sound of a p could be heard, and in that moment, he gained another idea. That idea was the only thing which was keeping him sane for the moment


    [Amplificare] Trantion: Amplify


    With the use of magic, John created a small field in front of his mouth where all vibrations which passed through it, would be amplified


    "Highest output..." John muttered


    John took in a deep breath as he wiped the tears from his eye before shouting


    "SERENA!!!!!!!!!!"


    The sound resounded through the mansion''s property all the way to the city.


    Everyone could hear it as John took another deep breath before shouting again.


    "SERENA!!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!?!?!"


    A few windows in the mansion broke from all the pressure and people beneath him covered their ears due to how loud it was.


    John shouted a third time, before waiting for a moment.


    A minute passed, and then another and on the third, John could feel his patience past his limit.


    The clouds around him began to darken as his hair turned pitch ck. Rain began to fall as a dark air surrounded him.


    Thunder began to strike around the area, as the clouds and rain reached the city.


    Meanwhile, John stood directly underneath it,pletely unbothered as thunder struck by the area right next to him.


    He raised his head, his eyes clouded in darkness as he put on an emotionless expression


    "I''ll find you... No matter how long it takes... Knowing you, you''ll be fine. Just wait for me, Serena."


    John then looked at the mansion which had been partly destroyed before saying.


    "That boy... I''ll kill him myself."


    Dark lightning began to pass through John''s body as he activated ''Tenebris Fulgurationem'' On top of that, a clock was formed in front of him.


    [Modero] Trantion: Slow down


    *Tic* *Toc*


    Time slowed down before John disappeared.

 Chapter 233 - The Fallen Hero

    John slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by darkness. Everywhere he looked, he couldn''t see anything.


    No sounds, no light, nothing. Just an empty room.


    As he looked down at himself, he could see a glowing light within him. It was the only light inside of this darkness.


    Without saying anything, John slowly got up before looking around.


    Endless darkness, everywhere he looked. He had no idea where to go, but knew where he was.


    "You''ve returned." Said a voice which came from behind him


    He bit his lips before slowly turning to the source of the voice. Just as he had expected, it was him.


    Despite there being darkness everywhere, John could perfectly see his figure. At first it terrified him, but now he was used to it.


    "What do you want?" John asked with a cold tone


    "You already know what I want." The other John replied with a smile


    Seeing this, John let out a sigh before walking over to his exact copy.


    The copy watched as John stood in front of him without batting an eye. And John leaned in over to his ear.


    He whispered a few words into the copy''s ears and a nervous smile formed on his face, as John backed away.


    A grin appeared on John''s face as he said


    "Get me out of here."


    "You''ve truly fallen, haven''t you?" The copy asked before disappearing.


    The light from within John began to glow further and further before it lit John''s entire body up


    -------------------------


    "Argh..." John muttered as he opened his eyes


    He felt nauseous and felt as if something was pounding at his head.


    As he got up, he took in a deep breath, before putting on his sandals.


    "..."


    Without saying anything, he simply stared at the ceiling before stretching out his arm as if trying to grab something.


    Unfortunately for him, there was nothing there, and he ended up grabbing on to the air.


    Seeing this, John got up before heading towards the toilet, his steps were slow but he eventually reached it.


    As he walked inside, he took a good look at his reflection in the mirror.


    His eyes had dark circles beneath them, his hair was messy and his eyescked emotion.


    No longer the same green as before, they remained pitch-ck, just as his hair had also remained ck.


    He brushed his teeth before washing his face, after doing so, he formed a small amount of water before putting it into the bucket.


    As the bucket filled up, he began to take of his clothes, while heating up at the same time.


    Once it was ready, he stood inside of the shower area in the toilet, before dropping he began to form water particles in the air around his body.


    As the water particles surrounded his body, it looked as if, he had ayer of water over it.


    "Ignis."


    Theyer of water began to warm up as small mes were formed around it.


    As he did this, he grabbed onto the soap which was around the floor, before washing it, and moving it around theyer on water which had now covered his body.


    The wateryer began to take in the soap, forming bubbles around John''s body


    Once his body waspletely covered in soap, he repeated the process on his hair. And right when he when everything was bubbly and perfect, he grabbed on to the bucket before dropping the water on his head


    Washing away all of the bubble in the process.


    When he was finished, he went to his room before putting on his clothes and armour.


    "At-Choo..."


    John gave out a small sneeze as he put on his pants and shirt.


    "It''s cold..." He muttered as he put on his shoes


    When he finally ready, he went straight towards the exit of the room.


    "Time."


    A small clock was formed in front of him, he checked the time as he opened the door.


    "7 pm..."


    With the clock still formed, his eyes widened as he looked at the person who was on the other side of the door.


    It was Ariel, for a moment, John could see her panic as she tried to regain herposure.


    "G-Good afternoon." Said Ariel as she suddenly looked up at him


    "Yeah, good afternoon..." Said John as he quickly avoided eye contact


    He didn''t want Ariel to see him in his sorry state, after all.


    "Are you going out again?" She asked as she prepared her staff


    "Yeah, I''ll be back soo-"


    Ariel interrupted John as she suddenly said


    "Good, I have things prepared, I''ming with you" She said as she showed him her backpack


    John who saw this let out a sigh before saying


    "It''s fine, it''s faster if I go alone." Said John before turning around


    Suddenly, Serena grabbed on to his arm to stop him. She wrapped her arms around it and gave it a tight lock while using hers.


    "No, I''ming with you. It??s been an entire week since Serena disappeared, and you still haven''t found her... We can both use search spells, so if I go it''ll be faster-"


    Ariel suddenly stopped talking before noticing that John was pointing at something.


    "What- What''s wrong?" She asked


    "That staff... Where''s your other one?"


    "You mean the dark sword wand...? I-"


    Ariel had taken her eyes off of John, and when she came to it, he vanished throughout her exnation.


    "Really...? Argh... Fine, I''ll search for her myself." Ariel muttered


    -------------------


    As John walked through the streets, he thought back on what he had done to Ariel


    "Sorry, But I don''t want to get you involved in this" He muttered


    John was wearing a mask and was following this man who appeared to be drunk. He had juste out of the bar and staggered as he walked.


    As the man entered the alleyway to his left, John made his move.


    ???Man... A guy can''t get a decent break around here..." The man muttered


    Suddenly, a dark knife was pointed straight as his next, as a kidtched on to him from behind.


    He was a tall and big man with a strong build, so John''s body weight alone wasn''t enough to bring him down.


    "W-What do you want?" He asked with a nervous look


    Hearing this a grin was formed on John''s face as he said


    "I have a few questions...."

 Chapter 234 - Frontal Head-On Invasion

    "A few questions?" The man asked as he gulped down the little saliva, he had in his mouth


    "Yeah..." John muttered


    "I-I don''t know anything! P-Please, T-Trust me!" Said the man with a face of terror


    "Is that so..."


    *Crack*


    "ARRGHHH!!!"


    ***


    John leftthe alleyway without looking back, he had gotten all the information that he needed and didn''t feel an ounce of happiness from it.


    He had spent the entire week which had passed searching everywhere around the city and around a kilometre outside of the city. Covering every ounce which he could.


    He tried tracking, and even asked Master Sylvia for help. But they hade out empty handed.


    After 5 days John started questioning if Serena was still alive, or if they had experimented or tortured her for information.


    Whenever these thoughts woulde up, he could feel the darkness inside him increasing. Waiting to take over at any time.


    And on the 7th day which was today, he woke up with an empty and hollow feeling on his chest.


    "So you''re telling me... After all of that searching... Day and night... She was right here under my nose?"


    John mmed his right arm into the wall of the building next to him, leaving a big crack in the process.


    The face of anger in his face turned into an evil grin as he muttered.


    "Now I found you..."


    -----------------------------


    The sound of footsteps resounded inside of a dimly lit dark hall.


    Anyone who heard it could tell who the source belonged to. Calm steps which resounded through the hall, despite the shoes having been ever so small.


    As the boy stopped in front of the room to the left, he knocked on the door a few times before opening it.


    As he did, he slightly closed his eyes due to the sudden light which emerged.


    Once he was inside of the room, a cloaked man who seemed to be inspected the source of the light, suddenly turned around before heading towards the young boy


    "Wee back sir! I bear good news today!" He said as he suddenly bowed


    He removed the hoodie of his cloak, showing an old looking bald man with a gray beard and strange eyes. One of his eyes seemed to be prosthetic while the other was normal.


    The young boy, looked up at the man with a look that showed that he was waiting for the news.


    "R-Right,e look at this." Said the man as he walked towards the source of the light.


    The young boy followed behind before looking at it. The more he looked at it, the more he struggled toprehend how such a thing was possible.


    "What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?" The boy asked


    Arge yellow crystal, with a girl frozen inside. Her eyes closed and she seemed to be hibernating in a way. Her wounds were closed, but anyone would die if they weren''t able to breathe. However, the two could still feel her life force from inside of it.


    "R-Right, look closely at it... My first thought was breaking the crystal and getting her out of it, but..."


    "But?" The boy asked


    "It''s unbreakable... It''s hard, magic won''t have any effect on it, and I do not have any tools which can generate enough pressure to crack it..."


    "Hm...?"


    The boy raised his hand forming a thin dark needle above it, before spinning it and mming it straight down on the light crystal


    The man wanted to stop him, but he thought it''d be best to let him experience it.


    As the dark needle hit the crystal, he observed something which caused his eyes to widen. The needle as disappeared, or more precisely, it was pushed inside of the light crystal.


    "It was absorbed?"


    But despite being absorbed, no harm came to the girl inside, and he couldn''t even see the needle.


    "How interesting. So what''s the good news?" The boy asked


    He was now more interested than before, and it was easy to tell just by looking.


    "Of course! Right away sir!" Said the man before heading over to a drawer on the far end of the room.


    The boy waited and watched as he scrummaged through his things before eventually getting a glowing red crystal.


    Once he got the crystal, the man quickly ran up back to the boy before saying


    "Amazing isn''t it...? This is a soul crystal... Now not much has been discovered about this, but they contain high amounts of condensed magic power. Just one of these can fuel an attack strong enough to wipe out an entire city..." Said the man


    "Yes, I know. I own one." Replied the boy uninterested


    "Yes, but... If you take a closer look at her in her current state and the crystal, don''t you also see it?" The man asked.


    The boy looked over at the girl submerged inside of therge crystal, before looking over at the red crystal which was the size of the man''s arm.


    "For decades... No, centuries even, i''ve struggled to figure out, how dungeons turn monsters into magic stones and even create them... Creating a magic stone is unheard of... But what if..."


    The boy now realising the true importance and weight of the discovery formed a smile on his face as he said


    "What if we could turn people into magic stones, right?" The boy asked


    The scientist with a pleased smile, quickly said.


    "That''s right, just imagine with all these people and all that power... we could rule the wor-"


    *Boom*


    It was small but the sound of an explosion could be heard not too far away from the room.


    Following that, the room began shaking, as if there was some sort of earth quake nearby


    "What is that?" The man asked


    "Cover your face with your cloak. I''ll be back." Said the boy before vanishing.


    -----------------------


    Inside of a giant hall, with tables and drinks everywhere around. People wearing cloaks could be seen drinking.


    Some were talking amongst each other in their tables, while others just stood there quietly.


    Suddenly, the tables and drinks began vibrating as they could feel something approaching.


    There were around 30 of them, and they all quickly got on their guards, as they looked around.


    *Boom*


    Then suddenly, out of nowhere, someone came from down from the ceiling, mming the guy beneath him straight on to the ground.


    Everyone stood their speechlessly as the boy with spiky long hair, released a killer amount of bloodlust.


    His eyes were calm yet hollow, he almost gave off the same vibe as their boss.


    As he continued to stand on the guy who had most likely broken his head and arms, John looked around before drawing out his daggers.


    "modero."


    --------------------


    *Crack*


    The ss cup filled to the brim with wine which the man was drinking end up falling straight on to the floor before cracking


    "Argh... Who the hell is causing all of this vibration!?" Asked the short red-haired man as he mmed his hand on to the table


    "l-let''s go, I detected a strange movement on the earth around the base, on top of that, my nts have beenining about an approaching danger." Said the brown-haired boy


    "AND YOU ONLY CHOOSE NOW TO TELL US?!" The red-haired man shouted


    The brown-haired boy nearly sprung back in fear when the girl sitting on the chair ying with her doll on the other side of the room, turned before saying


    "No shouting!"


    Seeing this, the brown-haired boy, felt his self-esteem drop even more. A girl was less afraid than him.


    "


    *Boom*


    A sound resounded through the building as something appeared to crash into it.


    Hearing this, all three firmly stood up, including the fourth which was a man with short purple hair and a pony tailed tied up in the back.


    They were missing 1 more, but didn''t have time to wait for him.


    "We''re under attack, let''s go kick this person''s ass"


    --------------------


    "AGHH!"


    "ARGHH!!"


    "SOMEBODY ST-"


    Before the man could finish, his head was swallmed straight on to the wall, cracking the back of his skull in the process.


    John let go of him and he instantly fell on to the ground.


    He looked around the room and there still remained one more person who was trembling on the floor, they looked terrified out of their lives.


    John saw that the boy was about to throw a pill into his mouth, and in that moment, John appeared in front of him before he grabbed on to it, before breaking it and throwing it away.


    "Who said that you could die?" John asked as he grabbed on to the hoodies cor.


    "W-Wait... WAAIT!!"


    ----------------


    Footsteps resounded through the halls of this undergroundir, despite sounding simr to the young boy''s it wasn''t his.


    This one belonged to John. The footsteps stopped as John stood in front of a giant door which let to the other hall he aimed to go to.


    But there was a group standing in front of that door, one stopping him from being able to aplish his objective.


    It was a group containing four individuals he had never met before.


    But just by looking he could tell that they were strong.

 Chapter 235 - The Gate

    "So you''re the guy who''s been breaking all our crap, HUH!?" The short red haired man shouted


    Four stood in John''s path, all with their own unique characteristics. Judging by the timing and how they weren''t wearing cloaks, John could tell that they weren''t just another useless pawn.


    A young girl who appeared to be around the same age as him held on to her doll as she stood beside three other guys


    The one to her right had short purple hair with a pony tai on his back. His frame was bnced and muscr and overall, he didn''t seem to have anything which stood out.


    With a calm look on his face, he stared straight at John.


    The one to her left was the short red-haired man who had shouted a moment ago, an angered frown was formed on his red brows under his short red hair


    He began to descend the stairs with anger disyed all over his face, and the other two just waited and watched while thest one which was the one who was next to him, wanted to stop him but decided to also watch.


    Long curly brown hair which covered his eyes with an innocent and fragile look on his face. He was the only one wearing a cloak, and seemed to be a few years older than John.


    With each step that the red-haired man descended, a fiery gauntlet made of pure mes could be seen forming over his hands.


    It was strange how he wasn''t chanting but John wasn''t surprised at all when he saw this.


    He had already expected the higher-ranking ones to have sacred treasures.


    John walked towards the Red-haired man, and the man continued to get closer and closer.


    And once they were only a few feet away from each other, he stopped. John on the other hand continued to walk.


    "The hell do you want here?! Do you wanna die, HUH!?"


    John ignored him and walked right past him, heading straight to the gate.


    "Oi... Who said that you could pass?"


    After asking that he grabbed on to John''s shoulder with his burning hands with a murderous look on his face. John ignoring him only pissed him off even more.


    *sh*


    But the instant his hand touched John, it was cut off.


    Everyone''s eyes widened as they saw this, they had expected him to be strong but not to this level.


    "Huh?" He unintentionally let out as he noticed what had happened


    Half of his armid on the floor while the other half which was still intact on to his shoulder, had blood gushing out of it.


    The fire was still burning brightly on his arm despite having been cut off, but none of that matter. What mattered was what the boy had just done.


    He saw it, in a split second, sh the man''s arm off with his sword, but he wasn''t able to react in time.


    "GAAH!! ARGH... You little..."


    The man grabbed on to the part of his arm which had blood pouring out of it and began squeezing it.


    "AAARGH!!!"


    He was able topletely stop the bleeding, but right when he did, he suddenly felt the whole world turn upside down.


    As his head rolled on the ground, his body fell to floor.


    "Get in my way, and I''ll kill you all." As he said that, electric sparks could be seen flowing around him.


    John hadn''t looked at anyone, there was no need. he only stared at the gate. He was still giving them the option to be spared, whether they epted it or not was up to them.


    After saying that, John lowered his dagger and began walking towards the staircase, it was then that he noticed it.


    The people at the top of the stair case had all pulled out their sacred treasures. The girl continued to carry on to her doll, but John could feel a strange feelinging from it.


    The purple haired man was nowhere to be seen, while the curly brown-haired boy had his arms stretched out.


    Seeing this, John let out a sigh before looking back.


    His body was being clouded engulfed in a dark me which began to take the shape of an armour.


    The armour then began to attach his ripped off arm and head back on to his body, before he stood up.


    There was no doubt that he was dead, John could feel his life force seep away from him, so then how could his body still move?


    As john wondered this, he remembered something.


    Sacred treasures had a will of their own, meaning, what he was looking at now, wasn''t the man he had killed but the Sacred Treasure itself.


    Could every sacred treasure do this? Did it get stronger after his death? Why was did he only use the gauntlets instead of the whole armour?


    Such questions popped up in John''s mind, but they all disappeared, as he took in a deep breath to prepare himself for battle.


    The Dark armour began to charge him and he braced himself while keeping his attention on the other 2.


    He had no idea where the fourth was, but that didn''t matter for now.


    The armour was fast, in just a few seconds, it was right In front of him.


    As it sent a fiery fist from it''s me engulfed gauntlet straight at John''s head, but he ducked avoiding by a hair stand.


    However, in that instant, something else appeared from behind John, shing at his head.


    John avoided this by shadow stepping above them, but right when he did, he was caught on strings which had been ced around the air.


    [!]


    John''s eyes widened as he noticed a fiery fist heading straight at his head.


    Before he could shadow step in time, it hit him straight on his face, pushing him back.


    The strings ended up cutting through parts of his arm and back as they tightened while he was pushed back.


    As he mmed on to the wall to the right of the stairs, the strings wrapped around his neck and all around his body, squeezing and tightening more and more with each passing second.


    Without making a single move, John stayed on the wall, and the armour quickly leapt at him before piercing John''s chest.


    At the same time, the wires ended up cutting off John''s head, causing it fall off as the life in his eyes disappeared.


    Right when everyone had thought it was finished. The body dispersed into shadow as John came out of the shadow''s on the far corner of the room.


    His neck had a strangle mark which was caused from the string, and the burnt marks from the punch from the gauntlet could be seen on his face.


    But that quickly disappeared as a bit of steam was let out the areas with the wounds.


    "Phantasma umbra" Trantion: Shadow dummy


    Right as they went to finish John off, he created a shadow imitation of himself before shadow stepping away.


    It was one of the tricks he had learnt during the week which he had spent looking for Serena. He knew he had to get stronger, so he went back and thought deeply, using every bit of energy he had to remember what he had learnt.


    Because of that, he had developed his understand of magic to an even deeper point.


    Shadow dummy was an optical illusion, with the use of magic to give it mass. But for it to have been believable, he had to properly inspect his body to have the proper image in mind.


    And the rest was to just form that image with magic.


    "You just keep getting in my way... All of you, and that kid..."


    More and more darkness began to surround John as his eyes began to show signs of glowing a darker colour than it already was.


    John''s hair seemed to be slightly getting longer, but right when it did.


    "No." John muttered as he ced his palm on his face


    He quickly suppressed whatever was trying toe out and as the three saw this,in that moment, for just a single moment they felt it.


    An unimaginable amount of darknessing from within the boy, one which surpassed even their boss.


    [Modero, Verum Tenebris Fulgurationem]


    Dark Lightning began to circte through his body as he vanished


    Seeing this, they all got on high alert, and John made his first move.


    He appeared behind the brown haired boy with his arms stretched out, beforending a kick on him, which sent him flying straight towards the wall to his right.


    The instant that happens, the transparent strings which he couldn''t see, all retracted back into the boy''s hand as heid on the wall.


    While John was being beat up, he got to see what all of their sacred treasure''s could do. The boy who he had just kicked was the one who was controlling the strings which had been ced all around the area.


    "Now I can move around freely." John muttered as he released another wave of bloodlust


    The only ability John didn''t know was the ability of the girl around his age who stood right in front of him with a doll

 Chapter 236 - Johns Mercy

    John decided to leave the girl forst, dealing with the others was the best option for now. But he still had to scare her or neutralise her in a way.


    Because of this, he stretched out his arm to grab her and, in that instant, he quickly pulled his body back, avoiding the sh which was sent at him by a hair strand.


    As he avoided it, wind pressure came out from the other end of the de, shing at his arm.


    *sh*


    John''s right arm was cleanly cut off, falling to the ground with his right dagger still in it''s grip.


    Without giving John a second to rest, the man quickly turned the direction of the de, before heading straight towards John''s head


    As the de got closer and closer, John could see wind forming in front of it.


    And right as it was about to hit him, he shadow stepped away.


    *Voom*


    Sharp wind cleanly cut through the area where he had stood, as it formed a giant sphere of rampaging wind.


    The man responsible for this, was the same purple haired man that John had lost sight of in the beginning of the battle. He carried a strange green and ck sword which resembled a katana.


    John reappeared, behind the man''s head, with blood pouring out of the half of the right arm which had been cleanly cut off.


    The man quickly turned back and right as he swung his sword at John, John swung his arm which was missing the other half at the man''s face, making some of the blood enter his eyes.


    In that moment, the man closed his eyes while continuing his swing, forming another sphere of cutting wind right in the area where John was standing.


    But before it could hit him. John shadow stepped to the man''s side, before swinging his left arm which held on tightly to the dagger straight at the man''s head.


    Right as it reached the man''s neck, John felt a strange thud before his dagger and left hand were pushed back.


    Following that, shes of wind were sent all around the man, and John who was within the range was about to take all of them head-on.


    But once again, John shadow stepped away before it could hit him.


    The man slowly pulled back his sword before wiping his eyes and turning to John who stood a few feet away from the two.


    He watched as steam was let out of John''s cut off arm while blood dripped out of it. Yet despite all of that, John didn''t let out a single sound.


    "Did you get it?" The man asked


    The girl who was next to him, bent down to the ground before grabbing on to John''s cut off arm and saying


    "Yeah, fighting is bad but I''ll allow it this time."


    The moment she grabbed on to John''s hand hand, she ripped off her dolls hand, before it slowly got bigger.


    Once it was big enough to fit in John''s hand in the ripped off sleeve, She ced John''s hand in it before chanting a few words.


    As she did so, The purple haired man looked over at John who wasn''t making any moves, he just stood there, quietly with his head hung.


    "Done." Said the girl


    Seeing this, the man charged straight at John.


    John who saw this, raised his head and was about to move his body to dodge, when all of the sudden.


    He realised that his body was paralysed. He couldn''t control it.


    As the man swung his katana straight at the immobile John, for a moment, just a single moment, John''s eyes glowed a bright yellow colour


    And in that instant, he muttered


    "Cancel."


    The man dropped his guard, thinking that John was immobile, Swinging his sword straight at him. But right as he did.


    John tilted his body to the side, before electricity began to flow once more through it. The emotionless gaze remained on his face as he muttered the words.


    [Gravitas x 50, Modero]


    The purple haired man''s eyes widened, as he lost sight of John''s movement. His body grew heavier and heavier as he tried to move away


    *sh* *sh* *sh*


    When he came to it, He had received shes all over his body, causing him to fall to his knees.


    John was surprised, The man''s body was being protected by a strange wind armour, making all of John''s strikes shallow, but despite that, he was still able to hit him in the vital points.


    Seeing as how he stood no chance; the man formed a smile on his face before saying.


    "H-How did you... Hmph... It''s your win. Kill me."


    His voice sounded rather calm for someone who was asking to be killed, he seemed satisfied with the result of the fight.


    Hearing this, John raised his left hand before swinging it down, when suddenly.


    He stopped, not because he felt pity for the enemy, but because of the strings which had grabbed on to his hand and the young girl who had moved in front of John''s attack.


    "S-Stop..." She muttered


    Her eyes closed, legs trembling in fear, and her voice breaking as she let out the quiet plea for him to stop.


    The purple haired man''s eyes widened as he watched the girl stand up for him. He then looked over at John whose expression remained unmoving.


    John tried moving his left arm, but the string was wrapped around it tightly.


    He turned back and noticed the brown-haired boy he had knocked into the wall, was slowly walking to them, with blood dripping down his head.


    "D-don''t hurt them..." The brown-haired boy muttered


    He had his arms stretched out and with stringsing out of the edge of the gloves he had on. John who saw this, looked back over the girl whose eyes were still closed as she tightly held on to the doll.


    The emotionless expression on John''s face changed into an angered re as he stared straight at the girl and a man.


    Seeing, this the man got more and more nervous before saying


    ", who told you to help me? Go away, I lost, and it wasn''t even a fair battle... I''ve lost my morales but at least let me go out with my honour and pride." Said the man


    "No." The girl replied


    "ILA! Stop being stupid! You''re just a kid! HE''LL KILL YOU!"


    "I DON''T CARE!!" She shouted out from the top of her lungs


    The whole room fell in silence as she said


    "Everyone... My friends... Family... Even my parent''s abandoned me... Yet you were the only one who offered me help and took care of me... IF YOU''RE GONNA DIE THEN I''LL BE ALL ALONE AGAIN!! SO PLEASE! DON''T GIVE UP!!"


    Hearing this, the man''s eyes widened, small tears began to form on his eyes as he muttered


    "Yeah, you''re rig-"


    He was interrupted by a sharp pain which passed through his arm. Confused, he looked over at his right arm which held on to his sword, only to see it lying on the floor in the ground.


    "Be quiet." Said John


    "ARGH..!!"


    The man grabbed on to the area of his arm which had been cut off before squeezing it tightly. Blood was heavily pouring out of it. Faster than it did with John.


    The girl who saw this quickly turned to him to help him and the Curley haired boy tried pulling John''s left arm back, only to realise the his strings had been cut off.


    "H-How... These strings are made of pure magic concentration... They can''t be cut..." The boy muttered


    John crouched down to the man whoid on the ground while facing the girl as he said.


    "What gives you the right to decide who gets to give up? All of those lives taken on that day, all of those people who are suffering till today... What makes you think I''ll let you guys continue to live your life In happiness?" John asked


    He stared straight at the girl straight in the eyes. She stared back with tears forming in her face, she stared into the darkness which could be seen within John''s eyes and began to feel fear brooming from within her.


    "W-we weren''t the ones that k-killed them"


    John''s eyes began to glow a yellow light as he muttered


    "Even Serena... Someone who had nothing to do with it, ended up being kidnapped because she was rted to me... That boss of yours, I won''t forgive him."


    "I-I said-"


    She was interrupted by John once more who said


    "I don''t care, look at me in the eyes and tell me you''ve never killed anyone innocent for that guy before."


    She struggled to look John in the eye, the amount of bloodlust he was releasing was intense, on top of that, she couldn''t deny it.


    "Wrong answer."


    "D-Don''t hurt her... If it''s a life you want... Take mine... Don''t be a coward..." The man muttered, His voice clearly weaker than before.


    Hearing this, anger clouded his mind and John moved in his dagger to sh both of them, and as the girl closed her eyes the man wrapped his remaining arm around her to take the hit.


    But Contrary to what he was expecting, nothing happened


    John had stopped, right as he was about to cut through them.


    No matter how hard he tried, his arm wouldn''t move any further. Seeing this he clicked his tongue before getting up.


    "Tsk."

 Chapter 237 - The Law Of Motion

    John clicked his tongue before getting up. The man stood there quietly staring at John without saying anything. He was speechless.


    Meanwhile the girl continued to grab on to the man with her eyes closed.


    The brown-haired boy watched from a far with a surprised look in his face.


    "This doesn''t mean your sins have been forgiven..." John muttered as he stretched out his hand to grab on to the girl''s doll.


    She had dropped the doll when she moved in to take the attack for the man, so the doll with his arm still attached to it, stayed on the ground.


    John pulled out his arm from the doll, and watched as blood poured out of it and began to spill everywhere.


    It infuriated him, but he kept calm.


    He ced the ripped off arm back onto his arm in the area where it had been cut off, before steam began to flow out of it


    His pupils slowly changing between a yellow glow and a pitch-ck colour as his arm slowly began to re-attach itself.


    Just as John''s arm was about to bepletely attached


    *Boom!*


    A me engulfed gauntlet hit him straight on his face with full force. It was the dark armour; it had snuck up on John beforending a heavy power blow on his face.


    [Newton''s 3rd Law...]


    Despite that, John didn''t move an inch, and slowly turned his face which had the fist on it, as he stared straight at the Armour''s soulless helmet


    Suddenly, a crack appeared on the right gauntlet of the arm. The crack quickly progressed through it''s right arm to it''s shoulder before eventually


    *BOOM!*


    The armour was sent flying back as if hit by a great pressure.


    It flew straight past the stairs before finding it''s centre of bnce andnding on the ground beneath it.


    Confused, the armour looked over at its right arm. It waspletely cracked.


    "H-How...?" The brown-haired boy muttered


    He didn''t understand, John was the one that got punched, so how was the armour the one that went flying back?


    "Physics." Said John as steam was let out of the side of his face which had been burned from the punch.


    Even more confused than before, the boy watched as John opened the gates before passing through.


    The armour was about to chase after, but it stopped once John hadpletely gone.


    "What is physics...?" The boy muttered as the armour returned back into a mere gauntlet.


    The body inside was still missing an arm and head, the one who the boy had considered a friend was still dead.


    Seeing this, he slowly fell to the ground before punching it.


    "Sorry...I''m sorry..."


    ----------------------------


    As John walked through the halls, he began to think back on the move he had used.


    [Newton''s thirdw...]


    Newton, a scientist from John''s previous world who was recognised as one of the most influential scientists to have ever existed.


    He was the one who discovered gravity when he saw a falling apple while thinking about the forces of nature.


    He was also the one who had invented the threews of motions which had formed the basic principles of Physics in John''s previous world.


    An amazing scientist who had many upations and a man who John had admired.


    John''s favourite science topic was and had always been physics. As he thought and worried day and night about finding Serena. John began to deepen and progress his skill set for magic.


    He knew that he wouldn''t be able to stand a chance against that person without stronger moves. John had focused on Chemistry and Biology ever since he hade to this world, so now he decided to rely on the 3rd branch of science, Physics.


    Gravitas and Levite, were made with his knowledge of Physics, but there was still so much more to explore.


    Saving the best forst, and John didn''t regret it, he was able to create a few spells during that week, but thought of many ideas which he wasn''t able to implement.


    One of these spells was the one he had used against the me armour. He hadn''t thought of a name for the spell yet, but it followed the principal of one of Newton''sws of motion.


    The thirdw, whenever two objects interact, they exert equal and opposite forces on each other. For example, if someone were to push something with a certain force, then they would also be feeling the same equal force on themselves.


    What John did when the armour punched him, was simple. He followed the principle of Newton''s thirdw and slightly altered it.


    John knew that with every force, there was an equal and opposite force, so he let himself be hit to test his new move.


    He didn''t have a name for it, but it involved redirecting the force which was sent to him, back on to the one who caused it.


    It was a strong form of defensive which revolved around him creating ayer of magic around his body which redirected iing force.


    John ced his arm on the side of his face which was punched as he muttered


    "It''s iplete..."


    He could still feel pain from the punch despite having removed the force. John''s aim was finding a perfect armour, but his new spell was far from perfect. On top of that, it had a great weakness.


    It only worked on Physical forces, meaning it had wouldn''t work against magic or long-range attacks, such as an arrow or rock.


    Despite that, it was still strong. To be able to redirect a physical attack against something at two times the power, would still be useful.


    As John shadow stepped and opened the door to enter the room which was at the end of the hall, he ended up finding another hall ahead of it, and standing near the end of it, was a long white braided haired man leaning on the door with his eyes closed.


    He wasn''t wearing a cloak and was wearing his own clothes, just like the others John had thought. On top of that, he seemed to be in his 18s.


    As John entered the hall, he closed the doors behind him, before walking towards the end of the hall where the white-haired man stood.


    It was then that John realised, none of the people he fought, genuinely looked old, all were young looking.


    The man opened his eyes, and when he did, John was already standing in front of him, with his daggers pointed at the man''s throat.


    Seeing this, the man quickly reacted, raising his hands in a gesture which showed that he had no bad intentions


    "Wait, I''m not here to stop you." Said the man with a nervous smile


    "Then move." Said John


    Hearing this, the smile on the man''s face stayed as he said


    "Two halls down, and then the first door to the left." Said the man as he moved away from the door


    John lowered his daggers before walking through the door. He didn''t care about why the man told him this, nor did he believe him. All he cared about was finding Serena.


    "He sure is impatient..." The man muttered as he leaned off the wall


    He began heading to the other end of the hall where john hade from before asking


    "Who will win? The masked devil or the emotionless jack of all trades?"


    He turned back at to the door with a smile before saying


    "Not that it matters either way."


    Moments after he said that, he continued his walk down the hall before eventually disappearing.


    -----------------------


    "The sound stopped for a while now, do you think it''s over?" The old man asked as he continued to inspect the Crystal where Serena was trapped inside.


    He moved left and right, looking for any possible gaps where something would be able to pass through, but there was nothing.


    "Man... This is truly fascinating... I can''t wait to find out how to use all of this magic... This source never ceases to amaze me... Brilliant, no, magnificent!"


    He ced his hand on the crystal and began to stroke it as he said


    "Rejoice... For you shall be the sacrifice for the greater good."


    *Creak*


    The sound of footsteps entering the room resounded throughout the brightly lit room as the scientist quickly said


    "Wee back, Bo-"


    He stopped talking when he realised that the person behind him wasn''t the boss, but someone else.


    "Who... Are you? This room is off-limits, you dare enter without the boss''s permission?" The old man asked


    Ignoring this, John simply stared at the sleeping face of Serena who remained crystallized inside of the Crystal.


    "Serena...?" He muttered


    "You know this girl...? Wait... You''re not..."


    Realising that the boy who stood in front of him wasn''t allowed to enter, the man began to panic.


    John''s patiencepletely run out, his pitch-ck hair began to grow a dark ck colour as he turned to the man.


    "Did you.... Do this, to her?"

 Chapter 238 - Tears Of Emotions And The Endless Trap.

    "Did you... Do this to her?"


    The emotionless gaze was wiped off John''s face as he gave the man a cold, silent re. Dark Spikes were subconsciously being formed around John as the man suddenly dropped to the ground.


    "W-What''s happening?!" He asked


    He felt as if his hands and legs were being squashed as heid helplessly on the floor. It was as if someone had ced hundreds of weight bags on him. It hurt and he could barely breathe.


    "I asked you a question..." John muttered as he slowly walked over to the man.


    Seeing this, the man began to panic, he couldn''t run nor move, all he could do was simply watch as John crouched down beside him.


    His body which was already trembling began to tremble even more as chills were sent down his spine. It was the feeling one would get if they had fallen into a pool of water surrounded by sharks.


    He felt like prey standing beside a predator.


    "W-WAIT! IT WASN''T ME! SHE DID THIS TO HERSELF!"


    The man closed his eyes praying and hoping that the boy wouldn''t hurt him, but he soon after opened them, when he noticed that nothing was happening.


    "Speak."


    Seeing as how the boy was interested in any information he had about the girl, the man quickly thought of an idea to ensure his survival.


    "R-right, s-she was brought to me like this, b-but I-I''m pretty sure that I can find a way to bring her back to normal. Y-Yes, I''m the only one who knows how to fix her and bring her back to normal." Said the man as he forced a smile


    Suddenly, darkness began to gather above John before taking shape of an open coffin with spikes inside.


    When he noticed this, the forced smile was wiped off the man''s face as he asked


    "W-What is that for? I-I told you everything I knew... W-Wait..."


    Without saying anything, John watched as a distortion was formed on the inside of the coffin and began to suck air into it. It wasn''t as strong as a ck hole, but it was strong, strong enough to drag that man inside.


    "What are you doing?" John asked as he looked at his hand


    [You''re not trying to stop me.]


    "Tsk."


    The man felt his body get lighter as his body was slowly being pulled towards the coffin, he tried moving his body but it wouldn''t, there was still pressure on it.


    "W-Wait! Y-Young man, I told you everything I knew... Please, I don''t deserve this."


    The scientist began to panic while John simply got up before heading over to where serena''s crystal was. Seeing this, the scientist began to scream for help.


    "WAIT! WAI-"


    The sound screaming stopped as a creak resounded through the room. Without turning back, John focused his attention on Serena before cing his hand on the crystal and saying


    "I''ll get out of here, just wait a minute." Said John


    A small smile was formed on him as tears began to flow down his face when he realised that Serena was still alive.


    He could feel her life force, although it was weak.


    The tears quickly turned to steam as John turned around with an annoyed look.


    He looked over at the area where the coffin had been before dispersing it. There was nothing inside, and instead, A young boy carrying the man who John had nearly killed.


    "Y-Young master!" The man shouted with tears of happiness


    The boy let go of the man and he dropped to the ground before heading towards gesturing John to follow him.


    Ignoring this, John was about to grab on to the Crystal when suddenly the boy spoke up.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you. You won''t be able to get away from me If you''re focused on carrying her." Said the boy.


    "Try me." Said John as he let out a sigh


    Hearing this, the boy vanished before reappearing above John. But right when he did, he lost sight of him and in that instant, he felt something grab on to the back of his shirt before throwing him up.


    The boy quickly vanished as John threw him, before appearing behind John with a kick heading straight at John.


    However Right when he did, he was suddenly mmed straight into the ground by a strange force.


    "!? What?"


    "Gravitas x 100..." John muttered


    As the boy stood his ground, the floor beneath him started to crack.


    John quickly shadow stepped above the boy before sending a kick straight down at his head, and as the boy raised his hands to block it. John vanished leaving a trace of electricity before the boy suddenly felt an intense surge of pain through his stomach before he was sent flying straight at the wall behind him.


    *CRASH*


    He hit the wall with so much force that he ended up breaking and crashing through it.


    Meanwhile, John quickly shadow stepped to the wall, before looking around the other room through it.


    He turned back to the scientist who was shaking in fear near the wall, before pointing at his finger at him.


    The man instantly knew what John meant by that and quickly got up before running out of the room


    John watched before turning to the other room where the boy had crashed into. His presence was gone and John couldn''t see him anywhere.


    Seeing this, John let out a sigh before heading back over the the Crystal to pick it up and get it the hell out of there.


    He was filled with rage, but knew that Serena''s safety was a priority.


    As he shadow stepped above the Light Crystal, he quickly tilted his head to the left, barely avoiding the Shadow spike which had been sent at him.


    A cut was formed on the side of his face, before closing up as it let out steam.


    "You dodged that?" The young boy asked before stepping back into the room.


    Suddenly, he shadow stepped in front of John before sending a straight kick at John''s stomach. John who foresaw his next move, turned around where there was nothing behind him before crossing his arms and clenching his fist.


    Right as he did that, the Man shadow stepped behind him Just as John had predicted, and the kicknded straight on John''s hands.


    Before he was sent back, John grabbed on to the man''s legs before swinging him, nearly mming him on to the wall beside him.


    But right when he did, the man shadow stepped above John who was still being propelled back from the kick, before grabbing on to his head from above.


    Suddenly, the young boy retracted his hand back, and right as he did, a sh went right through the area where his arm was at, when he noticed a dark electric spark passed through air around John.


    His senses were screaming danger, and right as he was about to shadow step away. John vanished and in that instant he felt a blownd straight on his stomach before John grabbed on to his head and kneed him straight on the face.


    *Crack*


    The young boy mmed on to the ceiling, and as he began to fall, John moved to grab on to him, but he shadow stepped away.


    John looked around in a hurry but couldn''t feel the boy''s presence in the room anymore. Either John was failing to detect him or he had teleported away to get some time.


    Without bothering to chase him, John shadow stepped over to the big Crystal where Serena was submerged inside of, before casting Levite on it.


    Contrary to John''s expectations, nothing happened. The Crystal didn''t float, nor did he feel the spell work on it.


    "What?"


    Just as John asked that, he ducked and leapt to the sides, as magic circles formed around him.


    John continued to leap around the move, and whenever he stopped a magic circle would be formed.


    Slowly but surely the room was filling with circles.


    As john began looking for the one responsible for all of this, he noticed something glowing beneath him.


    As he looked at the ground he saw it, a giant glowing dark magic circle which was about to activate.


    "!"


    He shadow stepped above Serena''s crystal before looking over at the door. There stood the same young boy with longer glowing dark hair and dark gloves and boots formed around him.


    He had a dark smirk on his face, and seeing it, only aggravated John.


    As electric sparks passed through his body, John was about to shadow step to the boy to finish him once and for all, when all of the sudden he heard the boy say


    "Careful, she might get hurt..."


    Hearing this, John quickly ceased attack his attack before grabbing on to the Light Crystal and lifting it up.


    Right as he did, the circle activated, and in that moment, John red at the young boy as he gritted his teeth in rage before letting out a sigh and calm yet coldly dering.


    "I''ll kill you."

 Chapter 239 - The Kings Chosen One

    "I''ll kill you..." John muttered


    It was just for a moment, but the boy felt a shiver go past his spine. Not because of John''s threat, but because of the presence within his words.


    For just a single moment, the boy could feel a different presence aside from John''s and it was that of the man he feared.


    "The king..." He muttered


    Just as he said that, the magic circle had finished it''s activation, and the ground beneath John quickly broke down. Causing the floor and everything in the room, including John and Serena to drop into a dark abyss which had formed beneath them


    As The two began to fall into the abyss, John got under the crystal where Serena was trapped inside, before holding it above his head.


    Once it was bnced, they quickly stopped falling, before heading back up.


    However as this happened, the light which came from the top where they had originally fallen from, began to disappear as darkness began to cover it.


    John''s only exit was slowly fading away, as he saw this, he knew he had to think of a quick way to get them out of whatever this ce was.


    As he began to propel them up, John suddenly felt a chill go down his spine, so he quickly threw the Light Crystal as far up as he could, before tilting his body back.


    In that instant, he felt something go right past him before a cut on his cheek was formed.


    John quickly looked around and felt another attacking, but he couldn''t see it. The entire area where clouded in darkness, and the attack itself seemed to have been using the darkness as a coumage.


    Seeing this, John quickly shadow stepped up to where he had thrown the crystal, before catching it.


    And right as he did, he felt a surge of pain pass through his right leg. John quickly looked down on to see that a dark needle had pierced it


    "Kek..."


    John pulled out the dark needle only to feel his head start to spin, he felt dizzy and his eyes began to slowly shut.


    However, he braced it, and kept his eyes opened, before looking hastily looking around for another attack.


    Just as he did, first his right arm, and then his left leg.


    Needles past through them, causing them to go numb and lose their power.


    John now only held on to the Light Crystal with his left hand, his head was hung and he could feel his consciousness slowly seep away from him.


    "No... I can''t... Not now..." John muttered as he continued to hold on to the Light Crystal


    [What''s wrong...? Are you tired...? You can sleep and then I''ll take over...]


    He was starting to lose control over his senses along with his focus, but it was then that he felt a barrage of attacksing.


    With his remaining strength on his left arm, he threw the Light Crystal which Serena was entrapped in as far high as he could.


    The moment it was let off his hand, John activated modero, and in that instant, despite time having slowed down, before he could even shadow step away.


    *Pierce* *Pierce* *Pierce*


    Tens of needles pierced John all over his body. He managed to protect his head by reinforcing his arms to the max and covering his head with them, but around 5 more needles entered his stomach, arms and legs.


    "GAHH!!"


    The needles were so painful that he could feel his life being sucked away.


    John was so out of energy and tired that he couldn''t think clearly, not just because of the needles but because of what was inside of him.


    Once the next batch of needles began heading towards him, John motionlessly watched the Light Crystal where Serena was contained within slowly dropped.


    It spun around slowly, allowing him to get a closer look at her. As she fell lower and lower into the darkness, he began to wonder if he was going to lose her again.


    "W...Wait..." John muttered


    His voice weak andcking power, there was no way such a weak plea would have reached her ears.


    Just as she was about to be lost in the darkness, John was once again reminded of just how much she meant to him. This entire past week he had been driven by anger, sorrow and depression.


    But now, for just this moment, all he wanted was to get her back, more than anything in the world.


    [Don''t... Don''t leave me again...] John thought to himself


    "Stop..."


    -----------------------


    "Y-Young master, have you dealt with that brat?" The scientist asked as he peaked into the room from the outside.


    The door had been shed to bits, there were holes on the walls andstly there was arge dark shadow covering the floor in the room, furthermore, all of his drawers and tables with tools and contents were gone.


    Seeing this, the man began to panic as he rushed into the room, looking for his things.


    "Young master? Where is everything?" He asked in a hurry as he looked around.


    The young boy simply turned to the area where the man hade from, before walking towards it.


    "I''ll call the others to clean this up, I''ve dealt with the boy."


    Hearing this, the man hastily looked around before quickly looking at the boy and letting out a sigh


    "Understood... Ah, what about the girl?"


    "I got rid of her along with him." Said the young boy as he took a step outside the room.


    Hearing this, the man''s eyes widened as he stared at the young master.


    "B-b-but that was supposed to be the start of a revolution... And what about the k-king?"


    The young boy red at the man before disappearing and appearing right in front of him. Seeing this, the man subconsciously backed away in fear, but right as he did, the boy grabbed on to his sleeve, pulling him in closer.


    "Never, ever, say that without my permission, again." Said the boy as he stared straight at the man''s eyes


    The man gulped down the little saliva he had in fear, and could feel his throat dry up as he quickly responded with a broken voice


    "Y-y-y-y-yes... O-o-of c-course."


    Hearing that, the boy let go of the man before heading back in the direction he came from.


    "The king will have to find a new vessel." Said the boy as he walked out of the room.


    As he walked through the hallways, his hair which had grown longer and had been glowing a dark radiant ck, slowly began to return to normal, along with the dark gloves and shoes which had formed over his hand.


    But before it could fully return back to normal, the boy stopped and his eyes widened. He slowly turned his head with a confused look.


    *BANG!*


    The loud sound of the bang resounded through the room where the boy had just left, following that, the sound of a scream could be heard as the man flew out of the room.


    Without moving the boy watched as John took a step outside of the room, with the Magic crystal with serena inside, beside him.


    "What?" The boy asked as he stared at John


    His hair was longer than before, it now reached his shoulders, but it didn''t glow like the young boy''s. What stood out from John however, was his bright glowing yellow eyes.


    The boy couldn''t understand how John had survived such a situation, with the girl no less.


    "You... It appears it wasn''t a coincidence that the king chose you." Said the young boy


    Ignoring the boy, John put Serena''s Light Crystal on the ground in the halls, before walking towards him.


    The boy was annoyed at John for having ignored him again, however, at the same time, he had a strange feeling of fear in his chest.


    "Hahaha... Interesting, you think the results will change because you grew some hair?" The boy asked as he also walked towards John.


    Without replying, John stopped walking and raised his hand.


    Seeing this, the boy''s shadow extended throughout the entire hall, covering every light source in the process.


    However, Serena''s Light Crystal still made things quite bright and easy to see. On top of that, the shadow wouldn''t cover the area around her.


    John lowered his hand as he muttered


    "Attract."


    Suddenly, the boy could feel himself being pulled by a mysterious force, towards John. The pull was strong moving him closer and closer with each passing second, despite his legs being stiff and bnced on the floor.


    Without moving, John remained in the same position, and as the boy got closer, he suddenly vanished before shadow spikes from all around the area went straight at John.


    The ceilings, the floor, everywhere, all aiming straight at John. On top of that, two magic circles were formed both in front and behind John as they were about to hit him.


    John let out a sigh as he muttered


    "Cancel, and stop."

 Chapter 240 - Endless Combination Of Physics.

    "Cancel."


    As if it were a pile of ash, the structured shadow spikes which had all been heading towards John, dispersed.


    The young boy''s eyes widened as he saw this and without wasting another second, he shadow stepped away to get away from John.


    He shadow stepped quite far back to the end of the hall to assess the situation, but right as he did, he looked up to check on John''s next move, only to not be able to find, nor sense him.


    Suddenly, he felt a presence appear behind him, and right as he did, he teleported behind that presence, grabbing on to it, and wrapping his arms around it to restrain it from behind.


    It was John, without shadow stepping away, John desperately grabbed on to the boy''s hands to move it away, but the boy wouldn''t let go.


    His grip was getting tighter and tighter, choking John out. John moved his hand to grab on to the boys face, trying to push it away, but the boy wouldn''t budge.


    *Crack*


    The boy turned John''s neck snapping it in the process.


    After this, he let go of John, and watched as John slowly fell on to the ground.


    "Tsk, Hahaha... I can''t believe you had me scar-"


    The boy''s eyes widened once more as the person who he had just killed ended up disappearing right in front of his eyes. No trace of darkness or nothing, it was as if John was never there.


    Upon reaching this conclusion, the boy turned around, and that was when he saw it.


    John had been standing right behind him. Confused, the boy hastily looked at the ground before looking back at John.


    "An illusion...?" The young boy asked


    Without replying John stared straight at the boy as he began walking closer.


    The boy tried to move back when all of the sudden, he realised that it wouldn''t move.


    "!?"


    He tried to speak but couldn''t speak either, It was as if another mysterious force was stopping him.


    John slowly walked to the boy as he muttered


    "Newton''s 1st Law of motion."


    An object will remain in the same state of motion unless a resultant force acts on it. In other words, If an object is at rest, or not moving, then it will stay that way, until another force acts on it, causing it to move.


    And once it is in motion, it will remain at the same velocity, this was Newton''s firstw of motion.


    John created a force which bnced whichever force the boy could produce, causing him to be stationary as there was no force which could possibly act upon him to break through it.


    That was the concept behind ''Stop'' or at least John''s version.


    [Although, it''s still weakpared to Zestari''s.] John thought to himself


    "M...y... Body... What.... di...d-"


    Without waiting for the boy to finish, John suddenly vanished before reappearing in front of him.


    "I told you didn''t I? that I would kill you."


    John said those words clearly straight at the boy''s face as he stretched out his hand to grab on to him


    The boy couldn''t move and only watched as John moved his hand closer and closer. The boy felt scared, weak and helpless, a feeling which he had long since forgotten.


    The instant John''s hand touched his face, all of the boy''s emotions burst out in anger, before he vanished.


    John curiously looked up only to see the boy standing around 10 meters away from John down the hall.


    His radiant dark hair, began to grow longer and glow brighter, as the dark gloves around his arm and dark shoes around his feet were reinforced.


    The boy''s hair now reached his waist and his eyes now glowed a dark ck.


    The boy slowly began to walk to John, seeing this, John muttered the spell once more


    "Stop."


    But the boy didn''t stop, instead he disappeared, before reappearing right behind of John.


    Just like John, the boy had an emotionless gaze as he pulled out a dark scythe from thin air, before shing it down at John.


    "Parry." Muttered John


    *ng*


    As if being parried, the scythe was slightly pushed back along with the boy, but at the same time.


    *Voom*


    Half of John''s body was erased. The void eating scythe which belonged to the young boy, scraped the space around John''s body, causing half of it to end up being scraped.


    As John body fell to the ground, the boy noticed that no blood nor organs could be seen as darkness covered the area which had been cut off.


    Seeing this, the boy quickly turned to the right only to see that John was still alive and perfectly fine, as this happened, the other body the boy had just cut in half, had dispersed into darkness as if it were ash.


    "This wasn''t the same as the other time... What did you do here?" The boy asked


    His voice no longer sounded like that of a kid like before, it sounded like there was something sinister hiding behind it. Almost like the voice of a grown man.


    "Don''t worry, you''ll be dead soon." Said John as he disappeared


    The instant, John disappeared, the boy also disappeared before reappearing near the end of the hall.


    *ng*


    As he appeared, he swung his scythe parrying the swing from John which was aimed right at his beck.


    Right as he parried it, John vanished before appearing above him. Electricity passed through John''s body as he noticed that a small part of his arm around his triceps had been scraped away.


    Seeing this, John activated [modero] before swinging both daggers diagonally at the back of the boy''s head.


    *sh*


    The instant his daggersnded on the back of the boy''s head, he vanished before appearing above John.


    John wasn''t surprised at all. He had already expected the boy to be able to shadow step faster than John could as the area was still covered in shadows.


    John was in his territory, but it didn''t matter to him.


    As the boy swung scythe down at John, John swung his arm, throwing the little blood which had formed from the wound towards the boy.


    At the same time as this happened, the boy''s swing was cut off as he was pushed by a mysterious force straight at the ceiling, just like before,


    Attract, a spell which worked Just like a ma, an object which produced a maic field, and were attracted to each other''s opposite poles.


    John was using electricity to turn himself into a ma, on top of that, when they had their first interaction in the beginning of the fight, John added a part of his electricity on to the boy to charge the boy''s particles, allowing him to reach the conditions necessary to make the boy a ma.


    All John had to do, was change the charge, to either push the boy or attract him.


    Not only that, but there were other concepts behind the spell attract, just like there were other ways of replicating or using it. John hadn''t realised this until now, and felt like an idiot for not having done so.


    Right before the boynded on the ceiling, he turned his body, andnded on the ceiling with his feet, before leaping off of it, straight at John, with more power than the force John had unleashed on him.


    As he leapt straight at John and swung his scythe, a smirk was formed in front of John''s face as he muttered


    "ck Hole."


    In that instant, the light in the room disappeared and the boy''s eyes widened as he felt a chill go down his spine.


    A ck sphere around his size was formed right in front of him, relentlessly pulling and dragging all the air and everything around it into it.


    ck hole, a move which John had hated himself for forgetting the concept of. After John''s little to no contribution, in the recent attack which resulted in Serena having gotten kidnapped.


    He swore that he''d never let anything simr happen again, and so, he racked his brain as he searched for her, to see if he could remember any new strong concept which he could use. It was then that he remembered what had happened when he stopped the tower from falling.


    For a moment, just a single moment, he was able to create a distortion in the space which worked like a vacuum, and the was only the start.


    One by one, John began remembering concepts which he couldn''t believe he had forgotten.


    One of them was the theory of the ckhole. Once mass had beenpressed to an extreme point, an anomoly in the space would ur as it would start to suck everything into it, including light.


    Luckily for John, it wasn''t just a theory, but only the beginning to the endless possibility ofbinations of spells which would help him in the future, or so John believed.


    "Wha-!?"

 Chapter 241 - Johns Dark Side

    "ck hole."


    A ck Sphere was formed right in front of the boy, and he was being dragged straight towards it. Not just from the momentum of his jump, but both the suction of the ckhole and another force which was acting upon him.


    "DAM-"


    His voice was cut off was he came into contact with the ckhole and disappeared.


    After he was pulled into it, John watched as the ckhole continued to rampage, destroying the door frames, and carpet along with the ceiling and walls which were keeping the dirt and earth outside from getting in.


    Everything was being destroyed from the inside out, the lights were gone, and the sound of objects crashing and breaking resounded through the halls.


    The only source of light wasing from the Crystal where Serena was entrapped in. As John turned to the crystal to check on Serena.


    He could see the young boy standing right next to it, with his right arm raised holding on to the long dark scythe


    The boy panted heavily as he looked over at John, blood poured out of his left shoulder as it waspletely missing his arm and part of his left torso.


    John watched as the boy began tough as darkness covered the entire left side of his body, to stop blood from flowing out of it.


    "Hahaha... HAHAHAHA!!"


    Seeing this, John began slowly walking in the direction where the two were, avoiding any iing objects while moving further and further away from the ckhole which didn''t seem to have any suction effect on him.


    As he took the 5th step, the man suddenly stoppedughing before saying


    "Another step and she dies."


    Hearing this, John stopped as he stared straight at the young boy. The young boy stared straight back with a grin as he started tough again. He ced his palm on his face before looking over In John''s direction before asking.


    "You... Did you really think... I''d let out do all of this and get away with it? Breaking into my base, ruining my ns, and even take away my new toy?"


    To this, John calmly replied


    "She''s not your toy, and if youy a finger on her, I won''t let you off with an easy death."


    John red at the boy as he said his final words, but seeing this, the boy simply maintained his grin as he said.


    "If I can''t have her... Sacred Treasure Art..."


    He swung his scythe down hitting it straight on to the Light Crystal. The Scythe wasn''t able to pierce nor scratch the Crystal, but the crystal suddenly became distorted, before splitting into strangely sized pieces.


    The same happened to the floor beneath the crystal, it was split into strange pieces,pletely unproportionate to one another in size.


    Serena who was trapped inside was also being affected by this, but before John could see anything which would happen to her, the Crystal was suddenly scraped away including the floor leaving only a small piece of the Light Crystal behind.


    Seeing this, without saying anything, the sound of footsteps resounded through the hall as John walked towards the boy.


    Meanwhile the boy only began tough before asking


    "How does it feel to have your only hope taken from you? Despair? Hate? Anger? Resentment?"


    Without saying anything, John continued to walk, and with each step, the boy could feel the feeling of fear within him, increase.


    He looked over at his remaining arm and could see it shaking, and that only infuriated him even more.


    "T-Tsk... I''ll let you win this time... But I''ll be back..."


    Just as he said that, the boy''s body was quickly submerged into his shadow beneath him, but before he could be fully submerged, something grabbed on to his head stopping him from going down any further.


    He looked up only to see the face of John staring down at him with an angered re.


    "Cancel."


    The boy was suddenly dragged out of the ground, by John, letting go of his scythe in the process.


    John moved his hand towards the wall as he tightly grasped the boy''s neck.


    Just as he was about to m the boy on to the wall, the boy vanished before appearing above his scythe, but right as he did, John appeared in front of him, before mming the boy onto his scythe causing the back edge of the scythe to pierce him right on his back.


    "GAH!"


    It passed through his back before sticking out of his stomach as the boy''s back hit the floor.


    [Modero, Fulgurationem]


    Lightning passed through John''s body as time slowed down, without waiting for the boy''s next move, he quickly muttered the word


    "Restrain."


    Yellow transparent chains came out from the ground, before quickly wrapping themselves around the boy. They moved faster than the boy as John''s spells were apart of him, they didn''t slow down when time did, just like John himself.


    As the chains wrapped themselves around the boy, he tried struggling and vanishing into the shadows but it wouldn''t work.


    "W..h..a..t..?"


    Time was slowed down so the boy spoke slowly, but it was better for John as he wasn''t in the mood to hear his voice.


    John ced his hand over the boy''s face and the boy tried moving it away, but his movements had slowed down, he could feel his strength being drained with each passing second and his spells weren''t working.


    "I had many questions... How were you able to use chant-less magic, or who exactly is this king person you keep referring to... But It doesn''t matter anymore."


    The boy probably couldn''t understand as John was speaking much faster than normal since he had slowed time down, but John didn''t care.


    The boy wanted to say something, but no sounds wereing out, the only voice which could be heard was John''s.


    "Now... For what I promised you... An experience worse than death, I wonder how I should do this..." John muttered


    John''s eyes then widened as it glew brighter, before a grin was formed on his face as he reached a conclusion.


    "I could kill you, but as someone who''s died before, I don''t believe your soul deserves a 2nd chance, unless you were rotting away at hell. But no, I have an even better idea, I''ll make you useless." Said John with a smile


    Hearing this, the boy''s eyes widened as he began to struggle even more.


    John moved his hands from the boy''s face and watched as the boy tried screaming out words which wouldn''te out no matter what he did.


    He ced his hands on the boy''s chest before saying


    "Break, Heal."


    Suddenly, the boy felt a force pass through him his chest before crashing onto his spine, causing him to feel an intense surge of pain on his spine which disappeared seconds after.


    The boy screamed out in pain but no sounds came out, he tried to move his hands to stop John when before he realised, he could no longer move.


    His heart began to beat faster and faster in fear as he watched John''s hands move over to his face to cover his eyes.


    "Next I''ll take your sense of sight..." Said John as he ced his hand over the boy''s eyes


    As he did so, tears began to flow down the young boy''s face and john who saw this, stopped smiling before asking


    "Don''t fake that cry, it''s sickening. You''re not even a kid... How many lives have you taken to reach this point? Tens? Hundreds? Whatever the number, It doesn''t matter, you brought this on yourself."


    John''s hands began trembling above the boys eyes as he began having 2nd thoughts on doing this.


    "You hurt Serena, Ariel and all those innocent people... You deserve to suffer..."


    Johns hands then stopped trembling as his left glowing eye was covered in darkness as he took in a deep breath before letting it out.


    "The human body contains sensory receptors which pick up sensory stimuli or information which we refer to as senses. Even if I took away your eyes and ears your brain would still be able to adapt and find a way to let you get around"


    The boy listened with fear as John continued to talk


    "That''s just how amazing the human brain can be. The information which the receptor receives is sent as electric signals towards the brain, so what do you think would happen if I overloaded your brain with electricity? It would be ruined wouldn''t it?" John asked as electricity began to flow through his fingers


    Seeing this, the boy looked a John with a confused and worried look, showing that he didn''t understand, and John simply showed him a small smile


    "I''ve never done this before, and you know how this world is, you can kill someone, but it won''t necessarily mean they''re dead, and they always end uping back. So rather than that, why not just make them an empty shell?" John asked


    The confused and worried look disappeared from the boy''s face and turned into a look of despair as he began to understand the meaning behind John''s words.


    *Zap*


    "Good night.." Said John with a smile.

 Chapter 242 - A Monster? A King? What Is He?

    "Now, why don''t I go and get Serena out of here?" John asked as he looked at the room they had just had their fight inside.


    His eyes slowly lost their bright yellow glow before going back to being simply clouded in darkness.


    As this happened, John shadow stepped the front of the room which had been broken before looking over at his arms.


    They were shaking, not due to fear but because of what he had done.


    It was different from the feeling of killing someone, John naturally became able to kill people as he knew that the concept of souls and reincarnation existed. They would either go to a better ce in heaven, or suffer in hell.


    On top of that, Possession clouded his emotions making him more numb to events whenever he was in it. Which is why he would always use it when he steeled himself tomit the act of killing someone.


    But now, his emotions weren''t numb as he was in a mixture of the possession state and another state which he didn''t know.


    The other state would make his eyes glow whenever he used it and would strengthen his emotions and mental fortitude in a way, cancelling out possession''s passive ability to numb one''s emotions.


    John first noticed his eyes glow 3 days ago, when he was searching for Serena. He ended up properly using the theory of Newton''sw to stop a monster''s movements.


    It worked, just like he had expected, and could stay active for as long as his magic powersted.


    "Stop shaking..." John muttered as he grabbed onto his right hand with his left.


    As he did so, he entered the room through the hole on the wall and looked inside, at first nothing could be seen, but as he pped his hands


    Light suddenly came out from the room and Crystal with Serena submerged in it, could be seen.


    Seeing this a small smile was formed on John''s face as he was about to walk inside, when all of the sudden he heard someone speak


    "Y-y-you... You what did you do to him...?"


    John turned back and looked at the source of the voice. It was the old man who he had knocked out of the room.


    The scientist asked that as he looked over to the end of the hall, thereid the young boy who he could only ever remembered as an unstoppable and beatable force.


    Yet there heid, helplessly and motionlessly on the ground with his eyes closed.


    Seeing as how the scientist had woken up, John slowly made his way towards him.


    The scientist who noticed John could feel his legs trembling in fear, he mmed his hands on his legs before quickly getting up


    As he started to run through the hall in the direction where the boyid, John stretched out his arm towards him as he muttered


    "Stop."


    However, instead, John only felt a throb in his head as his consciousness began to fade.


    For a moment he hung his head as he ced palm on his face before looking up only to find the man still running.


    He staggered but he forced his legs to move, that was how scared the man was.


    "Tsk, I''m not done with you..." Muttered John as he raised his hand and pointed it at the running man


    A small dark drill was formed in front of John''s arm before he propelled it straight at the man.


    Focused on getting out of there, the man continued to run without turning back, and just as he was about to reach the boy. He felt a sharp pain pass through his leg before he fell straight onto the ground.


    "GAAH!! WAIT PLEASE! DON''T KILL ME!" The man shouted as he stretched out his left hand while grabbing on to his right leg and squeezing it as hard as he could


    Blood was pouring out of it, and it hurt like hell, on top of that, the drill which had pierced him was stuck inside. He could barely think.


    "Argh..." John muttered


    [I don''t have much time...] John thought to himself as he looked at Serena.


    John looked back over at the man and watched as the man tried crawling his way out of there, seeing this, John called out to the man.


    "Oi."


    The man who heard this, quickly stopped moving and rested his head on the ground as if trying to y dead.


    "If I ever catch you, trying to perform an experiment on another person, or if I ever even see you again, you''ll end up just like your boss, only worse." Said John


    Hearing this, the man gulped down the little saliva he had on his throat, as he felt shivers go down his spine.


    John also added this before looking away


    "And it''s no use worrying about your boss, He''s an empty shell now, and magic won''t fix him."


    Magic progresses the healing speed of a person''s body, High level magic can restore a person''s body back to a certain point. But once a person''s head been cut off, or they''ve been killed, you can''t bring them back


    After saying that, John walked into the room and grabbed on to the Crystal with serena inside, before stretching out his left and and pointing it and the ceiling.


    The man who was outside of the room stared at the room where John had entered with a terrified expression as he said


    "A-a m-m-monster... J-just l-l-like the king... N-no... It''s different... W-what is he...?"


    As John held on to the Crystal right his right arm, a long dark spear with a drill at the end of it, began to form above John''s left hand which was pointed to the ceiling.


    While this happened, dark electric sparks were released to the area around this, zapping the crystal and John''s hand as it let loose.


    The drill at the end of the spear began to spin as John''s eyes began to glow brighter and brighter once again

 Chapter 243 - The Plead And Hope

    At the same time as this happened, John could feel a sharp pain on his right eye, before he even realised it, his vision started getting blurry as drops of blood fell on his legs.


    "More... More power... Create a perfect path..." John muttered


    The drill began to spin faster and faster and began to glow a darker colour as lightning sparks began to flow all across the room.


    "Argh.... AHHH!!!" John shouted out from the top of his lungs as he released the spear


    *VOOOM!*


    The spear passed through the ceiling eating away and sucking away at everything within its path. Just like the young boy''s scythe, this spear could scrape away at space


    "Scrape away a path for us..." John muttered as he lowered his hands.


    He hung his head for a moment before raising it, there he could see it. It was far from where they were, but through the hole which had been formed in the ceiling, he could see it.


    The moon, it shined as bright as always and the little light it had, failed to reach where John stood at the bottom of the hole, but he didn''t mind.


    He tightened his grip over the magic crystal which was slightly bigger than him, before they lifted off the ground.


    Dark air surrounded the two as they were propelled straight up through the hole.


    Without looking down, John stared at the giant moon as his left arm remained stretched out.


    The path was big enough for the both of them, but he had to make sure nothing would happen, and if anything did, he''d be able to react.


    As this happened, his right eye began to hurt more and more, his vision getting more clouded with each passing second.


    The earth around them looked like it could fall on them at any second, because of that, John was extremely focused.


    Even though his eyes, hands, head, heart, all of it was in pain, he held in that pain and he nned on continuing to do so until he could get them out of there


    Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours but all that mattered was that they were getting away.


    John panted heavily while holding on tightly to the crystal, he wouldn''t let it go even if his life depended on it, not again.


    Not before long, the light from the moon began to reach John''s face, as he got closer and closer to the surface.


    "Nearly there..." John muttered


    John''s heart began to beat faster and faster, as the pain around his head grew stronger and stronger.


    "Not now... You promised till the end of the day..."


    [Your times running out, does it make a difference?]


    "I have something I need to tell her... And I need to get her home..." John muttered


    [I don''t care, I''ve waited for long enough.]


    "Then, keep waiting..." Said John as he left eye began to glow a bright yellow colour


    [Are you crazy? You''ll go blind.]


    "Haha... Better than letting you ruin my ns." Said John


    [???]


    *Voom*


    The two reached the surface before flying out of the hole, the fresh feeling of the nice cold breeze entered John''s lung as he took in a deep breath before letting it out.


    The air felt nice and so did the breeze as it passed through his skin, being underground for so long had started to feel suffocating for him.


    Once they were above ground, they continued to fly up heading straight up to the clouds without stopping


    John tried to stop it, but for a moment, he had fallen asleep.


    As he opened his eyes again, he found himself floating around the clouds with Serena still trapped inside of the crystal on his arms.


    He let out a sigh before he noticed that he couldn''t see anything with his right eye.


    Seeing this, he decided to leave it closed before cing both hands over the Crystal in which Serena was entrapped in.


    "Zestari... I don''t know where you''ve been, and I''m not sure this will work, but... I remember you doing this before, so if you''re here... Please, make this work..." John muttered


    He closed both eyes and made sure to be hold on tightly onto the crystal with both hands as he muttered the words


    "Absorb."


    The light crystal with Serena submerged inside was getting smaller and smaller as the light from itwas being sucked at a fast rate, into John''s hands.


    The size was getting smaller and smaller until eventually Serena''s face and body was sticking out of it, her body was coated in a strange light liquid which was the same colour as the crystal, and she seemed to be breathing perfectly as John wiped it off of her.


    It didn''t take long for the crystal to have beenpletely sucked into his hand, leaving Serena resting over his hands. She was fast asleep and wore the same clothes the party giving her the impression of a sleeping princess.


    John stared carefully, waiting for her eyes to open


    "S-Serena... I know you''re tired but... Please tell me you''re fine... I need to give you a message to give to everyone..."


    John quietly pleaded


    The liquid which had coated her, naturally disappeared and dispersed into thin air on its own, leaving only a sleeping beauty behind.


    John wanted to hear her voice a final time, maybe it would be able to help him surpress it, maybe it wouldn''t. He didn''t know what he was waiting for or why he was still himself, but he wanted it to have a meaning.


    As he looked at her face, his eyes fell upon her lips reminding him of when he had tried to kiss her.


    He then remembered how she turned away and because of that, he looked over at his heart.


    "I guess it''s no good, huh... I really wanted to tell you but I guess I''m just not that lucky..." John muttered as he closed his eyes


    Suddenly, the sound of coughing could be heard

 Chapter 244 - Youre More Than Important.

    "*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*"


    John quickly opened his eyes only to see at the same time as Serena opened hers, and for a moment the two stared at each other.


    "John...? *Cough* Where... Where are we?" Serena asked


    She looked around and then felt a chill go down her spine once she realised the two were in the sky, above the clouds.


    She quickly moved and wrapped her arms around John in fear before asking


    "W-Why are we in the sky!?"


    John could feel the sound of her heart beating faster and faster, he wasn''t sure if it was just because she was scared or if it was for another reason. But before he even realised it, he had wrapped his arms around her back as tears flowed down from his eyes.


    With his nose and eyes getting slightly redder, he muttered


    "Thank god... Thank god..."


    Serena was confused, but stayed in that position as she waited for him to finish.


    Seconds past, and eventually minutes before Serena asked


    "J-John...? Are you okay?"


    Hearing this, John moved his face away from Serena and let go of the hug before saying


    "Y-Yeah... Everything''s fine."


    His right eye was closed with fresh blood over it and his left eye was opened but seemed lifeless. Serena hadn''t noticed this earlier due to how afraid she was, but now that she got a good luck, she felt her heart sink.


    "Your face..."


    She suddenly moved in closer to check on John''s eyes but John turned his face away, he didn''t want her to see it.


    "...You imagined it..." John muttered


    Serena then grabbed on to his face with both hands, before forcefully turning it so that she could see.


    "Oi... stop!"


    John began pushing back with his neck so that she wouldn''t be able to turn it, but for some reason she was overpowering him.


    "J-just let me see...!"


    "No..."


    John continued to try to fight it back, but eventually serena was able to see it. As she looked towards the right side of his face, her eyes widened


    "What happened?" Serena asked


    "Nothing."


    "What do you mean nothing? You''re all beaten up! Let me see it."


    Serena got a closer look at John''s face which he had desperately been trying to hide, before poking at his right eye.


    "Ow! What are you doing?!" John asked as his eye throbbed in pain


    Serena took in a deep breath before asking once more


    "You''re not telling me what happened, where are we, why are we in the sky and who could have possibly..."


    As if realising something, Serena suddenly stopped talking before looking straight at John.


    "The party... Everyone... Where is everyone?!" She asked


    The look of worry and fear filled her face as memories from that night slowly returned. John who saw this, struggled to look her in the eyes, after all, that was the very night which he had left her fight alone.


    "There were a few casualties but mostly everyone was fine, and I dealt with those guys, so don''t worry about it."


    That was a lie in it''s own way, over half of the nobles who went to the party were killed, the event ended up so badly that the king of Xoleria was apparently making his move, was what John wanted to say. But as he stared at her worried and scared expression, he couldn''t bring himself to say it.


    But there was something he had to say, something which he couldn''t lie about.


    "Dealt with those guys? Alone?! Are you crazy?!"


    Hearing this, John let out a small snort


    "Pfft."


    "What''s so funny!? This isn''t the time to be joking around!"


    "Hahaha, W-Wait... Haha-"


    Serena''s getting even more annoyed with every passing second, So John decided to stopughing before it could get any worse


    "Ha... Sorry, it''s just, I never thought I''d enjoy your bickering this much."


    "Oi."


    "Hey... I need to tell you something..." John muttered as he formed a more serious expression


    "W-What...? You still haven''t answered my-"


    "You were kidnapped and I wasn''t able to do anything to stop them... You ended up saving all of these people and yet I-"


    "I know." Serena interrupted


    "What?"


    "I said I know... I remember what happened during the fight, which is also why I remember how many people ended up getting hurt because of it... I also know how dangerous they were, so stop trying to sidetrack it, or I''ll just be more curious."


    John was surprised for a moment; he had forgotten how smart this bickering girl was.


    "Y-You knew...?"


    Ignoring the question, Serena asked


    "Where''s Ariel and Ms Sylvia? Why are you here alone?"


    Hearing this John looked away and right as he did


    "See! I knew it! You didn''t really break into their base alone just to get me, did you?" Serena asked


    "Yeah..."


    Serena was half joking with her question, so when she heard John''s reply, for a moment, her face had gotten slightly redder


    "T-That''s why you''ll always be an idiot... Stop trying to y hero, you always just end up hurting yourself and others!"


    "And do what?! Let them do as they please with you? You think I''ll let them kidnap you and just sit back quietly?!"


    "No! But... Why do you always do these things like these... As if fighting bosses head on wasn''t bad enough, you''re infiltrating bases now... Why...?"


    John wiped the right side of his face which had blood on it before saying


    "Because you''re an important-"


    Serena interrupted John as she suddenly said


    "So?! There are many parties in the world, they can know each other for years, but you don''t see them sacrificing themselves over a party member... That''s just things you see in tales..."


    Serena stared straight at John waiting for an answer, she wanted to know just how he could push himself so far for the sake of others, what motivated him to do so? She tried being like him, but just ended up finding herself being saved by him again, so then why? What was difference between her desire to protect others and his?


    "Do you really want to know?" John asked as he hung his head


    Hearing this, serena slowly nodded before saying


    "Yeah... Just tell m-"


    Serena''s eyes opened widely as John suddenly pulled her in and kissed her, interrupting her in the process.


    "Mnn..?"


    He could feel the softness and sweetness of her small and tender lips. Serena tried to pull away and began to struggle, but John wrapped his arms around her back, preventing her from pushing herself away.


    [It''s soft...]


    Seconds which felt like hours passed before Serena stopped fighting back, her face was bright red and she could barely keep her eyes opened due to the embarrassment.


    Eventually, John pulled his lips away from hers, parting away from the soft sensation of her lips in the process. As he did so, he looked over at Serena and noticed that she had her head hung.


    He was then reminded of how he had tried to kiss her before at the party but she ended up avoiding him at thest second.


    John carefully held on to Serena''s hand despite what had just happened so she wouldn''t fall, but she wasn''t clinging to him like before, almost as if she had forgotten that she was in the air.


    [Argh... Why did I do that...? She''ll hate me...]


    The instant the thought of Serena hating him, came up, John could feel a sharp sting once more near his heart.


    Serena continued to keep her head down as John said


    "S-Sorry... Y-You''re more than just a precious party member t-to me... When I thought of them hurting you, I just couldn''t stand it... This is probably thest time we''ll get to speak for a while so..."


    "Sorry Ariel..." Serena muttered


    John who barely heard that quickly asked


    "Hm? Why did you just-"


    Suddenly, Serena''s pulled John in closer before moving their lips closer and closer together. Her eyes were tightly closed while she blushed heavily.


    John felt his heart skip a beat as their lips touched once more. The kiss wasn''t anything like the deep French kisses which would use the tongue and lips and all sorts of techniques, it was just a simple lip touching kiss from two inexperienced people.


    Despite that, the thought that Serena actually wanted to kiss him at the moment, caused his heart to start beating faster and faster.


    And in that instant, a golden light which came from Serena, surrounded the two before enveloping them. A golden light which glowed brightly in the sky while the dark ckhole continued to rampage on the base beneath the ground.


    John however hadpletely forgotten about that as all the pain which he could feel was wiped away from his body and reced by the warmth and softness of Serena''s light and lips.


    Drowsiness took over his body as the darkness which had clouded his eyes for a week dispersed.. And just like that, he fell asleep.

 Chapter 245 - The Messenger And Duke

    Within the beach city, a well renown and powerful man can be seen sitting in his seat, in his office. He took a light sip of his recently brewed tea, before turning around to stare outside of the window.


    The sun was still out and the birds chirped loudly, he could see his garden and the peacefulness which passed through it.


    It was a warmth, which he enjoyed feeling, a feeling which contrasted his own line of work.


    *Knock* *Knock*


    The sound of knocking resounded through the room, breaking the enjoyable quiet.


    "Who is it?" The man asked after turning his chair to face the door.


    He ced his cup of tea back on the table in front of him before taking in a deep breath.


    Shortly after, the door opened before the knocker presented itself. It was one of the man''s trusted maids.


    She waited there quietly for the man to give his permission.


    "What''s wrong?" The man asked


    The maid bowed before looking at the man.


    "You have a visitor, my lord."


    "Tell him to go away, I''m in the middle of rest, you see?" The man asked as he turned the chair once more to face the window.


    "I''m afraid I can''t do that, my lord."


    Hearing this, the man quickly turned with an annoyed look in his face before asking


    "And why is tha...t"


    Next to the maid stood a man, short white hair which covered his ears and a small mask which covered his eyes and nose, leaving only his mouth visible.


    The mask looked like one a noble would take to a party, but after paying enough attention, one skilled would be able to tell that it wasn''t so simple of an item.


    "Give us some space."


    The maid nodded before leaving the room as she said


    "Excuse me."


    Who might you be?" The man asked


    He grabbed onto his thin grey beard before giving it a few strokes.


    "Why of course, allow me to introduce myself, messenger of his royal highness and a member of the special royal knight squad"


    Hearing this, the man took another sip of his tea before looking straight at the messenger who stood in front of his desk.


    "So, who are you?" The man asked as he put his cup down.


    "I''m not allowed to say that"


    "Then what did youe here for?"


    "You know every well what I came here for."


    Hearing this the man yed around with the spoon in his cup for a moment before saying.


    "Can''t say I do."


    The man didn''t have any grudges against the messenger, what did annoy him was the smile the messenger kept on his face.


    After the man gave his reply, the messenger walked up to the man, still smiling before pulling out a sheet of new but rather poor-quality paper from his earing. It was a space storage item.


    As the man looked at the piece of paper, he looked interested. A sheet of paper of that quality would have been very valuable, especially during their time.


    The sheet of paper disyed a message and as the man looked at it, his eyes widened.


    "Is this real?" He asked


    "That''s the royal crest, you should know that the-"


    The man interrupted the messenger as he said


    "Yes, they can''t be faked. So his majesty really is making his move... It appears, rumours aren''t just rumours." Said the man


    Without saying anything, the messenger took back the sheet of paper before putting it back into his earing.


    "So? What information do you need?"


    "Everything, tell us everything you saw and know, about what happened, the group responsible for it and the one who ended up clearing the dungeon in this area."


    Hearing this, the man took in a deep breath before ring at the messenger.


    "And if I don''t?"


    The messenger moved in closer to the man''s face before saying


    "Then it''d mark the end of your work as duke, you don''t honestly n on defying orders from the head, now, do you?" The messenger asked, his smile still present.


    The man let out a sigh before turning back to the window behind him before muttering.


    "Looks like a storm ising..."


    ---------------------------------


    As john woke up, the hesitation to move along with the pain from the fight spread throughout his body. A rush of pain so strong he couldn''t hold it back


    "AARGH... AH...!"


    His voice was forced out as he grabbed on to some of the grass around him on the ground, in pain.


    It was as if, his body was catching up with all of the pain It had missed. John didn''t know if this was a good or thing or bad thing, but he hated it.


    "AAARGHH- H...Huh...?"


    Suddenly, the rush of excruciating pain vanished, without a trace. John looked down only to notice someone holding onto his hand.


    Her headid on his chest as her eyes remained tightly shut. She held on to John''s hands in her sleep and her beauty in a way, resembled a doll.


    John couldn''t help but stare before eventually being reminded of the kiss they had. He quickly looked away from her as he his cheeks grew red, he was blushing and heavily too.


    "S-Serena, are you awake?" John asked


    He waited for a few seconds, but there was no reply. Seeing this, he let out a sigh before cing the hand which she wasn''t holding on his face.


    As he facepalmed himself, he quietly muttered


    "W-why and how did I do that...? That''s not like me at all..."


    While thinking back on the moment, all he could remember was the feeling of Serena''s lips and the scene of her kissing him.


    And as he remembered that, he could feel himself blushing more and more.


    [C-Calm down, Calm down... It was just a kiss... ]


    Despite that, John found himself staring at her lips. Her silver hair covered most of her sleeping face so he couldn''t tell what sort of expression she was making, but he sure as hell knew what expression he was.


    "Damn it, Stop smiling me!" John shouted at himself


    After doing so, he realised something. He felt different, a better different. After Serena had been kidnapped, John ended up entering the possessed state, he stayed in it while awake and asleep.


    Being in a heightened senses state like that for so long out of nowhere felt unimaginably strange for John. So much that he nearly swore to never use it again. But now, he felt normal, more human.


    "Aqua."


    A sphere of water was formed out of thin air in front of him, before taking the form of a t circle.


    John stared at his reflection through the circle before a smile slowly emerged from his face


    "No way... I''m really back... And I can''t hear that guy''s voice..." John muttered


    [That means I... I won''t have to leave everyone... and I''ll get to stay with them...]


    As this thought came up, the feelings of worry and sadness which had continuously pressured John''s young and fragile heart, slowly disappeared.


    He activated his magic perception to a higher point to see just what exactly Serena was doing or did even, and could fell a transparent me coating the two of them.


    "That''s why it felt so warm..."


    [When did she learn how to do this?]


    John looked around and found them on an open grass field on the outskirts of the Beach City. He could easily recognise this ce as he had flown over it, a few times.


    As John took in a deep breath to feel the fresh air even more so than before, he dispersed the water mirror imitation he had created, before slowly getting up.


    He made sure to keep his hand connected to Serena''s so as to not break the me spell she had cast on them, as it probably required that to stay active. John wasn''t sure what would happen if he let go of her hand and he didn''t want to find out.


    So, after he was up, he raised her up in a princess carry. Serena was slightly shorter than John despite him never mentioning it near her making it quiet easy to carry her.


    She was very light from his perspective, but it was probably due to his training.


    Once John waspletely up and had a good grip over Serena, he could feel the ground beneath him vibrating.


    He looked down as he muttered


    "Earthquake...?"


    But the vibrations only kept getting stronger and stronger, as if it were aiming straight at him.


    "This... It''s that thing fromst time... I''m in no position to fight now, nor mood... But it wouldn''t hurt to investigate it..."


    As John calmly thought about what to do, the vibration was just about reaching his legs.


    "Yeah... My body''s numb all over. Another time..."


    Just as he said that, he crouched down before casting ''levite'' and ''Velox'' beneath his legs.


    And just as whatever which was causing the vibrations reached the ground beneath his legs. He jumped up as high as he could.


    As if he were some sort of cannon, he continued to fly higher and higher up, the wind pressure was strong, but he was using wind magic to form a small field around them, which would allow the wind pressure to be diverted.


    As this happened, he looked down before trying to see if anything hade out of the ground, but contrary to his expectations, there was nothing.


    "Tsk... It''s presence is gone, again.... What was that?" John muttered

 Chapter 246 - The Strange John

    "Mnn..." Serena muttered as she slowly opened her eyes


    Her eyes were tired and she was still sleepy, so she let out a small yawn before looking around.


    She was on top of a rather cosy and soft bed inside of a room which she didn''t recognise.


    "An inn..." She muttered as she got up


    She stretched out her arms before taking in a deep breath and letting it out.


    The room was quite small, there was a table on the middle with her equipment and another pair of clothes.


    There was a door on the side of the wall opposite to the edge of the bed, and another one on the other side of the room.


    Serena peered from the window next to the bed before seeing that it was still dark out. As she saw this, she quickly hopped off the bed before her body shivered as her feet touched the ice-cold wooden floor.


    "C-Cold... Why is it so cold...?" She muttered as she quickly rubbed both hands together


    She then slowly walked towards the table before checking it''s contents. As she reached it, she realised that it was indeed her equipment, her staff along with her sacred treasure wand were on the table.


    "Who just leaves this here?! And if this is here then that means... How did I even get here again?"


    Serena tried thinking back on what had happened for her to have reached this position, and as she remembered, she slowly crouched down before covering her ears with her arms


    "I-I... W-What did I do!? M-me and J-John... We... k..kissed..." Serena asked herself, her cheeks blushing brightly


    She quickly sprung up as she muttered those words before quickly looking around, moving her head left and right.


    "W-What should I do...?" She asked as she turned to both doors.


    The only sound in the room wasing from her, she also couldn''t feel any other presence around. After realising this, she could feel herself calming down.


    "H-He''s not here..." She muttered as she let out a sigh


    When she noticed that she felt relieved that she wouldn''t have to see him, she quickly turned to the door opposite to the bed, before asking.


    "W-why am I afraid of meeting him, right now? He''s been disappearingtely, so he probably won''t be around but... He could have at least waited for me to wake up, instead of leaving me here alone..." Serena muttered


    As if only noticing now what she had said, Serena froze and stared at the door without moving.


    "What''s wrong with me...? Why should I care if he left without saying anything...? But still... He hasn''t exined anything yet! At least leave a note!"


    Serena stared intently at the door


    "..."


    It stared back


    "Mn..."


    It stared back


    Seeing how strange she was acting; Serena gave up and decided to go straight to the door.


    With each step, her heart began beating faster and faster, she didn''t know what she was so nervous for, but either way, once she reached it she braced herself before grabbing on to the doorknob.


    *Click*


    The door slowly swung open, and as she looked inside, she felt her heart sink. It was empty, but that didn''t make her any happier, in fact, it only made her feel slightly worse.


    An wooden toilet, along with a wooden showering area along with an empty showering area. All in the same room which was empty.


    "He''s not here..."


    As she realised that she was the only one there, slightly curled back her lips as she muttered


    "He better not be off doing something stupid agai-"


    *Click*


    Serena quickly turned her head to do the door and moved her hand to grab on to her staff only to realise they were both on the table.


    Seeing this, She quickly rushed to the table to grab it as the door swung open.


    From the door, came in a boy, he was holding a te which was being covered by another te. As he stepped into the room, he quickly stopped and his eyes widened before he let go of the te.


    As the te was about to crash onto the floor, the contents from the inside, were about to fall out. But right before they did, the boy crouched down at a fast speed before grabbing both tes without letting any food fall out.


    "That was close..." Said the boy as he let out a sigh


    "John?" Serena asked


    He then looked up again, only to see the same sight. Serena pointed her staff at him.


    "Who else?" John asked


    Hearing this, Serena quickly lowered her staff before heading towards him. With each step the wooden floor would make a thump sound as she walked towards him.


    "Uh... Serena...? O-Oi"


    With her cheeks slightly reddened, Serena moved in closer and closer before eventually, stretching out her hand to John. She stared straight at him before saying.


    "Here... Get up..."


    John looked over at her hand in confusion before a small smile was formed on his face as he grabbed it.


    "Yeah, thanks." Said John as he used it to get up.


    Once he was up, Serena looked away from his face before asking.


    "So, when are you going to exin?"


    Without saying anything, John gestured at Serena to wait for a bit before heading to the table and putting the te down. He then removed the 2nd te which was above it, showing a freshly grilled steak in the middle.


    Serena watched as he pulled out a bowl of warm rice from his ring before putting it down alongside the other te and untensils he pulled out.


    "...I have a lot of questions right now..."


    "I don''t know about you, but I''m starving. So how about I exin everything while we eat?"


    *Growllll*


    Just as he mentioned eating, the sound of a stomach grumbling resounded through the room. That sound came from Serena''s stomach.


    "W-Well, I guess a bit won''t hurt... I''ll go brush my teeth first" Serena muttered as she looked at the toilet


    "Here." Said John as he pulled out a new clean toothbrush, with some toothpaste.


    The quality on the brush was surprisingly good and it even looked shiny. As serena grabbed it, she wondered if he was really properly managing their money.


    ***


    As the two ate, John exined everything as far as he could remember after waking up. He exined how he was stuck in in possession mode, the mansion was split in half, many nobles died and the bnce in the kingdom was ruined.


    Lots of familiesined, John overheard people talking about the king of Xoleria''s trip to the City of Fyselone, which was the name of the beach city they were currently at.


    A lot happened, but rather than focusing on that, John happily enjoyed his meal while not going to deep into it.


    "What happened to Ariel and Ms Sylvia? Where are they now? Why did you charge into the enemy''s base by yourself..."


    Hearing this, John took another bite of the steak with rice before letting out a satisfied


    "Mmm..."


    Serena waited for him to finish chewing and when he was finally done, he was about to take another bite without answering the question.


    Seeing this, Serena quickly grabbed on to his hand as she asked.


    "Why do you keep avoiding the question?"


    "Because I don''t want to talk about it... Master Sylvia at least... Ariel is fine, I left her at the Inn with Master Sylvia, I couldn''t just leave you here to go check on them, so I don''t know much of anything that happened since. Although it''s fine, I can still feel their presence clearly"


    "If she''s with Ms Sylvia, she should be fine, but..."


    "I know, just trust me on this... I need to make sure of something, also, I''m finished." Said John as he got up


    John''s te waspletely empty, he had always been a fast eater. Seeing this, Serena rushed to finish her te.


    John put the empty tes and used untensils into his space ring. It was very useful for dishes, and luckily it mix with any other of the other objects in there.


    Serena continued to eat and watched as John pulled out a glowing green magic stone from the ring. It was small enough topletely fit in his arm, but it oozed out magic power like an open water tap.


    "What is that?"Serena asked once she finished chewing what she had in her mouth


    "Ah, this? A magic stone which was offered to me... But it''s not normal."


    "Not normal? What do you mean?" Serena asked


    "Just a hunch."


    John lied to Serena, not because he couldn''t say what it was, but because he couldn''t afford for to waste time exining.


    John waited another minute until Serena finally finished her food.


    "Done! It was so goood!" Said Serena as she streched out her arms.


    Hearing this, a smile was formed on John''s face as he said


    "Good, let''s go."


    John was acting weird and Serena could tell, but she didn''t say anything. Partially because she was worried that it might have had to do with the kiss they had, or because he was acting unexpectedly calm despite it having happened.


    [Does it not mean much to him?] Serena wondered


    Little did she know, John''s mind waspletely focused on something else.


    As he began heading towards the door, John made sure that they had all of their belongings, before they left.


    [It''s not true... Right? Master... There''s no way it is...] John asked himself


    With doubt and worries in their mind, the two continued on in their adventure, uncertain about what the future had in store for them

 Chapter 247 - The Question And Master Sylvia

    The moon lit up the dark night sky as it shone upon the city. Clouds could be seen gathering but there wasn''t any rain nor thunder.


    Within these cities, two teenagers who would still be considered kids, wondered the popted and highly active streets on their own.


    "..."


    Serena continued to walk behind John, staring at his back without saying anything.


    John could feel her eyes on his back, but did his best to ignore it, he wasn''t sure how to confront it after all.


    "..."


    The silence between the two grew bigger and bigger as the sound of footsteps and people chattering resounded around them.


    There were a few food stalls still open around them, but they weren''t in the mood to eat, as they had already eaten.


    "..."


    "...John."


    Serena was the one to break the silence by being the first to call out to John.


    "Yes?" John asked as he continued to walk without turning back


    "Is there something you''re not tel-"


    Serena was interrupted by a passing couple who suddenly bumped into her while they were walking.


    "Ah, sorry!" Said the girl as she suddenly bowed before being pulled away by her boyfriend


    "Ignore it." Said the guy as he walked away


    Without saying anything, Serena continued to slowly walk as she thought back on the couple. A human boy and girl who seemed to be a few years older than her.


    She hadn''t thought about it before but, after taking a good look around, she couldn''t see any people of different races together.


    Noticing this, she thought back on when she used to wonder if it was rare for people of different races to be together in a romantic rtionship, if it was somethingmon.


    She had never tried finding out as she had always been told that the situation regarding her parents was a rare and stupid case.


    Despite being told that however, after living as an adventurer and travelling with her master. She got to witness the truth. It didn''t matter if one was an elf, a human, a lizardfolk, a draconian. As long as what the two had was genuine, it''d be fine.


    It''d be fine but, for starters, humans couldn''t live long so whatever rtionship they''d have with any other race which wouldn''t be able to live for as long as them, would eventually end up in sadness.


    Especially in the case of elves, they could live for hundreds of years without aging after their body reached their prime.


    This was just one of the reasons why dating a human was stupid, there were many other weighty reasons, but right now, that was all Serena was thinking about after she saw how flirty the couple was acting.


    "Why am I thinking about this now...?" She muttered as she facepalmed herself


    She then looked at John before she ced her hand on her chest as she grabbed and clenched her cloak.


    [He hasn''t said anything...]


    "J... Jo..."


    Serena''s eyes then widened before she suddenly mmed both hands simultaneously at her face


    *p*


    The sound was loud, so loud that it caused John to quickly turn to check on anything, and right as he did. Serena walked past him as she grabbed onto his hand.


    "Let''s hurry, something''s wrong with Ariel and Ms Sylvia, right?" Serena asked


    John''s eyes widened for a moment before he closed it as he muttered.


    "Was it that easy to tell?"


    "Not really, but you''ve been quiet and also..."


    [You only get distracted when you''re thinking deeply about something and I can tell that it''s not about that...] Serena thought to herself


    "Also...?"


    "E-Eitherway, you''ve been quiet, also why are you walking so slowly? Shouldn''t we be rushing?"


    Hearing this, John avoided eye contact and lowered his head as he stared at the ground before he muttered


    "Yeah..."


    Serena didn''t like John''s half-hearted reply at all, she could easily tell that there was something he wasn''t telling her, and that only annoyed her more as they were supposed to be able to trust each other. Not only that but it was Ariel and Ms Sylvia they were talking about.


    "Oi... Why can''t you just tell me what''s wrong...? Are you being threatened?"


    John slowly shook his head and the two stopped walking.


    "Then why...?" Serena asked


    "..."


    John didn''t reply, he couldn''t tell her. He didn''t want to ruin what the four of them had built up, on top of that, he had no guarantee that it was true.


    "Argh... You can be so annoying at times you know..."


    John thought for sure Serena was about to get annoyed at him or something, but for some reason she only let out a sigh before she began to walk again, pulling him along with her.


    John let himself be pulled with a surprised look, she didn''t look mad but tired, even though she had every right to be mad.


    "You''re not mad?" John asked


    "I am... But if you''re not telling us, then I''ll just put my trust in you, just for now..." Serena muttered


    John remained quiet for a moment as he tightened his grasp over Serena''s hand


    "Thanks..."


    Without saying anything, Serena nodded before john suddenly walked to her side


    "Also, let me lead us since you don''t know the way."


    "Wha- I do know the way to the inn."


    "That''s not where we''re going."


    ***


    "Are you sure John is going toe back with Serena...?" Ariel asked with a worried look


    "They''re on their way." Said Master Sylvia as she took a sip of the tea she had ordered


    "What makes you so sure?" Ariel asked


    "I can feel it, you should learn how to soon, you possess the same power as us, after all."


    Suddenly, one of the servants which were on duty, walked up to their table before asking.


    "Um excuse me, ma''am, are you sure tea is all you want?"


    The two were inside of a restaurant, rather ssy In fact. To only order tea would most likely be seen as a waste of table space for them unless the other appeared to be a rich noble or merchant.


    "We''ll be leaving soon." Said Master Sylvia as she nodded


    "V-Very well..." Said the servant as he backed away


    Right after, Ariel nervously looked around. She felt ufortable but decided to bear with it.


    "Our time in this city has ended. We''ll be heading back to xoleria, tomorrow after we pack our things."


    "Eh? Already? Is it because things aren''t safe?" Ariel asked


    Sylvia gave off a casual nod before saying "Took you long enough." as she turned to the entrance of the restaurant.


    There stood both John and Serena. As Ariel saw this, she quickly got up before quietly walking towards Serena.


    Serena who saw this, got a bit worried as John was acting strangely. Maybe he had kept another thing from her, on top of that Ariel didn''t look too happy, and looked rather serious.


    As Ariel got closer and closer, Serena got more and more nervous. And when she finally reached Serena, Serena closed her eyes unsure about how to face Ariel.


    Contrary to what she was expecting, Ariel ended up giving Serena a big tight hug as she said "I''m so d you''re safe..." tears streamed down Ariel''s eyes as she continued to hug Serena, her nose getting redder and redder by each second.


    John left the two to each other as he walked past them, heading straight to Master Sylvia.


    With his attention focused solely on her, he took a seat on the seat where Ariel was sitting before staring straight at her.


    Master Sylvia with a smile stared straight back as if waiting for John to ask whatever he had stuck on the tip of his tongue.


    The tension around John continued to rise as he opened his mouth to ask it.


    [Just ask her... It''s easy... What are you hesitating for?!] John asked himself


    "Hey... Master Sylvia, can I really tru-"


    John was interrupted by another servant who showed up, he wore sses and had a posh air around him as he asked


    "How may I help you? You can''t juste in here and sit whenever you like it. You need to make a book or an order or-"


    The man suddenly stopped talking as John pulled out two gold coins and slid it towards him.


    "Can I have a drink?" John asked as he identally red at the man


    The man took the two gold coins with shaking hands and widened eyes as he said "R-r-r-right away, s-s-sir..." Before bowing and leaving.


    He was annoyed for having been interrupted, but after he realised how rude that was, he felt bad.


    Master Sylvia then gave John a head pat with a smile before asking


    "You were saying?"


    "Can the three of us really tru... tr... Train any harder? A-as in, can we reach a stronger point?"


    That wasn''t John''s actual question, or rather, it was far from it. But no matter how hard he tried, he was afraid to let it out, and even more than that, he was was afraid to hear the answer.


    "You''re far from the level you can reach." Said Master Sylvia as she nodded


    [What?]

 Chapter 248 - Beware Of The One You Trust

    "What do you mean, far from the level you can reach?" John asked


    "You have a lot of potential, is that surprising?" Master Sylvia asked


    John''s reaction was rather strange for being told he could reach higher heights, but the reason he had reacted like that, wasn''t because he was surprised that he could reach new levels, but because of the way Master Sylvia had said it.


    John had been told by Zestari countless times that he needed to reach a higher level, but never had Master Sylvia told him how strong he could be or how far he could reach. In fact, she did the opposite and never seemed to show any interest in John''s potential.


    It was mainly John asking her to train this and that, not her wanting to train him. This fact made John feel slightly unsettled. He wasn''t sure if he was just being too wary or sensitive around Master Sylvia, but what he did know was that, the timing for her to say that only made things worse.


    [Shit... What''s wrong with me? Don''t let emotions cloud your thoughts... Calm yourself.] John thought to himself


    "No, it''s not, I was just taken aback, Master never used to say anything about my potential, after all." Said John with a smile.


    "I always knew." Said Master before suddenly getting up


    [I always knew...? Oi... Master, what''s that supposed to mean...?]


    John turned his head towards Master Sylvia who went over to the counter. He watched her with a slightly angered and confused expression


    [You''re making it sound as if... Me meeting you, and asking you for help, was part of your intention...] John thought to himself as he slightly bit his lips


    Suddenly, John was snapped out of his thoughts as someone ced their hand on his shoulder. He was so surprised that he took nearly fell back on his chair.


    "WHA!-"


    "Joh-"


    Without saying anything, Serena just stared at John with a confused look and John stared right back with a nervous smile


    "W-Why did you get so scared?" Serena asked as she covered her mouth, trying to hold back theughter which was dying to emerge


    John could tell from how her voice was shaking that she was holding it back and that only caused him to get even more embarrassed.


    "I was distracted, not scared." John muttered


    "Right, not scared." Said Serena sarcastically.


    "Forget that, what happened?" John asked


    "Nothing, you looked lost in thought so I thought I''d bring you back." Said Serena with a mischievous smile


    "Is that so... hehehe, two can y at that game." John replied with an evil smirk


    Serena smiled back at John''s smirk as she said


    "Try it, you won''t be able to scare me."


    "Is that so...?"


    The two stared at each other intently when Ariel suddenly joined in as she said


    "Um... Master Sylvia is waiting for us."


    Ariel then pointed at the door, and the three could see Master Sylvia waiting there, quietly as always.


    "Watch your back." Said Serena as she turned to Master Sylvia


    "I could say the same to you." Said John with a confident smile


    Serena rushed to Master Sylvia with the a curious look. John could tell that it wasn''t going to be a good thing. There were many things which she could ask Master Sylvia which would be better not to know.


    Things such as, where were you during the mansion attack? Where were you when John was fighting in the dungeon? If you were alive why didn''t you give anyone a sign... So many questions John could think about, which the bickering smart girl had probably also considered.


    Worried, John wanted to go and stop her when suddenly, he noticed Ariel slowly walking to them, There was a strange air around Ariel, it felt so different to her natural air that John would have confused it if they had not been wearing the same clothes.


    John couldn''t see her face and could only watch her from behind, but he was really surprised, After all. It didn''t even feel like Ariel.


    Seeing this, John quickly out of his chair before heading towards Ariel, he ced his hand on her shoulder rming her. And as she turned around, the strange feeling he was getting from her suddenly disappeared.


    "...What?" Ariel asked


    John was speechless, was he imagining things? Or was Ariel trying to hide something? Either way, something was definitely wrong.


    "A-Ariel, is there something you''re not telling me?" John asked


    "It''s not like you care..." Ariel muttered before walking away


    "Eh?" John let out in confusion


    [Is Ariel... Mad at me...?]


    Without saying anything, he watched as Ariel joined up with the rest of the group, she didn''t give a single look back at the lost and heartbroken John.


    [W-What did I...]


    Suddenly, John recalled how he had treated her this past week. How he had given her the cold shoulder, ignored her and thest stunt he had pulled off, the one where he had ditched her in the inn.


    "Oh..." He muttered as he facepalmed himself


    [I''m an idiot.]


    "Hey... Isn''t that ck haired kid the young S-Rank adventurer which I''ve been hearing about?"


    "Now that you mention it... Look at his clothes, it does seem like something an adventurer would wear..."


    "But he looks like he''s as old as my son, and all my son does is sit at home and read books all day..."


    The others who were seated in the restaurant began to notice John


    ***


    "Do we have everything?" Master Sylvia asked


    "Yes." The three simultaneously replied


    [I just got a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.] John thought to himself after the reply


    The three had packed their things and put it into John''s dimensional ring. It was only then that John had realised that he should get all 3 of them a dimensional ring as soon as possible.


    But he decided to leave that forter, what he was focused on right now was to make up with Ariel who hadn''t spoken a single word to him, and to find out the main problem


    "Let''s go." Said Master Sylvia as she gestured at the three to get on the carriage.


    Once everyone was on, the carriage began to move and they started off on their Journey once again. The destination was back home, or so Master Sylvia said.


    It would be significantly faster if John used the same techniques as before and made the carriage fly, but they can''t just do it in the middle of the city, and he''ll have to find a way to reinforce the carriage wood as it had nearly cracked from too much pressure.


    No one had noticed these cracks until today, so they had decided to head back home


    As John quietly sat on his seat, he made sure to keep his attention on Master Sylvia. As the carriage moved around, he could see people moving on with their daily lives, some yed around, others waited for customers in their stalls, with bored faces.


    It was all real, real living people. People who cared about others and worked for others, it was peaceful and rxing to see it.


    John then turned to face his front where he could see his two party members both seated. Ariel had her attention focused on the road, while Serena was still feeling a bit sleepy, so she had her eyes closed.


    Looking at them would also remind him that he was in another world, their beauty wasn''t something he had seen in his previous life, after all. Both loveable and dislikeable in many ways. They weren''t perfect, but they were the only thing he needed.


    Lastly, there was master Sylvia, the mysterious one who had agreed to train him, boy she was strong, stronger than anyone he had ever met, he also showed her as much trust as he did to the two girls in front of him, which is why, he decided to forget about what the boy said.


    [He was just being desperate... Besides, there''s no point in asking him now. He won''t ever wake up.] John thought to himself


    John then began to daydream as the sound of the people walking around along with the shaking of the carriage entered through one ear and passed through the other.


    ------------------------


    "Good night."


    *Zap*


    The electricity which passed through his fingers on his left hand began to connect to the ones on his right forming something simr to an electric circuit.


    As John moved this closer and closer to the boy, he began to shout at John when all of the sudden, dark air began to surround the two.


    Seeing this, John cancelled out ''Silentium'' and in that instant, the sound ofughing could be heard


    "Hahaha... You don''t get it do you... Even if you deal with me, it won''t ever end..."


    Ignoring this, John was about to active Silentium'' again, but right before he did, the boy asked


    "Where''s thatdy who you trust so deeply? Have you ever been betrayed before? Betraying someone is the greate-"


    John cut off the boy as he brought back Silentium once more, he didn''t want to hear the voice of the person he was about to torture, nor was he interested in letting himself be deceived by their words.


    "Be quiet."


    *BZZT!*

 Chapter 249 - Picking Up Lydia

    As the carriage continued to move about, slowly through the city. John began having recollections of everything that had happened.


    Despite him not having realised, this city contained a lot of memories rted to him and the group. He conquered the dungeon, saved a beach, was knocked out during a raid, met new people, hopefully made one or two friends and a fantastic person for him to hire as a maid.


    Lots had happened, and it wouldn''t be fair to just leave without saying bye, but they had to get going as soon as possible, and Zakaragi was a noble, word might reach the wrong person if they told him.


    John continued to stare at Master Sylvia before letting out a sigh and asking.


    "Hey, master."


    "Yes?"


    "Before the duke''s party, I ended up finding myself a maid who is capable, but I have to go and pick her and her little brother up. I also have a few other things to do, do you mind if I go?" John asked


    Master Sylvia gave a nod and seeing this, John got up before thanking her and heading off.


    "Thank you, Just continue the journey, I''ll find you anywhere within 1 kilometre after you leave the gate, it''s fine."


    Whilst John''s range for Deprehendre had remained as strong and vast as always, it didn''t grow like his other spells in term of range, only uracy.


    John assumed that the range of his spell was proportional to the amount of magic power he had. As the fundamental concept of Deprehendre was to let the magic power flow out in a wave, like a radar, afterpressing it and releasing it.


    "I know." Said Master Sylvia as she gestured at him to go


    "Haha, of course."


    As John was about to jump off the carriage, he suddenly stopped before looking back at Master Sylvia once more.


    "Um master, speaking of parties, where were you during the mansion attack?" John asked with a smile, doing his best not to disy suspicion and trying to y it off as a simple question.


    "Holding off the rest of them." Said Master Sylvia


    She said it in such a calm way that John had no room to doubt her, hell he didn''t use his lie-detector spell, but he doubted it would work either way.But that question and reply was enough, it was all it took for John to calm down.


    He had been keeping his eye on Master Sylvia, but she had much more experience than him, and if she was really a traitor, why go through such lengths of training him only to get rid of him?


    [If Master Sylvia wanted us dead, we''d be dead.] John thought to himself


    Being able to use stronger spells or magic better mattered nothing when it came to assassination, especially with Master Sylvia''s skillset.


    "I apologise..." Master Sylvia muttered, just barely loud enough for John to hear


    Hearing this, John formed a small smile before casting ''furtim'' and vanishing.


    "It''s fine."


    John''s voice resounded through the carriage, before the feeling of something jumping off of it, caused the carriage to slightly shake.


    Seeing this, Master Sylvia continued the journey with the carriage with expectations to soon reach the gate.


    -----------------------------


    After having discovered that Serena had been taken, John had used the voice ampification spell to call her name.


    With no answer, John eventually gave up before moving to his next task. Getting Lydia and her brother and future sister inw a safe ce to sleep.


    Despite having been angered, John could still think logically, the only problem with that was, it was mainly influenced by his ''possession'' state, and he didn''t feel too secure about it.


    His eyes had turned dark along with his hair, he could no longer hold back the transformation, but he didn''t care, he didn''t feel the need to, or rather, it made him feel less anxious but increased the seething rage within him.


    But rather than worrying about that, he focused on how he''d be able to get Lydia to safety. Being with them would be the safest option, but John would not be able to defend his inn while searching for Serena.


    He couldn''t trust on Master Sylvia''s support because recently she always disappeared at the most important times.


    As he looked around from the air, he noticed Zakaragi with Tiana and a man who appeared to be his father, before he gained his idea.


    ---------------------------


    "Hopefully, it was a good idea... I had to hide the truth by iming that I was an S-Rank adventurer after all."


    John had used his position of S-Rank adventurer which he had earned to ask Zakaragi''s dad, the Earl for a favour. Any noble would want an S-Rank adventurer to be indebted to him, and John made use of that fact.


    It wasn''t much of a lie as John indeed had the potential and ns to be an S-Rank adventurer, so all he was doing was iming one of his future privileges.


    John didn''t force them, but instead just asked, Zakaragi was nervous that his father would object, but contrary to this, his father was happy to help.


    "So, it''s been a week since then... I wonder how they''re doing..."


    As John flew around, he looked around the area for the same mansion he had been instructed to head to before.


    Left and right, he quickly turned his head before propelling himself straight downwards as he spotted the mansion


    As he flew onto the mansion garden which was on the front, he looked back at the gate which was a few ten meters behind him, before muttering. "Maybe I should have knocked...?"


    [It''s a littlete for that, let''s just get this sorted with.]


    The mansion was big and well maintained, something you''d expect from an earl. Although it did have a rather old vibe to it.


    Once he reached the door, he quickly knocked on it.


    *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*


    [Speaking of which... This city is part of the kingdom of Xoleria, so doesn''t that mean that the Earl should have territory in other areas... Why is the duke and Earl both in the same City? Which noble owns this city anyways?]


    As the question just suddenly popped up in John''s head, the door to the mansion opened wide, showing a familiar maid waiting on the other side.


    Her long pink hair floated downwards as she elegantly bowed to the guest with an impressive looking maid outfit. A mixture of both ck and white, simple yet perfect.


    [I wonder how those two would look in a maid costume...]


    "Wee, how may I help yo- John?!" Lydia asked with a surprised expression


    "Yeah, it''s me, John."


    ***


    "And that pretty much sums it up." Said John


    John had just finished exining the situation to Zakaragi''s father, a man whose eyes never left the boy. John wasn''t one to be intimidated, but the man reminded him of kurt, in more ways than one.


    "I see... So you''ll be taking your leave, urgent matters are indeed urgent matters." Said Zakaragi''s dad


    The five of them, including Zakaragi''s dad were in his office. John hade back to get Lydia and he was exining the situation of everything that had happened before.


    Lydia, her younger brother, future sister inw, Zakaragi and John.


    "That is correct." Said John as he tried to hide how nervous he actually was


    "Very well, I take it you''ve already packed your things?" Zakaragi''s dad asked as he looked over at Lydia


    "Yes, sir." Lydia replied


    "Good, take good care of this young adventurer, you''re free to go." Said Zakaragi''s dad


    [Eh? That''s it? No need for us to givepensation or nothing?]


    Zakaragi''s dad had sheltered and protected Lydia and her brother for John despite it having been an unreasonable request, and he asks of nothing?


    "Huh...? We''re leaving? Why?" Saphir asked


    Suddenly, Lydia''s younger brother, Hayden, ran straight towards Zakaragi''s dad before he gave him a small hug.


    Lydia who saw this felt her heart sink, before saying. "Hay...den... That''s rude..."


    Her face had a smile disyed, but the words made chills go down the boy''s spine, causing him to quickly let go of the hug.


    "S-Sorry!"


    "Sir, I apologise, on behalf of my younger brother, I''m prepared to face any punishment." Said Lydia as she bowed nervously.


    Zakaragi''s dad gave the boy a head pat as he did so, before he said.


    "Haha, don''t worry, it''s fine. That''s quite the sister you have there."


    "Sir..."


    "Yes! She''s the best sister in the world!"


    "Hayden..."


    "Of course, she''s my fianc¨¦e''s sister, after all." Saphir happily imed


    "S-Saphir..."


    "If you ever decide to stop working for this adventurer, you''ll have a ce here. We could use a skilled maid like you." Said Zakaragi''s dad


    [It appears That Lydia had helped with household chores during her stay here, and Zakaragi''s dad seemed to have taken a liking to her, but... Sorry, you''re 1 week too short."


    A smile was formed on Zakaragi''s face as he saw this, before stretching out his fist towards John.


    "Stay safe and be the strongest." Said Zakaragi with a smile


    John stretched out his fist and connected it with Zakaragi''s as he said.


    "And you, make sure you be a strong and high ranking noble."

 Chapter 250 - The Moving Earth?

    After the talk in Zakaragi''s Dad''s office, Zakaragi and the maids escorted the four to the entrance. They made sure to pack and get all of their things in their rooms and even got to say bye to many of the maids there.


    It seemed like a great environment to be in, all the more reason not to put it in risk.


    John gave a look at the guards, some carried staff while others were simply carrying magic imbued swords on their waist.


    There were around 20 guards in total, a rather high number which was probably due to John''s warnings and the recent event.


    A high number, however, none of them seemed talented enough to stop the group which John had dealt with.


    They were B-Rank adventurers at most, there were probably others outside, but either way, it wouldn''t be safe for the three, or so John thought.


    As they stood outside of the mansion entrance, and took in the nice fresh breeze outside, the two smiled at each other before John formed a sound proof bubble around the two as he said


    "Good luck with Tiana."


    Suddenly, Zakaragi''s face blushed a bright red as he quickly shouted


    "W-What?! L-Luck for what?"


    His expression was both embarrassed and surprised. Seeing this, John suddenly put his hand over Zakaragi''s shoulder as he said


    "It''s okay. We''re in the same boat."


    John then gave Zakaragi a thumbs up and Zakaragi gave John a surprised and semi-suspicious look before asking.


    "We are?"


    "Yeah, you''re not alone. Tell Tiana and everyone that I said Hi."


    Zakaragi who heard this, nodded and with a rather saddened smile, he said.


    "Of course."


    "Then... See you soon, Zakaragi, tell your dad and siblings that I''m very grateful and I won''t forget this debt." Said John before he vanished


    Lydia, Hayden and Saphir also disappeared at the same time, leaving only Zakaragi behind.


    "Yeah... Come back soon..." He muttered before walking inside


    The four were still there, all John did was cast ''furtim'' on them, but because of that, he got to see how truly sad Zakaragi was when they disappeared, despite him having put on smiles.


    Seeing this, for a moment, John considered staying a while a longer, but reality quickly hit him as he reminded himself that he simply couldn''t.


    [Sorry...]


    ***


    The group had Joined up with Master Sylvia''s carriage which had crossed the gates a while back. They were a good enough distance away from the kingdom''s entrance, so without wasting time, John began their introductions.


    "Master, Serena, Ariel, meet Lydia, Saphir and Hayden. Hayden, Saphir and Lydia meet Master Sylvia, Sere-"


    John was interrupted by Serena who said


    "We can introduce ourselves." Said Serena


    Serena then looked over At Lydia with a slightly piercing gaze before turning to John.


    "Like you heard, I''m Serena, One of the mages in this party and a close partner of John, nice to meet you, Lydia." Said Serena with a smile


    From John''s perspective, Serena''s smile seemed rather cold, but he assumed it as him being Sensitive again.


    "Likewise, I''m John''s recently hired, Personal maid. It''s also nice to meet you." Said Lydia as she returned an innocent smile


    The two girls continued to quietly smile at each other without saying anything, until Ariel intervened between the two


    "I''m Ariel, Also a mage of this party, it''s also a pleasure to meet you." Said Ariel as she smiled at Lydia


    "The pleasure''s all mine." Said Lydia as she gave Ariel a slight bow with a smile


    [What''s with this awkward air?] John wondered


    ***


    "What? You''re leaving again?" Serena asked


    "Yeah, there''s still one more thing I have to deal with." John replied


    "Does it involve the group which attacked the mansion?" Lydia asked


    Hearing this, John remembered that he hadn''t told them about what had happened.


    "No, I already dealt with them, it''s about something else."


    "Dealt with them? When did yo-"


    John interrupted Lydia as he said


    "Yesterday, I ended them but they''ll probably find another way toe back, There''s also other things happening, but right now I need to find out what it was that I felt beneath the ground."


    "Beneath the ground... You mean the base?" Serena asked


    "No, something else, I got a dangerous vibe from it, so I want to deal with it before it can cause any trouble." Said John


    Hearing this, Serena pulled out her sacred treasure


    "Good, I was in the mood for a fight." She said happily


    But contrary to what she expected, John didn''t reply and just stared at her.


    "W-What? Is there something on my face?" Serena asked as she looked away to avoid his eyes


    "No, Nothing, But sorry, It''ll take longer if youe, I''ll finish it fast."


    "Huh? What''re you-"


    "Furtim."


    The instant John became invisible, Serena quickly formed a wind ball which took the shape of a rope


    "Ariel, Where is he?" Serena asked


    "Just leave him..." Ariel muttered as she turned a blind eye to it


    "But he''s going to steal all the credit again, without us."


    "It''s no use, he''s already gone..." Ariel muttered once more


    She looked like something was bothering her, yet Serena hadn''t noticed it at all earlier. Now that she even thought about it, she hadn''t realised that Ariel hadn''t been participating in the conversation at all.


    "That John... What did he do...?" Serena whispered to herself


    ***


    John flew over to the area where he had created the hole to escape from the enemy''s base, but as he arrived there, his eyes widened.


    "What, in the hell...?"


    The hole on the ground was closed, and there were piles of human bodies lying around on the floor, each seemed to have been pierced by something.


    The bodies belong to knights, and John had assumed that they were Knights who saw the bright glow which came from him and Serena when before he lost consciousness.


    John then looked at the area where the hole was meant to be, when he noticed the earth move in that area. A small wave of mud barely recognisable by a person''s eyes.


    [There''s something down there... Something wrong with this earth.]


    "Deprehendre." John muttered


    With a confused expression he repeated the words once more. "Deprehendre." to confirm his suspicion.


    "There''s something moving inside of the earth? Why didn''t I feel it earlier?" John asked himself


    He slowly descended towards the ground, while masking his presence. Furtim was still active but the smell and feeling of death rubbed off on his recently sensitive nose.


    "Argh..."


    John had forgotten the feeling of staring at torn human corpses without being in the ''possessed'' state but now he could experience it first-hand once more.


    He felt sick to his stomach as hended next to the pieces, it frightened him how all of these bodies couldy around here, yet no one would notice.


    Right as he took the first step to move around, he felt a vibration, something was heading straight at him at a fast rate.


    On top of that, the solid earth beneath him, suddenly turned soft, causing his legs and the dead corpses to slowly seep through.


    Once the corpses werepletely covered beneath the ground along with most of John''s legs. THe ground solidified again, causing Both John and the submerged corpses to be stuck.


    Following that, the vibration was right beneath John''s legs, He mmed the ground which had solidified with a magic reinforced punch, causing it to break, but right as it did.


    Earth walls rose from the ground around him, leaving him dead on the centre of whatever he had gotten himself into.


    [An earth wall trap?] John wondered as he looked around


    "No... This is... A mouth?"


    The top of the earth walls which were rapidly rising off the ground, Closed off as if it were closing a mouth. Leaving John trapped inside of whatever it was that did that.


    -------------------------------


    "At-choo"


    Ariel let out a small sneeze before looking over in the direction where John had disappeared off to. Despite not having said anything, she did keep a track of what direction he had gone through with her wind search spell.


    As she looked in that direction, she got a strange feelinging from it, but she ignored it and thought as her being hypersensitive like usual.


    "Besides... He can do everything alone, he doesn''t really need us..." Ariel muttered


    "Hm? Ariel, did you say something?" Serena asked


    "No, nothing."


    The sound of the carriage wheels moving through the solid rough ground was unexpectedly distracting for all of the passengers.


    "The carriages back at home were much more be-"


    Lydia covered Saphir''s mouth before she could finish what she was about to say.


    Serena and Ariel both noticed this and were curious about it, but acted like they didn''t. For all they knew, John wasn''t telling them something.


    And judging from Lydia''s sudden action, she didn''t want to say anything either.


    Serena let out a sigh beforeying down on the wooden seat before she muttered.


    "It''s going to rain soon."

 Chapter 251 - Large-Scale Sacred Art.

    [It''s the inside of a mouth!?]


    *m!*


    As the mouth above John''s figure closed, he could feel the ground getting soft and softer causing him to feel more and more anxious. If whatever was up there was the mouth, then that would mean that whatever was beneath him would be the stomach.


    John''s legs seeped into the ground as the walls began to bend as whatever he was inside of tilted its body to head back down into the ground.


    Despite, all of this happening, John simply stood still with his eyes closed, as if he were waiting for something.


    Without moving he stood there silently as the mud around his legs began to quickly rise, covering half of his torso in seconds.


    The mud began to burn as if it were some sort of acid as it went up his body.


    "AH... Come on..." John muttered


    Suddenly, the sound of gears moving could be heard as it resounded through the area. The mud had reached John''s neck but now slowed down.


    *nk* *Creak*


    Following that, came the sound of a clock as a blue light was formed under the mud in front of John.


    "Tick* *Tock* *Tick* *Tock*


    As John saw this a grin was formed on John''s face as he muttered


    "Large-Scale Sacred Art: Revertatur" Trantion: Revert


    *Tick*


    A blue clock was formed around John''s face everything around him stopped moving, or more specifically, began to slowly move backwards.


    The walls which were rising were now going back inside of the ground, and at a fast speed. John could tell as the mud beneath him was heading back down and slowly bing more and more solid.


    As this happened John quickly activated ''Sana'' on himself, as what he was doing wasn''t reverting time itself but only the regressing the time of the area around him. Meaning any objects which weren''t part of the earth weren''t affected. That included him and the corpses.


    As steam was slowly released from John''s body, he could feel the pain around it slowly weaken.


    "Go back 5 minutes." Said John as he clenched the handle of his dagger which remained on his waist


    The time on the blue clock which was formed in front of him showed the time at around half past 3. The minute hand slowly turned back changing the time to around 3.26.


    Right as that happened, the mouth of whatever it was that had swallowed John, opened up, letting the light from outside seep through.


    ***


    Everything was exactly back to how it was when John was in the air, the corpses were back to their ce above the ground and the ground was back to normal.


    The only difference was that John was no longer up in the air but now in the ground.


    John let out a sigh before crouching down on to the ground. There was no need to go as far as to revert the entire area 5 minutes, but if he hadn''t the corpses of all of these people may have been lost.


    John wasn''t the type to care about death of people as he believed in the afterlife, hell he experienced it first hand, so it would be strange if he didn''t.


    But this was different, for the bodies to be lost like this without a proper burial, it gave off a bad taste in his mouth. Especially when all he needed to do was give away a bit of magic power to prevent it.


    "Now... How am I going to deal with you?" John asked as he raised his arm


    He then clenched his hand into a fist before mming it straight down on the ground, submerging it into in the process.


    As this happened John''s eyes widened as he moved his head around.


    "The shape changed?" He asked


    Confused, John maintained his arm submerged into the ground before turning to the right, there was an area with lots of trees to spare, whereas to his left there was the city.


    "I''m not a fan of deforestation but... Right it is." John muttered


    [Nolite indurare terra] Trantion: Harden Earth


    The solid ground beneath John quickly harden itself to a higher point than before, and right after this, John pulled his arm out of it.


    Without even wasting a second, he began running towards the area with the trees as he gathered wind behind him


    "Levite, Velox Duplici!"


    John propelled himself straight at the trees, as fast as he could, he didn''t have any time to waste.


    [Work... Come on...]


    As he flew through the air like a cannon, he made sure to keep track of the monster''s location with ''Deprehendre'' And just as he had expected, it was following him.


    It was big, so it was amazing how he hadn''t noticed it before, if Master Sylvia had found out, she would have forced him to do more training.


    [More training, huh... I used to hate it but now... It''s not so ba-]


    *Bang!*


    The instant that John was distracted, he was suddenly stopped by a strong force before a sharp pain resounded through his chest to the rest of his body.


    Whatever it was that hit him, ended up hitting him straight in his chest, cause his body to rotate anti-clockwise which resulted in his head being mmed onto the ground.


    As that happened, with the same momentum from his flight, John''s body dragged itself through the floor, rotating itself straight towards the nearest tree.


    John tried to stop the momentum, but the pain made it harder for find his bnce or even think.


    [Shadow step-]


    *Crash* *Thud*


    John''s back mmed straight on to the tree before breaking right through it due to the momentum.


    *Crash*


    The tree fell over to the ground and John found himself upside down with his back stuck onto the base of the tree behind the one he had just broken.


    "GAH- *Cough*"


    Blood was spilt out of John''s mouth as his head body slowly slid down the tree. As he dropped to the ground, he clenched the dirt beneath him as his arms his body trembled in pain.


    "AH...! Argh... S-Sana..."


    John grit his teeth as he mmed his hand onto the ground, The impact on to the tree ended up dislocating his left shoulder, ruptured a blood vessel on his legand nearly broke his spine from the impact.


    He was lucky it was just a tree, otherwise it could have been a lot worse. He hadn''t activated any wind spells to block it as he had forgotten he was no longer in the ''possessed'' state, meaning ''shadow step'' would no longer work.


    "God... Damn It... THAT HURT!!" John shouted out as he looked up to see just what it was that hit him


    Now that he was no longer in the possessed state, he could freely let his anger out.


    As he looked up, he was surprised to see that there was nothing there. When he saw that, he looked down to check just what was it that hit his chest, and ended up finding a small white orb slightly submerged into his right pec.


    John moved his hand towards the orb to try and pull it out, but right as he did, he was shocked by a white zap which caused him to reflectively move his hand away.


    Confused, John moved his hand once more to grab onto it, he was zapped again, but ignored it, he moved his arm closer and closer and as he did so, the amount of electricity increased. However, John conducted it through and out of his arm, so that it wouldn''t be vital.


    As his hands touched the orb, his eyes widened before he quickly leaned his body forwards and downwards simultaneously.


    In that instant, he felt a sharp sting on the back of his neck, but right as whatever it did, did that to him, John conducted the electricity from the orb straight at whatever it was that was behind him, zapping it in the process.


    *BZZZT!*


    There was contact, John turned his head backwards to see just what was it that he hit, but right as he did, he felt it.


    The feeling he hadn''t felt in a while, a feeling which left a chill in every ounce of his body, the feeling of death.


    In that instant, time itself had slowed down and His body reflexively tried to step back, but it stillwouldn''t be fast enough.


    [Fulguration!]


    A white light electric sh passed through the area where John was standing as he vanished leaving behind a yellow sh.


    John could be seen a few meters away from the area where he had nearly lost his life, panting heavily with a nervous look in his face.


    "Hm... You were able to avoid that? Well, I guess that''s the least that should be expected from someone that beat the boss."


    John''s eyes widened as his blood slowly dripped down from his forehead, he couldn''t believe that he was out sped, even with the help of his sacred treasure.


    "You''re-"

 Chapter 252 - The White Lightning Flash

    John''s eyes widened as his blood slowly dripped down from his forehead, he couldn''t believe that he was out sped, even with the help of his sacred treasure.


    "You''re-"


    Before John could finish, the young man swung something which appeared to be a sword, straight towards John''s head.


    It was coated in a white lightning aura, preventing John from being able to tell the shape just by looking.


    John tilted his head to the left with his ''Lightning sh'' and ''modero'' still active, and yet, the young man''s rapier still ended up grazing him.


    Blood slowly dripped from the side of John''s cheek as he stepped back to gain some distance, but in that instant, the young man also pressed forward, sending consecutive thrusts straight at John.


    Head, arms, legs, the strikes were all urately aiming at a part of John''s body forcing him on to the defensive. John moved avoiding the strikes by rotating and tilting his body while trying to find a way to get into the counter stance, but the young man just wasn''t letting him.


    Cuts began forming around John''s body as the two moved around through the trees and as each second passed, John could feel himself getting more and more annoyed.


    As John took another one of his steps back, he hit one of the tree roots whichid on the ground, causing him to lose bnce and slowly rotate backwards with his head heading straight to the ground due to the momentum.


    John''s patience had just about reached it''s limit as the world around him slowly rotated. The young man, didn''t waste the opportunity and sent a thrust heading straight towards John''s neck.


    Seeing this, John quickly raised his hand at the same time as the thrust was about to pierce him, when all of the sudden.


    *ng!*


    The weapon was hit by a force which deflected it, causing it to bounce back. The young man taken by surprise, ended up losing bnce as he came into contact with the invisible force but in that instant, a Pure white lightning bolt passed from the tip of the rapier straight towards John.


    John''s eyes widened as the Lightning bolt quickly made it''s way towards him, the distance was too short, John tried to avoid the it, but it was too fast, so fast that John could barely even see it.


    *TZZT!*


    The instant the white lightning bolt came into contact with John, his body quickly began to tremble as it took in the shock.


    "AAAHH!!"


    John had never experienced such pure burning pain before, it was so bad that if he had rxed his body for just a single second, he would''ve been knocked out.


    The young boy watched as John took the strike and slowly fell over to the ground on his front. Now that John was stunned, the young man sent another thrust straight at John''s head.


    As the thrust was about to pierce John''s head, the young man''s eyes widened before he jumped away as fast as he could.


    Not even a second after, Ice spikes rose from the ground in front of John, where the young man had been standing.


    As the young man saw this, he took a few steps back and stopped his charge.


    "Tsk... Can''t I get a damn break around here?" John asked as he let out a sigh before getting up.


    The young man was out of words, John got up padding his pants and shirt with his hands before wiping away the blood on his face, without a single burn or wound on his face.


    He had struck John by lightning and formed a cut his cheek and yet John appeared unaffected.


    There was no way someone could take lightning head-on without being paralysed for a few seconds, so how?


    "I recall sparring you, how stupid... This is yourst chance to turn back." John said clearly towards the man.


    John''s breath was visible in the air along with the noticeable change in the temperature. The ground and trees around them slowly began to freeze, causing John''s nose to slightly redden.


    John got a good look at the young man in front of him, Long white hair with the same smile on his face fromst time. He knew this man would cause trouble; he just didn''t think it''d be this soon.


    "I would, but why n on leaving so soon?" The young man asked


    [Tsk... That rapier, it''s strong...] John thought to himself


    The young man carried a long white rapier with electric shocks passing through it. John could tell just by looking that it wasn''t something like his Lightning sh, it was something much faster, it was a strong sacred treasure.


    "I warned you." John muttered as he pointed at the sky


    The young man looked up only to see countless Ice crystals formed in the air above him. Without batting an eye, he looked back over at John and noticed a strange blue clock formed in front of him.


    Without any intentio nof letting John pull off whatever he was nning, the young man''s body was coated in A white lightning aura once more.


    "antecessum." Trantion: Advance


    *Tic* *Toc*


    The sounds of gears moving resounded throughout the forest as the young man vanished. Following that, John also vanished after drawing his daggers.


    The two reappeared together in a sh next to a tree, both with their daggers in contact with the other. Without pulling back from the sh, John continued to push forward with the sh, one thing he would never lose to would be strength.


    The young man however, let John overpower him, and tilted his body in thest second right as John''s daggers managed to pass through his dagger defence.


    Right as John''s daggers passed vertically down through the area where he had been standing, beside him, the young man send a thrust heading straight towards the side of John''s torso


    However, once again, like before, he ended up hitting on to an invisible force like before, but unlike that time, he maintained a firm grip over his rapier, before sending another two consecutive strikes straight at John.


    Both strikes hit John, piercing him in his triceps and on the side of his stomach, sending John straight at the frozen tree beside him.


    The wounds weren''t that deep, but the young man''s eyes widened as John''s wounds slowly began to close while steam slowly let itself out from it.


    Right as the man was about to continue his charge, he felt a chill go down his spine so he leapt back once more.


    However as hended on the area he had leapt back to, spikes rose up from it, nearly piercing him in the process.


    He had managed to avoid it by using the non-edge part of the Spike to jump to the side, however, the other area where he had Jumped to also rose up in spikes.


    Right when he was about to leap off of that spike, a force suddenly pushed him down mming his left arm straight onto the sharp edge of the spike, stopping him in his tracks.


    As the spike slowly seeped into his arm, it quickly began to spread itself through the area of wound to the rest of his body, slowly freezing it in the process. While this happened, the ground beneath the young man who''s bodyid on the floor, quickly rose up aiming to pierce at him.


    But right before it could hit him, he cut off the ice spike which his arm was stuck to before horizontally jumping as high as he could with all the strength he had in his leg.


    It was only after he had jumped that he had remembered what the young boy had formed in the air above him.


    The young man watched nervously as he slowly made his way towards the Ice crystals looked significantly different than before, sharper, bigger, and sinister. On top of that, the crystals were now spinning at a High speed.


    With no way to get himself out of the situation, the young man red straight at John who remained seated on the tree with a grin formed on his face.


    "Ferrum Tempestatem cies" Muttered John / Trantion: Razor Ice Storm


    The ice crystals were all simultaneously propelled straight at the young man, all while his rapier began to glow.


    He quickly thrust his rapier towards all the iing projectiles, striking them right in their core, causing the dusts and ice kes to be sent straight at him as the attacks dispersed.


    He was fast, he quickly rotated his body striking at whichever projectile which was the closest to him at the time. Even John, didn''t think he''d be able to pull something like that off.


    {But... there''s a limit to what you can do with one arm] John thought to himself


    Cuts began forming around the young man''s body, mainly around his legs and arms, as he failed topletely strike out all of the attacks.


    The number of cuts and wounds began to quickly increase in his body, along with the glow of his rapier.

 Chapter 253 - Johns Death?

    An endless storm of razor-sharp Ice crystals, all heading straight towards the long white haired young man.


    As the number of wounds and cuts quickly began to increase, the young man''s rapier started glowing even brighter than before.


    John who noticed this slowly got up from his seat on the tree, after catching his breath before slowly walking to the middle of the frozen field.


    As he did so, John''s eyes widened before he raised both of his arms and pointed them straight at the man who was cutting all the Ice Crystals above him.


    The young man was getting faster, so fast that each swing was generating enough wind pressure to keep him up in the air.


    John couldn''t believe his eyes, there was no doubt that Time had slowed down, so how? How could a person of this level exist?


    "Roma Caput columnas extenditur cies" Muttered John as he tried to keep himself calm / Trantion: Extended Razor Ice Pirs


    10 Pirs rose out from the frozen ice field around John, heading straight at the young man who was still in the air, cutting all the attacks. The pirs edges were sharp and hard. All John needed was tond a hit


    The pirs bent and went straight to the young man, reaching him in barely any time, and As John had expected, the man quickly turned, shing his rapier straight at two of them, breaking them in the process.


    However the remaining 8 stood strong and were right about to pierce him, John cast ''Gravitas'' on the young man at the same time, to increase the falling momentum so he could truly be finished once and for all.


    It would have been the most painful type of death, one could imagine, but John had no intentions of holding back, it just wasn''t an option.


    Right as the young man''s chest was about to go into contact with the edge of the Ice pir, In a single heart beat, a pure white electric sphere came out from the young man''s sacred treasure, breaking and evaporating John''s pirs as they came into contact with it.


    Seeing this, John retracted the pirs before they could bepletely consumed as he muttered with a nervous smile


    "Oi... You still had that up your sleeve...?"


    The glowing electric orb slowly descended with the man inside, John could tell just by looking that things weren''t looking good.


    John took a step away from the area where the man was going tond, and as hended on the ground, the orb dispersed leaving the man standing on his two feet with his eyes closed.


    The wound on the young man were still present but shallow, John couldn''t believe that, that was all he had managed to do with thatbo attack.


    The young man without moving, stood there quietly with his eyes closed, as if he was waiting for something.


    John could feel a strange, bad feelinging from the young man. He knew that he couldn''t let the young man finish whatever it was that he was nning.


    "Newton''s 1stw... Stop." John muttered as he extended his arm towards the young man


    However, contrary to what John expected, Nothing happened, the young man slowly moved his rapier before pointing it at the air.


    [Damn it... Why isn''t it working again?!]


    "Velox Duplici... Levite."


    Two balls of air were formed in the air behind John, before it burst out, propelling John straight towards the man. John lowered the gravity on him with ''Levite'' making him go even faster as he slid through the ice.


    John moved fast, much faster than he had expected, He had ''Modero'', ''Levite'' and ''Fulgurationem'' activated. There was no way he''d lose in terms of speed, and yet, he could see it clearly.


    A small grin was formed on the young man''s face as he nced at John and in that instant, right before John reached him


    *BOOM!*


    A White lightning bolt came down from the clouds above, striking at the Young man, and John who saw this, propelled himself as he used the shockwave to break his momentum.


    John slid back through the ice and observed with his small green eyes at the scene which was held right in front of him


    The young man''s hair had risen and began to glow a bright white colour as electric sparks passed through it. The young man''s eyes also glowed brighter, as he slowly walked towards John.


    His rapier had changed shape, it now was now longer and had a bright white magic circle formed behind the handle.


    John''s heart began to beat faster and faster, as he felt a familiar emotion as he became more and more nervous.


    For all he knew, the young man could have just gotten another magic power boost, if it was just like that, it would be fine, but...


    His magic power was so vast, it covered the entire area where the two stood, causing John to feel a strange amount of pressure on his body.


    [Why was that young kid your boss...? You''re on a whole other level...] John wondered


    John braced himself and once again before preparing himself for whatever which was about to head his way.


    "Crustalli, cies and... Icenceam" John muttered / Trantion: Ice Crystal, Ice Spike and Icence


    Once again, Ice crystals were formed in the air above the two, quickly taking their form as a a small clock was formed in front John


    "Antecessum." Trantion: Advance


    Without making a move, the young man watched as the sound of something ticking resounded throughout the area.


    *Tic* *Toc* *Tic* *Toc*


    He then looked up and noticed that the Ice Crystals shapes were changing, and progressing with every passing second.


    "So that''s how it works... Anyst words?" The young man asked


    Right as he said that, spikes rose from the ground beneath him, instantly piercing him in the process.


    Or so John thought, Right as it was about to pierce him, the young man had vanished. Seeing this, John quickly turned around to look behind him.


    ''Modero'' and ''Fulgurationem'', Were still active, so he was moving considerably fast.and yet.


    *sh*


    John''s eyes widened as he noticed that his head had been sliced off his neck. Thest thing he saw before his vision darkened was the young man standing behind him with a smile on his face.


    ---------------


    John''s eyes opened wide as his breathing got heavier and heavier.


    [Eh?]


    Slowly, he moved his hand towards his neck before grasping it. Confused. John looked up only to see the young man standing back where he was when lightning had struck him.


    John could barely breathe as he struggled to understand what had just happened.


    [Did I just... die...?]


    "What...?" John muttered


    His mouth and voice shaking as his dread seeped into his bones.


    Seeing how his fear was getting in the way of his thoughts, John decided to calm himself. John tightly grasped and clenched on to his daggers as he bent his knees. He took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out.


    It didn''t help, John''s hands and legs wouldn''t stop shaking. And like before, the young man slowly began walking towards John.


    John had experienced death once before, but that was a time when he didn''t expect it. Knowing when or how you would die, ispletely different.


    As the young man got closer and closer, John''s heart began to beat faster and faster, the orb which had been imnted in him was still inactive, but that didn''t make things any easier.


    John slowly took a step back, before shortly after taking another.


    "Hm...? What''s wrong? Aren''t you going to attack?" The young man asked


    John stared at the young man nervously before struggling to get his voice out.


    [R...Run... If I fly away from here I can-]


    "Don''t even think about running, I know where your carriage is, it won''t even take me 10 seconds to kill them."


    Hearing this, John''s heart sunk as he hung his head.


    [Deactivate modero... But I''ll keep Fulgurationem, just in case...]


    "W.W..Wait... D-Don''t... I''m sorry, I''ll do as you ask." Said John as his voice trembled throughout the sentence


    He wouldn''t be able to protect them, he could feel it in his bones. John could have been killed any second now, but the man hadn''t done anything yet, meaning he still had a chance. Maybe if he did as he asked, the others would be left alone.


    "Ask...? Haha... You seem to be misunderstanding something. You see, I don''t need anything from you, I just need you to die. Then I''ll kill your friends too." Saiid the young man


    John''s eyes widened as he red at the young man


    "WHY!? WHAT DID WE DO!?" John shouted at the young man


    "Nothing, in fact, you quite actually helped me." Said the young man with a smile


    "THEN WH-"


    Before he could finish what he was going to say, John noticed the young man disappear. And in that instant, he subconsciously ducked down.


    Less than half a second after, a lightning wave passed right above John''s head as the young man suddenly appeared behind him


    "You dodged that? No, you moved before I attacked. Hm... Nevermind, bye."


    The young man swung his rapier straight down at John who stood seated on the floor. John who could barely see the movements, could only stare as the rapier made it''s way towards his head to finish him off once and for all.


    *Pierce*


    Blood was spurted all over the floor as the rapier made contact.

 Chapter 254 - White Flash Vs Death

    Blood was spurted all over the floor as the rapier made contact, falling on John''s top as he looked up.


    Confused, John''s eyes widened at the sight in front of him. He wasn''t the one who had been hit, it was someone else, someone who had appeared out of nowhere.


    Long ck spiky hair, with an pitch-ck emotionless eyes, pure darkness, it was so dark that John wondered if the man could even see. He idn''t know the man, but it wasn''t his first time seeing him.


    The young man who stood in front of John, held on tightly to the de of the rapier which was about to cut off John''s head, with his bare hands.


    Blood slowly dripped from the hand yet the young man didn''t let go.


    "You''re..."


    Without so much as ncing at John, the young man raised his other hand before closing his eyes.


    Seeing this, the young white-haired man''s eyes widened as he tried pulling his rapier away


    "H-How did you find me?" The white-haired young man asked in fear


    The ck-haired young man, opened his mouth and began moving it as if saying something, but no sounds came out.


    Seeing this, the young man let go of the rapier before quickly moving to dash away, but before he could evenplete the movement


    *BOOM!


    A dark lightning strikended right on the two of them. John watched as the young man who had saved him, continued to hold on to the hand of the man who had tried to kill him.


    The hand of the man who had tried to kill had been burnt, yet his hair still glowed brightly. The lightning strike didn''t seem like it was enough to end him and only seemed to have infuriated him even more.


    "Let go..."


    Without letting go, the young man who had saved John began muttering another set of words.


    "LET GO! DAMNIT!"


    Suddenly, a bright white electric sphere came from within the white-haired man, engulfing the arm of the man who saved John in an instant.


    John who saw this was about to move in to help, but right when he did, a sharp pain came from the area where the orb had been imnted in his chest, causing him to reflexively close his eyes.


    John forced his eyes opened despite the pain as he didn''t want to miss a single second of the fight, but right when he did, he both saw and heard it.


    "Mors." Trantion: Death


    For a moment, Just a single moment, John felt his heart skip a beat and in that instant, the light sphere which had engulfed the arm of the man who had saved him, dispersed.


    John could see half of the right arm of the young man who had saved him missing, along with the person who was trying to kill John,ying on the ground. Motionlessly.


    Unable to grasp an idea of what had happened, John noticed that the young man''s hair was no longer glowing white as heid on the ground, and John couldn''t feel the young man''s life force.


    "He''s... dead...?" John asked


    When? How? John didn''t see, feel or hear anything which may have indicated how exactly the man had died, and yet there heid, motionlessly, with both eyes closed.


    John''s saviour, crouched down before picking up the motionless body of the young white-haired man. John did nothing but watch, as the young man picked it up.


    "Th-Thank... Y-"


    Before John could finish, the ck-haired young man disappeared, along with the body of the white-haired young man


    [What?!]


    John hastily looked around, casting ''deprehendre'' as many times as he could and yet, there was nothing.


    Absolutely nothing, no presence which had the same feeling as the one who John had fought against a while ago, and nor could he track the presence of the one who had saved him because it was as if he had no presence.


    "When did he... How did he outspeed... What...!?" John asked as he ced both hands on his head


    He didn''t know how to feel. The presence of the monster which was beneath them had suddenly disappeared, he didn''t die and some random person came out of nowhere, knocking out and taking away the person who had killed him.


    [Did I imagine it all...?] John wondered as he let out a sigh


    "No, there''s no way..." John muttered as he took a good look around


    A frozen field with all nearby trees submerged in deep ice, along with burn marks from thunder strikes in some of them.


    Ice had melted, and there was no way that John was the one who melted his ice, meaning that either he really needed a therapist or he just ended up surviving a once in a life-time encounter.


    John let out a deep breath, as he plopped to the floor. His heart was still beating fast, and his bones could still remember clearly both the feeling of being cut and the fear of what awaited afterwards.


    "I''ll stay like this for a little longer..." John muttered as he kept both hands on the floor behind him


    After that, Johnid down in the middle of the ice field which he had created, before staring at the blue sky, as he tried to take in everything that had happened.


    "Man... I really wish there was some coffee in this world... When was thest time I had coffee?"


    As he continued to stare the sky, he noticed that his eyes were slowly starting to tear up.


    "Damn it... What you crying now for?" John asked as he wiped his eyes


    He slowly turned his body to face the sides, before letting out a sigh


    "I wonder how everyone in the other world is doing...? God, if there is a god... Well I was given a 2nd chance at life, so there probably is. Eitherway, God, what is my purpose for being here? Why was I brought to this world?"


    John waited for a reply and got nothing, just like how he had expected.


    "Am I... Am I at least doing the right thing...?" John asked


    Once again, there was no reply. Seeing this, John let out a snort before turning back to the sky.


    "Pfft, what''s wrong with me... Haha... Ha..."


    John''s eyes slowly began to shut as he found the cold ground ratherfortable.


    "I should get going soo-"


    Before John could finish, his eyes suddenly shut, as he fell unconscious.


    -----------------------------------


    John opened his eyes, only to find himself in the middle of a half dark, half white room. John easily recognised it as he had been there many times before.


    "I like the new room, everything dark before was very intimidating." Said John with a smile as he turned to look behind him


    There stood the evil spirit version of himself, he stood on the border of the dark part of the room with an unamused expression.


    John felt so satisfied with that expression that he couldn''t help but smile.


    "How?" The spirit asked


    "How what? Dear, King." Said John as he gave a half-hearted bow


    Seeing this, the spirits eyes widened as he stared straight at John. John stared back with an unmoving expression.


    "Tsk, I''m not in the mood for this." Said the spirit


    "Oh, I didn''t know the dead had moods. You must be very busy, just like I was when your entire cult tried killing me, and even kidnapped Serena."


    "She brought that on-"


    "Remember what I told you? You don''t scare me, I know your secret, well not much of a secret, more of a weakness. I''m your current vessel, if I die, you die. You failed to possess me, so you''ll have to keep trying for as long as I live."


    John had whispered simr words to the spirit before, but hearing it again, only annoyed the spirit as it was directed as a threat.


    "I wouldn''t look down on me if I were you." Said the spirit as a grin appeared on his face


    "Here''s the thing..."


    John slowly walked towards the spirit before facing him as he stood on the white border.


    "If any one of your cultists mess with my party again... I''ll hunt them all down one by one, and don''t think for a second that you''re safe because you''re in here."


    The right arm of the spirit who was in the form of John, ended up falling off as John cut off his own with his dagger.


    John felt no pain, but it was the thought that counted.


    "Hahahaha... I thought I was the crazy one, but you''re the craziest vessel I''ve ever encountered."


    "You should know by now that we''re two of the same kind, just like you are in this vessel, I also took over it. So get in line."


    "Right, right. But I''ll get to the point."


    The spirit picked up his hand before ring at John who also picked up his.


    "How did you avoid death?"

 Chapter 255 - Avoiding Death

    "How did you avoid death?" The spirit asked


    Quietly, John looked over at his dagger before closing his eyes. He thought back and began to visualize what exactly had happened when he was killed.


    [The guy appeared behind me and shed my head off... That''s what happened, isn''t it...?] John wondered as he ced his hand on his neck.


    The feeling of having his head cut off, was still stuck to his throat.


    John slowly raised his head before staring straight at the spirit. John''s eyes widened as he realised something.


    "I died..."


    But that wasn''t what had surprised John, it was a simple fact that he hadn''t noticed earlier. A fact which terrified him to his core.


    "That man... I didn''t feel his presence at all... Not a bit of mana or life... Not an ounce... Nothing, like he wasn''t even there..." John muttered


    "Yeah, I know, but that didn''t answer the question. You know something, don''t you?" The spirit asked


    John covered his face with his palm before he muttered.


    "He was just like me. I couldn''t measure the amount of magic power he had, it wasn''t as if he was trying to conceal it, it was there. Just, I couldn''t feel it. Just like that time at the beach." Said John


    "And?" The spirit asked


    John slowly lowered his hand as he muttered


    "Don''t you think it''s strange...? I died and yet... I''m perfectly fine... The person who had killed me, didn''t seem to notice. It was as if time... Time had... r...reversed..."


    John''s voice began to shake as he began to think about the possibility of there being more like him. It just didn''t make any sense. For someone else to possess the same ability as him.


    "Another sacred treasure with simr properties...? No... It was more than that... But... Argh... Why can''t I remember his face!?"


    With an expression full of anger, John mmed his fist straight onto the ground before slowly looking up.


    "Ahh... I see... that exins it..." John muttered as a smile was suddenly formed on his face.


    "Exins what?" The spirit asked with a grin


    John let out a small quietugh before a smirk was formed on his face.


    "Hahaha... Right before I died. I heard the sound of gears and a clock only... It didn''te from me, but felt just like mine...That young man, he has the ability to control time just like me. Only... It''s much stronger."


    "Stronger?"


    John nervously looked at the spirit in confusion before asking


    "Don''t you understand? He has the ability to defy space and time itself, he rewinded time as a whole... Something like that... It''s inhuman."


    Hearing this, the spirits eyes widened as the grin on it''s face got wider. The look of ecstacy on it''s face was that of a young boy if he were to receive his long awaited christmas present after hundreds of years.


    It was disturbing, yet at the same time, understandable.


    "Is that so... One... Onest question..." Said the spirit unable to contain it''s excitement


    "So you owe me." Said John before turning to the back of the room


    "Huh?" The spirit asked


    John nced at the sprit before repeating what he had said.


    "So that you''ll owe me."


    "..."


    The spirit quietly stared at John without saying anything, the grin still remained widely disyed on his face.


    "You were going to ask why did I tell you all of this. That''s so that you''ll owe me, and forgive me for breaking the promise." Said John with a smile


    "Hahaha... Out of everyone I''ve met before, you truly are the most confusing. You act kind and caring, yet on the inside, you''re cruel, heartless and crazy, aren''t you?" The sprit asked


    John could tell from the way it asked, that it was trying to get on his nerves, and even if it wasn''t, it didn''t matter to John. He simply, didn''t care.


    "So what if I am?" John asked with a smile


    "...?"


    "Ever since I''ve reincarnated into this world, nothing about me had remained the same. My soul merged with this body, changing my personality. I was nearly killed many times. Hell I''ve been backstabbed, but so what?"


    The grin on the spirits face slowly disappeared as the smile on John''s face got wider.


    "Being cruel, selfish, crazy,zy, heartless. It''s all part of the life cycle. Everyone has a dark side in them. And don''t worry, you''re not my dark side, after all. You haven''t truly seen how dark I can be." Said John before taking a step into the dark side.


    As he did, the half of the room which was dark, suddenly turned to four, tenths as the darkness retreated back.


    Confused, the spirit also retreated back a step.


    "H-How are you!?"


    "Ahh so that''s how it works..." John muttered as he slowly moved around his hair.


    [I should probably cut this hair soon.]


    "Y-You...!"


    "Calm down."


    John then took another step before looking at the nervous spirit as he said


    "See."


    The darkness hadn''t retreated any further back and remained the same, yet the spirit was still shook.


    "...?!"


    "I still haven''t forgiven you for hurting Zestari, in fact. I would probably have gotten rid of you by now if I didn''t need you. You''re bad but deep down, there''s probably a little light." Said John


    "Light...? Deep down...? You... Hahaha... A mere kid, dares to look down on me...? You think I need your pity?"


    The air around the room quickly changed as John turned red at the spirit?


    "Pity? Don''t get ahead of yourself." Said John, coldly.


    "Ah... I see... I thought it was strange. How you remained so calm, this confident attitude... That light which stopped me from fully taking over... Haha, that girl still left a portion of her light magic inside of you didn''t she?" He asked


    Without replying John simply closed his eyes.


    "Bye."


    Just a single word was all John left as he disappeared from the room

 Chapter 256 - John Vs ???

    John woke up with a satisfied smile on his face. He quickly got up without paying an ounce of attention to his surroundings.


    He was happy, so happy that he had gotten an upper-hand on that annoying spirit, that he couldn''t contain it. It was definitely afraid and pissed.


    On top of that, John realised another thing which he had kept secret from the spirit. Something which didn''t make any sense, but at the same time, made the most sense.


    He knew who had saved him. John didn''t believe it, but it was the most likely theory out of all the ones he hade up with.


    "The person who had saved me... It was-"


    Before John could finish, his eyes suddenly widened, before he leapt forward.


    As the momentum from the jump pushed his body forward above the ice in the middle of frozen forest field. He slowly turned around in the middle of the air.


    But before he even noticed, his body was mmed into the ground, before a mysterious force pulled him straight back


    As the momentum dragged John back straight to where he had jumped, he felt his heart sink.


    He gathered wind and rose spikes from the ground where whatever had caused the force which had been pulling him was standing.


    John turned around and his eyes widened as he stared at the face of the person who had done this. In that instant, the wind which John had gathered along with the ice spikes which were supposed to rise from the ground, disappeared.


    Not in a way as if time had reminded, but it simply dispersed into thin air. The person in front of John hadn''t even chanted or said a single word.


    It was the same person who had saved him, no matter how hard John tried, he couldn''t see the person''s face, almost as if it was under some sort of magic spell like John''s mask only stronger.


    Despite that, John already had an idea of who it was, from the person''s skillset.


    "Haha... I was right. You''re-"


    Before John could finish, his face mmed straight onto the hand of the person who had saved him. Long spiky dark hair, with a cold and dark air around him.


    John couldn''t speak as he tried moving the hand away. He put as much magic power to reinforce his arm muscles before grabbing the right hand which was covering his face.


    It wouldn''t budge, No matter how much power he used, it just wouldn''t move.


    John tried speaking, but his mouth, wouldn''t open, as if there was something holding it down. Seeing this, he quickly sent a kick straight at the face of the dark haired man''s face.


    There was contact, a profound and hard contact which John felt travel throughout his entire right leg. But the person''s head didn''t move an inch.


    It was as if, his head had absorbed the shock of the impact and sent it straight towards John''s leg.


    John''s eyes began to glow yellow as the strength of John''s grip increased.


    His mouth slowly began to open and a smirk was formed on his face as he realised something..


    "L... Lets... Ta...lk..." John muttered


    He then stretched out his hand towards the face of the one who had neutralised him, before stretching out both legs and wrapping them around the young man''s arm.


    He then began to push with all his strength, with the intention to pull the young man''s arm off. It was his only choice.


    As he did so, for a moment just one moment he was able to see the mouth of the young man. His mouth was slowly moving as he muttered words even quieter than silence itself.


    [Something ising... and something big... Am... I going to die...?]


    John began to pour more power into the push, but his arm just wasn''t budging. Then suddenly, when John least expected it. Words loud enough for the two to hear came out of the young man''s mouth.


    "M: Erase"


    John''s eyes slowly turned up before he stopped putting in any power or pressure on the young man''s arm.


    The young man let go of John and John dropped to the ground. His eyes were closed and his body slowly trembled.


    The young man then disappeared leaving a trembling John behind. John''s body just wouldn''t stop shaking.


    But without any warning, it suddenly stopped, and remained still as Johnid on the floor. John had once again lost consciousness.


    ***


    "Argh... My head..." John muttered as he woke up


    The sound of a wheels moving could be heard as he felt the cold and hard texture of wood on his back.


    The feeling got worse and worse with every bump that came onto the wheel.


    John stared straight up at the ceiling before looking down at what was in front of his legs. He was inside of a moving carriage.


    "So, how are you feeling?" Ariel asked as she crouched down beside him.


    [Feeling...?]


    For a moment, John did nothing but stare at Ariel before he muttered.


    "Uh... Fine..."


    Serena then joined in as she gave him a light punch on his stomach.


    "Good. So, why were you lying in the middle of a frozen ice field?" She asked


    Hearing this, John slowly got up, and as he did so, he felt a strange feeling on his chest along with a throbbing headache.


    "Frozen ice field..." John muttered


    "Yeah, that''s right. Do you know how hard it was to find you? If it wasn''t for Ariel and Master Sylvia-"


    John interrupted Serena as he asked.


    "What are you, talking about?"


    Serena then grabbed John by the cor as she asked


    "Stop acting so mysterious! We wouldn''t ask if you had just gotten off fine like usual, but you looked dead for god sakes!"


    Serena then let out a sigh before muttering.


    "You can''t just disappear and then act like nothing happened..."


    "Happened...? Disappear...? Serena... What are you... Talking about?" John asked


    Serena''s eyes widened as John slowly tilted his head while staring straight at her. He looked deeply confused.


    Seeing this, the annoyed look disappeared off of Serena''s face and was reced with a nervous one. Ariel who heard this also looked worried.


    "Hey... John... Tell me you''re... Joking....?"

 Chapter 257 - Loss Of Memory

    "Hey... John... Tell me you''re... Joking...?" Serena asked nervously


    "Serena...? What are you talking about?" John asked as he stared straight at her.


    John wasn''t a good liar, nor was he a bad one. Serena knew this from the year which he had passed with him. She looked straight at his pale green eyes and as she did so, a drop of sweat slid down her face.


    John''s expression didn''t suggest that he was lying, in fact, it made it seem as if he truly had no clue about what they were talking about. Seeing this, serena felt her heart drop.


    [Did he force himself to forget...? Did he create another spell and it backfired...? Was he hit in the head too hard?] Serena asked herself


    Those were the questions which popped up in her mind, but there was one more that she refused to admit, refused to imagine even.


    When they had arrived there, Johnid there unconscious, by himself, covered in bruises. No body could be seen, either he obliterated the person who he was fighting or... They had done this to him. Such was Serena''s theory.


    She felt her heart drop at the thought of someone having beaten John and even made him forget his memory.


    "John, What was thest thing that you remembered?" Ariel asked as she joined in.


    She too seemed worried and also looked like she had a theory in mind of what had happened.


    Without replying, John slowly looked down at the carriage floor, before cing his palm on his face.


    "Remembered...? What was thest thing again...?"


    The two watched nervously as John quickly raised his head with the face of realisation being disyed


    He then quickly turned to the two before saying


    "That''s right... Master told us to start getting ready to leave the city... I still need to get Lydia and the kids and-"


    John was interrupted by Serena who ced her hand on his shoulder.


    "John, you called?" Lydia asked from the front of the carriage


    Hearing this, John quickly turned to the area where the sound came from. There stood Lydia Her attention fully focused on the road ahead of them.


    Master Sylvia leaned on the carriage walls as she sat beside Lydia. She didn''t look interested or seem to be paying attention to the conversation at all.


    John''s eyes widened as he saw Lydia and Master Sylvia.


    "W...Wh...at...?" John asked, his voice slightly breaking as he did so.


    He then quickly turned to Serena and Ariel in confusion. He noticed the nervous and worried looks on their faces before slowly getting up.


    As he did so, he noticed the two kids,ying down on the middle of the carriage. It was Lydia''s brother and sister-inw.


    There was no way, John couldn''t believe it. He hadn''t even left to get them and yet there they were. Moreover, they were already on a carriage which was most likely heading towards their next destination.


    "No way... Deprehendre." John muttered once he was fully standing up


    Despite the bumps on the carriage, John didn''t move an inch and just stood there with an annoyed yet angered expression.


    [Why... Why...?]


    Serena and Ariel didn''t know what to do, they just stared and watched as the young man tried to rpose himself.


    "There''s no doubt about it... We''re a moderate distance away from the city. Hey... How long was I out for?" John asked


    A transparent blue clock which was visible for both of the two was formed in front of him just as he asked that, Showing that time.


    "Out for...? We don''t know... It''s been half an hour since we found you." Said Serena


    Hearing this, John turned to Serena before asking


    "No, not that, I mean... How long was I out for since you brought me and everyone into the carriage... There''s no way we would have gotten everyone on this carriage and have gotten this far away from the city in just 30 minutes... 30 minutes ago I was..."


    "John... What are you talking about...? It''s been 6 hours since we left, And it''s been 2 hours since you brought Lydia with the two kids over... It wasn''t us... But you." Said Ariel


    John''s felt his heart sink as he heard those words. It wasn''t possible, it just wasn''t possible. Not only did the time add up, he could feel that. He then looked at the clock before clenching his hands into a fist


    "4... Around 4 in the evening..." John muttered


    "When did you-"


    Before Serena could finish, John suddenly ran and jumped straight out of the carriage. The two tried to stop him, but he managed to get through.


    "John! Wait!" Ariel called out to him


    "Come back you idiot!!" Shouted Serena


    Without looking back, John quickly propelled himself straight into the air. Leaving the carriage behind.


    "There''s no way... How could I forget...?" John muttered as he flew straight up.


    ---------------------------


    "Mrs Sylvia! Why didn''t you stop him!?" Serena asked as she turned to Master Sylvia.


    Lydia also stopped the carriage due to all the activity before turning looking at the two. Serena looked rather angry while Mrs Sylvia lookedpletely undisturbed.


    "C-Calm down Serena..." Said Lydia in an attempt to lighten the mood


    "No, she''s right." Ariel joined in


    She then looked straight at Master Sylvia who hadn''t said a word and continued to look at the road.


    "Why didn''t you stop him? It was obvious that something had happened, he was confused. Leaving him in a condition like that..."


    "He''ll be back when he''s feeling better."


    "You always do that, always saying that everything will be fine, but how can you know for sure?!" Serena asked


    "Because, that kid is much stronger than you two think. Both physically and mentally. Throughout the time we''ve trained together, he never gave up no matter what I threw at him. You two can continue to spoil him just as he spoils you.. But you won''t get stronger that way." Said Master Sylvia

 Chapter 258 - Angered Emotions And Confusion

    "Because, that kid is much stronger than you two think. Both physically and mentally. Throughout the time we''ve trained together, he never gave up no matter what I threw at him. You two can continue to spoil him just as he spoils you. But you won''t get stronger that way." Said Master Sylvia


    The two were surprised. That was the most number of words they ever heard Master Sylvia speak at once.


    "Yeah... You''re right... John is strong... But even the strong can be fragile and have times where they need to rely on others. Maybe you weren''t taught like that, but just because you weren''t doesn''t mean that the same should go for John." Said Ariel before rushing off the carriage


    Serena who saw this, did the same and followed behind her, before sticking her tongue out towards Master Sylvia, who didn''t even turn back.


    The only ones left behind in the carriage were Lydia, the two kids and Master Sylvia who hadn''t even turned around.


    "...They''re just mad... Don''t let it get to-"


    Lydia suddenly stopped talking when she noticed the expression on Master Sylvia''s face. Rather than looking down or mad, Master Sylvia was smiling.


    Not just a simple smile, it looked like a bitter one, aimed at herself.


    "Let''s get moving." Said Master Sylvia


    "But-"


    "They''ll catch up."


    Hearing this, Lydia slowly turned to the road before nodding. The horses began to move dragging and pulling the carriage forward as it did so.


    Lydia nced back as she muttered


    "Come back safely..."


    -------------------------


    "How...? How? How? How?"


    John put both palms on his face before slowly moving them up towards his hair.


    "DAMN IT!" He shouted swinging his right arm towards a nearby cloud


    The cloud was slightly pushed back due to the wind pressure which was emitted from John''s arm swing and mix of magic into it.


    "Why?! Why can''t I remember a damn thing!?" John asked before swinging both arms down.


    Once again, wind pressure was emitted from his arm, slowly propelling him further up.


    John was infuriated, He was infuriated and yet he didn''t know why.


    "Why am I so mad!? At what am I so mad!? It wasn''t at those two or master Sylvia or lydia or the kids... So what''s wrong with me!!?" John shouted


    [Calm down.] Said a voice which didn''t belong to him


    John recognised the vocie as clearly as day and it didn''t make him any happier.


    "Not now..." He muttered as he breathed out heavily.


    [Nope, now''s a good time.]


    "What do you want?" John asked


    [You don''t remember, do you?]


    Hearing those words, John quickly asked with anger at the spirit


    "What did you do?"


    His voice cold and rough as he red at the existence which he couldn''t see within his mind.


    [Scary. I didn''t do anything. In fact, I''m just as confused as you... Although he wasn''t able to fully get me...]


    John wasn''t sure whether or not the spirit was lying, but he nned on finding out


    "What are you talking about?"


    [It''s still hazy... But your memory was erased or altered... I didn''t even know a spell like that was possible. Hahaha, That little shit got me too... I can''t remember his face or the talk we had.]


    "Erased...? My memory... Was erased? By who? Who would be strong enough to-"


    John was interrupted by a sharp throb in his head, no matter how hard he tried he just couldn''t find thest piece for his memories.


    It felt as if it was on the tip of his tongue, but it just wouldn''te out. It was such an annoying feeling which made his already infuriated self worse.


    [I don''t know. But whoever it is, they sure know how to piss you off] Said the voice, rather amusedly.


    "Not as much as you do..." John muttered as he braced the pain.


    [¡­]


    John then looked down, clouds were blocking the ground, but he could tell that his sudden move probably got everyone shaken up.


    "I need to get back to them..." John muttered


    He then gathered even more with above himself before propelling himself straight down.


    As he did so, he carefully examined the area around him.


    [An Area with frozen trees... To my right... Maybe I should go check it out before going back...]


    John looked over at the carriage before looking over at the forest. The carriage was still moving without any problems, so John assumed that it''d be fine to make them wait just a little longer.


    "Sorry everyone, but I need to see if I can remember anything..." John muttered before propelling himself straight towards the frozen area


    ***


    *Crack* *Crack* *Crack*


    The sound of the ice cracking resounded throughout the frozen area as John walked through it. He could feel the residue of magic in the air and there was no doubt about it.


    "I did this... This is definitely my mana..." John muttered


    He continued to walk, and approached the area where he was found unconscious. Broken trees, cracks all around, Ice spikes which had risen.


    John was surprised, something really had happened, and it didn''t look like a simple fight where he''d be able to get off unharmed. Either he had been healed by Serena or he healed himself.


    Eitherway, just from looking, he was able to confirm that what they said was indeed true.


    "I forgot... Someone... Beat me up... And left me unconscious here with my memory wiped... The question is... Who was it...?" John muttered


    He was on high alert, there was a chance the person who had beaten him was still around the area, and would do anything to stop John from remembering, but at the same time, John needed to find out.


    [Think... Think...] John thought to himself


    Suddenly, he stopped in front of one of the ice spikes which had risen, before staring at the area which had a bit of blood spilled on it.


    He followed that blood along the ice and was led a spot in the middle of the open field which had a small pool of blood.


    "What the hell...."

 Chapter 259 - The Talk With The Inner Spirit

    "What the hell..." John muttered


    The ground was cracked, and there was a small pool of blood which had merged with the ice. John felt familiar with the spot and could nearly feel what had happened, but there was something stopping him. Something which he couldn''t believe.


    "Is it really possible to do something like this...?" John muttered as he crouched down.


    John had seen many things before, he had learnt about the fundamentals of this world precisely because of such, the scene which stood before his eyes caused him to question all that logic.


    "There''s mana in every living being, cell and organism in this world... And yet... I can''t find an ounce of magic power in this blood, which is impossible. It hasn''t even been that long..."


    Even blood contained a flow of magic in it, there were even spells where one could control there blood, droplets from cough, rain from the sky. There was magic in all of these little things. John found that out himself as he grew older. But never had he seen something like this.


    "Not an ounce of magic power... There''s only one exnation for this. It was erased." Said John


    John slowly dropped down to the ground before he hung his head. As he stared at the cold ice beneath him a smile was formed on his mouth, before he let it out.


    "Hahaha... Hehe... Man... Whoever it was, they really got me, huh..."


    [¡­? Aren''t you mad?] The spirit asked


    John slowly raised his head and stared at the sky.


    "Sure I''m mad but, at the same time, he didn''t really kill me or hurt anyone precious to me. So next time I''ll just be more careful."


    [¡­Crazy kid.]


    "I know I am. Huh? Did I just get Deja-vu?" John asked as if suddenly noticing something


    John then slowly got up before turning to the area where the carriage was.


    "Time to go back..." John muttered


    Just as he said that, the sound of someone calling out to him came from the exact direction he was looking at.


    "John...!"


    "Idiot!"


    John easily recognised who it was from the voices, and he could also tell that they weren''t too happy about it.


    "...Should I just fly back to the carriage...?"


    ***


    "Why did you try running away?" Serena asked as she stared at John who sat opposite to her on the carriage


    Without saying anything, John looked away and Ariel also looked a bit disappointed remained quiet. Seeing this John ended up giving in and turned to the two


    "I still came back for you two."


    "...After flying away." Ariel muttered


    "Look, I was still a bit confused."


    "Yeah, sure... Where''s that confusion now?" Serena asked


    "..."


    Serena let out a sigh before looking over at Ariel. Seeing this, Ariel nodded and Serena and Serena nodded back.


    "So? Any idea on who or what did this to you?" Serena asked before taking a seat


    The sound of the carriage moving around them seemed to fade as John''s expression went from a rxed and nervous one to a serious one.


    "No. But whatever it was, it''s best not to mess with it." Said John


    "What exactly did it do to you? And are you sure it''s okay to just leave it?" Ariel asked


    "I''m not sure... All I know is that It might have taken my memories, the rest is a blur. Besides, that''s lucky enough as it is..."


    John slowly got up and the two watched as he stared out through the back of the carriage. He stared straight at the sky which was slowly darkening as the sun began to set.


    "Yeah... It could have killed me."


    [Dying... Dying a third time would suck- Huh?]


    Just as the thought came up, John''s eyes widened.


    "What...?" John muttered as he stared up at the carriage ceiling


    Serena and Ariel who saw that, got their guards up before looking up as well.


    "Is there something outside?" Serena asked as she quickly began to look around


    Ariel used wind and cast a search spell outside to see if she could notice what had surprised John


    "..."


    Without saying anything, John continued to stare at the ceiling.


    "Oi! Is there somethinging or not!?" Serena asked


    "No... Sorry." John muttered before lowering his face as he ced his palms on it.


    Despite Hearing this, the two girls kept their guards up.


    "Look, John, instead of going all quiet, can you exin what you noticed?"


    John quietly looked over at Serena and noticed the worried yet annoyed look on her face before muttering.


    "I remembered something..."


    [A third time... Wasn''t it just once... Why do I feel like, it''s happened a second...? Don''t tell me... It did happen and I forgot...?]


    "What did you remember?" Lydia asked from the front of the carriage


    She was listening in on the conversation along with Master Sylvia. Everyone seemed worried with how John was acting.


    Seeing this, John raised both hands before mming them simultaneously on his face.


    *CLAP!*


    The m connected so well that it ended up clearly waking John up. John''s eyes seemed to return to normal as he let out a sigh.


    "Finally, I snapped out of it..."


    "Snapped out...?" Ariel asked


    John nodded before taking in a deep breath and letting it out.


    [Yeah... Snapped out, I ended up realising something, but it wasn''t clear enough.]


    "Just the effects of losing my memory." Said John


    "Just...?" Serena asked


    "So... You''re feeling better?" Ariel asked


    The two still looked as confused as before.


    "In a way... But still... For some reason, I''m starting to feel... a bit..."


    Before John could finish, his vision got blurry and his strength seeped from his body, before his eyes closed.


    He lost consciousness. Because of that, the carriage was forced to stop once more as they went to check up on John.


    Worried that something might have happened, they were relieved to find out that John had only fainted and that it wasn''t anything too serious.. Or so they assumed.

 Chapter 260 - Back Inside Of The Mind

    "This guy... Can he make up his mind?!" Serena asked


    "C-Calm down, Serena. He can''t help it." Said Lydia


    "I know but still..."


    "Ariel... Be ready... If whatever did this to Johnes back for him, things may end up bad..." Said Serena before she grabbed her wand. A small glow could be seen in her eyes as she did so.


    "I know..." Replied Ariel as she grabbed onto her dark rapier.


    For a moment, Just a moment, the air around the two changed as Ariel did so, it felt darker.


    Serena''s eyes widened before quickly turning to Ariel, because of that. And when she did, she noticed a dark and hallow look in Ariel''s eyes as she held on to her wand.


    The look disappeared as Ariel noticed Serena staring at her.


    "Serena? Is something wrong?" Ariel asked nervously before looking around.


    The dark air was gone and Ariel genuinely seemed confused.


    "N-Nothing..."


    [There''s no way I imagined that... Right...?] Serena thought to herself


    She nced over at Ariel, and watched her slowly move John''s unconscious body to a morefortable position. Despite that, Serena couldn''t get the feeling that she had felt out of her chest.


    "Please tell me that John''s the only one I should be worried about right now..." Serena muttered


    "What happened?" Lydia asked as she climbed on to the back of the carriage after stopping the horses


    "He''s unconscious." Said Master Sylvia as she remained in her seat.


    Serena followed Ariel with Lydia quickly went to check on John with Ariel whilst Master Sylvia remained seated without moving.


    [Why aren''t you checking up on him? Isn''t he your disciple?]


    Serena then grit her teeth before crouching down besides John and closing her eyes. She held back the urge to shout it out loud so she just said it calmly inside of her head, hoping that she''d reach an answer.


    [What''s wrong with everyone...?] Serena thought to herself


    Ariel who noticed that Serena had been acting Strangely, quickly asked


    "Serena? Is something wrong?"


    Serena slowly looked towards Ariel before shaking her head.


    "Nothing... Nothing at all..." Serena muttered


    She didn''t know how to tell it to Ariel, she didn''t know what to do or who to ask for help. No one but herself.


    She felt the same exact feeling she had hated from the moment she first tasted it. Helplessness.


    It was obvious that there was something wrong with Master Sylvia''s recent attitude towards things, and there was also something going on with Ariel. She just didn''t know how to go about things.


    [Why is that idiot always gone in times like this...?] Serena wondered


    Just as she did so, her eyes widened before she also simultaneously raised both hands. Ariel who noticed this, watched as Serena mmed both hands on the side of her face, causing a loud p sound to be heard from within the carriage.


    Lydia who hadn''t expected it, was surprised by Serena''s sudden action while Ariel just quietly stared without saying anything.


    Ariel then slowly raised her hands before imitating Serena and John''s action.


    *CLAP!*


    Lydia didn''t know what to say, she was not only confused but slightly afraid at the two girls who had burning red cheeks.


    [S-Should I imitate them...? What''s happening here?] Lydia thought to herself as she stared at the two.


    "It happened again... No more..." Serena muttered as a small golden me was formed over her right arm.


    Serena moved her arm over John''s face before the golden fire slowly enveloped John''s head. No burns could be seen as the fire spread from his head to the rest of his body.


    Meanwhile, Ariel watched closely and quietly as the look in John''s face turned into a more rxed one.


    Serena then slowly moved her hand away from John''s face as she let out a deep breath. The golden mes continued to rampage throughout John''s body.


    Lydia was speechless. The mes weren''t burning him and seemed to be making him feel morefortable. On top of that, it gave off an attracting like which made one want to touch it.


    "I''ve never seen a spell like this before..." muttered Lydia in amazement


    Ariel too was surprised, she had no idea that Serena could use the holy element, much less this well. It was an unexpected discovery.


    "Light, huh... I''m envious." Ariel whispered.


    "Huh?" Serena asked as she turned to Ariel


    "Eh? What?" Ariel asked surprised


    [Envious...?] Serena thought to herself


    "What did you just say?" Serena asked


    "When?"


    "Just now."


    "Now...? Wait, what did I-"


    Ariel was interrupted by Master Sylvia who said


    "Let''s go, we don''t have much time to waste."


    ---------------------------


    John''s eyes slowly opened before he gave a quick look around. He then got up as he let out a short sigh.


    It was a room he was familiar with, arge cubic room with nothing to be seen aside from coloured walls in sight.


    "I''m back here... Again... Damn it, another feeling of deja-vu." John muttered


    "Deja-vu?" Said the voice which came from his left.


    John turned his head towards the direction of the voice before making a displeased and unhappy face.


    It was the spirit, the same one which had caused him all of those problems.


    "It''s a feeling you get when you experience something that''s never happened before, but you feel like you have." Said John as he sat back down on the ground


    John stood on the light side of the room while the spirit stood on the dark. If not for the light which came from the right side, John wouldn''t be able to see him.


    "I see..." The spirit muttered


    "When was thest time we had a talk?" John asked


    A smile was formed on the spirits face as he said


    "I don''t know, but it was recent."


    "And how do you know that?" John asked


    "Because I reside here. I''ll know if I have visitors."


    "Visitors...? There aren''t any more strange beingsing into my consciousness now, is there?"


    "There was one... The one that did this to you." Said the spirit


    John slowly turned his head towards the spirit before he quietly muttered the words


    "What....?"

 Chapter 261 - The Person Who Stole His Memories

    "There was one... The one that did this to you." Said the spirit


    John slowly turned his head towards the spirit before he quietly muttered the words


    "What...?"


    "I just remembered. The guy forced his way, right in."


    [What is this guy talking about?]


    "Is that even possible...? You''re joking, right?" John asked


    [For another person to enter my mind freely... That''s...]


    John felt a shiver go down his spine as he ced his hand on his head. The feeling of having another person force their way into his mind, it was unexpectedly disturbing.


    "It is, how do you think I got here? Tsk, if only I could get out..."


    John nodded as he said


    "If only you could, but... Wait, are you telling me, the guy who erased my memories, came into my mind? What did he do that for? To erase them?" John asked


    [What else would it be...? Damn, did I lose some brain cells because of it?]


    "Can''t say, maybe we had a chat. Or maybe... He just came to erase my memories too." Said the spirit with a grin that showed that he was enjoying it


    Seeing this, John got up before ring at the spirit. He wasn''t sure but he could tell that the spirit was hiding something. But to that John simply smiled back.


    "Was that all you wanted to say?" John asked


    He already knew that the spirit wanted to get in his head, despite already being in a ce simr to it. So all John needed to do was act as if he didn''t care.


    "Nope, there''s onest thing." Said the spirit as it a took a step forward


    Just as it did, the darkness in the room progressed forward, causing it to go from three quarters being clouded in light to only one half.


    "What''s that?" John asked nervously


    John was annoyed by the sudden move, he felt another feeling of Deja-vu, but it only annoyed him more than the others. He also hadn''t realised that three quarters of the room had been covered in light, so this sudden advance of the darkness, slightly worried him.


    "You''re not the only one getting stronger." Said the spirit as another grin was formed on his face.


    It was so wide and stretched out so far into his face, that it managed to send chill down John''s spine. John wasn''t usually afraid of the spirit, but for that moment, there was a hint of fear in his heart.


    -------------------------


    "God... How many more times will I have to wake up in a day..." John muttered as he got up once again


    John''s eyes then widened as he noticed his surroundings. He got a good look around. There John stood, in the middle of a pitch-ck room, with nothing but the lighting off from himself to help.


    "Oi... Spirit, what''s the meaning of this?"


    There was no reply, nothing but deep silence. Seeing this, John slowly got up before turning around and staring at the figure which stood a few feet behind him.


    ???I see... So it''s another one of your tests, huh?" John asked as he slowly raised his arms and got into his stance


    But right as John did, he suddenly lost consciousness, once more.


    ----------------------------


    John was woken up once again by the sound of the carriageing to a stop. There was shaking along with the wails of the horses.


    Lydia''s voice could be heard as she told everyone to be queit from the inside of the carriage. While Serena and Ariel both jumped off the carriage.


    John slowly moved the nket on him, away before sitting up.


    "How long have I been out for...?" John asked as he let out a yawn


    Lydia who saw this quickly shouted out


    "Get down!"


    And in that instant, a thin needle blew by her hair before heading straight towards John''s eyes. Right before it hit John, however, right before it could pierce John''s eyes, it stopped.


    John hadn''t lifted a finger, and yet not only was he unshaken but also simply unamused.


    Lydia who saw this, couldn''t believe her eyes.


    John then got up before checking to see what exactly had happened. He looked straight forward and could see a group standing in front of the carriage. Their attention was turned to Master Sylvia who was slowly walking towards them


    John then turned back and saw another group standing behind the carriage. Their attention was turned to Serena and Ariel who were behind the carriage.


    After that, John gave a cold look towards the one hidden behind the tree behind the group in front of the carriage. He was the one who had shot the needle at John


    "Bandits?" John asked as he slowly walked to the front of the carriage. Avoiding the kids and Lydia who remainedid down.


    John looked closely at their outfits, They wore rather ragged and torn clothes, and carried broken and worn out weapons.


    They were all men with wide smiles on their face, as they stared at the carriage. John could tell what they were after.


    [Not bandits it seems, a group of homeless... Are we near a vige? How long was I out for.] John wondered before quickly leaping off through the front of the carriage.


    "Everyone, stop fighting." Said John as he propelled himself to the top of the carriage


    However, John wasn''t loud enough and the group who were aiming to raid them, only continued to advance.


    "F-Food..."


    "M-Money and women..."


    Just as Master Sylvia vanished and Serena and Ariel were about to release their spells, a Loud ear-piercing sound, came from the top of the carriage as John shouted


    "STOP!"


    The sound echoed and resounded throughout the area over and over, causing all the people around them to drop their weapons and fall to their knees.


    They covered their ears in a desperate action to stop the loud ear-piercing sound from continuing to rampage within their ears.


    The attention was turned to John who stood on top of the carriage.


    "I said, stop."

 Chapter 262 - Bandits Again?

    "I said, stop." Said John


    However, not even a second after he said it, a small rock was thrown straight at him, before hitting his leg.


    "Oi... Who-"


    John was interrupted by Serena who shouted.


    "What is your problem!? If you''re going to unleash a bomb like that, warn us first!!"


    "Serena''s Right!!!" Ariel added


    "A-Ah, right. S-Sorry." Said John


    John''s eyes then widened before he quickly turned to Master Sylvia''s direction. He subconsciously, created an ice wall to hide the view from the rest of his party.


    Before slowly propelling himself over it, straight towards Master Sylvia who was the only one left.


    As hended on the other side of the wall, he could feel whatever which was in the empty stomach of his, dying toe out.


    Disgusting? Horrendous? None of those words which came to his mind, were enough to describe just how dreadful, tasteless, and cold, the sight in front of him was.


    A blood bath. Body parts lying around, with blood stains all over Master Sylvia''s clothes.


    [Why...?]


    There were around 10 who were standing in front of the carriage, but not a single one was lfet alive.


    Master Sylvia swung her dagger down, to get rid the blood off the de before slowly turning to John.


    Cold, emotionless eyes, stared straight at him. As he wondered if there was reallly a need for it to have ended up this way.


    Fast, by the time John had shouted to the time he realised was around half a minute. In just that small time frame, His master created a sight, which could make even murderers, nauseous.


    John had forgotten, how cold his Master could be, the times in the beach city had rxed him. But now his memory had been refreshed, if not darkened.


    Without saying anything. Master Sylvia walked past him amd as she did so, the blood which had spilt over her clothes were burnt off as a dark me covered them.


    Around 10 dismantled corpses. John didn''t want anyone else to see them, so he clenched his fist, before cing both hands on the ground.


    As he did so, a small hole was formed as the ground sunk in, dragging the bodies down with it. Following that, the ground rose back up, leaving the bodies behind.


    All that remained was blood which seeped into the ground as it turned slightly muddy.


    John did all of this, with a cold expression. He didn''t know what sort of face to make, but he knew it was wrong.


    He hated pointless killing, and they just looked like starving people who lost control of themselves. Where did they evene from to reach that sort of state. Why didn''t they just go hunting? Were they really innocent?


    John then turned the ice wall into water and used it to wash away the remaining blood stains which were on the ground.


    As the water flowed through his legs couldn''t help but think of such things, whenever he used ''possession'' these thoughts would just keep away from his mind, but whenever he didn''t, they''d flow through like a stream.


    "DONT KILL US!!" Shouted a man


    Hearing this, John let out another sigh before propelling himself to the back of the carriage. As he did so, he wondered if the guy who had shot the needle at him was one of the corpses.


    "Tsk."


    Once John reached the back of the carriage, he could see all of them kneeling down.


    [How did things end up like this?] John wondered as he looked at them


    "P-Please don''t kill us..." Said the same man who John had heard shout. He was on the front of the group and remained kneeled with his head down on the floor.


    Short grey hair and a small grey beard with a rather big yet skinny frame. The man''s frame definitely contained muscles and was big, if not for the fact that you could nearly see his rib cage, he woulde off as intimidating and strong.


    "What should we do with them?" Serena asked


    John looked around and Saw Master Sylvia back in her usual seat. He took this as a sign to do whatever he wanted.


    "Why did you try to attack us?" John asked


    "We were hungry..."


    "Hungry...? You couldn''t go hunting for food or something?" John asked


    "We couldn''t... Harvest this year was bad... The forests have recently been filled with monsters. Everyday our numbers have been dropping from losses and-"


    The man was interrupted by John who pulled out a small mountain of gold, before cing it in front of the group.


    "Alright, keep this. Try exchanging it for food in the city or something." Said John before turning around and walking back to the carriage.


    Hearing this, tears poured down their faces as they saw this. The man leading them, raised his head before lowering it again.


    "T-Thank you..." Said the man


    The men, behind him, all followed after his words and also cried out as they thanked John and the group.


    Serena let out a sigh and Ariel formed a small smile on her face before following behind him.


    "How many times do we have to tell you, to stop making these decisions by yourself?" Serena asked as she walked beside him.


    "Sorry, but it''s better than any pointless struggles."


    John then hung his head as he quietly muttered.


    "I''m not in the mood to see death."


    Serena noticed John''s painful expression as he calmly said those words. Without saying anything, she simply nodded. Ariel who had also noticed, wondered if she should say something, but decided that it''d be best to keep quiet. Both of them, agreed with John.


    Without looking back, the three hopped on to the carriage, and when they did so, they noticed Lydia still hiding at the bottom, covering both of the sleeping kids with her small frame.


    "Lydia? They''re gone now." Said Ariel


    Hearing this, Lydia quickly raised her head before looking around


    "A-Already?"


    "Yeah." Said John


    "T-Then, I''ll just go back to the coach box..." Said Lydia


    [Is anyone here normal...?] Lydia wondered as she staggered towards the coach box


    "By the way, How much gold did you give to them?" Serena asked as she looked back


    She could seem them all surrounding the small pile of gold John had left for them but couldn''t see exactly how much it was.


    "Who knows." Replied John

 Chapter 263 - Monsters In The Path

    A week has passed since. 7 including the kids, were now in the middle of another snowstorm preventing John from flying them up in the air.


    They had entered a snowy forest which was beside a snow-covered mountain, because of this, they had to be more careful.


    The forest had an open path which allowed one to pass through it, despite all the snow making it easier for them to head towards their destination, but the monsters in the path didn''t make things any easier.


    "Right!" John shouted


    In that instant, Ariel who was behind him, released two wind spears straight at the Ogre who was heading straight towards them.


    The ogre had the angered face which was often mistaken for that of a demon. A big frame and blood red-skin. It carried a cub and slowly made it''s way towards the carriage as it broke down the trees in it''s path. Those who had fallen were carried and controlled by their emotion of rage.


    The ogre was definitely a dangerous monster, but that wasn''t the only one they had to worry about. There was another two in front of the carriage, and another two to its left.


    Along with that, the howl of wolves could be heard from behind the carriage as it moved through the path.


    "We''re surrounded." John muttered as he raised his arm.


    Master Sylvia, vanished before reappearing behind the ogre as the two wind spears hit it directly.


    They spears weren''t strong enough to fully pierce his skin, but they managed to drop the ogre down to his knees as it came into contact with his legs.


    The moment it dropped, It''s head was cleanly sliced off of it''s neck as Master Sylvia pulled out her dagger, behind it.


    The part of the neck which had been sliced off, quickly lit up in mes before engulfing the rest of the monster''s body


    The nearby snow quickly turned into steam as the me engulfed body fell onto the floor. Master Sylvia watched as the ogre stuggled despite no longer having a head.


    But the struggle stopped as the mes dispersed before they could spread to the trees leaving only it''s burnt body lying on the ground.


    "One." Said Master Sylvia before vanishing and reappearing in front of another who was near the one she had killed.


    Seeing this, John focused on the left side of the carriage. There were two ogres closing in.


    "You two handle the front, I''ll handle the left." Said John before propelling himself away.


    The two nodded before preparing their spells. John who saw this, quickly turned his attention to what he was heading towards.


    [2 ogres... Finally, something to help me take out my stress.] John thought to himself.


    He pulled out his daggers before activating ''modero''.


    The monster''s movements which were already inferior in speedpared to him, now looked as if they were barely moving. As this happened, lightning sparks began to flow through John''s body as a grin was formed on his face.


    *BZZZZZZT!!!*


    In a single second, John passed through the two ogres, leaving a trace of electricity behind as if he was a lightning bolt.


    The monster''s eyes widened before both of their arms and necks fell off their body. But Jogn wasn''t finished, right their limbs could touch the floor.


    *sh* *sh* *sh*


    Their body was cut into five pieces before beingpletely frozen and engulfed in ice.


    "Break." John muttered as his eye glowed a yellow colour


    *Crack* *Crack*


    The frozen figures of the dismembered ogres was broken into little tiny pieces while John walked right past them.


    [...6 out of 10.] John thought to himself before turning back to the carriage.


    It was faster to leap than to propel himself while ''Fulgurationem'' was active. Trantion: Lightning sh


    But right before he did, he noticed that Serena and Ariel had only just released their spell.


    [Was I too fast?]


    John then turned to their target which was the two ogres in front of the carriage before leaping straight at it.


    [Serena will be mad at me for killing it before them but... It should be fine.]


    John leapt straight towards the ogres which stood in front of the carriage, as electricity continued to pass through his body.


    Fulgurationem, a technique which used electricity to speed up not only his heart rate, but to freely transfer all the explosive magical power which John would gather in his body and convert it into kic energy. Drastically increasing his movement speed in the process.


    One of John''s favourite techniques and an unstoppablebination with ''modero'', no doubt. He reached the ogres in a few seconds and right as he did.


    He swung both daggers, his left for the ogre on the left and the right dagger for the one on the right. He swung each dagger differently, and shed the ogres around three times as he passed right through them.


    There was contact, yet barely any blood. John had managed to do it fast enough so that no stains would get on his precious daggers.


    The ogre on the left dropped to the ground as it was beheaded. It''s head chopped into two pieces, while the ogre on the right, simple had blood splurting out of the right side of it''s neck.


    [Hm? I hit them both with the same power on the same spot.]


    It was then that John noticed, the ogre on the right had a dark-blue skin with long spiky and scuffy white hair which resembled the snow.


    This one had strange red patterns throughout it''s body, and definitely had more bloodlust and rage emitting from it than the others.


    "The leader.." John muttered before turning to it.


    The ogre turned to John as it let out deep and angered breaths. Rather than holding a cub, it held onto arge de which hanged on it''s waist.


    Despite having a metal de, it only carried cloth and had no armour. That was already a major disadvantage for it.


    The ogre seemed to be dying to rip John to shreds and John decided to give him to opportunity.


    "One on one."


    John got into his attack stance, as he focused on the electric flow within him. However, John''s concentration along with the ogres was disturbed as a ming wind Drill pierced straight through the ogre''s chest from it''s back.


    The attack came from Serena and Ariel. The two had a very satisfied smile formed on their face before Serena began trembling as she tried holding back herugh.


    "....Really?"

 Chapter 264 - The Metal Laboratory.

    "So, how did it feel John?" Serena asked with a smug look


    "..."


    "Hmmm...? Why so quiet? Don''t tell me you''re sad?" Serena asked as she continued to tease John


    "... We were going to have a fair fight."


    "And who''s fight was it originally?" Serena asked


    "Alright, I get it, I had iting." Said John as he let out a sigh


    "As long as you know." Serena added with a satisfied smile


    "We''re here." Said Master Sylvia as the carriage came to a stop


    John looked through the front of the carriage to see why they had stopped, and when he did, he couldn''t believe his eyes.


    Right in front of the carriage, there was something simr to aboratory, in the middle of this monster infested forest.


    John had found it strange how they hadn''t encountered any monsters after ying the ogres, and how the wolves continued to follow them but kept their distance. Now he knew why.


    Thisboratory or whatever it was, was keeping them away. John got bad vibes just from staring at it.


    "This is where you wanted to take us?" John asked


    "Yeah, ourst destination." Said Master Sylvia as she jumped off the carriage.


    Lydia who saw this as a sign to leave, hopped on the back of the carriage before picking up the kids. John cast levite on them to make them lighter, but he wasn''t sure if it was needed.


    Lydia was unexpectedly strong, John had only recently started to realise. For example, she could easily lift up John with one hand. She was the one who had carried him back to the carriage, or so they told him.


    After everyone was ready, the group got off the carriage before meeting Master Sylvia at the entrance.


    Lydia carried the kids, John made sure to keep his guard up, Serena also kept her guard up as she also had a bad vibe and Ariel wondered why Master Sylvia had brought them to such a ce.


    The Laboratory still seemed to be in top-notch condition from the outside, in fact, there were no scratches on the wall. It really did repel the monsters.


    "What is this?" Serena asked


    A building with walls which joined around it in a circle, and a dome as a roof. The shape was simr to that of a cylinder with a dome or hemisphere above it.


    The walls seemed to be made out of a strange metal, and the overall base was fully metalic.


    John got the impression of aboratory at first, but it wouldn''t make sense to make the entire base out of metal.


    "It''s probably freezing in there." Said John as Master Sylvia ced her hand on the door.


    A double metal reinforcedrge door at where the walls joined up, and that was the entrance which the group stood in front.


    "What makes you say that?" Serena asked


    "Metal is a good thermal conductor. We''re surrounded by snow, so all the cold is building up inside."


    Everyone except for Master Sylvia seemed both surprised and confused by John''s exnation. The only reason why Master Sylvia looked undisturbed was probably because she wasn''t trying to understand.


    "What?" Ariel asked


    John looked over at Ariel and she looked away to avoid eye contact. Making it even more awkward between the two.


    "Uh... It''s hard to exin..." John muttered


    "I-I see... You can just exin it after then..."


    "Yeah..."


    John felt like punching himself in the face. He didn''t know how to act around her. They still hadn''t sorted their problem out, he needed to find a way to sort things out.


    [Damn it... I''ll sort things out today...]


    The door to theboratory opened up and the group walked inside.


    As they entered, the inside lit up the entire room, the whole of theboratory could be seen from where they stood.


    Arge room which looked just like what one would expect after seeing it from the outside. It was spacious, the walls weren''t that thick and the inside was shaped just like they were inside of a cylinder.


    John hadn''t expected things to still be running, the lights seemed to be running perfectly and the room was unexpectedly clean. It didn''t look like it had been used recently, but no spider webs could be found and there was little dust gathered.


    "Has anyone recently been here?" John asked


    [It''s condition is too good.]


    Master Sylvia shook her head before heading towards the other end of the room.


    "Hmm...? And things are in this condition?" Serena whispered to Ariel


    "Maybe there''s some sort of spell cleaning spell active? It''s warm in here after all..." Ariel whispered back


    [A spell huh... That exins it...]


    Another thing that had stood out for John was how warm the room was. It was snowing outside, yet once they entered, not an ounce of cold could be felt.


    John wasn''t the only one who noticed, all of them had.


    Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake heavily.


    "What?" Serena asked


    "The ground!" Said Lydia as she pointed towards where Master Sylvia was standing.


    John quickly looked over at the ground beneath Master Sylvia and noticed that it had opened up leaving behind staircases which led downwards.


    He hadn''t noticed it. John had cast deprehendre to get a feel of the inside of the Laboratory before he entered, but he hadn''t sensed a room underground.


    This was strange because deprehendre, didn''t just cover a distance above ground, but it could detect things underground too. The fact that John hadn''t noticed only reinforced Ariel''s assumption.


    [It''s a spell. And a strong one at that.] John thought to himself as he formed a nervous smile


    Master Sylvia gave everyone a look before walking down the path. For a moment, everyone stared at each other, wondering if they should really go down that path.


    No one knew where Master Sylvia was taking them, and recently she had been acting strange, a lot stranger than normal.

 Chapter 265 - Forgiveness And Partnership.

    "What''re you waiting for?" Asked Master Sylvia as her voice came out from near the bottom of the stair-case she had walked down.


    Everyone exchanged nces for a moment until John took the first step forward.


    "If you''re afraid, you guys can stay back. You don''t have to force yourself toe, I''ll be back soon." Said John as he gave them a smile


    He began walking until two voices called out to him.


    "Wait, we''reing." Said Ariel


    "What''s the rush? We were just surprised." Said Serena


    Lydia who saw this, also nodded.


    "I''m working for you now, so I''ll follow you anywhere." She said with a determined look


    Seeing this, the forced smile John had forced, became slightly less strained and more genuine.


    "Is that so..." John muttered


    He then looked at the three who were heading towards him as he said


    "Haha, my party sure is nosy, not that I mind." John whispered to himself


    ***


    The sounds of footsteps resounded throughout the quiet staircase as they walked down it. The stair case seemed to be made out of old rock which was clearling away but the footing was clear.


    It was unexpectedly dark, but they could manage with light spells.


    John stared at Master Sylvia as they continued to descend the stairs. She hadn''t exined anything to them or told them anything. But it was fine, John she was the quiet type and, John himself trusted her.


    [It''s Master Sylvia, after all... Just trust her like usual, you idiot.] John thought to himself


    But despite thinking that, he couldn''t get the words that person had said out of his mind.


    [Beware of the ones you trust]


    The more John thought about it, the more anxious it made him, he needed something to distract him, something to take his mind off his worries.


    It was then that he noticed, Ariel descending the stairs behind Master Sylvia, she had gotten ahead of him before he had even realised it.


    John turned back to see where Serena was and noticed her next to Lydia, offering a bit of assistance with carrying the kids. John thought of this as a perfect opportunity to sort things out with Ariel.


    He increased his pace before reaching Ariel''s side.


    "Ariel, can we-"


    John''s eyes widened as he noticed the dark air around Ariel. He was so shaken that he didn''t bother to finish what he was going to say.


    The air around Ariel, there was no mistaking it, it was a cold, dark air. One which he recognised. It was just like his, but only... Far darker.


    Ariel seemed to be staring into empty space as her body moved on it''s own. An emotionless expression was disyed on her face as her dark eyes seemed to grow ever so darker.


    "Ariel...?" John called out to Ariel once more


    His voice, slightly shaking in worry and hope for the possibility of it all being part of his head. It was then that Ariel snapped out, and quickly turned her head to John.


    "Eh? Wha- Did you call me just now?" Ariel asked


    [She didn''t notice?]


    John could tell from the look on Ariel''s face that there was something bothering her.


    [She did...?]


    "You... Is everything okay?" John asked


    As she heard this, for a moment, Ariel hesitated to say something. John saw it clearly. She then forced a smile on her face as she said.


    "O-Of course... Y-You mean if I''m still mad at you for ignoring me before, d-don''t you? Y-Yeah, I''m still mad..." Said Ariel as she avoided eye contact.


    [She''s lying.]


    John could easily tell, the only question which remained in his mind was why? Was she being threatened? Did she not want to talk about it? Or was she just uncapable of saying it?


    John then nced at Master Sylvia and wondered if she knew that about Ariel''s case. There was no doubt that Ariel had the same air around her as they did.


    [No... Not the same... Hers is different... Darker...]


    John had noticed this dark air around Ariel before but he had assumed it as the spirit inside him, messing up his senses. But now, John had felt it clearly.


    "Hey... Ariel... I have something to say..."


    "Yes?! Ah-Uhm, I mean... Yes?" Asked serena with glittering eyes.


    [That reaction, She already knows what I''m going to say? Looks like she really wanted us to make up!] John thought to himself


    "I''m sorry! Ignoring you was very rude of me, even if we''re a party!" John said loudly


    Hearing this, not only Ariel, but Serena and Lydia were surprised.


    "Did you have to shout?!" Serena shouted


    "Says you..." John muttered before turning back over to Ariel


    Ariel was surprised, John didn''t expect her to react that way. Maybe he had misunderstood what her reaction had meant? He wondered.


    "Ariel?"


    "Pfft." Ariel unintentionally let out


    "What?"


    Ariel covered her mouth as her body began to tremble. She stopped descending the stairs before she eventually burst outughing.


    "Aha-Ahaha- W-What''s with that- pff-" Ariel let out


    She didn''t hold anything back on thatugh, she let it out all, but as she noticed everyone''s surprised look, she slowly calmed down. Eventually, Ariel took in a deep breath before letting it out.


    "...S-Sorry, I thought you were going to ask something else... Then i realised how silly i was to think that you''d ever say that!" Said Ariel before she crouched down and covered her face


    Despite that, everyone could see that her face was bright red from embarrassment.


    John then crouched down next to her, before giving her a head pat and saying.


    "It''s been a while since I''ve seen youugh, so I was surprised, but honestly, I was more surprised by how happy it made me. The same probably goes for her." Said John as he looked over at Serena.


    Seeing this, Serena gave Ariel a thumbs up with a smile as she said.


    "Ariel''s smile is what keeps this party going."


    "So is yours." Ariel muttered before getting up

 Chapter 266 - The Underground Path And Door

    "I also like seeing Ariel happy!" Shouted Lydia who had been standing next to Serena


    Everyone''s attention then turned to Lydia, causing her to feel embarrassed.


    "Ah... W-What did I do... I haven''t even been here for long..." Lydia muttered to herself before trying to hide her face


    John then burst outughing as he said.


    "Pff- Sorry L-Lydia, Y-You too."


    John struggled to hold back hisugh despite knowing how rude it was. He tried stopping himself, but he couldn''t. It was as if all his stress was slowly leaving through theugh. It was the most relieving one.


    "Oi, John, that''s rude." Said Serena as she stared daggers at him.


    Lydia was bright red from embarrassment due to John''s reaction and John felt bad for it.


    "Sorry..." He muttered as he hung his head


    Ariel couldn''t help but smile along with Serena after seeing John acting immature, for them, it suited him.


    "Thanks, everyone... And John... I''m also sorry for the way I acted... I was being unreasonable..." Said Ariel as she bowed.


    Hearing this, John turned to Ariel, before forming a serious expression on his face. Not even a second after he did, he quickly bowed as well as he said.


    "You weren''t unreasonable at all, it was all my fault to begin with so, I''m sorry! And I''m the one that should be sorry!" Said John


    "No, it was me, I was being childish, saying that I wouldn''t talk to you."


    "And I was being even more childish by ignoring you."


    The two then simultaneously raised their heads and intently stared at each other in the eyes.


    A relieved smile was formed on both of their faces as they looked at each other.


    "So... Are we back to normal?" John asked


    "Of course, and more!" Said Ariel with a smile before turning her head


    John could see her blushing again and wondered if there was something else for her to be embarassed about. It was only then that he remembered.


    [Ah, that''s right. I need to ask her about what was bothering her.]


    But before he could, the words calmly came out of Master Sylvia''s mouth.


    "We''re here"


    They stopped descending as one by one they stepped onto the tform which stood at the bottom of the staircase.


    As they looked ahead of the tform, they found themselves staring at never ending darkness which extended throughout the halls.


    No one spoke a word, but the nervousness in the air could be felt by all of them. Master Sylvia took a step forward onto the hallway and said


    "Let''s go."


    John was the first to follow behind after nodding. The rest followed after. Once they all took the first step onto the hallway. John noticed something strange about the ground beneath them.


    It was light and looked like it could turn with enough pressure. John then moved the light spell forward, it was only then that he could see part the hallway in front of them as it was illuminated.


    John''s eyes widened as soon as he did.


    They were on a tform, and as everyone else noticed. They moved in closer so that no one would fall off. No one knew what to expect if they fell down the tform, all they could do was be careful.


    But before John could do anything. On it''s own, the tform beneath him detached itself from something before propelling itself forward on it''s own.


    Everyone except from master Sylvia was surprised and would have sprung off the tform if john hadn''t created a thin wall of air on the edges of the tform.


    "W-What!?" Asked Serena as she looked around hastily


    "T-The ground is moving...!" Said Ariel as she pointed beneath them.


    Hearing this, they all brought up their guard, while Lydia looked over at the two kids floating over her shoulders.


    "Are we on a monster?!" Lydia asked


    The air was tensed as everyone except for Master Sylvia and John began wondering what to do. It was then that Serena noticed the air wall John had created before turning to him.


    She noticed him covering his mouth with his hand as his body trembled. She could tell just by looking that he was holding back augh.


    "...Oi..."


    The two other girls then turned to John as they noticed Serena lower her guard.


    Everyone was staring at John who was on the verge of letting it out.


    "Pfft-"


    "John, what''s going on?" Ariel asked as she gave him a stare


    "Pff- Hahaha-Y-You should''ve seen the look on your-"


    John then stopped as he noticed that he was the only oneughing.


    "Ha... Sorry, Sorry. It''s not a monster, just a moving tform." Said John as he wiped the tears fromughing away from his eyes


    "O-Oh..." Muttered Ariel as she let out a relieved sigh


    Lydia also let out a relieved sign before wondering what sort of ce they were at.


    Meanwhile, Serena put her palm on her face in disbelief as she failed to notice something so obvious.


    "And if you knew, why didn''t you just tell us?" Serena asked as she looked over at John.


    "Revenge is sweet." Replied with a smug smile


    Seeing Serena''s annoyed face was definitely worth it for John, especially after what they had pulled on him for stealing their kill.


    [Well I guess, I was still in the wrong... Wait, doesn''t that make me the bad guy here?] John wondered


    Serena who understood what John meant by what he said, hung her head for a moment before smiling back at him.


    "I guess we''re going to war." She said with the most innocent looking smile


    [W-War?] John wondered


    "Wai-"


    Before John could say anything else, he was interrupted by the sound of a creak which came from the tform stopping.


    Hearing this, everyone''s attention turned to whatid to therge door ahead of them.. Despite it being dark, everywhere around, the door could be seen and still stood out, as if it was both part of the darkness and away from it.

 Chapter 267 - Doubt And Runes

    John''s light spell slowly moved around, illuminating strange runes and patterns on the door. Increasing the nervous feeling within him, and he knew for a fact that he wasn''t the only one.


    But before anyone could say anything, the door moved on it''s own, opening showcasing a dark wall of darkness preventing anyone from seeing what''s on the other side.


    [What is that? Who would go through-]


    Master Sylvia walked through the dark wall without saying anything. In fact, she did it so quick that John was the only one who noticed.


    Everyone else seemed shaken and curious about what could be on the other side.


    [Can she hear us from this side?] John wondered.


    "I''ve been wondering this for a while now... What is this ce? Why are we here?" Ariel asked


    "I''ve been thinking the same thing." Said Serena


    "Me too." added on Lydia worried about the two who she was responsible for.


    John looked over at the wall of darkness before looking over at the three.


    "I don''t know, but... I don''t want to stay here any longer so, let''s just get it over with." Said John.


    He was no longer saying to have faith in Master Sylvia, or more precisely, he no longer could. John could definitely feel it, a feeling which was engraved into his body through his time as an adventurer.


    The feeling of danger could be felt in the air around them. The darkness sent shivers down their skins as seemed to crawl through them. The air was moist and dense, making it harder and harder to breathe.


    There was no doubt that what lied ahead of them was dangerous. A feeling which would cause any normal person to turn back. But in John''s case, he had no choice.


    "...Hey, John... Before we go... I just want to tell you something." Said Serena as she stopped John after he took the first step forward.


    "What''s wrong? Serena?" John asked before slowly turning his head


    Serena nervously looked around, before staring in the direction of the wall.


    "I''m a half-elf so you should know that I''m more sensitive to miasma and spirits than others. There''s something extremely dangerous on the other side of this wall and..."


    John could tell by the expression on Serena''s face that it wasn''t something to joke about. She was one who only got scared of heights or sudden jump scares. John couldn''t remember thest time they had encountered something that had made her look this worried.


    "...and?" John asked


    "I don''t... Trust-"


    Before Serena could finish, John interrupted as he said.


    "Serena."


    A single word brought back the deep silence. Serena was annoyed at being interrupted but when she saw the expression on John''s face, she couldn''t bring herself to say anything.


    "I know...Master''s been acting weird, but I mean... Come on, she''s helped us many times, don''t you think it''s a bit mean to start losing faith in her now...? Everything will be fine... You don''t have to trust Master Sylvia, but... Just trust me." John asked as he showed her a bitter smile


    No one in the room knew what to say, it was a smile yet it held more sadness behind it than the words made out. Serena couldn''t tell why John showed such a smile.


    Maybe it was because he couldn''t handle his party losing faith in one of it''s members, or because of how close they were? Serena didn''t know... But she could feel it. Not just her but Lydia and Ariel.


    It was a smile of confusion, doubt and sadness. Calling it a smile wouldn''t even be right, there was nothing happy about it. Only a glint of hope within the brink of despair. The all-knowing John was once again reduced to such a state. A rare sight, but not impossible.


    John looked at everyone''s slightly surprised and nervous face before he turned around and stretched his arm towards the dark wall. The hand easily slid through before eventually pulling in the rest of John''s body.


    As it did so, John turned around before saying.


    "I''d say those who don''t feel safe, should stay but... I don''t think it''d be any safer to leave you three here alone, especially with the kids... So... Let''s go." Said John


    Despite not asking, rather than it feeling like an order, it felt more like a request for those who stood there.


    The first person to break the silence before the entirety of John''s body had been engulfed was Ariel.


    "Master Sylvia is kind but I agree with Serena... She''s been acting strange... But...! You''re going and we''re a p-partners, so I''ll trust you." Said Ariel before stepping up to the wall and stretching out her hand


    "Argh... Fine, But only because you''re an idiot... And it''s too dangerous to leave you two... " Said Serena


    "I''m also going... Even if it''s dangerous. I swore to serve you. I may not be much help but... I''ll do my best."


    "You three... Thanks..." John whispered as the smiled turned slightly less bitter


    Shortly after, they all walked through the wall, but right s they did, a thought popped up in John''s mind.


    [Thank god I activated Silentium, This wall might not be sound proof and so Master Sylvia could have heard us...] John thought to himself.


    The wall felt strange, passing through it, he could feel his bodhy bing lighter and his strength increasing. It was simr to the feeling of magic reinforcement but felt much more natural.


    [What...?]


    And as they passed through, for a moment, It felt like everything nked out. When he came to it, they were standing inside of a darkrge spacious room.


    After realising what the room resembled, John''s eyes widened in disbelief.


    "This... This is...!"


    John wasn''t the only one, everyone including Lydia recognised it.


    "A dungeon boss room...?" Said John confusedly


    "In a way.." Said Master Sylvia who stood on the wall besides the dark entrance they had arrived from.

 Chapter 268 - The Unground Boss Room.

    "A dungeon boss room...?" Said John confusedly


    "In a way." Said Master Sylvia who stood on the wall besides the dark entrance they had arrived from.


    The words were direct and self-exnatory. Yet the confusion only grew, but before anyone could ask anything.


    Just as Master Sylvia had spoken, everyone''s attention had been taking by the presence which stood in the middle of therge spacious room, just ahead of them on the other side of all the pir tforms.


    The presence stood in the middle of what appeared to be the arena, a dark mass in the shape of a cube. A strange humanoid shape.


    A shadow? It most certainly looked like it. But no, it gave the impression of something much darker. And if it was a shadow, what exactly would it be the shadow of?


    A Dark humanoid shape with pitch-ck crystals floating over it''s back. The crystals resembled wings and was the only redeeming quality about that thing''s appearance.


    It''s facial qualities couldn''t be seen as it appeared to have none. The head, hands, legs, all the shape of a human, yet it wore no clothes.


    The only feature they could make out of it''s facial appearance that seemed recognisable was it''s mouth. But even that, remained shut.


    The worse thing about it, was the amount of pressure it brought by just standing there.


    [What...? What the hell...?] John thought to himself


    John looked over at his hands and noticed that they were trembling. It wasn''t as if he was necessarily afraid, but his body itself was reacting that way.


    [Just from being in the same room as it...?] John wondered


    John wasn''t the only one, The others were also shaking, despite trying to keep a level-headed andposed expression. It still came out as nervous for them.


    "Oi... What is that thing...?" John asked as he gulped down the little air he had on his throat.


    Aside from Master Sylvia, John was the first to speak up. But received only a single reply.


    "A monster." Said Master Sylvia


    [A monster...?]


    Lydia stared straight at the being with her eyes widened before her legs gave out. She slowly slid down to her knees, after putting the two kids down. At first, John thought of it as a natural reaction, but when he saw the expression on her face, he thought twice.


    Rather than being an expression of fear, it was the expression of deep burning rage.


    John then looked back over at the figure which was in the middle of the dark cube. He didn''t understand just how it was possible for such dark condensed magic to exist, nor how it could cover most of the room in such a way.


    It was as if the air itself had been polluted. It was nauseating.


    "Ms Sylvia... What we really doing here...? What''s a dungeon boss floor, doing here...?" Ariel asked as she turned to Master Sylvia


    Ariel had done it. She had asked that question that everyone wanted to know. Master Sylvia had been avoiding it, but in this situation, there was no way to do so.


    "John''s Final Trial." Said Master Sylvia


    She remained leaned on the wall as she slowly opened her eyes and looked towards John. Without saying anything else, John nodded before making his way towards one of the pirs.


    Some of the pirs had tforms above them, while others were simply pirs with spiky edges. John was trying not to think too deeply about it, he just wanted to get things over with, and he was sure that if he had taken any longer to have second thoughts. He wouldn''t be able to go.


    As John was about to Jump from the edge over to the nearby pir tform. He felt something pull back his shoulder.


    "Who-"


    John was interrupted by Serena who asked


    "Where do you think you''re going?"


    Confused, John quickly replied.


    "To beat that thing, so we can get out of here." Said John


    Hearing this, Serena tightened her grip on John''s shoulder before asking.


    "Surely you can feel it too, can''t you? That''s not a normal monster... Not only that but... What''s a dungeon floor doing underneath that metal house...? Don''t you find it strange how this is here? We''re not in a dungeon John... This should be impossible..."


    With her head hung, John could feel Serena''s arms trembling through her grip, as he looked closely at her. She was genuinely worried, but more than that, she seemed angry.


    "Serena-"


    "She''s right, John. You remember what happenedst time, don''t you? These trials, they''re too risky and... Ms Sylvia still hasn''t exined what a dungeon floor is doing here and what exactly is that thing." Said Ariel as she turned to Master Sylvia


    "We''re not letting you go, until we get answers." Said Serena as Ariel grabbed onto John''s elbow.


    John looked over at Master Sylvia, he couldn''t say anything. He''d be lying if he said he wasn''t curious and didn''t want to know. Those questions had also flown through his mind. And even now, he wasn''t sure if he could take that thing.


    Seeing how everyone''s attention was on her, Master Sylvia let out a sigh before saying.


    "It resembles but isn''t a dungeon floor, it''s their to conduct the final trial."


    "Then why does it look so much like it?" Ariel asked


    "Perhaps, the creator had such tastes. I''m not sure." Said Ms Sylvia


    [Creator...? For someone to make this... It''s possible that they''re not from this world... I may be able to get a clue...]


    "Who made this?" John asked


    "Who knows. And as for the other question, that thing is what John will need toplete his breakthrough and gain control over the dark spirit inside of him. It''s a demon, a lesser demon." Said Master Sylvia calmly


    "A lesser demon!?" The three shouted simultaneously.


    Confused, John looked at the surprised expression on their faces without saying anything. He didn''t understand why there was such a grand reaction, but seeing it only reassured just how bad the

 Chapter 269 - A Lesser Demon

    "A lesser demon!?" The three shouted simultaneously.


    Confused, John looked at the surprised expression on their faces without saying anything. He didn''t understand why there was such a grand reaction, but seeing it only reassured just how bad the situation he had gotten himself into, was.


    Master Sylvia nodded and the air around everyone only got more heavier, as they grew more and more nervous.


    "Why would you put John up against a demon on his own!?" Serena asked as she red at Master Sylvia


    "Then, what would you be able to do, if went in there with him?" Master Sylvia asked as her dark cold eyes stared back.


    Without saying anything, Serena hung her head before clenching her fist. As she did so, her hair began to glow a golden colour. With each passing second, it grew brighter.


    "I''m tired of-"


    Serena was interrupted by John who ced his hand on her shoulder.


    "Serena." John called out to her


    "What!?" Serena asked as she turned towards John in anger.


    "Don''t worry, Demon or whatever, I''ll beat it and finish this trial." Said John as he stared straight at Master Sylvia.


    Master Sylvia didn''t seem worried at all. Either she had confidence in John''s ability, or... She just didn''t care. John hoped it wasn''t thetter, so he decided to ce his faith on her.


    "Argh...! Fine! But if things get bad, I''m joining in." Said Serena before her hair slowly returned back to it''s normal silver.


    Seeing this, John let out a sigh of relief. He wasn''t sure why, but he felt more at ease when her hair wasn''t glowing.


    "Sure, Thank yo-"


    John''s eyes widened as he felt a chill go down his spine. It was so cold that he couldn''t finish the sentence.


    Cold and pure bloodlust. That was what John had felt. It was as if there was a pool of darkness right behind him. The scariest thing about it was that it wasn''t being directed at him.


    John quickly turned his head to see what exactly it was, and there stood Ariel, staring straight at Master Sylvia.


    But Just as John had noticed that it was Ariel, the darkness disappeared again. It was short but he was able to see it. Ariel''s pupils had beenpleted clouded in darkness, unlike her normal dark eyes.


    It was hard to notice, but John could tell, he could tell because he had simr ones. But why, why did it feel so different from his possession? And why did she look so confused after using it? As if he hadn''t noticed it in the first ce.


    "John?" Ariel asked as she noticed John''s stare


    ''Crap, Was I staring for too long?'' John wondered


    "N-Nothing." Said John before quickly looking away


    "O-Okay...?" Ariel muttered


    John then looked over at Serena with a nervous look on his face, and noticed that she also seemed to have noticed it. He could tell from the nervous expression on her face. But they weren''t the only ones. Lydia had also felt it.


    ''Wasn''t Serena able to feel if a person was cursed? Isn''t that what''s happening in Ariel''s case? Like that time in the dungeon a year and a half ago, when I fought the giant spider...?'' John wondered


    As all of this began to add up, John began to realise the fact that it wasn''t all in his head and something simr to what had been happening to him, was happening to Ariel.


    "Ariel... You-"


    It happened in an instant, before Serena could even finish, John suddenly vanished from her line of sight along with a shadow following right after.


    *BOOM!* *CRACK!*


    The sound of something mming into the ground behind them resounded through the room, causing everyone to quickly turn back.


    There they saw Master Sylvia, who had was still leaning on the wall. She hadn''t moved a muscle and kept her eyes closed as if she had expected this.


    But everyone''s attention and eyes were focused on what stood a few meters beside her, right in front of the ck wall they had passed through. Thereid John with his head and body partly submerged into the stone floor.


    As they noticed what had forced John into the ground, their eyes widened. The dark figure which had just been standing in the middle of the Cube mass ahead of the bridge, stood right in front of their eyes.


    It was crouched down as it had it''s hand ced over John''s neck. A dark miasma could be seen as it''s nk and hallow face stared down into John''s eyes as cracks began to form on the bottom side of it.


    John tried pushing away it''s hand from his neck but then realised that it wouldn''t budge. He was half submerged into the ground, his back was killing him from having hit his spine too hard, and hecked the strength to move it away.


    As this happened, the cracks in the demon''s face began to open up, forming eyes and a mouth on it''s dark face. Seeing this, John''s eyes widened, the mouth was contorted, it''s teeth were white yet full of fangs.


    A monster, it was truly a monster. John could feel fear start to rise from within him as he stared straight into it''s eyes.


    *CRASH!* *CRACK!*


    Suddenly, the dark figure which had John pinned on the floor was hit by a strong force, which mmed it straight towards and through the bridge. Following that, John ended up finding himself staring up at the figure of Serena, enveloped in a golden light.


    Her eyes and hair glowed a bright yellow colour as she stood beside him with her fist extended. John was able to see what had happened, but was still surprised.


    Her movement was fast, much faster than what he had expected. Not only that but she was strong. With a surprised look on his face, John slowly turned his head to where the demon had been punched before the surprised look on his face vanished


    [Fulgurationem, Modero] Trantion: Lightning sh, Slow down

 Chapter 270 - Serenas Light And Johns Dark

    The surprised look on John''s face, vanished and turned into a re as he noticed something in the direction where the demon was supposed to be.


    [Fulgurationem, Modero] Trantion: Lightning sh, Slow down


    Lightning sparks enveloped and travelled throughout his body as he vanished and reappeared in front of Serena


    *SLAM!*


    A loud sound resounded through the area, as what caused John to go active his spells, made contact with him. The sound was so loud, everyone quickly turned their eyes to it.


    Ariel and Lydia''s eyes widened as they failed to believe what they were seeing. John had grabbed it''s hand which had been curled up into a fist.


    "When did she...?" Ariel muttered


    Ariel was surprised, not by John''s sudden movement, but by Serena''s. She didn''t know what to say, and just stood there, speechless. She wanted to help but her legs wouldn''t move. Why? Why wouldn''t it move? She wondered.


    Between her and Serena, Serena had always been the braver one. There was no doubt about it. In fact, she thought of it as stupid to even think aboutparing it.


    They had simr levels in ability when it came to magic. So then Why? Why was it that it was always Serena? How could she move under this pressure? Because she was a half-elf? Because she was older? These questions began to pass by Ariel''s mind as she witnessed the phenomenon in front of her.


    The figure of Serena''s golden glowing hair and John''s figure in front of her. With his hand holding on tightly to the demon''s fist.


    In that instant, John sent a kick straight at the demon''s face. Without so much as raising it''s hands to block it. The demon took the kick head on.


    *Thud*


    On impact, a loud thud could be heard as the kick made contact, yet the demon didn''t move so much as a step. A chill went down Lydia''s spine as she noticed the sharp grin on it''s face after John, did so.


    John''s eyes widened when he tried using the demon''s face as footing to leap back with Serena. His leg, was stuck to it''s face as it was covered in a strange dark mass.


    Without being able to leap away, the demon quickly moved it''s hand to grab John.


    "Sh-"


    *Crackle* *Boom!*


    Right before it could grab on to him. Yellow sparkles seemed to form in the air around John as a small golden explosion appeared in front of John, right where the demon was standing, sending it back a few meters.


    *Boom!* *Boom!* *BOOM!!*


    Following the first explosion, three more explosions all happened one after another, in the exact spot where the demon was standing.


    Golden lights and mes shed in front of John as he stared at what happened in front of him.


    [What...?] John wondered in disbelief as he observed the explosions.


    It was unbelievable. The explosions were urately hitting at the demon even though without so much of a word being said. One right after another, no emittions or mana spells were hitting it. It was just exploding on it''s own.


    *BOOM!!* *BOOOM!!*


    Seeing as how it''s life was in danger, the demon quickly backed away, as another two explosions were let out. It took arge leap back, straight back onto the cube, and as it did so. The smoke from the rubble was pushed away as John released an outburst ofpressed wind.


    As he did, they were all able to see the monster''s figure. There were a few holes on it''s right arm, as the left seemed to have beenpletely blown off.


    The monster had it''s head hung down as it appeared to gaze at the cube beneath it. As John saw this, his gaze finally fell upon it. Thin golden wires set up around the room.


    "This is...?" John muttered


    As John stared at the wires, he noticed the traces of hydrogen around them, on top of that, heat could be felting from them. All doubt left his mind as Serena slowly walked up to his side.


    "Thank you for that, but there was no need to stop that punch." Said Serena as she looked straight at the demon.


    Golden mes were formed above her head before taking unique shapes, all each pointed at the demon. Some took the shape of spears, others of arrows and the remaining ones of swords.


    Golden weapons with heat radiating from it. John didn''t know what to say, when was it that Serena had reached such a level?


    Ariel who saw this was also speechless. She didn''t know what to say. Was that really Serena? The air around her was different. More mature, stronger, confident, elegant. Determined eyes which made it seem as if the very Serena who would alwaysin had matured.


    On top of that, together with John, the air around them contradicted itself, but together, they looked powerful. The perfect team. As Ariel saw this, she clenched her fist before hanging her head.


    "Serena... you-"


    John was interrupted by Ariel who suddenly shouted


    "Move... MOVE!!" As she mmed her hands on her legs once more.


    For a moment, Everyone''s attention had turned to Ariel who was suddenly staggering towards them.


    "Hm...?" Master Sylvia let out with an amused smile on her face.


    As Ariel was about the reach their side to help, words entered her ear, causing her to stop iin her tracks.


    "Ariel, stay back." Said Serena


    Despite that, Ariel continued to walk again.


    "But... I want to help..."


    "Help? You can barely walk."


    "I can still walk... I''m a magician, I''ll be fine..."


    "Ariel-"


    Serena was interrupted by Ariel who said


    "Even still! When I see you two fighting, I don''t just want to sit back and watch all because I''m too scared to move!" Said Ariel


    Hearing this, Serena slowly turned back towards Ariel. She could see the determined look on her face. Whenever Ariel had that look, Serena knew it would be pointless to try and stop her.


    "Ariel, the reason you can''t walk isn''t because of fear...." Serena muttered

 Chapter 271 - Ariels Awakening...?

    "Ariel, the reason you can''t walk isn''t because of fear..." Said Serena


    Hearing this, a confused look was formed on Ariel''s face as she looked at Serena


    "It''s because of the dark magic pressureing out from that thing. You can feel it too, can''t you?" Serena asked


    Ariel quietly nodded


    "I''m able to move freely in it because of my Sacred Treasure, and It doesn''t seem to be affecting John either, but you don''t have anything which can counter it. It''s not like the normal mana pressure the teacher used on us in school, this is different." Said Serena


    Mana pressure a move which involved using one''s magical power to put pressure on another individual. The teacher had used it against the students in the entrance exam and they were all knocked out. Mana pressure however was simple to counter, Just cover your body in a sturdyyer of mana to help handle the pressure.


    But for this one, that method wouldn''t work. This dark pressure waspletely unlike the one they had seen. It was as if the darkness in the room alone was clenching on to their hearts. Chills just wouldn''t stop being sent down their spines. If a normal person could probably have a heart attack.


    Serena doubted that even she would have been able to stay conscious if not for her sacred treasure, yet there stood Ariel, moving even with all that pressure. Serena held nothing but respect for Ariel as she saw that.


    "But for it to reach a level like this... Not even that monster of a teacher did this..." Serena muttered as she looked over at the demon in front of them


    It hadn''t moved a single muscle and just kept it''s head hung, as if waiting for something. Serena could tell that it was wary about her traps.


    The confused look on Ariel''s face slowly disappeared as she nodded once more, but despite that, she didn''t give up.


    "Sacred treasure, huh...?" Ariel asked


    The tone around her voice had changed and turned lighter and faint. John slowly turned his head to her to see why she had be so quiet and when he did, his eyes widened.


    Hollow dark eyes just like the one from before. On top of that, there it was again, the same nk expression as before. Ariel had her dark rapier, on her hand.


    "I... Have it too... I can help..." Ariel muttered


    John couldn''t stop getting bad vibes from the rapier. He hadn''t noticed it earlier, but now it felt alive, as if there was another presence within it.


    "Oi... Ariel... What are you-"


    Suddenly, A sharp chill went down John''s spine as his heart rate increased. He could feel his heart pounding as dark air began gathering around Ariel at unbelievable speeds.


    It was quickly surrounding her as it began to form a sphere to engulf her. It was almost as if the dark air from the environment was being sucked to her, as if trying to reach a necessary amount to activate a switch.


    As electricity coursed through his veins, John was about to quickly dash at her, after activating modero, to stop whatever it was that was going to happen from happening, when all of the sudden.


    It stopped. Not because of nothing but because Ariel had lost consciousness. And the reason for this was simply...


    "Master Sylvia...?" John muttered


    Ariel slowly fell backwards before being caught by Master Sylvia, and in that instant, nearly all of the darkness which was being gathered slowly dispersed into thin air.


    "Huh...?" Whispered Ariel before losing consciousness.


    Not even a second after, Serena rushed straight towards Ariel to check on her.


    "Ariel!" She shouted in worry


    After reaching her, red at Master Sylvia who held on to her before cing her hands over her face.


    John could feel light, gathering around Serena''s hands as she did so. A warm feeling could be felt from where he was standing. It was apletely different feeling from the one he got from Ariel.


    Following that light and feeling, a golden me flowed out of Serena''s hand, before enveloping Ariel''s body. It was a nostalgic feeling for John.


    [Did she... Always have that ability?] He wondered


    As the light enveloped Ariel, the pained expression on her face slowly faded and the darkness which could be felt from the moment they had stepped into the room, grew dimmer in the area.


    "What happened with Ariel?!" Asked Lydia as she suddenly crouched down beside her.


    John''s eyes widened as he saw this.


    "I''m not sure... But there''s something strange about that sa-"


    Without finishing, a dumbfounded expression appeared on Serena''s face as she too realised what was happening.


    The air got tense as everyone stared straight at Lydia. And it didn''t take long for Lydia to notice everyone''s eyes on her.


    "Um...? I-Is there something wrong?" Lydia asked nervously


    [What...? Didn''t Serena just say a while ago that a normal person would have gone unconscious or died by now...? I was so distracted by the fight that I hadpletely forgotten about Lydia, yet now that I see her... She''s fine!?]


    "Lydia... How did you-"


    *Thump*


    John was interrupted by the sudden pound in his heart along with the feeling of shivers being sent down his spine. He wasn''t the only one, all three of them had felt it along with him.


    John slowly turned his head towards the source of this feeling, before clenching his fists at the sight which he saw.


    "God damn it... Why the hell does everything always end up like this...?" He muttered


    The demon which Serena had so badly injured seemed to have grown in size, if it was 7 foot before, it now looked around 9 foot tall. Not only that, but the torso and arm which had been obliterated seemed to have been healed.


    [Did we give it too much time to heal...? But how did it heal itself? Magic, like mine?] John wondered


    However, doubts quickly left his mind as he felt that chilling feeling again. It wasn''t justing from the demon, but what it stood upon


    It was the cube.

 Chapter 272 - Johns Decision.

    It was the cube. The more he stared at it, the more ufortable he''d feel. It was almost as if...


    *Thump* *Thump*


    The cube was pulsating.


    John''s eyes were locked straight on to it. With each passing second he could hear his heart beat beat in rhythm with it''s pulsations. He knew whatever it was or whatever it was doing was dangerous.


    What made the situation even worse was how, the demon seemed to be getting stronger as it stood on top of the cube. The demon''s head seemed to be changing shape as it seemed to grow out hair.


    John knew he couldn''t wait any longer, whatever that thing was, it was getting stronger. There was only one thing he could do.


    "Stop it before it gets stronger..." John muttered as he clenched his dagger.


    Just as he was about to leap straight in, he was stopped by Serena who called out to him.


    "Wait." She said as she got up


    John turned back and noticed that the mes still remained active over Ariel. John felt relieved as he saw this, he was also very grateful to Serena for having such an ability.


    "What?" John asked


    "Let''s fight it together, that''ll make it easier." Said Serena as she held up her wand.


    The tip began to grow brightly as she pointed it towards the ceiling. As this happened, Serena shut her eyes before taking in a deep breath and letting it out.


    "Sacred treasure art..." Serena muttered


    As she said this, yellow butterflies began to form in the air around it. Sweat poured down her face as she kept her eyes closed. She was in a deep state of concentration.


    The butterflies began to move and circle around her wand before engulfing her body. They seemed to be taking a strange shape, but nheless, it was fascinating. Neither John nor Lydia, could move their eyes away.


    However, right before it could take it''s form, she was interrupted.


    "That''s enough." Said Master Sylvia as she ced her hand on Serena''s shoulder.


    Due to the sudden interruption, Serena ended up losing her concentration and before the butterflies could take their shape, they dispersed, leaving the surprised Serena behind.


    "Wha- Why did you interrupt me!?" Serena asked as she suddenly turned to Master Sylvia


    John too was surprised, what was Master Sylvia thinking?


    "Don''t interrupt John''s trial." Said Master Sylvia as she stared straight at Serena


    "Interrupt...? I''m trying to help us!"


    "You can''t."


    Hearing this, the annoyed expression on Serena''s face changed into a cold one as she stared back at Master Sylvia.


    "Why not? Didn''t you say John''s previous trial was hisst trial? What is all of this for?" Serena asked.


    Her trust towards Master Sylvia had already reached a low point, but now it waspletely gone. There was something going on with Master Sylvia, and whatever it was, it was bad.


    "That was thest trial. But John lost control of his spirit after not following instructions, so there''s no choice."


    Serena then quickly looked at John with a looked which asked ''Are you hearing this right now?!'' and John, not knowing what to do ced his palm on his face.


    "Hey... Master Sylvia. Just tell me one thing. What''ll I gain if I beat that thing?" John asked as he looked over at the demon.


    Hearing this, with a smile Master Sylvia replied.


    "Power and control."


    "Is that so...? I see... I''ll do it."


    Hearing this, Serena looked like she was going to explode, she couldn''t handle all of this stupidity anymore.


    "Oi, John, tell me your joking. Do you really think-"


    Serena''s eyes widened and she didn''t bother to finish her sentence as John slowly turned his head to face her. The look on his face was apletely unexpected one for the situation he was in.


    A small smile was formed on his face as if trying to ease up the tension along with bright glowing yellow eyes like hers.


    No, it was nothing alike, despite appearing bright, there was nothing light about his eyes. Sure they looked kind and caring, yet at the same time, she could feel darkness behind them.


    She wasn''t sure what that darkness was directed at, but didn''t want to find out. For some reason, for just that moment, as the two made eye contact, Serena felt anxious.


    Not anxious towards John himself but anxious about what he was thinking. John was the reckless type and he always got himself into trouble. Serena knew that.


    It was precisely because of that, that he was both easy and dificult to predict. He was smart but did stupid things, stupid but did smart things. However this time, the bad feeling just wouldn''t disappear from her chest.


    John was strong, he always managed to push through in dangerous situations like these, so it would be fine to let him do as he pleased, but... She was nervous, there was a bad feeling stuck to her chest that she couldn''t get rid of.


    The more she thought about it, the more it annoyed her. But it was John''s decision. And whenever he made up his mind, he was impossible to convince otherwise.


    Serena clenched her fist, before walking over to Ariel and crouching down. As she did so, she red straight at Master Sylvia.


    "Tsk, do what you want." She said


    "Yeah... Thanks." Said John before turning back over to the bridge.


    "Beat that demon quickly... We''ll be fine. Idiot..." Serena whispered to herself


    John who heard it loud and clear, nodded before activating ''Fulgurationem''.


    As Lightning sparks began to flow through his veins once again, he could feel himself once again getting faster. Only this time, there was a strange pain and strain in his chest.


    [Is it from conducting too much electricity...?] John wondered


    He then realised that he needed to be more careful. As he was about to leap away, he stopped before turning back and taking a look at Lydia who watched and listened closely in to everything, but knew that she had no ce to join in.


    "Lydia... Stay close to Serena and you''ll be safe. Also... I want an exnation after". Said John


    "Understood." Said Lydia as she bowed and nodded.


    John nodded before, turning back to the cube. When he did, his eyes widened.. The demon was gone.

 Chapter 273 - John Vs The Demon

    As John turned back, his eyes widened. The demon was gone.


    Seeing this, John quickly looked around. His head turned left and right as he tried finding it''s lost presence. But despite all of that, John had no luck. The demon was nowhere to be seen.


    Not on the walls, not above them, not anywhere. The only ce it could have been would have been in the pit beneath the bridge and around the arena. But eitherway, John couldn''t sense it there with deprehendre.


    John took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. After doing so, he looked forward and stared straight at the cube.


    [If you won''te out from hiding then...]


    The air which John had been gathering behind him suddenly burst propelling the weightless John past the bridge, straight above the giant cube.


    Everyone watched as John flew above it. With his eyes glowing a bright yellow, he pointed his arms down at the cube.


    And only a few seconds after, a bright glowing white light was formed in front of his hands in the shape of a sphere.


    It seemed to be glowing brighter and brighter with each passing second and slowly began to change shape into a trident.


    "I wasn''t able to use this before because of ''possession'' but... The situation is different now." John muttered


    Yellow electric zaps began to zap the air around John and his hand as electricity flowed through the glowing trident.


    As this happened, the trident began to rotate itself anti-clockwise at a highspeed. As John saw, he sent a re straight at the cube before grabbing on to the rotating trident.


    The Rotations Per Minute was high, it was almost as if it was being spun by a machine, so naturally, cuts began to form on John''s hand as he grabbed it. Nevertheless, it continued to Rotate.


    "If you won''te out then... I''ll just make you." Muttered John before throwing the trident straight down


    The air which was being gathered behind it, burst at the same moment, propelling the already fast trident at an even faster speed.


    *VOOM!*


    Right as the trident was about the hit the dark cube from above, it sent out another pulse, and as this happened.


    *ng!* *BZZT!*


    The sounds of the trident making contact with another hard object and the electricity zapping whatever the object was, resounded throughout the room as it went flying straight back towards John.


    John barely avoided it, by tilting his head to the left. As he did so, he felt a sharp sting as blood flowed down his cheek.


    *CRASH!*


    The trident crashing and pierced straight into the stone ceiling before eventually dispersing. And as this happened, John stared down at the what stood beneath him.


    It was the demon, it seemed to have grown even stronger. It was shorter, but now seemed to be wearing a strange dark armour around it, as dark wings sprouted out of it''s back.


    Serena and Lydia who saw this, looked even more worried. The movement was so fast that they had nearly missed it.


    John saw what happened clearly. Right as the trident was about to make contact with the cube. The demon came out of it, before hitting it away with it''s hands.


    What made John slightly nervous about it all was the fact that it held nothing in it''s hands. It deflected it with it''s hands alone.


    Seeing this, John closed his eyes, before propelling himself down towards the cube.


    The demon watched and waited as John did this. Not even for a second, did it face another direction. It''s head stayed pointed straight at John''s direction.


    John too, didn''t look away. He continued to stare at it, as he got closer and closer to the cube.


    Electricity began to pass once more through John''s veins as he was a few meters away from the cube. He had transferred it all into the previous attack, but now activated it once again.


    [Mode-] Trantion: Slow down


    John was interrupted before he could active it. As the instant he was about to, he noticed it, a dark thin needle, right in front of his face. Heading straight towards his eyes.


    John''s body reacted subconsciously and moved his head to the right to avoid it. But right when he did, the demon left his sight once again, before appearing above him.


    It swung both of it''s arms as if aiming to m John straight down. John who saw this, raised his arms and put them together in an attempt to block it, only to be kicked straight in the stomach.


    "!"


    The kick sent John flying back, but before he could get back into Serena''s trap field, the demon left John''s sight once again, before he grabbed on to his shirt and threw him towards the cube.


    In nearly an instant, John was already upon the cube. But before he could crash into it. He gained his bnce in the air and used the wind to stop his momentum.


    Once he stopped, he quickly tilted his body forward, and just as he did, a sharp spike which had extended from the cube, passed right by him, before stopping slightly above his back.


    As John saw this, He quickly tried to propel himself forward, but before he could. The demon appeared out of nowhere before it mmed him straight into the dark spike.


    *Pierce!*


    John''s glowing yellow eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain on his back. Even more spikes came out of the spike from the dark cube. And all of them, pierced John.


    "GAAH-"


    *Crack!*


    John''s scream of pain was interrupted, by the demon as it mmed the back of his John''s head with an overwhelming force.


    It propelled John out of the spike straight towards the cube which was only a few meters away. As this happened, even more spikes rose out from the cube. All heading straight at John.


    Serena who saw this felt her heart sink as she saw this. John was going to die and there was nothing she could do.


    "WAKE UP!! JOHN!!" She shouted out


    "Stop.??


    *Tick* *Tock* *TIck*

 Chapter 274 - White Dragons Wrath.

    Even more spikes rose out from the cube, heading straight towards John as the momentum dragged hit towards them.


    "WAKE UP!! JOHN!!"


    The voice caused John''s eyes to widen as he got a grip on himself.


    "Stop." He muttered


    In that instant, not only his momentum was stopped as he froze in the air. The spikes around him, also froze.


    Not even a second after that happened, the demon quickly vanished before reappearing above John with a kick in motion, heading straight to John''s head.


    And John who saw this, hadn''t moved an inch. He watched closely as the kick went straight at his head.


    With a small thud, there was impact. John''s head slightly tilted to the left as this happened. But that was all. On the other hand, the demon''s leg was suddenly deflected back as if the shock from the kick was sent right back at it, two fold.


    Following that, in that same instant, before the momentum could push the demon further back, with the electricity still flowing through John''s veins. He stretched out his hand and pointed it towards the demon.


    Right as John did so, the momentum from the shock force which came from the kick finally reached it and pushed it back. The Demon was about to vanish as it saw this, but before it could-


    "Cancel and attract." John muttered


    The words left his mouth faster than he knew was possible and as if it were some sort of ma. The demon was pulled straight towards John.


    John didn''t'' waste that opportunity and grabbed the demon straight on its neck. As this happened, the demon swung its arm straight at John''s face, but once again, right as there was contact.


    The demon''s arm was suddenly deflected backwards, no harm could be seen on John''s face as this happened. It happened once again, it was as if all the shock force was suddenly sent back at it.


    The demon was visibly surprised on top of that, he was still stunned from the sudden shock of the attack. As the momentum deflected both arms back, an opening could be seen and John who was well on his way to bing abat expert. Took that opportunity.


    *Tick* *Tock* *Tick* *Tock*


    For that single moment, time slowed down even further for John. He quickly moved his right hand and put it facing towards the Demon''s stomach. While rotating his body partly to the left. As this happened, he took in a deep breath before closing his eyes.


    The amount of bloodlust being released increased tenfold and the Demon who was on the receiving end, felt it.


    Time was slowed for John, so for him, the whole process had taken 2 seconds, but for the demon it was much less.


    "Endless Void and Break." Muttered John


    *VOOM!*


    The sound of a suction, resonated throughout the entire room as light itself appeared to leave it. There was no avoiding it. Arge see-through hole could be seen in the middle of the demon''s torso as the two floated in the air.


    It slowly began to drop and as this happened. The sounds of bones cracking could be heard from the inside of it''s body.


    *Crack* *Crack* *Crack*


    "Attract."


    Right before the Demon could make contact with the dark cube. It was suddenly dragged up again by the same mysterious force.


    As the demon made it''s way towards John. It noticed a small glow above John''s hand which was raised. The glow was small, but for some reason, it felt the same sense of danger again.


    It had been acting as if it couldn''t move, but the same force began to drag it. It couldn''t even vanish away.


    It''s intelligence had grown along with it''s instincts as it merged with part of the cube. So even it could tell, that what awaited it was dangerous.


    *Tick* *Tock* *Tick*


    The same ticking sound could be heard, as the force which was pulling it suddenly increased. It was now being pulled towards John by a much stronger suction, making it zoom towards him.


    And the instant that it reached him.


    *Crackle*


    The small light which was formed, suddenly let off a blinding light which covered the whole dark room. Lighting up the room in the process.


    As this happened, John''s yellow eyes began to glow brighter and brighter. It was so bright that it seemed to resemble the sun as it matched the light above it. It was only then that the Demon realised. The presence of the person it was fighting, had changed. It wasn''t fighting the boy, but something else.


    "King-ss Holy Magic... Albus Draco scriptor irae" Trantion: White Dragon''s Wrath.


    *ROOAARR!!*


    The Light which was formed above John, suddenly changed shape and took the form of arge menacing creature as the ear-piercing roar resounded throughout the room.


    Fierce white eyes sat graciously within the creature''s rough angr skull. A bright glowing light crystal sitting above it''s thin, long ears. Various rows of horns run down it??s jaw-line. Large bright white teeth poke out from it''s mouth with depths which resembled hell.


    A short neck runs down from it''s head and into it''s serpent body. Making it all the more terrifiying. For such an urate shape to have been taken, showed just how dense the magic was.


    The creature wasted no time, before quickly propelling itself, with it''s mouth wide open, towards the demon. And the demon could do nothing but stare and watch, motionlessly


    With a bite, the dragon, bit into the hard demon, with a pressure which slowly began to pierce into the demon''s hardened skin.


    And as the demon,id helplessly within the dragon''s bite. It was dragged through the air, straight onto the wall, breaking down and cracking the little deberis in it''s path.


    As if some sort of light show, the dragon mowed down on the demon and the walls as it trashed through it.


    And as the demon''s armour began to wear off, and it''s skin began to grow weaker and weaker, the dragon eventually propelled itself away from the wall, before throwing the demon into the air and propelling itself to it again.


    The dragon''s mouth opened widely and in that instant.. The demon was devoured.

 Chapter 275 - The Angels Combination.

    The Dragon''s mouth opened widely an in that instant. The demon was devoured.


    Both Serena and Lydia watched with their mouths opened as they observed it all. And as the light shone on John, who was beneath the dragon.


    A calm and collected look was disyed on his face. The two girls weren''t sure whether it was the lighting, or because they were amazed by the sudden scene they had witnessed, but John resembled an angel.


    It was almost like the one''s you would see in a tale. There weren''t any wings behind him, but slightly above his head, was ced another glow. A saintly glow which filled the room along with the Dragon''s light.


    *ROAAARRR!!!*


    The Dragon let out another loud roar which shook the entire cave-like stage around them. It wasn''t finished. And neither was John.


    John raised his hand, and another light sphere was formed. The light sphere didn''t waste a single second before taking the shape of a spear.


    Long with a sharp edge. Air gathered around it and behind it, preparing to propel it at any given second.


    As John moved his finger back. The Light Spear was also pulled back,pressing the air behind it in the process. Meanwhile, the dragon did a turn in the air before propelling itself downwards towards the dark cube.


    Along with the dragon. The spear continued to be pulled back,pressing it even more and more by the second. It began to shake uncontrobly as this happened. Meanwhile, John''s lips began to move in an strange quick manner. No one could understand what he was trying to say


    "Forbidden Magic: ck Hole" Muttered John after he was done.


    *Thump*


    The air in front of John waspressed to a point of distortion, sucking away all the light in the room in the process along with the air and anything within its path. A tiny ck hole was formed right in front John.


    In that instant, the heart of everyone in the room had sunk. Even Master Sylvia was surprised. All colours removed itself from the room as the ck hole sucked in the light.


    It was much stronger than the previous ones, smaller but denser with arger and stronger suction. It was purer,pletely unlike the previous attempts. The debris around the stage began flying towards the ck hole and detaching itself off the walls.


    Even Serena, Lydia and Master Sylvia could feel themselves getting pulled in. If not for the fact that John had increased the gravity around them with gravitas. They would already be flying towards the ck hole.


    That was just how powerful it was, but that wasn''t the end of it. The spear was pointed towards such a thing and showed no signs of budging and the dragon was right about to pass by them.


    But right before it could, the instant the dragon was close enough. John''s lips began moving in that strange manner before he muttered a single word.


    "Combine." Muttered John.


    *BZZZT!*


    The sound of electricity resounded through the room as the dragon made contact with John''s spear. The dragon''s angr head began to change shape. The edges became sharper as It''s body became more and more scaley.


    The spear had merged with it''s tongue within it''s razor-sharp mouth. Poking out whenever it was opened.


    The dragon passed right by John along with the spear as this happened. They could do nothing but stare with wide open eyes. Not just because of the dragon and the spear, but because the ckhole itself was being dragged and pushed by the dragon straight down towards the cube.


    Somehow, John was able to merge all 3 of these high-ranked spell. They couldn''t even imagine the dense amount of magic required to do aplish such a thing, yet he did it in an instant. That was just how mind-blowing it was.


    *ROOOOOARRR!!!!*


    Another ear-piercing roar was let out as the triple spell dragon made it''s way towards the cube. It had gained an immense speed boost, so it all happened within a few seconds.


    *BOOOOM!* *VOOOM!*


    The Light and colours which had been taken from the room, quickly returned as the attack made contact.


    There was a loud shake in the room as a blinding light covered it all as a loud screech resonated throughout the room. No one could see what was happening. But they could feel it.


    The ground vibrating, the ceiling. Everything around them. It felt like they were in the core of an earthquake.


    "Argh... What''s that sound...?!" Serena asked as she tried covering her ears with her hands


    "W...What...?" Lydia asked as she too dropped to her knees.


    However that proved itself useless as they dropped to her knees. They felt like her ear-drums were about to burst. They were both in extreme pain only it was much worse for Serena.


    Serena couldn''t see anything and could only feel pain, even still, she quickly began thinking of a way to surpress the noise, when suddenly.


    "What?" Serena asked in confusion


    The sound stopped. As she noticed this, she quiickly turned to the direction of John. She couldn''t see him, but could sense that it was his doing.


    "...Thanks..." She muttered


    She then quickly turned towards Lydia before shouting


    "Lydia! Get the kids!"


    "Yes!!" Replied Lydia


    Using her magic senses. Serena urately pinpointed Ariel and after doing so, she lifted her off the ground before putting her on her back.


    As she did this, the blinding light which covered the room, weakened allowing her to gain her vision back.


    She quickly turned to see how John was doing as this happened, and when she did the expression of fear and surprise which she had in her face, slowly turned into a smile as tears slowly began to flow down her eyes.


    *Sniff*


    "You... did it... Idiot..." She muttered with a teary yet joyful expression.


    John stood on top of the cube with his arms raised up into the air, clenched into a fist. There was no doubt about it. He truly resembled an angel. But even she could tell, that the presence which should have been John''s, felt as if it were someone else''s.


    "Again... Just likest time... Is that the dark spirit...? Who is-"


    *Pierce*


    The moment of happiness, which was brought over from the victory could onlyst for a few moments, before being broken.


    "Why....? MAAAASTEERRRRR!!!!"

 Chapter 276 - Master Sylvias Betrayal.

    John stood on top of the cube with his arms raised up into the air, clenched into a fist. There was no doubt about it. He looked like an angel.


    *Thump*


    Serena and Lydia who saw this could feel their hearts shake as they witnessed it. John stood on the quarter of cube as he did this. The cube however seemed smaller and less than before. After taking a closer look they noticed it.


    Where there was supposed to be arge cube, only remained a quarter which was the part in which he stood on.


    ------------------------------


    The bright light disappeared off of John''s eyes as he breathed out heavily with his arms still raised up. The Large dark cube, turned a palish purple as it had lost arge portion of itself.


    "What... What happened...?" John asked as he panted heavily


    He looked around and seemed surprised by his surroundings. Thest thing he could remember was being on the air, yet there he stood on top of a broken cube.


    His surroundings were slowly crashing down, yet he paid attention to none of that. Debris fell past the cube straight down onto the abyss beneath, yet he could barely notice it.


    During the state of confusion, the single thought which John couldn''t believe he had forgotten, rushed straight into his mind.


    "The demon!?"


    John desperately looked around to see if he could find it, as he used deprehendre. For the first few seconds, he found nothing. But right after that, through the corner of his eyes, he could both see and feel it.


    An emerging darknessing out from within the cube, at the edge beneath him. It was slowly increasing and began to make itself throughout the room.


    John slowly turned towards it, and when he did his eyes widened. The darkness had taken the shape of a humanoid being, just like the demon. Only this time, it had no body. Just a humanoid shape made purely of dark air.


    As John stared at it, he could feel something within him being attracted to it. It was almost as if it was calling out to him.


    In a semi-hypnotised state, John stretched out his arm towards it and in response, it made it''s way towards John.


    "W-What''s going on?" Lydia asked as she watched this


    "That demon... It''s calling out to him?" Serena muttered


    "Isn''t that a bad thing?" Lydia asked


    Serena who heard this, slowly bit her lips as she replied.


    "I''m not sure..."


    She then looked at Mrs Sylvia and noticed an unchanging expression on her face.


    Was this part of the n? What will happen if that thing goes into contact with John? These questions filled Serena''s mind but before she knew it, the words were alreadying out of her mouth.


    "JOHN!!! SNAP OUT OF IT!!!" She shouted with all her strength


    Somehow, despite all that distance. Her voice was able to reach him, within the deep, abyssal silence.


    "Huh?" John asked as he finally snapped back into reality.


    He turned towards the sound of the voice and found Serena and Lydia waving at him. Master Sylvia was also there, just quietly staring.


    But by then, it was toote.


    "Sere-"


    *Thump*


    John was interrupted as the dark air figure ced it''s hands on him. In that instant, for him, everything turned pitch-ck.


    "ARGH!!!" John grunted out


    He couldn''t see anything, all he could do was both hear and feel pain. Whispers passed through his ears as they resembled whails of help. Too quiet to be heard, yet loud enough to be understood.


    The painful sensation akin to that of being pierced flowed throughout his body and there was nothing he could do to stop it.


    "It''s started." Stated Master Sylvia


    "GAH!! AAAAHHH!!!" John cried out


    The pain didn''t stop there. It only continued to increase. Because of this, John fell to his arms and knees as he repeatedly mmed his arms on the ground beneath him. Cracking the ground as he did so.


    He began strengthening the body in an attempt to lessen the pain, but it turned out to be useless. The pain wasn''ting from the outside, but from within.


    "S-SA-SANA!" John shouted out


    Steam began to let itself out of John''s body as the pain began to decrease. The feeling of being trapped in an enclosed space with simply spikes, luckily began to fade.


    But it still remained strong. Sweat began pouring down John''s face and chest as steam continued to be let out.


    "What''s happening to him!?" Serena asked as she was about to make her way towards him to help


    However, before she could she was stopped by Master Sylvia who grabbed on to her shoulder.


    "Let go." Said Serena as she red at Master Sylvia


    Master Sylvia simply shook her head and increased her grip over Serena''s arm, seeing as how she had no intentions of stopping.


    It hurt but Serena didn''t back down. She grabbed on to Master Sylvia before trying to move it away, only to realise that it wouldn''t budge. Seeing this, Serena''s hair began glowing, once again.


    "Mrs Sylvia... Don''t try to stop me, can''t you see?! He could die!! Don''t you care about your own student?!?" Serena shouted out


    Serena wanted to avoid a confrontation as Ariel was still unconscious on her back, and there was no telling what Master Sylvia could do.


    "He won''t die." Replied Master Sylvia as she pointed towards him


    Serena looked over to see what Master Sylvia was talking about, and as she turned her back to her.


    *Pierce*


    Blood slowly began to drip from Serena''s mouth as the painful sharp sensation suddenly crashed into her body.


    "A-A..."


    She slowly looked down only to see a dagger sticking through her stomach. Blood dripped from the wound as it throbbed in pain. No matter how hard she tried she couldn''t even scream out. Her voice just wouldn''t leave her


    "A..Arie-"


    But despite that all which was at her mind at the moment was Ariel. Ariel''s situation was much worse as she was on her back, Serena could tell, the dagger hadn''t only pierced her but also Ariel.


    Anger began to cloud Serena''s mind as she slowly moved her hand towards her wound. As this happened, golden butterflies could be seen forming in the air as a golden me engulfed the dagger and wound.


    "Sorry."


    *Boom*


    But right before the mes could fully spread through Serena''s body, and before she could initiate her attack. Dark mes erupted from the tip of the dagger as it sent out a small explosive fiery outburst from it.


    Not only did it burn Serena''s wound but it the pain was so strong that she lost the ability to think straight. Her consciousness began to fade.


    As this happened, she slowly stretched out her hand to the figure of John who happened to be thest thing she could see. And as she did, she was able to see the hopeless expression of despair on his face.


    His eyes widened and his mouth trembling as he dared to speak out the words.


    "S-Serena...? Ariel...?"


    "I...Idiot... S...Sorry..." She muttered with her little remaining strength.


    "A.....Ah-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" John screamed out in rage

 Chapter 277 - Johns Tragic Rage, Confrontation And Despair. Volume 4 Ending.

    Steam continued to be let out from John as sweat flowed down his face. Despite the pain being weakened, he still struggled to keep his consciousness.


    The pain which felt like hours, showed no signs of subsiding, and for John, he had never regretted a decision so badly in his life.


    His body wouldn''t stop shaking. He felt as if he was freezing and yet burning at the same time. Words couldn''t descirbe the emotions passing through his mind as this happened.


    Feelings of anger, hate, pain, sadness, all these negative emotions flowed into him. They felt as if they were his yet at the same time, from something else.


    As John raised his hand to m it down on the ground once again, and as he did so. All the negative feelings within him, turned themselves into an emerging rage.


    A small feeling of rage which allowed John to snap out of his pained and sensitive state. He began to focus on suppressing whatever it was that was causing all that pain within him.


    "Kek..."


    A small glowing light began to move around John''s body as the amount of steam being let out began to decrease. The amount of sweat on his face also seemed to be decreasing as he did so.


    It didn''t take long for him to notice it. It was being contained. The pain was being contained and weakened. Because of this, hope filled his heart as he began to contain it and push it back even more than before.


    "Work... Come on... Come on!" John muttered to himself


    He clenched his hands as they sat on top of the cold dark cube. And thanks to this, John could feel it getting better and better.


    It was working.


    ''Nearly there...'' John thought to himself as he did his best to hold on


    The darkness which was being emitted from the cube was using John as some sort of catalyst as it all travelled into him. A normal person wouldn''t have been able to handle it, and John knew clearly about that fact.


    He also knew that if he lost consciousness, he would die. So no matter what, he did his best to hold on.


    It didn''t take long, for all that darkness to eventually run out. John had sessfully absorbed it all.


    As the pain disappeared, he suddenly felt alive again. He dropped straight down onto the ground while letting in deep breaths.


    "I... F...Finally..." John muttered as he panted heavily


    He slowly got up with a strange emerging emotion within him. He felt different. After all the pain he had felt, he was in an angered and annoyed mood, but it was more than that.


    It was as if hate from others had entered him. Almost as if it was the anger of lost souls.


    John couldn''t understand it, but he had given up on doing so. As he got up, darkness could be seen flowing out from within him, however he simply ignored it.


    "Finally... everyone can... go ba-"


    As John looked up, a sight which would forever haunt him, could be seen right ahead of him. He didn''t even bother to finish his sentence as his eyes opened wide.


    *Thump*


    His eyes and mouth began to tremble as he stopped to look at the sight. Serena and Ariel had been pierced from the back by Master Sylvia.


    As blood dripped down through Serena''s wound and Ariel''s mouth, the emerging feeling of anger within him, quickly began to bloom.


    *Thump* *Thump*


    "S-Serena...? A-Ariel...?" John muttered as he could feel the despair within him blooming along with the rage.


    "I...Idiot.... S...Sorry..." Serena muttered with her little remaining strength.


    *Thump*


    Hearing this was all it took. John hadpletely lost it. It was no longer possible to contain it.


    "A....Ah-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" John cried out in rage


    In that instant, A sudden surge of dark magic burst out. In a single burst made it''s way throughout the whole room, allowing Master Sylvia to feel it clearly.


    *Thump* *Thump*


    "Why...?" John asked as tears began to stream down his face


    There was no reply, but even if there was, it wouldn''t make a difference. John couldn''t hear it


    "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?!" John repeated.


    He raised both arms before mming them down, sending down another dark burst as he simoutaneously shouted.


    "WHYYY!?!?!? MASTER!!!"


    Even more and more darkness could be seen flowing out of and around John as he got up after shouting those words.


    As Master Sylvia saw this, an excited smile could be seen on her face.


    And as John stood fully up, the expression on his tear-filled face. Turned into a nk one as he stared straight at Master Sylvia.


    Master Sylvia felt her heart skip a beat as this happened. It wasn''t the reaction she was expecting.


    Right after that, John''s eyes clouded themself in darkness. His hair turned pitch-ck and began to grow even longer than before.


    His muscles began to slightly expand as he let out a wave of bloodlust.


    "I did everything you asked... And you still... betrayed me? After everything?" John asked with an angered re


    *Thump*


    The darkness in the room stopped flowing out like a broken tap and began to contain itself. As it turned into a steady flow.


    The debris and rocks around John began to slowly lift itself from the ground as he began to contain all the rage and darkness. He knew it wasn''t toote to save Serena and Ariel. Despite being blinded by all that despair and rage. He still had hope. All he wanted was to save them.


    Seeing this, Master Sylvia became visibly more nervous. She had to do something as things seemed to have taken a massive turn from whatever she had nned.


    *BOOM!!!*


    A dark me erupted once more from the edge of the dagger. Big andrge enough to engulf them all. The mepletely blocked John''s view of them. So he relied on his senses with darkness brooming out of him.


    He could feel everything around him, yet the life of those he held dear to him were gone. His hope crushed, just like that.


    =========================


    The flow slowly began getting more and more violent as tears of blood began to flow down John''s eyes. As this happened, two horns suddenly popped out of his head.


    *Crack* *Crack*


    Broken down wings began to form on his back before they began to expand and fix themselves as they attempted to return to their original shape.


    A strange mark was forming around John''s chest near his heart as his body began reaching a point of no return.


    All of this happened with the same unchanging nk expression on his face. What stood there was no longer John. No, it would bepletely inurate to call it John.


    "God... It always fucking hurts..." Muttered whoever it was.


    Moderately long straight ck glowing hair. Dark eyes with a normal-sized yet heavily defined frame, with dark bat-like wings growing out of his back and sharp ck horns growing out of his head, sitting upon his head.


    A demon. There was no doubt about that, some could even call it a devil. Whatever it was, it wasn''t John.


    A Sinister and Dark presence could be felt as that thing in John''s ce took in a nice deep breath. The darkness in the room was all being sucked into him as if it was naturally. He breathed as if that same dark, chilling air was something apart of him.


    Master Sylvia who saw this, for the first time in a long time, made a joyful expression as tears flowed down her face.


    "Finally... I can... Kill you..." She muttered with tears of happiness.


    -------------------------


    John opened his eyes only to find himself standing in the middle of darkness, again. He could feel the cold water beneath him as he pushed himself up.


    "Send me back..." He muttered as he got up


    He looked around but felt nothing, no sounds, no life. Nothing. Onlyplete darkness.


    Even still. John didn''t care.


    "I know you''re there." Said John


    "And what if you do?" The voice asked


    John followed the sound of the voice and it led him to turn around. And as he did, he was face to face with the spirit.


    Unlike before the spirit now had features which made him distinguishable. John was able to clearly see the spirit''s semipleted form now.


    A grown man with long straight hair, braided at the back. His face could barely be seen, just like it had happened with zestari, John could only see the person''s mouth. But John could still tell just by looking, that he was strong. His frame was also unexpectedly normal. Not too big nor small.


    "Send me back." Repeated john


    "Answer my question." Replied the spirit.


    "I''ll go back and save them." Said John


    "Save them...? Hm... Ah you mean those two girls over there." Said the spirit


    Hearing this, John''s eyes widened as he suddenly grabbed on to the spirits cor.


    "What can you see!?!" John asked as he gripped it tightly.


    But as the spirit got more annoyed, a weird force suddenly forced John''s hand away, causing him to let go of the cor as this happened.


    "Why does it matter? They''re probably dead by now." Said the spirit.


    Hearing this, John felt his heart sink as he fell to his knees. A confused yet angered expression was formed on his face as he looked straight up at the demon.


    "They''re not dead... Those two... They won''t die... Let me go and help them... Please... You can have my body or anything you want afterwards... I promise." Said John


    The demon seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, but quickly replied with a casual no.


    "Nope." Said the demon with its mouth in the shape of a smile.


    As the demon said this, John began to sink in to the darkness beneath him. The feeling of cold water seeped in as it passed through his legs.


    "Wait... What do you mean nope?! I thought we had an agreement!"


    "We did... But... There''s been a change of ns. Besides, it''s your fault for being too trusting." Said the demon


    John was slowly being submerged into the darkness and the despair within him continued to rise up.


    "Wait! Please!! I don''t care about what happens to me!! Just save them!!!" John cried out


    However, without even batting an eye. The smile on the demon''s face only got wider as he said.


    "Your only paying for what you''ve started. Should''ve listened to the warnings. Maybe in the abyss, as you spend your days suffering and trying to crawl out only to reach nowhere... You''ll truly understand how pointless all that trust you had was."


    By the demon said that, John''s entire neck had been submerged into the ground. He didn''t know what to say. He couldn''t argue back nor did he intend to. All he wanted was for them to be saved.


    Serena, the one who tried to warn him and always looked out for him, the one who was precious to him and did whatever it was which would have been best for them.


    Ariel, the one who followed him and assisted him, no matter where they had to go. The one who had given up everything to going adventuring with him, the one who was also pressure to him and always held him with care.


    No matter what John had to lose, there was no way in hell he would give up those two. He just couldn''t. If he did. He''d have nothing left.


    "Save the-"


    John was interrupted as his head along with his body had been fully submerged into the cold dark depths.


    "Nope... Rather than that... if I catch them alive, I''ll kill them... Hahahahaha"


    The demon then stoppedughing as it seemed to notice something.


    "Now to deal with that one... Tsk." It muttered before vanishing.


    No signs of John nor the demon could be seen within that darkness. And for John, it had been the most tragic fate. Even within that darkness, not an ounce of hope was left. Only a glitter of light.


    ''John... Hold on..'' Said the voice.

 Chapter 278 - Special - Post Dungeon-Arc Future Johns Perspective.

    *Ba dump* *Ba dump* *Ba dump* *Ba dump*


    John''s eyes grew darker and emptier as he stared at the sight in front of him. His arms trembling and tears flowing down his eyes as he panted.


    No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t breathe.


    "What''s the meaning of this¡­?" John asked


    "I¡­Idiot¡­ S¡­Sorry¡­"


    From beyond his eyes, John saw a sight which had been engraved in his mind for years. A sight, which no matter how hard he tried. He couldn''t forget.


    In front of him, stood Ms Sylvia gripping tightly onto her dagger which had pierced through both Serena and Ariel.


    ''¡­? What¡­? What''s going on¡­? Why am I seeing this again¡­? Let go¡­''


    "Let go¡­ Master¡­" John muttered as he clenched his fist. Just seeing the pained faces of his twopanions as his master tilted her dagger, was enough to make him snap. "Let go."


    John''s hand moved precisely and swiftly as he leapt forward. His hand and grip positioned to grab master Sylvia''s face and m it down with all he had.


    He was in no position to think, his body acted before his mind had even realized it. His anger had taken control. However-


    *Swoosh*


    John''s hand ended up going right through her.


    ''!?''


    John pulled his hand back and then forward again, before trembling.


    It was an illusion, he couldn''t feel them. He could see the emotionless face of Master Sylvia as she kept her grip on the dagger.


    "DAMN IT!!!" John shouted in rage as he swung at the ground.


    His anger remained as his hand passed right through.


    "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!? WHY ARE YOU SHOWING ME THIS!?" John shouted out


    However, there was no reply. No reply except for a familiar voice which came behind him.


    "S-Serena¡­?" Ariel¡­?" The familiar voice behind John muttered.


    Wanting to divert his attention away from the sight, John turned around only to see himself standing there filled with despair.


    The dark and white hair, with dark green eyes, sacred dagger, torn gloves and vast magic power. John could both see and feel it. There was no doubt he was looking at himself. A younger and shorter version of himself.


    It was thanks to now that he could see himself from a different perspective that he was able to trulyprehend the horrible state which he was in.


    Animosity, rage, hatred, despair. A mixture of every negative emotion was forced out. His eyes darkened, his body shaking, his gasps for air as steam was purged from his body.


    He was staring at himself and yet, it felt nothing like him.


    "Why¡­?" John''s mirror image asked as tears began streaming down his face. "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why!?" He repeated.


    He raised both hands before mming them down in rage, releasing a burst of dark energy in the process.


    Following that, he raised his head and gritted his teeth as he let out a loud roar filled with anger and blood lust.


    "WHYYY!? MASTER!!!!!!!!"


    His mirror image stood up, the expression of rage and hatred quickly shifted into that of a nk one as he stared straight at Master Sylvia.


    John''s mirrored self''s eyes clouded themselves in darkness is his hair turned pitch ck and grew longer. His muscles began to slightly expand as he let out a wave of blood lust.


    "I did everything you asked¡­? And yet¡­ You of all people¡­ Betrayed me¡­?" John asked with the same nk expression


    *Thump*


    Despite his anger however, The vast darkness which was being pushed out of him slowly began to contain itself. John''s mirage was fighting the anger back.


    It was then that it happened.


    *BOOM!*


    Dark mes erupted from behind John, he quickly turned his sight away from his mirror image only to see that a dark me had engulfed Sylvia, Serena and Ariel''s figure.


    John''s heart throbbed in pain as he watched. He remembered this part clearly too, it was where his memory came to and end. Blood began flowing down his mouth as he dug his teeth into his lips in an attempt to control himself.


    This was where his memory ended. But the hallucination wasn''t over.


    *Crack* *Crack*


    John turned back to the sound of cracking, only to see his mirrored self in a deplorable state. No, deplorable was an understatement. John couldn''t even believe that he was looking at himself.


    Tears of blood could be seen flowing down his eyes. Broken down wings began to expand out of his back and fix themselves. A strange mark began forming on his chest. Despite it''sck of shape, it could be perceived yet remained iprehensible.


    All of this happened with the unchanging nk expression on his face.


    John could no longer call the being which was himself human, as he witnessed this. No, he couldn''t even call it himself.


    "God¡­ It always fucking hearts¡­" John''s mirrored self muttered.


    The voicepletely different, the magic flow different, the expression was different. John could tell it wasn''t him. He recognized who it was, right away.


    "So this happened and you kept it from me¡­ Huh¡­ demon¡­?" John muttered as he could do nothing but watch. "If that''s the case¡­ Why are you showing me all of this now?! What are you trying to gain!?"


    Just as he asked that, a familiar voice came from behind him again. His eyes widened as he hadn''t heard the voice in such a long time, a voice which he hated to his core.


    "Finally¡­ I can¡­ Kill you¡­" She muttered with tears of happiness.


    He grit his teeth as he looked back and stared straight at the expression on the face of his master. He couldn''t believe it.


    ''She''s smiling¡­? Haha¡­''


    "Hahaha¡­"


    John beganughing to himself. The bodies of hispanions had disappeared, all he could see was Master Sylvia standing there. She burned their bodies to ash.


    "So she really did kill them¡­" John muttered as he ced his palm on his face. "I was too afraid to look but I guess there''s no need now¡­ Hahaha¡­" John added.


    Tears began to flow down his face.


    "Alright¡­ It''s your win¡­ We''ve already gone way over the contract deadline anyways¡­ There''s no more reason for me to live¡­ I''ll give you my body, demon¡­" John muttered


    He then hung his head and with a nk expression, said.


    "But before that, I''ll have to track my Master down and kill her. I don''t care how long it takes."


    ''After all¡­ This hatred¡­ Is the only thing I have left.''


    Suddenly, just as John had lost all hope-


    "WAKE UP JOHN!" The voice shouted


    Another familiar voice, only this time, rather than bringing him anger, it brought him nostalgia.


    John turned to the left, away from both his mirrored self and Master Sylvia only to see the figure of hispanions.


    The one who had shouted was the one who had been with him since the beginning, it was Ariel.


    John''s eyes widened as he saw this. He stretched his hand out in disbelief.


    "A-Ariel? H-How?" John asked


    It was then that he noticed it, he found it strange how it was a hallucination and yet he could still feel it. The flow of darknessing out of Ariel, her magic flow was the same and yet it felt different. Just like in John''s case.


    ''Don''t tell me¡­''


    Ariel dropped to her knees, letting out heavy pants as she grasped her Armour around her chest and stomach. The wound was still there and in mes.


    ''What are you doing¡­? Ariel¡­?''


    "R-Run away¡­ RUN AWAY!!" John shouted


    But his voice didn''t reach her. Beside her on the groundid Serena, who was unconscious.


    Fortunately, Master Sylvia paid no attention to them and simply stared at John''s mirrored self while grinning. She was obsessed with revenge. Nothing else mattered to her.


    "Hm? They''re still alive? Shame. I''ll deal with them after." John''s demon self muttered. He then turned to Master Sylvia who was already ready tomence her attack. "Ah, Sorry to keep you waiting. Don''t worry, I''ve fully consumed him so I''ll be able to kill you now." He added.


    "Before I kill you I''ve got something to ask¡­ Why''d you do it?" Master Sylvia asked.


    "Why''d I do what?" Demon John asked, confused.


    Master Sylvia grit her teeth before asking again.


    "Why''d you kill them!?"


    Confused, the demon tilted his head before saying.


    "I don''t know who you''re referring to¡­? But do you need a reason to kill?" The demon asked. A bright smile then formed on his face as he added. "It''s just fun."


    "I see." Master Sylvia muttered before letting out a sigh.


    She suddenly vanished leaving a trace of darkness behind as she appeared above the demon. A swing with her dagger already in motion, aiming right at the horn on his head.


    However, without so much as moving from his spot. The demon stopped Master Sylvia''s swing with simply two fingers.


    "Rak." Trantion: Dark Burst.


    A dark wave suddenly burst out from the demon, sending Master Sylvia flying towards the ceiling.


    Right before Master Sylvia couldplete her chant and shadow step again, the demon vanished before appearing above her with his arms raised up, locked inside of a dark Spiky sphere.


    Master Sylvia quickly turned and rotated her body before cing both of her daggers in front of her in a cross to block his attack.


    But just as he swung his arms down, he vanished again, suddenly appearing beneath master Sylvia.


    *Crack*


    Before Master Sylvia could even react, she was hit by an overwhelming Impact on her back, sending her even higher, nearly crashing up into the ceiling.


    The caused her to weaken her grip over the dagger, and as she went further up, she was suddenly hit in the stomach by a kick, sending her straight back down.


    It was one-sided.


    John watched as his demon self levitated in the air and watched as dark magic circles began forming in the air beneath him, aiming towards Master Sylvia who was about to crash onto the ground.


    It was one magic circle stacked upon the other, a big spell wasing.


    He had no need to chant for he was a demon, dark magic came naturally to him. His mastery of dark magic was far greater than Johns. It was thanks to him that John could even use dark magic that efficiently in the first ce.


    The flow of darkness in the room could be seen gathering and condensing on the top of the magic circle stack. The instant Master Sylvia was about tond, the spell was executed.


    A tiny ray of darkness, shot down from the magic circles aimed precisely at Master Sylvia''s heart.


    It moved faster than the eye could see, Master Sylvia would have been pierced in the instant if it hadn''t been for-


    "That technique sure is impressive-"


    *ng*


    The demon blocked another swing from Master Sylvia which came from behind. She shadow stepped again, in the veryst moment.


    "It''s useless."


    The two began to pair blows, over and over. It waspletely one sided. Sylvia was being pushed back.


    John quickly turned to Ariel, who remained knelled down on the floor grasping the Armour above her heart tightly. Now was her best chance to get away with Serena. That was the case but, something wrong was happening with Ariel.


    "Not now¡­ Get out of my head¡­ I need to save him¡­ So the three of us can escape together¡­"


    Ariel began mumbling words to herself as she ced both hands on her head.


    From one nce John could tell what was happening. Something was trying to take possession over her. That thing was probably the reason why she was still conscious in the first ce.


    Her eyes and hair were turning even darker than it''s usual ck. It was if it was sucking the darkness and light away from the surroundings.


    "What¡­? You promise You won''t hurt them¡­? You''ll really stop them¡­?" Ariel asked herself


    ''She''s not nning to¡­''


    "ARIEL DONT DO IT-" John shouted


    John''s voice didn''t reach Ariel as she muttered with a smile.


    "Okay¡­ If that''s what it takes. Please stop them¡­ I don''t want anyone to get hurt."


    "ARIEL!!!!" John shouted.


    Even if it was an illusion, he couldn''t help it.


    *Thump* *Thump*


    The expression on Ariel''s face changed into a nk one as the flow of darkness in the room suddenly froze.


    John watched in disbelief, as Master Sylvia''s attention and John''s demon self turned to Ariel. They too noticed this change.


    "Request confirmed. Paymentplete." Ariel muttered as she slowly got up.


    She stretched out her hand to the side as the flow of darknessmenced once again and gather on her sacred treasure shaped as a rapier. The rapier seemed to slightly expand and grow as it was embedded with more and more darkness.


    Ariel got into a sword stance with her rapier. Her knees bent, her right hand grasping tightly onto the rapier pulled back, her left hand stretched forward and pointed at her target.


    The target was demon John.


    "Initiating request." Ariel muttered.


    Dark wings in the shape of crystals began to expand from her back.


    "Hm¡­? So she''s finally decided to show herself. I wonder what-"


    Demon John was interrupted as Ariel suddenly appeared in front of him with a thrust already in motion.


    It wasn''t shadow step so he wasn''t able to read the movement. It had caught him off guard.


    In a single motion, Ariel kicked Master Sylvia away and pushed forth her right arm, thrusting her rapier forward.


    Demon John barely avoided the thrust as he stepped back, it slightly pierced his forehead. But in that instant-


    *Crackle* *VAAM!*


    ''Eh¡­? You''re telling me¡­ That was hiding inside of Ariel¡­?'' John asked


    Demon John waspletely frozen inside of dark crystals which in an instant, had expanded all the way from the middle of the arena to the walls, creating arge trail of crystals leading all the way to the walls and up to the roof.


    In that moment, Serena suddenly appeared beside Ariel, swinging her dagger as she did so. The mes which burst out of the dagger were redirected to the sides as Ariel parried it with her rapier.


    Master Sylvia swung her other dagger to attack and Ariel thrust her rapier straight at Master Sylvia''s neck.


    Ariel was much faster, she stopped short of Master Sylvia''s neck but the crystals burst forth before Master''s Sylvia''s swing had even reached half of the way.


    Master Sylvia luckily avoided it again, by instinctively shadow stepping. She had been chanting during mid-swing.


    She shadow stepped a few meters behind Ariel before shouting.


    "Ariel don''t get in the way¡­ After all this time¡­ I have to be the one to kill him!" Said Master Sylvia.


    "Negative." Replied Ariel who suddenly thrust her rapier into the floor.


    This time, Sylvia was not able to avoid it. A trace of dark crystals created at a speed faster than master Sylvia could react. Quickly freezing her inside, just as it had done to demon John.


    Just like Demon John. Master Sylvia was frozen inside of the dark Crystals.


    John couldn''t believe it. He was barely able to see her movements, and how were mere crystals able to stop them?


    Despite that having happened, it wasn''t over.


    *Crack*


    The sounds of cracks could be heard forming around the crystals where Demon john was trapped.


    *Shatter*


    "Such strong magic draining crystals can only belong to the Queen of crystals in the underworld. I didn''t expect to be facing you so soon after my awakening. Although I must say, you''re holding back quite a lot, is it due to the owner of that body''s request? You were always a soft-"


    Demon John was interrupted as Ariel, suddenly appeared in front of him again. This time it didn''t catch him by surprise and he was ready for it.


    Countless thrusts were directed at him, all in an instant but he was able to most of them by a hair''s margin. The more he avoided the faster he got. Simultaneously, the faster Ariel would make her thrusts.


    Whatever was trying to control her was trying to stop herself from hurting demon John, but John knew at that rate, she wouldn''t be able to stop him.


    Despite that, the fight remained one sided towards Ariel. She threw barrage after barrage, all John could do was avoid, he had no room for a counter.


    "br¨¡k."


    Ariel suddenly pulled back her arm and rapier before thrusting it forward at an insanely high speed.


    Demon john instinctively Shadow stepped to avoid it, but despite that, half of his body had been frozen.


    "Tsk, STOP HOLDING ME BACK! I THOUGHT I CONSUMED YOU!" Demon john suddenly shouted to himself in rage as he became unable to move.


    ''I''m still fighting back even in that situation¡­?'' John wondered


    Ariel used that as an opportunity and quickly thrust her rapier one more time, this time, Demon john was distracted and unable to react in time.


    *Pierce*


    Ariel pierced John right through his heart with the rapier.


    "So you''ll kill this vessel, even though it means that much to you, huh¡­?" The demon asked


    In that moment, for just a moment, john felt Ariel''s presence return.


    "John¡­ I can''t hold her or master Sylvia back for much longer¡­ Use this as an opportunity to get away¡­ Master Sylvia still hasn''t let herself be possessed¡­ She too has a demon who''s powers are grand¡­ She''ll kill you¡­" Ariel muttered with tears running down her eyes.


    "You''ll let me escape? You realize John can''t hear you anymore right? The lives of countless people will be in your hands if I escape from here." Said demon john.


    With the tears still flowing down her eyes and a smile on her face. Ariel muttered. "I don''t care¡­ If you die, John dies¡­ Even if I had to choose between John or the world, I''d choose John¡­"


    "As expected, greedy and selfish just like every other human. You''re all the same."


    "That''s fine with me¡­ If it''s about John I''ll be as greedy and selfish as I want¡­ After all I¡­ I love him¡­" Ariel muttered with a blushing smile.


    John''s and demon John''s eyes widened as he heard this. Demon John then hung his head before cing his hand on his forehead.


    *Tssss*


    A strange sound could be heard as steam began to form around the crystal which had trapped master Sylvia. The Crystal was melting.


    "Give it a rest already! Your body is already mine! STOP FIGHTING BACK!" The demon shouted


    Ariel''s presence slowly began to fade as her expression began to return to it''s nk one. Demon John who saw this and noticed that he wasn''t in the position to fight, quickly vanished before appearing in front of the arena''s exit. The door had opened and had been glowing for a long while now, since they had cleared the dungeon.


    Had they not been fighting, they would have been able to exit a while ago.


    Demon John nced back and for a moment, John''s presence seemed to return as tears fell down his face and he muttered. "I love you too.". Before returning to his demon self and crossing through the glowing doors.


    Following that, everything froze in ce before the hallucination disappeared. Leaving behind John.


    "Who are you¡­ Why did you show me all of this? Are they still alive¡­? SHOW ME THE REST WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM!? WHERE ARE THEY!?" John shouted as he wiped away his tears.


    Tears wouldn''t stop flowing down John''s face, as his lid of emotions was filled with different feelings. He felt sadness, happiness, joy, anger and a throbbing pain on his heart and most of all shame.


    He felt as if he had betrayed both Serena and Ariel, he had been too afraid to go looking for them due to fear of discovering that they weren''t alive. He was ashamed of himself.


    Suddenly, An unfamiliar hand was ced on his shoulder. Confused, John turned around to see who it was and when he did, he couldn''t believe his eyes.


    The figure of a person. He couldn''t see the person''s face but he had a familiar air to him. dark hair like John which was covered by a dark cloak''s hoodie and a figure simr to that of him.


    The only difference that John could note between them was that they was significantly taller.


    For some reason. No matter how hard John tried to think against it. He couldn''t scratch the idea that he was staring at himself.


    What was it? Was it just the demon inside of him ying tricks again? What was happening? Why did it feel so different? And most importantly, why couldn''t he stop the pain in his heart? John wondered.


    His thoughts were interrupted and his eyes opened wide as the hooded person spoke.


    "You want to save them¡­ Don''t you?"


    Did he hear that right? The voice was nothing like the demon''s. Just who was this person?


    "Who¡­ Who are you¡­?" John asked, his voice trembling as he did so.


    "¡­"


    The person didn''t reply.


    "Of course I do¡­ They''re everything to me¡­ My reason for living¡­!"


    The raised his finger pointing at John however he did not stop and instead pointed at what was behind John.


    John turned around only to see the corpses stillying there. The more he stared at it, the less he could control himself.


    John quickly turned back around to where the person was, only to see that they were no longer standing where they were. Instead, they were right beside John.


    "Everyone is in danger. Can the you of now, keep them safe?" The person asked


    A masculine voice. John assumed it to be a man.


    The man in the hood, took a step forward, moving away from John''s line of sight. When john turned his head to see where the man was going, he was surprised to see that the man had disappeared.


    "Your arsenal of magic is wide. That imagination is limitless, out of this world. The amount of power you possess is like no other. Yet it''s not enough. Youck mastery. Youck ambition. That small objective which you call ambition is nowhere near enough. That is the reason why you are cursed to lose. Again and again and again."


    What was this person talking about? Losing? Losing what? More and more questions began popping up in John''s head as he turned around, looking for the source of the voice. Despite all, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t see it.


    "Isn''t it frustrating? You were brought to this world by their hand and now they''re out to kill you and your loved ones. Where is your hatred? Where is your rage? Maybe If I killed them in front of you it would change something?"


    "J¡­John¡­"


    A trembling voice suddenly called out to John from behind.


    John turned back only to see Serenaying down on the ground, a few meters away from him with her hand stretched out towards him. There was blood flowing down her mouth along with a scared and saddened look on her face.


    "R¡­Run¡­" She muttered with her remaining strength.


    Next to her stood the hooded man. He held onto a sword and had it''s edge pointed down at Serena''s heart.


    John''s eyes widened as he saw this. He couldn''t think straight, and in desperation tried using his words to stop him.


    "Stop¡­ STO-"


    *Pierce*


    Life left Serena''s eyes as her hands dropped.


    *Ba dump* *Ba dump*


    *Ba dump* *Ba dump*


    "See? It''s easy isn''t it?"


    *Ba dump*


    "That''s all it takes¡­ To lose everything you care for. Ah¡­ Right. There''s one more."


    Following that, another figure suddenly appeared, chained up in a cage. This time, it was Ariel.


    "J-John¡­? W-What''s happening¡­"


    *Crack!*


    "Oi¡­" John muttered.


    A crack suddenly formed on the dark, hollow floor beneath John.


    "Who do you think you are¡­?" John asked


    *Crack* *Crack*


    Cracks began running down the ceiling before eventually making it''s way all the way down as far as the eye could see.


    Magic power began leaking out from John.


    A dark crimson flow of magic.


    *Snap*


    With a single snap of the hooded man''s fingers. The flow disappeared. Completely. Once again, John was powerless.


    "Without your magic. You''re nothing. An empty vessel¡­" Muttered the man


    John''s heart skipped a beat as he heard this.


    "You''re wrong¡­" Mumbled John as he clenched his hand into a fist.


    "You can''t save anything¡­ You won''t save anything¡­ No matter how hard you try."


    "Shut up¡­"


    "In the end you''re simply a pawn in their little game. Being used all for their own satisfaction."


    "Shut up."


    "Just like how your master used you."


    *Crack*


    "SHUT UP!!!!!" John shouted out with all of his strength.


    *CRACK!* *CRACK!*


    The cracks grewrger andrger, slowly growing closer and closer to shattering.


    John''s magic power which had been canceled, released itself once again in a muchrger magnitude. Anger and hatred could be seen in John''s eyes as he red at the man in the cloak.


    *CRACK* *SHATTER!*


    Eventually, it all shattered. Leaving nothing but light behind.


    *p* *p* *p*


    "Not bad¡­ Emotions truly do make a difference¡­" Said the man as he finished pping.


    With the anger still lingering inside of him, John listened to the words of the man as he tried to find his figure within the vast light.


    "It''s time I take a leave¡­ But before I go I have some advice."


    "Show yourself? Running away now? Coward." Said John with hateful eyes.


    "Coward? I could deal with you in less than a second, boy. Besides, you''ll need this advice. You''re being targeted by gods, are you not?"


    "!?"


    John''s ears twitched as he heard thosest words.


    "Master space magic and create your own dimension like the one I''ve done now. Without it, not only will you not be able to damage an immortal god, but you can forget about killing them."


    "What are you talking about? Just tell me where I can find them¡­!"


    "That''s your choice. My time is up. Wake up."


    "What? Wai-"


    John was interrupted as felt a sudden pull in his consciousness, everything went ck.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Before he even realized it, the Bright sunlight shone down on his eyes once they opened.


    John ced his hands on his forehead before letting out a deep sign and muttering.


    "Fuck¡­"

 Chapter 279 - The Snow Chase

    In the middle of a snowy night, a girl could be seen running down a thick snowy path surrounded by trees. Each step would be imprinted on the ground as she ran with the best of her abilities.


    Long ashy blue hair, braided along the back with sharp sweet violet eyes. She wore a winter cloak on top of a robe, indicating that she was a magician.


    Every few seconds, she would turn back as if making sure that whatever she was running for, wouldn''t catch up.


    The temperature was freezing, and she could barely breathe. She felt like stopping. Her legs felt like they could shatter at any second. Yet she kept going.


    Her bones were filled with dread, and with each passing step, they began to sumb to the cold. She was slowing down.


    "There she is!!"


    "Get her!!!"


    Voices of men resonated throughout the forest as it indicated that they were following her. Upon seeing this, the girl began wondering about her next move.


    ''Do I fight them...? No... It''s too risky... Should I go for an ambush...?'' She asked herself


    But that too wouldn''t work. The number was most definitely high. Why was she being chased? How strong were they? What will happen to me if I get caught? Such questions flew past the girl''s mind as she quickly began to look around. Searching for a clue on how to beat them.


    ''My legs can''t handle anymore... How the hell can they chase someone for nearly an hour...?! I should have stayed home today...''


    As she began to contemte on her decision of choosing to do a quest instead of resting. Her eyes caught a glimpse of something. Something which could save her.


    Suddenly, her legs got caught on themselves and she went diving down, sliding her face across the snow as she did so.


    It hurt, but she held it in. There were stones and sharp pebbles on the ground, but luckily she had only slightly bruised her leg.


    The sounds of those who were chasing her, got closer and closer. As she noticed this, she tightly clenched her fist.


    Her hands began to tremble, not only due to fear but due to how cold the snow itself was. But she hadn''t lost hope.


    "Looks like I have no choice but to fight..." She muttered as she took in a deep breath.


    -------------------------------


    "You said she was around here, didn''t you?" One of the guy asked as he looked around.


    Snow and trees, that was all he could see. No sounds except for the howling winds which resembled whispers of the dead.


    "This is where the trail ends." Said another as he looked down at the tracks.


    The snowstorm''s rampage was still strong so the footprints were fresh. The strange part of it was how it just suddenly ended, there weren''t any attempts to hide it. It was as if the girl had suddenly disappeared out of thin air.


    "Did we lose her?" Asked the third guy as he looked around.


    "No... She''s here." Said the second guy who was looking down at the tracks.


    "How can you be sure? We don''t have time to waste!" Replied the third guy


    "Quiet." Said the guy who stood in between them all.


    As he said this, they all shut their mouth. It was easy to tell, from the way they were acting that he, was the leader.


    Big and tall. They all wore snow robes covering their body and their head, making it harder to tell them apart. But in terms of size and bloodlust. The one in the middle stood out.


    The leader carried a big, heavy long sword which had mana flowing out of it. Any magician would be able to tell just by looking, that it was a magic sword. Bald with an intense re being emitted from his brown eyes.


    He was a magic swordsman and a strong one at it, this was obvious as he was leading the group of all those strong men.


    "That guy... He''s Laurence. Laurence the tracker." Said the leader


    The mood around them quickly shifted to a positive one as they all turned to the tracker. He was neither tall nor short, yet he had the calmest and most confident eyes out of all of them.


    Short brown hair which was trimmed down on the sides. A sharp gaze and a seemingly sturdy frame, which seemed strong despite there being a winter robe covering it.


    "Laurence, will you be able to find her?" Asked the leader with great expectation.


    "Of course, but she''s a crafty one and you''ve already failed to catch her the first time, so the payment will be double."


    "Double...?" The leader asked nervously.


    "That''s right. If you agree to it, I''ll find her right now." Said Laurance.


    "F-Fine..." Said the leader after giving it a quick thought.


    Hearing this a smirk was formed on Laurence''s face as he said


    "Good. Well then, as promised I''ll give you her location." Said Laurence


    "You already found her?!" Asked on of the other members.


    "Yeah. She''s right over there." Said the Laurence as he pointed to the right.


    As he did so, everyone moved their head towards where he was pointing and in that instant.


    *sh*


    "GAH!"


    A wind bird passed by the neck of the guy on the left, shing his neck causing blood to spurt out, all in one go. Following that, the guy dropped straight to the ground.


    He shook around and began to tremble on the floor or as he grabbed on to the part where his neck was cut. However it was toote, he couldn''t stop the blood and eventually the guy died.


    Seeing this, a smile was formed on the leader''s face as he muttered. "Found you..."


    The girl then finished her chant before running around them in between the trees as she muttered.


    "Advanced wind magic... Cutting Gale."


    Razor sharp wind des flowed past the trees, all aiming at the 3 who stood in the middle. Without moving a muscle, they watched as the attacks made their way towards them.


    She was expecting to take down at least another with the attack, but right as it reached them. The razor sharp wind des were suddenly deflected by the leader as he swung his sword.


    Following that, the trees in front of her which she was using to avoid and block their attacks, was cut, despite him not having touched it.


    The instant she saw this, she ducked and right after she did, she felt a wind blow by the top of her head. She got up and looked back only to see that all the trees around her had been cut.


    As they slowly fell over, she nervously turned to them only to be hit by an immense amount of bloodlust. Her bones were now finally feeling it. The fear.


    If she had been one secondte, she would have died.


    "Whoa... I nearly killed you there, I have to be careful with the product now, damaged goods are worth less." Said the guy before letting out a smallugh.


    She took a step back and was about to turn to run, but right when she did, she noticed the fifth guy who she hadn''t seen, standing behind her.


    He had a spell activated and pointed straight at her. It was a harden firence. A mixture of the earth and fire element.


    Five of them were formed and aimed at her. It was certainly an overkill spell, just one of them would have been enough.


    She was outnumbered andcked the power. If she fought back she''d end up in a much worse state. For now the best option would be to surrender and think of a way to escape after.


    "I surrender." She said as she dropped to her knees.


    Seeing this a wide smile was formed on the leader''s face as he licked his lips and muttered. "We got her... She''s a special one too... Young and talented in magic... This month''s profits are much higher than I had expected!"


    He had a truly Joyful expression as he made his way towards her and as she saw this. She could feel her heart beat running faster and faster as the adrenaline began to disappear.


    They all expect for Laurance approached her. Laurence just stood at the back and watched.


    "Smart choice... Because of that, we promise not to hurt you... a lot..." He muttered with a grin on his face.


    The girl kept her head hung down as the man reached out to her. She was being awfully quiet, but he took it as a sign of her surrendering.


    "You''re going to have to go to sleep for me, I''ll make it painless." Said the man as he ced his hand on her shoulder.


    But the instant he did, the girl quickly raised her head as the words came out of her mouth.


    "Saint-ss Wind Magic: Extreme Gale!!" She shouted

 Chapter 280 - The Lost Blinded Man

    Hearing this the man''s eyes widened. She hadn''t given up, she was just busy chanting.


    *Boom!* *sh*


    In that instant, the air around her sharply burst out. Sending one of the guys flying while cutting him many times as it did so.


    *Thud*


    A loud thud could be heard as he hit into the tree, without being able to let out a single scream, he was knocked out from the impact.


    Due to all of the wind from the spell, the snow around them had blocked her site of what was around her. It had formed something simr to a small snowke smokescreen.


    She used this as an opportunity to escape, but right as she moved to. A hand came in through the smokescreen before grabbing on to her hair.


    Her eyes widened as she this happened. Her heart began to beat faster and faster as she tried to break his grip. But it was too strong.


    Suddenly, she felt a force pull at her as his arm dragged her through and out of the smokescreen. Her hair being pulled hurt a lot more than she thought it would, but what was even worse than that was actually getting cut.


    "Let- Go! Let... GO!" She shouted as she tried to get him to release his grip


    But unfortunately, His arm wouldn''t budge. As she was dragged along the snow, she thought of chanting again to attack him, but knew that it wouldn''t work. Instead, she grabbed onto the knife which was on her waist, beneath her snowrobe.


    Right as she did, she quickly swung it. Not at the man''s arm but at her hair, in an attempt to cut off the part which he had gripped from it.


    *p!*


    But right before she could, a force hit her straight on her face, sending a sharp sensation of pain as it did so. She quickly dropped to the ground as this happened, still holding on to the knife.


    Her face was throbbing in pain but that didn''t stop her. As the adrenaline ran wild, she tightened her grip over knife before quickly getting up.


    As she did so, she quickly thrust her knife straight at the man. But stopped as he grabbed on to her hand which held it.


    From her position, they now stood face to face, and as she saw the cold murderous look on his face which showed that he was really aiming to kill her, she could feel dread seep into her bones.


    The adrenaline had run out and her arms were now trembling much more than before.


    "Stupid bitch!" He cursed as he increased his grip while he pulled her in closer.


    The pressure and pain was so strong that she was forced to drop it. As her only remaining weapon dropped to the ground, the feeling of hope left, leaving behind only despair.


    "Careful, they''ll pay less." Said the guy next to the leader


    Despite that, she didn''t let out a single cry. With teary eyes she red at the two in front of her.


    "Hey... Who do you think you''re ring at like that!?" He asked as the expression in his face grew angrier.


    Without replying she continued to re at him, and seeing this, a smile was formed on his face as he let out a little giggle.


    *CLAP!*


    Much louder and harder than before, the man pped her again. It resonated throughout the cold and dark snow-zed forest before she hung her head.


    Thinking that she had backed down, the man looked rather unamused when suddenly, he noticed that the re hadn''t disappeared. She was still ring at him even after hanging her head.


    Seeing this, a cold wide smile emerged from the man''s face as he seemed to be barely containing it. He was definitely enjoying it.


    "Hey-"


    The other man tried stopping that leader, but before he could


    *CLAP!!*


    Now again, with a little bit of magic reinforcement and much more power behind it, the man pped her again. The p was so hard that she her surroundings began to shake as she momentarily became disorientated.


    "Hey!! Don''t turn her into damaged goods like the other one!" Shouted one of his members


    But the member quickly shut his mouth as the leader turned his re from the girl to him.


    "I know... I know... It''s just... When someone beneath me looks at me like that... I can barely contain it..." He said with a joyful look


    His member looked at him like he was crazy, or rather, he knew damn well that his leader was. Somewhat satisfied, the leader turned to the girl and as he did, his eyes widened.


    The re on her face was still there and remained strong despite everything that the man did. Seeing this, without saing anything the man pulled his arm back for the position of another p.


    The girl closed her eyes and grit her teeth to brace herself when suddenly, a voice came from behind them.


    "You''ll be able to pay me and your quota even if you don''t sell her, won''t you?"


    It was Laurence. Hearing this, the leader quickly stopped dead in his tracks.


    The girl opened her eyes and saw his hands right beside her face. He had managed to stop right in time. Her legs were trembling so hard that they looked like they would die out.


    "Tsk, Here I thought you were smart. You''re lucky customers pay less for damaged goods otherwise, you''d have regretted it."


    Upon hearing this, a smirk was formed on her swollen and reddened cheeks from all the ps. They were throbbing in pain but she didn''t care.


    "Is that all...? After all that tough act, you''re just going to run away...? No matter how tough, you really are just another person''s dog..." She muttered just loud enough for him to hear it


    Her voice legs were trembling and she was chilled to her bones, but somehow she still managed to portray her voice with great confidence.


    The member who still stood''s eyes widened as he heard this, he slowly turned over to his boss and could feel the heat from his boiling hot heading from where he stood.


    "H-Hey... Leader... Ignore it..."


    The temperature in the surrounding area began to grow hotter as the leader began to mutter something.


    Seeing this, a smile was formed on the girl''s face. Death would be better than being forced into a ve contract which would have just resulted in her being reused over and over until death.


    Such a fate was much was than dying. But now that death stood right in front of her face...


    "We can kill this one. There''s plenty of others." Said the leader as he tried to contain his anger


    Now that it was right In front of her face... She began to regret it. When it came to it, dying meant the end.


    The sword on the man''s waist began to glow redder and redder as it seemed to catch on fire. It was being magically enchanted by the me element. A fire attribute spell.


    "Saint-ss Fire Magic: Jet Burn" He muttered


    Following that, the sound which was akin to that of a rampaging me could be head as the sword grew in length. It seemed to have gotten ayer of heat over it which had taken the same shape of the swords de to cover it.


    All the heat began to harden along with the mes. And the girl who stood in front of this, felt her heart sink. She recognised the spell, but this man''s version waspletely unlike the one she knew.


    Jet burn was a saint-ss spell which involved conjucatating mes and emitting them at a high temperature in the form of a zing fire cannon.


    However instead of propelling it at her, he simply used it as an enchant for his sword. Even she knew that it wasn''t something that could be done by just anyone


    "Stupid bitch." Said the man as he raised his sword to the air


    The member who saw this had given up, she could have avoided it but decided to act tough. He med her for her own death.


    As the man was about the swing the sword, Laurence suddenly called them out.


    "Wait." He said calmly


    Hearing this, the leader stopped before turning back tourence. He had aplexed expression on his face as he did so.


    "Oi, Laurence. I told you I''d pay you, who do you think you are to be ruining my fun time?" Asked the leader, tantly pissed.


    "Not you, him." Said Laurence as he pointed at something.


    Confused, the leader and his member slowly directed his vision to where Laurence was pointing and as he did so, his eyes widened. A smile was then formed on his face as this happened.


    There, in front of their eyes, was a single young man. Long, down to his back, pitch-ck hair over a face with his eyes being covered by a blindfold. A cloak which seemed to offer little to no protection aside from hiding what was beneath.


    However, just by looking, he could tell that the young man was smaller to him in both size and strength, he would be an easy target.


    "Haha... It''s raining babies today... I''m such a good mood right now that I don''t even feel like killing her..." Said the leader as he began walking towards the young man


    He looked around and made sure that there was no one else nearby, as he did so.


    Laurence who saw this, stayed quiet, he seemed deep in thought.


    "I didn''t... I didn''t I sense him or even notice when he came.... Was it a fluke?" Laurence muttered

 Chapter 281 - Is He Even Human?

    "I didn''t... I didn''t I sense him or even notice when he came... Was it a fluke?" Laurence muttered


    As he looked closer at the young man, he felt his heart sink as he noticed something. He was walking and yet, no sounds were being made, and his presence... It was as if he wasn''t even there.


    He then looked towards the leader who was heading towards the young man and wondered if he should warn him, but he decided not to, to see just who was that young man.


    The leader who made his way towards the young man, wondered just how someone blind could end up there. Surely he wouldn''t be able to see with that blindfold covering his eyes. It was either a trap or...


    "A gift from the heavens..." He muttered with excitement


    However, during the whole time they had spent analysing the young man. The young man hadn''t done as they asked, nor did he show any interest in them or what they were doing.


    He simply continued walking on the path he had been walking and ignored them.


    Seeing as how the young man had ignored them and was about to walk by them, the leader once again began to show signs of getting annoyed.


    Quickly, he and angrily he ran and caught up to the young man before he could get to far away from them.


    "Who said you could leave?" Asked the leader as he approached the young man


    He carried his long zing hot sword on his waist and was now only a few feet from thee young man, and could instantly notice the change in the air. The air felt rather thin and for some reason, it was warm.


    But he shrugged it off as it being due to his me spell which he merged with the sword.


    There was no reply. The young man as if acting like the grown leader next to him wasn''t there. He simply continued to walk at the same, moderate pace through and past the trees. Completely ignoring the giant next to him.


    Seeing this, veins begna to pop out of the leaders forhead as he moved hand towards the young man and ced it over his spiky head.


    "Listen here you little shit... Don''t fucking ignore your elders..." The man muttered as he began to increase his grip on the young man''s head.


    As he did this, the young man stopped and turned to him. The leader instantly, felt a strange ominous and dangerous feeling as this happened, but that only annoyed him even more.


    "W-What...? Y-You think you''re scary or something?! A mere brat!?!" Asked the leader as he pulled his arm back to swing it.


    ''W-What''s wrong with this kid? W...Why do I feel so scared...?'' The leader wondered as he did so


    He wasn''t sure why but he felt chills go down his spine the instant he initiated the movement. He wasn''t sure if it was due to the fact that he couldn''t see the boy''s eyes as it was being covered by blindfolds along with the fact that despite not being able to see, the boy somehow managed to easily face the man.


    Either way he was absolutely horrified. Without moving the young man remained motionless as the leader swung his wide open hands at his face.


    Seeing this, the leader reflexively stopped with his hands right next to the young man''s face. It didn''t hit. He stopped short.


    His whole arm was trembling in fear as this happened. As if seeing this, the young man turned away and continued on his path, ignoring the leader once again.


    The leader stared at his hand in disbelief before clenching them as he bit his lips.


    "Me...? Scared...? Of a kid... who can''t show respect?! Hahaha... Great. Now I feel like killing again." He muttered


    Following that, he tightened the grip on the handle of his sword, before swinging it at a fast pace straight at the young man''s head.


    And in that instant, everyone''s eyes widened as Blood spilt through area in a burst, turning the crystal sky blue snow and ice into a bloody red.


    Laurence''s mouth opened wide in disbelief as he instinctively took many steps back in fear. The only surviving member also backed away from the girl, his entire body trembling in fear as he did so.


    "W...Wha... W-W-What is that!?!" He muttered with his voice trembling as he pointed at what was ahead of him


    The girl''s eyes were opened wide, she had witnessed the scene from start to finish. The sound of her bones trembling and crying out with dread filled her ears as she kept her eyes focused on what was ahead of her.


    But despite all the fear in her body and her instincts warning her to get away, she just stood there in disbelief.


    Steam could be seen forming around the area as the snow around them began to evaporate. It felt warm, it almost felt as if they were in a desert.


    "He''s... Dead...? Where...?" Laurence muttered as he stared


    *Thud*


    A small thud could be heard as the Leader''s body dropped to the ground. Bright red tainted the already tainted snow-white ground as this happened.


    The only surviving member, quickly turned his head back before puking out the little food that he had recently eaten. His entire body was shaken to the core.


    All that remained of the leader was the top half of his body. His hands, along with his legs were gone. Blood heavily poured out of the openings in his body as if trying to escape from the fear that they had experienced.


    "What happened to it...?" Laurence asked


    His legs and hands hand vanished, it was as if they were never there in the first ce. Just the torso head and arms missing a hand were attached.


    "Oi... What the hell was that...? How the hell did he....? Is he even human?'' Laurence wondered nervously

 Chapter 282 - The Wandering Devil

    "Oi... What the hell was that...? How the hell did he...? Is he even human?'' Laurence wondered nervously


    What shook them all even more was how the young man hadn''t moved from his spot. Laurence who was watching kept his eyes focused and opened wide along with the girl yet they didn''t find any movemente off from the young man.


    "The leader swung his sword... And right before it hit that... There was a line...? He was cut...? But that doesn''t exin how his legs and hands..."


    Laurence''s eyes then widened as he seemed to realise something. A faint trace of magic power could be felt right beneath the Leader. It wasn''t just any regr trace, he who has lived as a tracker for his whole life could easily make out what it was.


    ''I see... I was so distracted by his movement that I failed to recognise something so obvious! The ground... His legs were cut off and frozen into the ground...''


    As he came to this conclusion, a cold sweat began to flow down his forehead as the young man suddenly turned to him.


    He was about to take another step back but before he did, the young man looked back and began walking on his path as if nothing had happened.


    ''But still... How fast do you have to be to do that? I didn''t even see him chant... Was it just speed?'' He wondered


    He watched as the young man continued on his path, without so much as trying to stop him. The member was the first to leave the seen however.


    "M-Monster!!!" He shouted out loud as he ran away in a haste


    Suddenly however, a loud thud could be heard as he dropped to the ground. Confused, both Laurence and the girl turned back only to see that same member who had tried to run,ying on the floor on top of a slowly growing pool of blood.


    Their eyes opened widely as they looked. The girl didn''t know what to say, she was scared. She had subconsciously thought of survival now that the leader was dead, but reality had finally sunken in. She could be next.


    As she turned back, she noticed that the young man was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and noticed Laurence standing quite a distance away, just as surprised as she was.


    She quickly got up, her bones still tired and shaking from the experience which they would never forget. She then put up her guard against Laurence, but hepletely ignored her.


    His interest was in no way directed at her, in fact, he had even forgotten she was there.


    A wide smile was formed on his face as he muttered.


    "A Devil... He''s the devil... Just like the rumours..."


    He looked up and with his excitement boiling as he did so, for the first time in a long time, he felt alive.


    "The wandering devil...So the rumours, they were true..."


    He then clenched his fist and began walking back on the path he hadused to catch the girl. As he did, he remembered she was there and stopped.


    He then turned to the girl who was chanting as she pointed her staff towards him.


    "Don''t worry, my job is over, we have no reason to fight." Said Laurence


    "Then go away and leave me alone." She coldly replied afterpleting the hcant


    With the smile still widely disyed on his face and that smile only annoyed her even more.


    "I have a question..."


    "..."


    She didn''t reply, she wasn''t in the mood to talk and wasn''t sure whether or not he was buying time for something. For all she knew, he could still be nning something.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll ask this and leave right away. Then you can go and do what you were nning on doing, after." Said Laurence


    "nning...?" She asked


    "Yeah... You''re nning on going after him, aren''t you? The wandering devil."


    Her eyes widened as she heard this. She quickly took a step back before activating it.


    "Saint-ss-"


    Suddenly, before she could even finish her sentence, The man covered the distance which she had created from the leap in a split second before covering her mouth with his hand.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you."


    She still could have activated the spell, but even after she did, there was no telling if it would be enough to take him down. In fact, that could only make her situation worse.


    "Truce?" He asked


    A cold sweat dropped down her face as she stared straight at Laurence, before giving a small nod.


    She hated him, she really did. But she didn''t have time for that at the moment.


    "Good."


    He moved his hand away from her mouth and made sure that she wasn''t going to try anything funny before she asked


    "How did you know...?"


    "I saw it."


    "What?"


    "Your face, when you saw the leader get killed right in front of your eyes. Even though your body was shaking in fear, you had a hopeful look on your face." He said


    He then moved himself closer to his face and asked


    "Do you know him?" He asked with the same smile


    Despite it being a smile, his look was much colder than before, it would have been enough to sent chills down her spine if she hadn''t experienced being a few feet away from death a while ago.


    "No, I don''t." She said as she walked past him


    Laurence didn''t try stopping her and just watched as she walked towards the path where the man was walking.


    "No... Huh? Either way, to feel hope from a Devil... She''s crazy."


    He then moved his hand closer to his face before muttering.


    "Just like me."


    He then turned back to his path and began walking in a direction which made it very unlikely that he''d encounter neither of them. As he did so, he finally noticed something odd about his surroundings.


    He stopped and looked at the area where half of the dead Leader''s bodyid.. His eyes opened wide with a hint of fear still tucked within them.

 Chapter 283 - The Illusion And Determination?

    As he continued to look at the body, his curiosity got the best of him and he decided to check to see if his theory had indeed been correct.


    Rather impatiently, the man quickly made his way to the body.


    ''Second thoughts...? Am I really, having second thoughts? There was no way my analysis was incorrect.'' he thought to himself


    When he finally reached the body, Ignoring the blood, he quickly dug his hands deep into the cold, chilling snow, shoving it aside with haste.


    He was desperate, anyone could tell from the confused look in his face. Without showing any signs of slowing down, he continued to shove away the snow with his hands, forming a small crater on the ground, right next to the leader''s body.


    Blood got on his hands, but he ignored it, and after a small crater had been formed in between the cold, reddened snow. His eyes widened. There was nothing there. Nothing.


    The leader''s legs weren''t there, but he could still feel it there. However, as if he had never felt it in the first ce, the feeling disappeared.


    "Huh?" Laurence asked as he began to hastily look around.


    ''It was here, wasn''t it? The leader''s legs... The wandering devil buried it underground, after cutting it off...''


    "That''s what happened, right? Just a second ago, I could still feel it... Wait... What''s going on?" He asked


    For ends without stopping, he racked his brains trying toe out with a solution, and before he even realised it a wide smile was disyed on under his short brown hair as he stared at his blood-covered hands.


    "Ah... Now I get it..." He muttered as he slowly got up


    He looked up and stared at the dark blue sky with his eyes wide opened. The hair from his neck down to his legs had risen as he felt chills race through his spine.


    "I was wrong... It was all an illusion... Ha... Hahaha...."


    Laurence started tough in the middle of the bloody open field before suddenly stopping. The smile on his face had now disappeared, and turned into a rather cold look.


    "He got me..."


    As he returned to his path, questions flowed through his mind, but the one which he cared about the most was simply, when? When was he put under an illusion? Most people wouldn''t even know such a spell existed, but he had experienced it before. But even then he could tell.


    This illusion felt way too real to be called an illusion. It had fooled even him, someone who was considered one of the best trackers.


    For a moment, just one moment, he thought about tracking the young man once again. But right as the thought came up. A cold sweat poured down his face.


    "Maybe another day..."


    -------


    Once again the girl was running, straining her legs so that they would catch up to the figure of the young man who had saved her.


    His footsteps left no path and she ended up losing sight of him thanks to Laurence. Either way, she continued to run.


    The cold was however, starting to get to her. She had almost forgotten they were in a snow storm due to how hot the area had be due to all the action.


    No matter how hard she tried thinking about it, the only conclusion she coulde up with was that the young man must have done something.


    But not only did she lose him, but she could barely feel her arms and legs. She had lost track of time and felt as if the faintest breeze could blow her over.


    However, she kept moving. And as she did so, as her consciousness began to fade, she made sure to focus on her objective. After all, there was something she needed done, even if it costed her, her life.


    ''This much pain is... nothingpared to what he''s going through...'' She thought to herself as her legs continued to move


    But shortly after, her pale ashy brows were starting to freeze. Her nose was bright red and her teeth along with her whole body, wouldn''t stop shaking.


    The storm was much stronger than before. No, the current intensity was much stronger than before, it couldn''t even bepared.


    Even with the snow robe she could barely breathe. Starting a fire wasn''t an option, with each passing second the distance between them would only growrger. She couldn''t afford to let that happen.


    She staggered as she dragged her legs through the cold hell of snow. How long had she been walking for? Why was the path in the forest so unrecognisable?


    Before she even knew it, she could no longer move on. She was well past her limit, and as she took her final steps her eyes began to close.


    She lost bnce and slowly fell over, her heart sunk but at the same time, she felt relieved. Relieved that it was finally over.


    And as her ashy blue hair seemed to blend in with the snow, she remained still on the ground. She had done, her best. But there was something strange about the situation. No matter how much she walked, the snow only got worse.


    It was as if she was stuck in a trap. What was the point of going if no matter how hard you tried, you wouldn''t get anywhere?


    As she continue toy there, her frozen trembling mouth began to move as it tried to force out words. With her head facing straight, her eyes squinted and little remaining strength she continued to move her mouth.


    As this happened, the snow blizzard only continued to get stronger. The snow continued to flow down from the heavens as if trying to cover any impurities which could be seen.


    "Saint ss Wind Magic... Rotating Gale Burst"


    The dense fog around her, made her lose track of her direction. She didn''t know where she was going nor could she see how far she needed to go to catch up.


    So with thest bit of strength, she a rotation sphere made purely of wind, was formed around her. It gathered air and slowlypressed itself before bursting out.


    For a moment, just a single moment. The fog was pushed aside, but came back right after as the snow on the ground was also blown making it even foggier after.


    But that one moment was all she needed; she saw it. As if she had finally found her light in the pitch of darkness. She found him.


    It was the young man again. She was able to see his back, he was still walking on the same direction as before, following the same path with the same speed. He truly resembled a lost soul.


    But for her, he was hope. Seeing this, she could feel her strength return to her. She tried moving her arms to get up, when suddenly, she noticed it.


    It was toote, her arms wouldn''t move. Her heart rate had slowed down due to the cold. Her finger tips had stopped responding. Her arms and legs both numb. On top of that, she couldn''t even gather enough magic power for just a single push.


    ''No... I can''t... I need to get...''


    "W-Wa...it..."


    But before she even realised it. Everything turned pitch-ck.. She ran out of strength and within that rampaging blizzard, she lost consciousness.

 Chapter 284 - The Encounter And Beginning

    A warm feeling embraced her as she regained her consciousness. As her eyes slowly opened, she took a slow look around.


    A small me was lit in the bonfire in front of her, trees surrounded her and the blizzard was still rampaging, however, she felt warm, warmer than ever.


    Her body was tired, and so was she. She barely had the strength to move. But before even properly assessing or adjusting to her surroundings, she sprung up from the ground before reaching to her knife on her waist.


    However, right when she did so. She noticed that her knife was missing. And it was only then when she remembered the situation she was in.


    Confused, her eyes widened as she finally noticed what was beside her. There stood a young man. Long spiky ck hair which looked uncared for yet unnaturally clean, a figure which couldn''t be seen through the dark cloak. A ck blindfold covering his eyes.


    He carried a strange long dark wooden staff with sinister looking patterns carved into it. His arms which poked out from the cloak held on tightly to the staff, they were heavily wrapped in bandages and made one wonder just what could be hidden beneath.


    But above all was the silence, he didn''t let out a single sound. He just stood there staring at the bonfire which was somehow still burning in the middle of the blizzard around them.


    She had been so distracted by him that she had even forgotten they were in the middle of the blizzard, once that thought sunk in, she snapped out of her trance and quickly moved her hand away from her waist.


    It was the same young man who she had encountered earlier, the one she had spent what felt like hours chasing.The wandering devil.


    In that moment, she felt a surge of mixed emotions. Fear, worry, nervousness and joy.


    Unable to handle such feelings, slight trembles could be heard from her voice as she asked


    "U-Um... Are you... really the wandering devil...?" She asked


    However, contrary to what she had expected, there was no reply. The young man simply continued to stare at the bonfire. He watched as the mes moved around.


    As she turned to the mes to see what exactly it was that he was staring at, his figure suddenly disappeared from the corner of her eyes.


    As this happened, she quickly turned left, only to see him walking away. Once again, not a spec of sound could be heard. Worried that he had taken it badly, she quickly got up only to stagger due to theck of bnce.


    She was still disorientated, but it was only now that she realised. The cold feeling and pain which she had felt right before losing consciousness disappeared.


    As she looked down to see what had happened, she couldn''t believe it. Her frostbite, the skin which had turned reddish from the overwhelming cold. The cuts formed from the skin being peeled as she fell over. It was all gone.


    She was healed, and if he was waiting with her next to the bonfire then she could only reach one conclusion.


    ''He healed me?''


    As she watched his back slowly drift away throughout the blizzard, she began to notice the temperature around her dropping.


    It was all starting to add up. There was no way the bonfire could have heated the area as much as it had done. Despite it still being lit, it was getting colder yet the blizzard was still rampaging as hard as usual.


    It was already hard enough to believe that the fire managed to stay lit with all of the cold wind pressure and now this.


    He was the one, he was what she was looking for. His abilities defied one''s understanding itself. It was just like the rumours she heard.


    ''On top of it all, he seems kind, so maybe he won''t kill me for asking... I can''t turn back aftering all this way...'' She thought to herself


    Quickly, before he could get further away, she began to chase after him. He walked at a moderate pace so it was rather easy to catch up.


    Without showing a sign of being bothered he continued to walk as she ran right past him. He also showed no signs of concern as she stopped a few meters in front of him with her arms raised and stretched out.


    "W-Wait." She said hesitantly


    However, with no reply, the young man simply continued to walk. She closed her eyes as he got closer and closer before saying.


    "I... I need your h-help with-"


    She slowly opened her eyes only to see that he had walked right past her. She turned and saw him a few feet away, still heading in the same direction as before.


    "W-Wai..."


    As she tried calling out to him once more, she wondered what would happen if he would start to find her persistence annoying, he could probably feel like getting rid of her.


    As she stood there and watched him get away, she felt conflicted. She was both scared and d at the same time. She was happy that he helped her but didn''t know what to do avoid incurring his wrath.


    Anyone would get angry at someone nagging at them. Realising this, she clenched her fist before taking a moment to look at the sky.


    Heavy Snow continued to fall from the blizzard and some of itnded on her eye as she did so, causing her to quickly squint. But as she stared at the sky, through the pure white clouds she could see the moon.


    As she stared at it, she could feel herself calm down. She let out a deep breath before the nervous expression on her face turned into a resolved one.


    "Alright... I can do this..." She muttered to herself


    Without saying anything, she ran up towards the young man before stopping as she reached him. She kept a distance of 3 steps as she walked right behind him.


    Despite being resolved she was still worried of incurring his wrath. Thankfully, he showed no signs of caring.. And just like that, she continued to follow him.

 Chapter 285 - The Forbidden Zone

    The quiet sounds of slow and heavy pants flowed through the cold chilly air, quickly leaving behind a small trail of moist snow in the process.


    Footsteps resounded on the dense and thick snow which melted by the second from his presence.


    A cold, spine-chilling howl could be heard as the full moon shone upon the snow-zed trees. It was both dark and light at the same time.


    And as the darkness illuminated his back, for the first time since they began walking, he stopped.


    Confused, as to why and worried that she might have done something by ident, the girl nervously took a step back. And right after she did so, a loud growl could be hearding from his stomach.


    *Growl~*


    Following that, he turned to the right with his dark wooden staff on his hand and stared at the dense trees beside them.


    The girl let out a slow sign of relief before quickly stiffening up as a loud monstrous roar along with wolf howl''s came from around them


    *ROOOARR!!!*


    The roar was so loud that it caused the surrounding trees to shake with haste as if fear was being forced into them.


    The girl felt a chill go down her spine as she seemed to recognise the roar. Dread slowly began to build up as she hesitantly turned her head to the right. The direction where the roar came from.


    Right as she did so, trembles could be felt in the ground as a cold sweat flowed down her face. Something wasing, and it was big.


    Trees were being broken down as the howl of wolves resounded once more throughout the forest.


    ''I didn''t see any warning so how...? How did we end up on the forbidden zone?''


    The forest they were in was a rather vast forest, it was split into zones. The safe zone, the marked zone and the forbidden zone.


    Adventurers along with carriages would usually pass through the forest, during their travels as it was much faster to go through it than around.


    The forest was also situated quite closely to one of the major cities of the nearest kingdom, making it rathermon travel point for merchants.


    At least two hours had passed since they had started walking, yet during that time, not a single carriage could be seen.


    There was only the cold blizzard. And as the iing danger approached, only now did she realise what they had done.


    "...We''ve stepped into their territory... We need to get out of.."


    Completely ignoring her, without a single change in the young man''s expression. He began heading in the direction where the trees were being taken down.


    She didn''t know what to think, after all, there''s no way he couldn''t feel it. Just how dangerous that thing was.


    But as she looked at the unfazed expression on his face, she realised something. So far, everything they had said about the rumours were true. Abilities which defiedmon sense, a presence akin to that of an invisible leaf, a vibe cold and dark enough to send chills down ones spine.


    Now would be the best time to see what he see his abilities, if he was indeed the one she was looking for. She hadn''t been able to properly see it before, it all happened in the sh. Even now, all she remembers is half of the leader''s body disappearing.


    Or rather, that was what she remembered, but something was strange and off about that time. A lot of things, but she didn''t know what it was.


    ''I''ll watch for now, if things get bad, I''ll try to find a way for us to escape.''


    While keeping a moderate distance from behind she watched as the young man stood and waited in for the monster toe.


    The closer they got the more anxious she became, but right when they were only a few trees away. Everything stopped. A hollow silence followed right after. It was as if they were never there in the first ce.


    Confused, she kept her guard up while looking around, there was nothing. The trembles on the floor had stopped, along with the sound of rushing monsters.


    "...What? Where did they-"


    Suddenly, she felt her heart sink as a trunk of tree flew right by her and with a sudden breeze, it crashed into the nearby tree, breaking it in half and causing it to fall over as it did so.


    As she saw this, she quickly leapt back, only to realise feel the little hair on her body rise up as she felt goosebumps go past.


    Subconsciously, she quickly turned back mid-air, only to see a wolf with it''s mouth open flying straight towards her.


    There was no time to chant, she was heading straight to it''s mouth.


    *Pierce*


    Blood spurted throughout the cold dense snow-filled ground as it was dyed in a blood red once again.


    The girl''s eyes were open wide as she watched blood drip down from the wolf''s snowy pelt. It was arge wolf with beautiful snowy pelt which could be sold for high prices on the market. Arge jaw razor sharp canine. Many referred to it as the great wolf.


    But there it rested, on top of arge ice spike with blood dripping out of its mouth, in a single second.


    A loud howl resounded from around her as this happened, so without wasting any more time staring at the wolf, she quickly turned to the young man to see how he was holding up and as she did, she couldn''t believe her eyes.


    He was surrounded by six great wolves, all charging in at him. There were also another two around her, keeping their distance. They seemed to be wary due to the recent death of the wolf in front of her.


    She used this opportunity, to start prepare a chant. And as it was being prepared, she made sure to keep her attention focused both on the wolves and the young man.


    Because of that, she got to observe something which shook her being to its very core.


    Icy crystals dyed in the colour of the wolves'' blood, could be seen all around them.. Once again, the peaceful sight of the snow, was reced with the bone chilling sight of blood.

 Chapter 286 - Group Of Gobrigas

    What made it even scarier was how it all happened. The instant they all jumped to bite him, without so much as lifting a finger or moving his mouth. Ice spikes rose from the ground just like before and pierced them.


    Just like that, there was no chants and nothing which stood out. But before she could even try to understand what had happened.


    *ROAAAAARR!!*


    Once again, the sound of a roar resounded around them asrge ape-like monsters jumped from tree to tree around them. They were surrounded.


    They were all surrounded, the girl quickly recognised the monsters. It was a group of Gobrigas.


    Arge stiff chest with broad shoulders and a bent down stance as they stood on all fours due to their long arms and short legs. They stood at two to one and a half metres tall and It''s appearance was simr to that of a gori.


    The girl couldn''t believe it, each and every one of them were A-Rank monsters known for travelling alone. Just one of them was enough to rule a forest. So if a group of them were came, that could only lead to one possibility.


    The girl quietly hoped that it wasn''t what she had thought it was, but unfortunately for her, things just didn''t go her way.


    The sound of something being pounded resonated through the forest as what seemed to be their leader, jumped off the tree to the ground, mming it as itnded. Cracks were formed from the impact and the amount of pressure only increased as it observed them.


    It was just like a regr Gobrigabut it''srge stiff chest was covered by an iron chest te and it had wide giant arms with muscles popping out of them. It''s frame and size twice that of the others. It was an S-Rank monster, considered one of the kings of the forest. Great Gobriga.


    Only one in hundreds could be born and when it did, it instantly stood out for the regrs.


    Upon seeing this, the two wolves tried to run, but they were taken down by the two regr Gobrigasas they jumped down from the trees


    mming the wolves backs and breaking their spine on impact. The wolves let out a cry of pain as they triedto fight back but because of the damage they had sustained in the initial hit, they could barely stand.


    Then as if, whacking a flea, the Gobrigas effortlessly, finished off the wolves with a single swing. The girl watched as they flew towards a nearby trees, piercing their backs as theynded on the sharp broken edges.


    They let out painful whails as this happened before slowly passing away as their bodies flowed down the trees.


    The girl who saw this, took a small step back while keeping her chant on stand-by as she waited for them to make their move.


    However, contrary to her expectations, they didn''t move, they simply stood there. Those who were at the trees alsostood and waited while swinging from one tree to another.


    She couldn''t tell how many there were in total, but she was sure that they were nning something. Somewhat worried, she quickly turned to the boss, the Great Gobriga as he must have been the onemanding them.


    And right when she did, the loud sound of drums being pounded resounded through the area at a high pitch. Confused at what was causing it, she felt her heart sink as she realised what was causing it.


    It was the Great Gobriga, it was pounding it''s chest. But by the time she realised, it was toote. Suddenly, all at once. The Gobrigas, all jumped and rushed at the young man,pletely ignoring the girl.


    The Great Gobriga had his attention on the young man throughout the whole time, it most likely sensed a greater danger from him, making him the priority. It was an intelligent monster.


    As they all charged at the young man, the girl knew she couldn''t sit back and do nothing. He was strong but there were over 10 A-Rank monsters all heading towards him. The other 10 waited on the trees.


    "Saint-ss Wind Magic and Advanced Water Magic: Tempestate Cataracta" Trantion: Tempest Waterfall.


    A bright green glow resonated throughout her hands as a small air sphere was formed in between them.


    She didn''t have her staff, making it harder to control, but she was able to properly do it.


    The air in the area around them began to rotate at high speeds, forming a tornado near the trees. In a normal situation, that wouldn''t have done anything to them, their grip strength could easily break bones reinforced with magic.


    However, that wasn''t her intention. The wind tornado merged with the snow blizzard as water could also be seen rising from the ground before spinning along with the tornado.


    This mixture caused the Gobrigas in the tree to start to freeze, even though their fur kept them warm in that cold.The snow was too strong, and when mixed with the water. There was no doubt they''d freeze.


    Seeing this, they began leaping back and away from the tornado. The reason they didn''t push forward to attack was simple, they weren''t ordered to.


    "That''s all I can do¡­" She muttered as a cold sweat dripped from her face


    But once again, as she slowly turned her head to see how the young man was doing against, the 10 A-Rank monsters. She found herself being surprised yet again.


    Without so much as the mutter of a word, ice spikes were rising from the ground, beneath each of the Gobrigas, piercing at them from beneath.


    This showed her that what she had seen before wasn''t a coincidence. It seemed like another easy victory. That was until she saw the Gobrigas continue to charge at him.


    The Ice Spikes hadn''t slowed them down at all, and it had barely managed to pierce their skin.. Unfazed by the attack, they all made their way towards the young man.

 Chapter 287 - The Devils Massacre

    Seeing this, the girl began to panic. She had just found him, her one and only hope. Losing him now would be unthinkable.


    As she quickly began to chant again with theck of her staff, for the first time since they had met, she had noticed a change in his expression.


    The cold and empty expression and still mouth seemed sadder or angrier, as if he had been reminded of something he didn''t want to remember.


    And as they were all only a meter away from him and leapt at him simultaneously, he opened his mouth only to let out a deep breath


    In that instant, the first Gobriga to reach him, swung both of it''s arms vertically down straight at the young man.


    However, right before there was contact. The Gobriga''s force and arm was suddenly redirected backup with twice the force and speed causing it to quickly lift off the ground and do a back spin in the air as It was thrown off bnce.


    But before it couldnd, The young man suddenly appeared above it with a dark spear formed in his hand.


    With a mixture of wind, he propelled the spear straight down at the Gobriga''s wide open chest. Piercing it straight in it''s heart finishing it off with a single blow.


    But before the young man could evennd, another two Gobriga''s lept at him as he slowly descended.


    They stretched out their hands in an attempt to grab him, but with a single swing of it''s dagger. He cut through it''s solid hard fur and skin, in a single slice.


    Blood spurted out of the monsters hand, and before they could even react to what had happened to them. Holes were formed on their heads as Dark spears extended from the young man''s hands.


    As the young mannded on the floor. The headless corpse of the Gobrigas dropped to the ground beside him as he stood on top of the dead corpse of the first Gobriga he had killed.


    He swung his de, throwing the purple blood which had gotten on it, towards the eyes of the Gobriga behind him, before quickly leaping at it and piercing it''s neck


    However that wasn''t enough to finish it. It quickly swung both of it''s arms down to take the young man out along with it. But once again, before they hit even made contact the arms were suddenly pushed back in the opposite direction with a greater force than originally.


    Leaving it''s chest wide open once again. Before it could even struggle. From within, dark mes erupted out of it''s body as it fell over to the ground.


    The young man slowly turned his head back and stared straight at the remaining Gobriga''s releasing an immense amount of pressure and bloodlust as he did so.


    They felt intimidated, more afraid of the young man than they were of their leader. The A-Rank monsters, known for their ruthlessness, strength and fearlessness were now slowly backing away from the enemy.


    The girl who watched this couldn''t believe her eyes. From the moment the fight had begun to what happened and the current situation.


    "W..Wha¡­ How????"


    ''Is this the true strength of the wandering devil?'' She asked herself as she stared at him


    But despite asking, deep down, she already knew the answer. This was only a fraction of what he was capable of. From her years of experience as an adventurer even she could tell, that he, was barely putting in any effort.


    The Great Gobriga continued to roar and beat his chest at his group as if threatening them if they ran-away, they wouldn''t be forgiven. But even still, their actions showed no change.


    They quickly turned their backs and began to run, using their long arms to push them forward with haste and fear, as if trying to make up for theck of speed which was given due to their unfairly short legs.


    Their leader who saw this let out loud roar as It repeatedly beat its chest as if warning them that if they ran, they would regret it.


    However, they didn''t stop. They were definitely afraid of their leader, but once they took notice of the sheer terror being emitted from the young man. They ran, an A-Rank monster, was afraid.


    Full of rage and hatred, the leader was about the rush straight at the young man, to show who his group should truly be afraid of, when suddenly, it noticed something. It couldn''t move.


    Confused, the monster began to use more and more power than before, quickly feeling more infuriated by the passing second, yet it could only move a few fingers.


    In that state, it was forced to witness the dreadful sight which revolved right in front of it''s eyes.


    The young man slowly raised his left hand as his right held on tightly to his staff before opening his mouth once more. No words were spoken, but in that instant, bones travelled down the girls spine as the area around them was suddenly coated in a dark shadow.


    Following that, Dark walls rose from within the direction where the gobriga''s were heading. This caused them to stop dead in their track.


    Some had already reached the trees but the wall had risen in between the trees too, making sure not to leave out a single one.


    They quickly changed their directions in a panic, some went left while others went right. But as if they were trapped mice, walls rose both beside them and behind them,pletely trapping them in between.


    Some tried breaking the walls while others tried climbing over, but the walls were too hard and slippery. Then to cut off any ounce of light they might have had, the walls closed off on the top, forming a dark cube in the process.


    The young man clenched his fist and, in that instant, spikes extended out of the cube leaving only silence behind.. Blood dripped down the edges of the spikes which had extended, and would have been able to tell, even without seeing, that inside, urred a massacre.

 Chapter 288 - Transforming Elementalist Gobriga.

    The young man clenched his fist and, in that instant, spikes extended out of the cube leaving only silence behind. Blood dripped down the edges of the spikes which had extended, anyone would have been able to tell, even without seeing, that inside had urred a massacre.


    As blood stream down the cube, the girl''s mouth remained opened wide as a dumbfounded expression could be seen in her face.


    "This... All of this in an instant...? Without a single chant...?!"


    She couldn''t believe it, in everything she had experienced in life, she had never seen such a thing, power which defiedmon sense. The more she looked at it, the bigger the feeling in her chest grew.


    A feeling which gave her strength, it was hope. There was no doubt, he was the one she had been looking for.


    But that happy moment onlysted for a few seconds as a dangerous chill passed down her spine. She had always been sensitive to danger.


    Luckily, in that instant, her body reacted on it''s own and she took a quick leap forwards. The instant she did, crystal blue ice spikes rose from the ground before being broken by the shadows beneath it.


    Following that, the air around them got colder and colder as the blizzard seemed to be growing stronger. Upon noticing this, The girl quickly turned to see what it was and there she saw it.


    It was the Great Gobriga and the process which she most feared, the one which pushed it into the S-Rank level, had started to ur. It''s transformation had begun.


    Unlike regr Gobriga''s, Great Gobriga''s had a special innate ability. One which was the main reason it stood out from the pack.


    Cold ice began forming over it''s blue skin as the temperature grew colder and colder. It''s size began to shrink more and more as time continued to pass by. The look of hatred and anger on it''s face, seemed to quiet down as the ice spread throughout it''s body.


    The ability to transform, it could change it''s physical structure and shape for increased speed, power and it''s final characteristic. Pure Magic, or more precisely, the element of Snow and Ice.


    It was said that once it''s transformation wasplete, It could freely control the weather and it''s specialty resided in snow storms. However, the only ones who knew whether it was true or not were the adventurers which encountered it and survived. Mainly S-Rank Adventurers.


    The joy which the girl had felt only a few moments earlier had now been reced by a strange expectation yet fear about what was going to happen.


    Part of her, wanted to see of the wandering devil could defeat her. But the other part, knew that it was wrong and that it was too dangerous to risk it. He wasn''t some sort of tool, just a regr person.


    ''Alright¡­ We should find a way to get away before it- Huh?''


    A both surprised and confused expression was formed on the Girl''s face as she observed the sight in front of her. The young man, was suddenly standing right in front of the Great Gobriga.


    The expression on her face then quickly shifted into one of fear as she wondered if he knew just what sort of monster he was up against. It was on apletely different league than the other Gobrigas he had dealt with.


    Standing in front of it while it''s transforming, with temperatures unbelievably low, If he didn''t freeze to death, he''d die of frostbite.


    "Get away from it!!" She shouted


    But once again, her voice didn''t reach him. Just as she was about to shout his name out a second time, he slowly raised his hand, before cing it right on the Great Gobriga''s chest and muttered a single word.


    "Break." He muttered


    *Crack*


    The sound of Shattering and cracking resounded through the forest as the crystal blue ice formed over it''s blue fur, broke into tiny little pieces. Following that, the Great Gobriga, lost bnce before falling over.


    It fell on it''s face, and for a moment, showed no signs of movements. Suddenly, dark red spikes extended from within piercing whatever organs and flesh from the inside out.


    And as dark-purple blood flowed out of it''s corpse, the girl began tough in disbelief.


    "Ha¡­Haha¡­ He¡­ He killed it before it could transform¡­"


    It was such a simple solution that she didn''t know how to feel. She felt like an idiot for worrying about it earlier.


    He slowly turned to her with blood, slowly dripping down his clothes from the bloodbath which had taken ce. And in that moment, she wondered, what it was that he was feeling.


    She then recalled back on when he talked. It was the first time she had heard his voice. It was cold, deep and somewhat dry, yet it proved one thing, he could talk.


    Now a new question popped up in her mind, ''why was it that he never talked?'' she was curious to find out, however no matter how curious, even she knew it would be pointless to ask.


    After all, that was the first word which hade out since they had met. As she was distracted by this, she failed to realise how, the corpses of all the monsters which had been killed, had disappeared. Or rather, an illusion had been cast to hide it.


    The young man wasn''t too keen on casting it, but he deemed it necessary, not for the girl but for others reasons. One of these were , mainly as a warning to chase off anything that would dare to follow him.


    He then quickly continued his walk leaving the girl behind, and she who saw this, quickly chased after him. As the two left the scene, the girl failed to realise how the corpses of the monsters which she saw as she looked back, were all illusions.


    In that moment, she was more taken in and surprised by what she had seen from the wandering devil to even consider or even notice the corpses enter the young man''s shadow which had extended throughout the whole area, before it disappearing into thin air.

 Chapter 289 - Entering The Village

    For hours and hours without rest, the young man walked. The girl struggling to follow behind, continuously tried working out and making sense of all the strange urrences which had happened so far.


    However, she had little to no luck in reaching a conclusion as none of what she had seen made sense.


    What was the wandering devil? Was he a human? Why a devil of all things, when those who stain the battlefields with blood are called warriors. There were still so much she didn''t know, but as time passed, the thoughts began to seep from her mind as she wondered when exactly they''d get a break.


    The blizzard raged on yet the temperature around them still remained warm. For her, following him was bothfortable and ufortable.


    Finally, her pleads and prayers seemed to have been heard as she spotted a small lighting from far outside the trees in the forest.


    Joy and relief began to surge threw her weakened and tired body as she recognized the lights. It was the border lights, they were near the city.


    She hesitantly turned to the young man only to let out a sigh of relief as he showed no change in direction. He was heading towards the city.


    "Thank god..." She muttered quietly as she followed right behind him


    ***


    "HUH!? What do you mean it''s invalid!?" The young adventurer shouted


    "I told you, to enter this city you''ll need a letter of approval, A B-Rank adventurer card or an indication which shows you are a citizen, youck all of these." Calmly replied the guard.


    "But I am an A-Rank adventurer!" The young adventurer retorted


    *Snort*


    Upon hearing this, the guard let out a quiet snort as he looked the adventurer, who imed to be A-Rank, from his face down to his knees.


    A young man who looked no taller than 5''7, with defined abs and muscles which stood out from his open snow robe. Anyone who saw him would wonder why exactly the snow robe was left open in such a cold environment, yet at the same time, were too creped out to ask.


    He kept gauntlets on his waist and seemed to be doing perfectly fine in the cold. Many wondered if he was even human, but in the end, he was deemed off as a crazy idiot.


    This guard had know faith in his words, just from looking at his appearance, but the guard was one of the very few who asked the question.


    "Why are you wearing sandals in the cold?" He asked,pletely side-tracking off the main topic


    "Eh? Because it''s easier to move around in and It looks nice." The young man replied


    That answer hadpletely erased any suspicion the guard might have had and only reassured him of one thing. ''This man is crazy and cannot be trusted''.


    "Soe on, let me in!" Said the young man as he peered in through the vige.


    It was a rather big vige, although it was not big nor known enough to be considered a city, it had many facilities. It was considered a meeting point for adventurers or a ce to stay for travelers while also being a tourist location.


    The vige had many uses and due to it being close to the border, it had many visitors. One of them was the young man who was being stopped by the guards right now.


    "I already told you the requirements." Replied the guard calmly


    He was tall, no shorter than 190. He wore a strange blue Armour which seemed to be made of a durable metal along with a helmet which covered his face. A long sword resided on the sheathe on his waist and as a shield was ced tightly around his back.


    "And I told you I am the A-Rank adventurer, Hexo!" The young man responded


    "Then where is your card?" The guard asked unconvinced.


    With a slight change in his expression, Hexo,seemingly more nervous, looked away as he muttered "I already told you, I lost it¡­"


    "Then there''s nothing I can do, you should know how important that card is for an A-Rank, am I wrong?" The guard asked


    Hearing this, Hexo had no choice but to give up. "Fine, I''ll just go look for it¡­" He muttered as he let out a sigh


    The guard felt bad, but he had no choice. His duty was to keep the city safe.


    With a saddened and worn out expression,Hexo slowly made his way back through the line, there were many people but he paid attention to none of them.


    The only thing on his mind at that moment was what he was going to do to about his card, it wasn''t the first time he had lost it.


    "Damn¡­ Old man''s really going to chew me out for this one¡­" He muttered as he put his on his waist


    He then let out another sigh and took a few more steps when suddenly, in that instant, he felt it.


    It was just for a moment, just a single moment, but in that moment, he felt an extremely dangerous hidden presence. It was as if his life was being grasped by two cold sharp, sinister hands, colder than ice.


    With his eyes widened, the man turned to the left and saw another man, with spiky long pitch-ck hair, a worn out cloak and a blindfold walk past him. They were around the same height.


    the young man looked normal, but for some reason, Hexo couldn''t calm down. His heart was racing in fear as dread seeped into his bone.


    "¡­"


    For a moment, He did nothing but watch as they waited for their turn In the line but shortly after, he walked away.


    "I hope I don''t see him again." He muttered with a serious expression


    Just as he said that, he turned to his side and noticed a girl acting strange. She seemed to be keeping a distance from the young man as she stared at him.. She had stopped right beside Hexo.

 Chapter 290 - The Awaited Rest

    She was slightly shorter than him and wore a worn-out look, despite that she was unbelievably attractive. A perfect face with tired looking eyes and slightly muffled ashy blue hair which reached her waist. Perfect curves despite being short, her beauty was definitely worthy of admiration.


    ''Cute¡­ I wonder if I should try talking to her¡­''


    But just as he thought that, he quickly reminded himself of the fear he had gotten moments before.


    "On second thought¡­ Maybe another day¡­ I need to find my card first¡­" He muttered sadly


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ''Finally, that strange kid is go-''


    The guard quickly took a step back and pulled out his sword as he suddenly noticed someone standing in front of him.


    ''When did he- Was he always here? Damn it¡­ Am I still drunk from yesterday?'' The guard wondered before cing it back in it''s sheathe


    "Apologies, You¡­ You''re not from around here, are you?" The guard asked as he stared at the young man with a blindfold in front of him trying to rpose himself as he did so.


    There was however, no reply. Confused, the guard asked again.


    "I said¡­ You''re not from around here¡­ Are you?"


    The young man shook his Head and the guard began to question why he had chosen such a job.


    ''First a guy who wears an open robe in the middle of this freezing weather, now a man with a thin cloak and a blindfold¡­ Next thing I know he''s going to say he''s an A-Rank adventurer''


    Suddenly, the guard made eyes with the girl


    "Right, card or certificate." Said the guard


    Upon hearing this, the young man pulled out a red card from the inside of his cloak. It showed his name, rank, height and the adventurer emblem.


    The guard saw all of this as he inspected it, but what stood out the most was the color of the card and rank. It was red, the normal adventurers card was brown, made of rather cheap paper.


    But this one was red, made of the highest quality. The color red was also one associated to the 2nd highest known rank in the guild, A-Rank.


    ''An A-Rank, huh¡­ A rather simple name¡­ I''ve never heard of this guy. Not to mention his appearance. Can he even fight with this blindfold?'' The guard thought to himself as he continued to inspect it.


    There was no doubt that it was real. Forging it was possible, but the guard was known for having a good eye, so forgery unless done by a master wouldn''t get past him.


    "Right, it''s all here. You''re free to go." Said the guard as he handed the card back.


    He then moved out of the way and signaled the other guard to open the gate. Shortly after, the young man walked through without saying a single word, however he did nod as he did so.


    ''That appearance¡­ No matter how much I think about it¡­ It sounds familiar, a ck blindfold, a dark thin ragged cloak and ck hair which resembled the night-sky¡­ Isn''t that¡­ Nope, can''t remember.''


    "Next." He said loudly


    Following that, a young girl appeared in front of him, she seemed to be in a hurry.


    "Card or certificate-"


    The girl quickly pulled out a certificate showing that she had permission to enter the city just as the guard finished.


    The guard inspected it before quickly signaling the other guard to open the gate again.


    "You''re free to g-"


    Before he could even finish, the girl quickly rushed through while leaving behind a "Thank you." As she did so.


    The guard let out a sigh before turning back the long line ahead of him.


    "Next.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The girl rushed through looking for the young man. She was back in the vige, and as happy as she was, the only thing she had on her mind was getting rest.


    She looked left, then right, and luckily managed to catch the young man''s back with her eyes. He was heading through the street, down the road.


    The roads were covered in snow as carriages passed by. Many homeless kids could be seen in the alleyways trying to gather the little heat which they could out of the small nkets which covered them.


    Their whole bodies trembled as they slowly froze to death. It was heartbreaking sight even for her, not just because she too had gone through something simr but because there was no way to help them all.


    No one around them paid any attention nor did they show no care after all, everyone was only worried about themselves.


    Well, mostly everyone. Although rare, There girl could see some people help out the kids. Orphanages also existed, only they were full mostly.


    As the girl saw the young man walk further and further away, she quickly shook her head before chasing after him.


    But the instant she did, she noticed a sudden change in the temperature. Once again, it suddenly felt like she was in the middle of a desert.


    The feeling was just like the one she had felt back in the snowfields, and it was obvious who had done it.


    "The wandering devil¡­ I guess even a devil can be kind¡­"


    The kids had stopped trembling and seemed more rxed as warmth entered their nkets. The people who ran food stalls in the road along with those who walked by also seemed surprised


    "Huh? What happened to the cold?"


    "It''s still snowing right?"


    "A gift from the heavens? The lord has blessed us with warmth!"


    While ignoring the people''s reactions, the girl quickly followed behind the young man. Her ideas of him, slightly changed.


    The slightly more rxed look on the kids faces gave her a sense of relief but at the same time, she still seemed to have another issue upying her mind.


    "If he can do this¡­ I''m sure he can do it." She muttered quietly as she watched him walk


    And as she thought about this, she began noticing just how tired her legs were.

 Chapter 291 - The Adventurers Guild And Rumours

    And as she thought about this, she began noticing just how tired her legs were. The fact that she hadsted this long was mainly and purely due to her will power. But at this point, there was no helping it.


    Each step felt like getting stabbed, she staggered with each little movement. She couldn''t lose him but she really couldn''t go on.


    ''Doesn''t he get tired?!'' She asked herself, slightly annoyed.


    Then with a sudden stroke of luck, the young man took a right and entered an inn. She couldn''t believe it. An inn, a ce where you can sleep, get food and rest. For many at that moment, it was just a resting point, but for her, it was heaven.


    ''He went inside, he''s staying right? Right?!''


    Quickly, with haste, she quickly ran into the inn and saw him pay for a room before heading upstairs.


    ''Thank you!!'' She cried out as tears streamed down her face.


    She then ran up to the innkeeper before saying


    "One Room, one bed, one toilet, anywhere, with lunch meal, please."


    She couldn''t even properly speak, the minimum required words wereing out of her mouth as she stated exactly what she would need.


    Upon hearing this, somewhat understanding, the inn keeper nodded before grabbing a Key and saying "7 Silver coins."


    The girl pulled out silver coins from her bag, without noticing that she pulled out an extra coin more than needed before grabbing the keys and rushing upstairs.


    As she reached her Room, she noticed the Wandering Devil, enter the room which was two rooms beside the one opposite to hers.


    After memorizing the room number, she quickly entered hers before taking a moment to appreciate the sight in front of her.


    A single bed with a window beside it which allowed her to see the dark sky and a table with chairs to have a seat or put her things. It was perfect.


    She quickly took off all her Armour and clothes before hopping on to the bed.


    She was too tired to take a shower or get changed, she simplyid on her underwear. The soft sensation of the warm and clean nkets and bed made her feel like melting, her whole body felt relieved from the stress.


    It was still a bit cold, but she had gone through colder. All that was on her mind was getting some rest.


    ''Alright¡­ Just a little rest¡­ Then I''ll wake up and go back to watching him¡­ Oh and i[''ll take a shower and eat¡­ Then I''ll find a way to get him to help¡­''


    She ced her head facing down on the pillow with a slightly worried look.


    ''Wait for me¡­ I finally found it¡­ Sister¡­"


    Those were her final thoughts before falling asleep


    ***


    She slowly opened her eyes as the sunlight which passed through the windows, shed on her eyes.


    "Hm¡­ *Yawn* Morning already¡­ I feel so much better, I wonder what time it- Wonder¡­ Time¡­ Wandering¡­"


    Suddenly, as she realized that she had overslept. The umted drowsiness which flowed through her body disappeared leaving only nervousness and worry behind.


    "Oh no¡­" She muttered as she stared at the inn door.


    She quickly got up before running straight at the door, leaving light footsteps with each step.


    "No¡­ You''ve got to be kidding me¡­ I''m such an idiot!!" She shouted out as she m opened the door.


    Her thought process was back to normal and she was fully rested, but none of that mattered if the original reason why she had suffered everything she had gone through was gone.


    As she looked down the corridor in the direction of his room, she felt a small shiver of hope rise up from within as she prayed for him to still be there.


    Nervously yet hastily, she made her way towards his room before facing his room''s door.


    *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*


    She knocked three times, yet there was no reply. Still slightly nervous and worried about being a bother case he was there. She debated with herself whether or not to knock again.


    And with no other choice, once again, knocked.


    *Knock* *Knock*


    There was no reply, and now, only one option remained. She reached out for the doorknob before quickly turning it and opening it from the outside.


    The door wasn''t locked. It slowly slid open and with her heart beating it''s way out of her chest, she found herself staring at an empty room.


    "¡­"


    With her hope having faded away, she slowly dropped to her knees feeling nothing but despair.


    "Ha¡­ ha¡­ He''s gone¡­"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The cold blizzard continued to rage on filling the already snow white streets in a deeper zed white.


    Many walked through it with their furores and cloaks while others simply froze to death. However, as a figure of a young man passed by, it was as if the cold itself had ceased to exist.


    "Hey¡­ Did you hear? Apparently, there''s a strong magician able to clear away all the cold in the vige?"


    ??Some say it''s an angel, while others say it might be god''s blessing."


    Such rumors circted through the town in that very morning. Many believed them while others¡­


    "You really believe all that crap about angels? It''s probably just a high-ranking magician who has a spell which can alter the weather." Said a man as he chugged down his mug full of beer


    "Careful, the church have been saying-"


    He quickly interrupted the man who he was having a drink with before the man could finish.


    "Who cares about what the church says? All those bastards want is more money." He said freely


    Upon hearing this, his drinking partner went quiet, and that only fueled his ego.


    *Gulp* *Gulp* *Gulp*


    "Ah¡­! That hit the- *Hic* spot." Said the man, after taking long gulps.


    Somewhat pleased, who took a look around the room which was filled with other tables and people. Some seemed to be minding their business, others seemed to be working out a n and the rest¡­

 Chapter 292 - The Priority

    "Hey! We''re forming a party, we have 4 members and we''re looking for a vanguard! Preferably a tank or a swordsman who can take hits!"


    "We have 3 and a healer! We''re looking for a magician who can use restricting spells! B-Rank and above!"


    The rest were recruiting people for their party. As at the moment, they all stood in the guild.


    It was a ratherrge guild, being one of thergest facilities in the vige. Many adventurers would meet up there and search for quests or party members.


    And due to the certain recent events, the guild was rather rowdy. Full of adventurers and beginners, the quests were being taken one by one.


    During this period, a young man with long spiky dark hair could be seen walking into the guild. His presence was as faint as air and those who noticed him only did so because they were already facing his direction.


    A small cloak and a blindfold which covered his face. As he entered, one of the receptionists quickly made their way to him.


    "Excuse me, sir? How may I help you?" She asked


    He was most likely blind so deemed a priority, allowing him to skip through the moderately long line ahead of him.


    However, because of it, he ended up getting more attention than he would have ever asked for.


    Without saying a word, he stretched out his bandaged hands, presenting two rings as he did so. One on his index finger and the other on his middle finger.


    The girl could quickly tell what sort of rings they were just by looking and wondered how someone blind and so frail-looking could hold them in possession.


    "Are you here to redeem a quest or sell monster parts?" The guilddy asked


    Again without saying a word, the young man slowly nodded and rather hesitantly and none expectantly, the receptionist nodded and grabbed on to the young man''s hand before leading him to the separate priority desk, allowing him to skip through the now shortened line as she did so..


    ''His cloak is worn out and he looks weak¡­ I can''t feel an ounce of magic powering out of him, his presence is also small¡­ Not to mention he''s blind¡­ Poor guy¡­ he looks Young too¡­"


    The receptionist felt bad, as it wasn''t umon to meet people who had suffered great losses during their time as adventurers.


    For his age, losing his sight would be a great w. It was impressive how he had even made it to the guild, Wait, how did he make it here?''


    Curiously, the receptionist stared straight at him as they stood in front of the desk. There wasn''t a change in his expression at all.


    Those who waited in the separate line, non priority area, began to whisper amongst themselves as they watched.


    "Another priority¡­ Ha, I bet he''s going to pull out a goblin ear."


    "Ha ha! Don''t be a jerk, Tom. You''re disrespecting the goblins."


    "Hey, you never know. He might be stronger than all of us and pull out some sort of A-Rank monster."


    Many joked around underestimating the young man as theyughed at him. Those who had priority after all were either A-Rank adventurers and above or adventurers who were incapable of taking care of himself.


    The members could tell from the look of pity in the receptionists face that it was due to thetter. They also hadn''t scened his adventurer''s card but to them it wouldn''t change much, unless it was a high ranking one.


    Someughed while others paid no attention and the rest just quietly watched. Everyone reacted different and in their own way. That was the sort of ce a guild was. However one suddenmentpletely changed the mood in the whole guild.


    "But wait¡­ Doesn''t his appearance look familiar?" A man randomly asked


    It was that one question which was always enough to pick at a person''s curiosity. Those who heard stared at the young man and with a slight distortion in the young man''s appearance. No one seemed to recognize him nor understand what the guy asked.


    "No? Not really?"


    "He just wants attention, ignore him."


    Some of the attention was turned to that very same man who asked the question as they waited for what he was going to say next, but he too couldn''t tell.


    "M-Maybe it was just my imagination¡­" The man nervously muttered.


    The look of disappointment felt like daggers on him as some of the attention turned back to the young man.


    "So¡­ Um¡­ You''ve drawn quite the attention so let''s Make this quick." Said the receptionist


    The young man nodded


    "Alright, so what would you like to redeem?" She asked


    Without replying the young man stared straight at the table.


    "Is there a problem? O-Oh, There''s a table in front of you right now, you can just drop it here. Whether it''s the quest or monster parts. The guild will inspect it and we''ll offer an amount. Although I''m sure you already know."


    The young man nodded, before giving a short look around. People watched rather closely and expectantly thanks to the previousment which had gotten their hopes up.


    Making fun of what those in priority got was verymon in guilds. The young man most likely knew that but didn''t care.


    He stretched out his hand leaving it over the desk before the ring on his finger began to glow. It was a spatial-storage ring, which as the name suggested, worked as a portable storage. Something wasing.


    The expectation in the room began to rise as they watched the young man''s every move. Some were surprised he could even afford a portable storage ring and others wondered why it hadn''t been stolen.


    With a bright glow and unexpected silence, it all came out and all it was, was but a single, goblin ear


    Upon seeing this, the look of disappointment and regret filled the room as everyone began pondering about why they wasted there time.

 Chapter 293 - The Mockery And Illusion

    all that came out was a goblin ear. Upon seeing this, the look of disappointment and regret filled the room as everyone began pondering about why they wasted there time.


    "Ha¡­ Ha ha Ha! I told you all!! You should see the look on your faces ha ha!" Said a man as he dropped to the ground crying out withughter


    It was then that everyone realized, they could justugh it off.


    "Y-You''re right, damn I nearly thought I was in for a surprise¡­ ha ha ha!" Laughed another


    Then one by one, people in the room began tough at the pathetic site. Those who didn''tugh just weren''t interested in anything in the first ce or busy with other things.


    But one single person had a different reason for notughing and that was the receptionist.


    "What¡­?"


    That was the single word she muttered as she stared at what was in front of her. She then look around with haste to see if they were truly blind or just didn''t see things correctly.


    She then began to wonder who the blind one was again or if what she was looking at was really something tough at.


    ''A Wyvern head¡­ Saber tooth''s nail and a Great Lizard''s skin? What''s more it''s been cleanly cut and extracted? Not only that but there''s more¡­ Other monsters¡­ What are these? I can''t even recognize them¡­?!''


    The receptionist nearly fell back and shouted in fear and surprise, but she was surprised when she noticed that she couldn''t move nor speak. All she could do was stare straight at the young man.


    Fear filled her bones as she began to wonder whether or not he had ns to attack this guild. No one in their right minds would, but this guy. He was different, able to take down a Wyvern even, not to mention it wasn''t one formed in the dungeon.


    It was a pure real Wyvern which has supposedly lived many more years than the one in the dungeon, making it even more dangerous.


    What does he want? What is his objective?! How do I warn everyone!? Such thoughts raced through her mind as he stretched his arm forward. And as It moved closer only one thought remained. ''I underestimated him.''


    With her heart nearly beating out of her chest, she braced for what he was about to do to her, when suddenly. His arm stopped right above the table which had the monster parts. They were all crammed in together so they wouldn''t fall out of the table.


    He pointed at it then signaled a be quiet sound with his mouth. She didn''t know why but that sent chills down her spine. With no other choice, she nodded.


    Upon seeing this, suddenly she could move, so her first reaction was to test out of she could talk.


    "Ah-" She quietly let out


    Now, it was time to be careful, he didn''t show any hostility and he''s an adventurer so there was nothing to be afraid of, however even high-ranking adventurers lose their patience from Time to time and abuse their powers. She understood that he wanted her to keep quiet about it but didn''t understand why,


    After all, he ced them right in front of everyone. So why? Why? Were they allughing at these parts? She wondered, for even she didn''t recognize some of the monsters.


    "W-Wait¡­" She muttered


    Upon hearing this, the young man stared straight at her.


    "I don''t recognize some of these¡­ But they look even harder to kill than the Wyvern¡­ Are they monsters from a different continent?" She asked


    For a moment, the young man seemed lost in thought but she took that a sign of him being infuriated, so she quickly took a quiet gulp as she looked down.


    ''I''ve done it now¡­'' She thought toherself as tears slowly began to stream down.


    However, just as she did that, he slowly ced his arm on her face, before wiping away the tear and nodding.


    In that instant, as she stared straight up at him, her view on him changed. Despite being strong, he gave off the Air and presence of a weakling. Furthermore, he was the quiet type and quite handsome.


    ''Maybe isn''t such a bad guy¡­ He did all of this so that I wouldn''t add to much attention to his kills. That was the Right thing to do¡­'' She wondered


    Now that the question of his hostility had been slightly answered, all that remained was the question of why everyone had reacted that way? Was it because they had never seen these monsters before? But just by looking at them, dread filled the receptionists bone, so she couldn''t understand why.


    Then after some thinking, it hit her. What if it what they were seeing was different to what she was seeing? There was only one possibility.


    ''An illusion''


    If it was indeed an illusion and one of this caliber where she didn''t hear a single chant, she had to confirm whether the one she was staring at was the real one, so she stretched out her arm and poked at the Wyvern head''s scale only to indeed confirm her doubts.


    It was real, so real that she nearly cut herself from just touching the scale. The others seemed poisonous and sinister, maybe cursed. She didn''t want to touch them until further inspecting it.


    ''How am I going to take all of this back, if I''m the only one that can see it? Wait, why have I epted this so easily? I''m the only one that can see this¡­ An illusion casted by a magician who I''ve never heard of in barely any time. When did he cast the illusion? There wasn''t any chants or magic circles¡­''


    Her thoughts were going all over the ce, when suddenly, everything the young man had brought out was sucked back into his ring.


    "Eh- wait-"


    There was no need.. He then proceeded to take off his ring and handed it to her.

 Chapter 294 - The Inspection And Curiosity.

    This of course was all to make it easier for her to hand it in for someone to inspect the parts for him to collect the reward.


    And as she held on to his ring her hand began to shake nervously and in fear from the responsibility, so much that she hadpletely forgot to ask about the illusion.


    "R-Right, I''ll hand it in for someone to inspect the monsters, then w-we''ll give the ring back with a-all the parts and our o-offer¡­ W-would that b-be good enough?" She whispered.


    Some people in the room with good hearing, heard it, and wondered why she made such a big deal over a goblin ear. However they thought it was just a mistake on her or their side and ignored it.


    One however, didn''t he continued to watch their conversation with a somewhat intrigued look. He was a swordsman and rather well known at that.


    Short smooth blond hair with ocean blue eyes and an Armour made of a special type of metal covered his body. It was hard but flexible at the same time, a special type of ore that many wanted.


    He was a skilled swordsman and probably the strongest there, One of the higher-ranking A-Ranks. They called him, The Bright Sword. That was because he possessed one of the holy swords in existence, a real one that that. Just like another knight the young man had met at the beach once.


    That man now showed interested in the young man despite not being able to see anything thanks to the illusion, but to the young man this was unaware attention so he quickly turned to the bright sword with slight hostility.


    He couldn''t attack him as he was another adventurer and he had a right to look, but it was none of his business and nothing in the rules said he couldn''t be threatened.


    The two stared at each other face to face, when suddenly The Bright Sword instinctively looked away. He wasn''t sure why, but he felt that if he continued to stare, his life would be on the line.


    "Well¡­ Have it your way, if you don''t want me to look, I won''t." He said with a smile


    And as he took another sip of the orange juice he had in his cup, he let out a deep breath.


    "Looks like we got another strong one¡­ I wonder if I could beat him." He muttered


    But he wasn''t in the mood nor physique to try it out. "I''m too tired today, maybe another day."


    "I-I''ll be back." Said the receptionist before quickly walking over to one of the rooms at the back and nearly tripping over as she did so.


    The young man then looked at the staircase which led to the 2nd floor as he waited. On the second floor there mainly resided the guild master if he was even in on this day.


    Then, still uninterested. The young man stood quietly as he waited, when suddenly, unwanted attention began to make it''s way towards him.


    It was a group of four. They all wore rather high-quality fur coats and seemed to be Strong. Just from looking one experienced could tell that they were B-Rank, not only from their magic flow, control and gear, but from the way they acted.


    Many C-Ranks would start to think highly of themselves after finally being promoted to B-Rank. These guys were one of them.


    The leader was rather tall, he carried magic enchanted daggers on his waist and had both a cocky look and attitude being emitted at all times.


    He didn''t seem that muscr and his short slick pink hair seemed to be a fake wig from how badly it was treated. He was most likely their leader.


    "Finally that girl is gone¡­ Now I can have a little fun." Said one of the guys


    "Hey, you. Come outside." Said their leader as he ced his hand on the young man''s shoulder.


    However, the instant his hand went into contact with the young man''s shoulder, he felt a chill go down his spine as his instincts screamed at him to let go. However, he ignored it, and pushed on. After all, who would be scared of someone blind.


    "Oh wait, you can''t see¡­ Hey you, guide him out." He said so as he pointed at the other member in his group.


    The member nodded before grabbing the young man by his hand and pulling him outside


    "Don''t fight back or act like you''re struggling, or we''ll kill you." The leader whispered in the young man''s ear.


    Everyone did nothing but watch, as they dragged the young man out of the guild. They all knew what was going to happen to him, get his ass kicked and get robbed. Nearly everyone had gone through it in their life.


    It was his fault for carrying all of those luxurious and high quality items despite not being able to see. He was going to get stolen sooner orter if he kept that up, so many thought perhaps it would be better for him to learn it the hard way.


    Not to mention an adventurer needs to know how to stick out for himself, so he only had himself to me.


    With that thought process, they all let the young man leave. And after he left, some began to mutter amongst himself.


    "They wouldn''t really hurt a blind guy, would they?"


    "Shouldn''t we have stopped them?"


    "A man''s got to look out for himself, leave them be." Said another man who had remained leaned with his back onto the wall during the whole time.


    He was the tallest and most muscr looking guy there. A big yet fit body builder, would have been the perfect way to describe him. He stood by the entrance and simply watched as the young man was dragged out.


    He was also one of the people who didn''tugh at the young man''s goblin ear, or rather, he didn''t find it funny at all.

 Chapter 295 - The Snakes

    "Something about that guy doesn''t sit Right. I was watching as he walked past, I didn''t feel an ounce of fear, blood lust or anythinging out of him."


    "He''s so weak and stupid that he couldn''t produce any?" Someone asked before bursting out inughter


    Other idiots followed behind and alsoughed but some were beginning to catch on and began to pay more and more attention to what the man was saying. He had a point.


    "Well, if all he could hunt was a single goblin, what makes you think, the snakes can''t handle him?"


    The snakes were a small organization formed, they did evil deeds and stole money from others, the guild had gotten few request to deal with them, but they also had members in the guild, taking the quests and hiding them so they''d stay on the low.


    Many adventurers knew about them, but there was no point in getting involved as there were organizations like these in everycity, no matter where they went.


    Dealing with them would only get them to target you, however an adventurer like the bright-sword or any A-Rank adventurer would have no problem crushing them.


    Now the problem came with the reward. High-ranking adventurers didn''t work for free, and many couldn''t afford the pay for them to take the quests, this would usually result in cases where they''d force small organizations to get on the High-ranking adventurers bad side so he''d wipe them out.


    But cases like those only continued to be more and moremon and that resulted in the A-Rank adventurers paying little to no attention to them because of it. After all, no one liked being used.


    And either Way, these organizations only did minor things such as stealing, they knew there was a line which they couldn''t cross such as killing, otherwise they''d be exterminated. All of them


    "You idiots!!!" He shouted


    The voice resounded throughout the whole room leaving nothing but silence behind


    "Don''t underestimate goblins, they always travel in packs! What makes you think someone right in their mind would only take out one and walk away with it. In the first ce, how the hell does someone blind take out a goblin!? You know how many people get raped by those god damn things!?"


    They were all speechless, not only that but they felt likeplete idiots. They weren''t looking at the bigger picture, the man was right, everything he had said, was right. Down to thest detail.


    Now all that was left was to wait and see whether or not his theory was correct or just an assumption, the man didn''t care about the result either way, he was just angry they were underestimating goblins.


    However, that very same silence was broken by someone who thought he knew it all. His voice could be heard all through the guild as he asked the question.


    "I''m still waiting my turn in the line. Hurry the hell up, why''d you stop?"


    Upon hearing this, the tension which was in the air, quickly disappeared as everyone continued to move on with their things. Even the receptionist of the non-priority area, had stopped and listened in, debating whether she should intervene or not. But now she was back in action.


    "Thank y-"


    The man was interrupted by someone who suddenly, ran into the guild screaming as he did so


    "H-HELP!! IT''S COMING!!!" He shouted as he did so


    rmed, everyone got on their guard. All with the same question in their minds. What wasing? The man quickly stopped and dropped to his knees when he got inside. His arms and legspletely out of breath.


    "Hey-"


    One of the adventurers tried calling out to him, but stopped after seeing the state in which the man was in. His eyes and mouth were trembling in fear. He had the look of despair being disyed all over his face. Just what was it that he saw?


    "What''sing?" Another adventurer asked


    "T-T-T-The¡­"


    "The?"


    "D-D-Dragon¡­"


    At first, no one took him seriously.


    "Dragon? Pfft" The adventurer snorted


    He then turned to the man, and with a serious look said. "We don''t have time for your jokes. If you''ve got a problem, set up an emergency quest. You don''t look too good, did you go drinking or something?" The adventurer asked


    The man slowly shook his head before replying


    "N-No¡­ I''m not joking! I-I woke it up¡­ I woke up the D-Dragon¡­ I''m sorry¡­ I''m sorry-"


    The adventurer suddenly grabbed the man by the Corr, more annoyed than ever. "I Told you STOP JOKING AROUND! We all know that there aren''t any dragons in our continent, they''re extinct! They''re even rarer to find in dungeons!" Shouted the adventurer


    For a moment, the whole room was quiet.


    "A dragon? At this time?"


    "Can they even live in the cold?"


    "If it''s a snow-dragon, then maybe¡­ But they''re S-Rank monsters which even an S-Rank party can''t handle¡­ It''s probably another fake quest."


    Fake quests were quests submitted mainly for the purpose of killing an adventurer. An adventurer would be targeted and a quest would be made in the chances of the targeted specifically epting it. Then after they''d be in that area, they''d be assassinated.


    "You better not be trying to set us up¡­" Said the adventurer as the tightened the grip on the man''s Cor.


    The man now struggling to both speak and breathe gasped for air as he muttered


    "I-I¡­ I''m not¡­ I¡­ Saw it¡­ I-In¡­"


    Suddenly, The Bright Sword walked up to the adventurer who held the man by the cor, and grasped the man''s arm as he said.


    "Let him go, let''s hear what he has to say."


    Seeing this, the adventurer clicked his tongue before letting go of the man, causing him to drop straight down on to his knees.


    With a smile, the Bright Sword slowly went down to the man''s level and stared at him straight in the eye. He seemed to be a man from the slums who wouldn''t even be able to afford his own pair of clothes. He could see this from how malnutritioned he was however he was properly dressed in a robe.


    "This is a rather serious matter, so if you''re lying, I hope you''re ready to reap what you sow." Said The Bright Sword with the same cold smile

 Chapter 296 - The SS-Rank Dragon

    "This is a rather serious matter, so if you''re lying, I hope you''re ready to reap what you sow." Said The Bright Sword with the same cold smile


    "R-Right¡­ W-Where do I start¡­"


    "Wait."


    The voice resounded throughout the quiet room, rming everyone of the man''s presence. Tall, muscr and dressed lightly with only a top and trunks in the cold.


    He was a strange man, who always seen in the same set of clothes. People would usually ask why only to be quickly answered after.


    A slight glow came from the man''s clothes before turning into a long fur robe with gloves and leather boots. Two magic circles were also formed out of thin air and the man stretched out both arms into them.


    Nothing appeared on the other side of the magic circle but everyone could see that his arms were inside. Following that, he quickly pulled his arms back and out of the circle with gauntlets equipped.


    The air around the gauntlets seemed denser, and the temperature in the room changed. It became both colder and hotter at the same time.


    It was like standing in the middle of a sunny beach with a cold breeze. And as everyone saw that, one of the receptionists quickly spoke up.


    "Wee back, sir! Thank you for your work!" She said as she bowed


    The other receptionists also repeated the same motion as they watched as they simultaneously spoke


    "Thank you for your work!!!"


    Once again, a tall muscr man with a bright smile, a trimmed beard and long dark hair which covered his eyes, making it harder to tell what he was thinking. He seemed like the socially awkward type despite being very social.


    "Thank you all for working very hard to help maintain the peace." He said


    His voice both deep and strong, nothing which one would expect from his looks.


    "Thank you very much!" The receptionists replied simultaneously


    He then jumped down from the second floor, to the first. Making not a single sound as an air bubble was formed beneath him as hended.


    They were formed thanks to a special type of shoe which the man used. It was made of a rare special magical material which only those with power could afford or find.


    The man''s entire equipment was special, he wasn''t your average guild master, but said to be one of the great warlords who helped during the First World War (La Bellum). They called him the Endless Armour. A name originated from his special magic and equipment.


    "Now¡­ About that dragon. I''d like to hear it, surely you wouldn''t lie to a guild-master, right?" The guild master asked


    Now that the guild-master was present, the man who had seen the dragon seemed more nervous than ever, his arms and voice were trembling even more so than before. But now he was reassured that they would take him seriously, and that the thing that he saw could be stopped.


    "Yes¡­ Well then¡­ I''ll start from the beginning¡­"


    ??¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª??¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Within the cold, rampaging blizzard, a man could be seen chasing after an animal he was after. With his bow and arrowsced in a special poison, he ran as fast as he could while taking as many shortcuts as possible and cornering the animal before eventually reaching and catching it.


    It only took one arrow in the head to knock it out, it was a wild boar. The hunt didn''t take that long, but the blizzard began rampaging more and more while the man was on the run, so with no other choice. He took the dead animal and dragged it to a nearby cave, after carefully removing the poisoned arrow and the flesh around it.


    He had run up the mountain a lot more than he had initially intended so he was rather far up on thetitude. He had gone way further up than usual, but at the point he didn''t know.


    The air denser and colder, the man hurried to find a ce to protect himself from the weather so that he could properly skin the animal so the whole trip wouldn''t have been a waste.


    His arms trembling and shaking from the cold as he did so. Thankfully, his luck had yet to run out and he ended up encountering a cave.


    At that time, he wasn''t sure why, but even though he was desperately in the need to enter the cave, both his experience as a hunter and his instincts were screaming at him to stay away from it.


    However, he had no choice. In the case that he''d encounter a bear or a monster, he''d just have to use hisst resort which was a special magic scroll which could instantly cast a Lower-Ranking King-ss Ice spell.


    So with no other choice, he entered. He calmly and carefully walked inside, while doing his best to mask his presence. He left the boar in the entrance and decided to explore the insides of the cave first.


    It was dark, he could barely see a thing, but he continued to walk further and further inside. He then activated a light scroll which he had in his bag after he was a moderate distance inside. The air was warmer and he swore he could hear breathing.


    The light scroll activated, and there what he saw, was arge chamber, however, what stood inside was what sent chills down his spine. Dread seeped into his bones as he ran as fast as he could, without turning back.


    He even left the boar in hopes that it could slow down the monster, and right after he left, he heard it. A sounding roar, so loud it pierced his ears. The roar came from behind him, and echoed throughout the cave. But he didn''t dare look back.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "And that''s how you got here?" The guild master asked


    The man nodded with tears flowing down his eyes.


    "What did you see? Inside of the chamber." The Bright Sword asked.


    "A Dara¡­Dragon¡­ A white Dragon¡­"


    As soon as he muttered those words, the tension in the room was at it''s peak.


    "You''re probably just imagining it, it could have just been a wyvern¡­" One of the adventurers muttered


    People began to neglect the danger and began making up excuses.


    "Yeah¡­ That''s right. Besides, what makes you so sure it was a dragon?"


    "Exactly! He could have just been drinking! I see this guy at the pub every week!"


    "Not to mention he''s not the only hunter who goes up the mountains, why was he the only one that saw it and only now?"


    "That''s right!!"


    With each passing second, the amount of people who believed in him, lowered, but that was after all, due to how some humans were. They only believed in those with power and official facts. They had seen the cold truth about the world, after all.


    The guild master raised his hand and there was quiet, he then stared at the man before giving him a head pat and asking


    "Where was it that you saw it again?"


    The man nervously muttered out the words


    "The snow mountains, the one just ahead of the vige, beside the forest¡­"


    "I see¡­ And how far up did you go? Do you remember?" The guild master asked


    "Yes¡­ I went straight up, I don''t remember the exact the location as my footprints were covered by the snow¡­ And I ran back in a rush¡­ straight down and reached the city."


    Upon hearing this, the guild master slowly got up before looking around with a rather serious look.


    "As many of you have heard, this man has spotted a dragon in the mountains. Now I too don''t know how a dragon has resided there and we weren''t the first to notice, but what I do know is that dragons are very intelligent creatures, powerful creatures standing at SS-Rank in the monster category."


    Everyone listened in carefully, somewhat annoyed that the Guild-Master actually believed it.


    "That''s why, we''ll be issuing an exploration quest-"


    "Hold on, you don''t actually believe him, do you?" One of the adventurers asked


    "He''s right, for all we know, this could be another fake quest."


    "I mean, think about it, none of it makes sense, why go so far up in the mountains anyway, if he was an experienced hunter? And why would he lose his own track?"


    They were are all fair arguments, but in the end, a guild was a guild and the quest was a quest. And those with power, ran it.


    "You''re all right, his story is probably fake and there''s a chance that it could just end up getting you killed, which is why it''s voluntary and not mandatory that you ept. If you have anything against the quest, set up a report to the receptionist. Aside from that, I don''t want to hear anymoreining about the quest. Am I clear?" He asked coldly


    His final words, were bot Sharp and cold enough to send chills down everyone''s spine, there was nothing they could say to retort.. Everything the guild master said was correct.

 Chapter 297 - The Exploration Quest

    "You''re all right, his story is probably fake and there''s a chance that it could just end up getting you killed, which is why it''s voluntary and not mandatory that you ept. If you have anything against the quest, set up a report to the receptionist. Aside from that, I don''t want to hear anymoreining about the quest. Am I clear?" He asked coldly


    His final words, were bot Sharp and cold enough to send chills down everyone''s spine, there was nothing they could say to retort. Everything the guild master said was correct.


    "And besides, if there''s nothing there. Then it''s just free money for you lot. Take a risk, and go sightseeing. However, in the case that you do encounter something. Run, don''t engage. Dragon''s aren''t as simple to deal with as wyvern and I''m sure you all already know that." Said the guild-master


    "H-He''s right¡­"


    "Yeah, the guild-master isn''t just any master¡­ He knows his stuff¡­"


    "And if it really is true¡­ What''s going to happen to the vige?"


    Some of the adventurers began muttering amongst themselves while the rest stayed quiet.


    One adventurer in particr walked up out of the group towards the guild-master. The adventurer wore a cloak and a face mask just up to it''s mouth making it only possible to see their eyes and Light purple hair edges as they poked out from the cloak.


    "If it''s real, then the vige is at risk. Give me the quest, I''m in." Said the adventurer


    The voice was definitely that of a girl, soft and light, yet intimidating at the same time. Seeing this person''s resolve was enough to put a smile on the guild-master''s face. He then turned to the receptionist and before saying


    "You heard the girl, put the quest in the records as soon as possible, we have no time to waste, the exploration will ur today, right now."


    Upon hearing this, the receptionists nodded before quickly getting to work, they went to their desks and began to write down on sheets of paper. When they were finally finished, they gave up a thumbs up to the guild master.


    "Eh? The quest is right now?"


    "I mean, it is emergency¡­ and we don''t have time to waste¡­"


    The guild master then looked once more at the confused adventurers and the one who stood in front of him, before asking


    "Who wants to join the exploration? Raise your hand. The reward is ten gold coins per person who participates."


    "T-T-TEN GOLD COINS!?!" Many simultaneously shouted out


    "Yeah, that''s right. Ten gold coins."


    Most of the members present raised there hands. There were around 40 present including the girl and 30 raised their hands. That would be troublesome for the guild, as it would be 300 gold coins in total which would have been a lot just to explore.


    An exploration quest really didn''t need that many people so the guild master had a change of ns.


    "Also, don''t forget about the rank rules. You can only ept quests up to 3 difficulties higher than your actual rank. And since in this case, a Dragon is a threat SS, only A-Ranks can ept. SO this quest is only avable to A-Ranks." He said so, calmly.


    "Huh? But doesn''t that mean B-Ranks-"


    "Nope, SS-Ranks are too high for B-Ranks" Replied the guild-master


    "But didn''t you say-"


    "That is all. If anyone Is an A-Rank and would like to participate. Please step forward, I will be also going along with you in this quest, as things seem like they could get dangerous¡­ Looks like I''ll have to get serious again¡­"


    Just as he had finished speaking, the tension in the room was at it''s peak. They weren''t sure how many A-Rank''s were present.


    Then it that moment, the girl in the cloak, In front of the Guild-Master pulled out a Red-A Rank card showing it as she said


    "I''m in."


    Upon hearing this, the guild-master nodded, although it was hard to tell just from looking, he could feel great strengthing from her. Her control over her magic power was like the steady ocean with a storm in the distance.


    She also seemed to leave little to no openings whatsoever, if one were to try to attack her, the guild-master would probably feel bad for them. Andstly, the look in her eyes. Fearless scarlet eyes.


    Her build was also rather small but that was good for agility. After the inspection, he deemed that daggers were probably her specialty.


    "Me too." Said The Bright Sword as he stepped forward.


    Everyone in the room knew the bright sword, imprable defense and overwhelming offense, a knight with a build which wasn''t too big nor small. When it came to a strong bnced powerful, yet durable build. He stood second to none in the whole room.


    "If the vige is facing danger, than even I won''t stand down. It''s an important ce to me, after all." Said The Bright Sword with a smile


    The guild master also seemed content with this. They were two very strong members, there was no way he would refuse such an offer. He nodded, but something worried him, they didn''t have a magician or healer, and if it turned into an encounter in which they couldn''t escape, it was fundamental. However, a B-Rank healer wouldn''t cut it.


    "Are there any others?" The guild master asked expectantly


    For a moment, there was nothing but quiet, but just as he was about to lose hope. Ady with a witch hat, stepped forward.


    She seemed rather young but seemed to have a fully developed body, she wore a strange magic cloak which seamed to have been enchanted with fire magic, making it work just as a regr fur robe.


    Long smooth hair which seemed to be a mixture of both purple in the base and pink at the edges, along with apparently glowing pink eyes and a pink pipe sticking out from her pink lips. A beauty who everyone recognized. Another A-Rank adventurer, a well-known magician at that.


    It''s said that she''s nearly all of the requirements to be an S-Rank in terms of questspleted but she''s only missing one more, and that is to be able toplete an S-Rank quest or beat an S-Rank in a duel.


    "This is exactly, what I''ll need to reach it. You need a magician don''t you? I''m in"


    Of course she wouldn''t miss an opportunity such as this, she was a very talented magician Able to use three elements. Fire, wind, earth along with the holy element. The guild-master felt much More reassured having her there.


    "Whoa¡­ A party of A-Rankers with the guild-master, and these ones who are well on their way to bing S-Rank, there''s no doubt that this is the strongest party in the vige right now¡­"


    "Now even a dragon won''t be a threat to us!!"


    "Yeah!! The Dragon has got nothing on them, the guild master was even an S-Rank before he retired, what''s a dragon going to do?"


    The tension slowed dispersed as optimism began to cloud the room. However, all that optimism quickly disappeared as the guild master said


    "No. There''s a Reason why a Dragon is SS and not A-Rank, like the wyvern. A dragon isn''t just a regr monster or creature. It''s a legendary creature. It''s lived for centuries, has more knowledge than anyone can imagine. It can use magic and even I''ve never gone up against one before. There''s also little information on them as they''re intelligent." Said the guild-master


    He spoke seriously, he wasn''t trying to scare anyone or make the quest seem more dangerous than it actually was, he was just speaking from his heart and trying to warn them.


    "Even with the four of us, I doubt we''d even be able to severely wound it. I can handle a Wyvern solo, but a dragon¡­ It''s on apletely different level." Said The Guild-Master with a hint of fear in his words.


    The adventurers were all speechless, and the A-Rankers chose to remain quiet. They too had heard many stories about dragons destroying viges and cities.


    Just as the guild-master was going to break the silence with his next words, someone suddenly walked into the guild.


    "Guild¡­ Guild¡­ This is the guild right¡­?" He asked himself as he took a look inside


    ''The smell of beer and wine in the air, the wooden tables, broken ss and the worn out quest boards which always somehow seem to be made out of bad quality¡­ Yep, there''s no mistaking it, it''s the guild!'' He thought to himself happily


    "I had to sleep outside of the vige while searching for my card¡­ Now I''m finally back!" He said so as tears of joys slowly flowed down his eyes


    He then felt the tension in the air, before noticing that everyone''s attention was on him.


    "Eh? Did Ie at a bad time¡­? And what''s with everyone standing around that guy?''


    It was hexo, and in that moment, him entering at that particr moment, managed to disrupt the tension which had filled the air.

 Chapter 298 - Wariness Among The Formed Party

    It was hexo, and him entering at that particr moment, managed to disrupt the tension which had filled the air.


    ''Should Ie backter¡­? I''m not used to all this attention.''


    However, after a few seconds of thinking, he decided to stay. There was no reason to leave, or rather, now he was even more curious as to why everyone was acting in that way.


    "Guild-master, what''s wrong with anyone?" He asked as he walked through the crowd and suddenly stopped in front of the master.


    For a moment, the guild-master was surprised. He had never met this guy, and he knew he wasn''t a regr at the guild so how did he recognize it was him? He wasn''t even in his trunks which the rumors would usually use to describe him.


    "Huh? Did I make a mistake¡­? But wait¡­ You''re the strongest one here, aren''t you? So I thought for sure that you were-"


    "Ha- Ha ha ha!! I like you, boy! No, you''re right. I''m the guild master!"


    "Oh, great. You mind exining to me what''s going on here? I get a little nervous with all this attention." Said Hexo calmly


    ''Nervous? You?'' The adventurers wondered


    "That''s right¡­ Before I exin though, what rank are you boy?" The guild-master asked


    "Rank? Oh, A-Rank." Said Hexo as he casually pulled out a red A-Rank card.


    It was another High-A ranker.


    "Perfect, you''re in." Said the guild-master with a wide smile as he patted hexo on the shoulder


    "I''m what? In for what?" Hexo asked


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "A dragon!?! You really think you can handle one with just 4 A-Rankers and a former S-Rank?" Hexo asked somewhat seriously


    The instant the word dragon had popped up in the guild-master''s exnation, there was an obvious change in Hexo''s expression. He seemed very pissed off. He also seemed to be squeezing his hand as he curled it up into a fist.


    "This is just an exploration quest. Hence there''s a chance that it''s true. The vige will call for S-Rank back up." Replied the guild master


    For a moment, there was no reply from Hexo. All he did was stare at the ground.


    "However, if you think it''s too dangerous than¡ª"


    The guild master was interrupted by Hexo, who suddenly said


    "No, I''m in¡­ Definitely." Said Hexo as he grit his teeth


    While the guild-master was happy, he was also concerned for the young man. He could feel a lot of rage and blood lust being released.


    ''He harbors a strong hate towards dragons¡­ Maybe something he experienced during childhood?''


    "Great, looks like we have everyone, we set out as soon as possible." Said the leader


    "That''s good and all, but¡­ Why is everyone looking at us, like that?" Hexo asked as he gave a quick look around.


    Everyone had a confused and dumbfounded look on their face. They were staring at both the guild-master and Hexo. The A-Rankers however, paid no attention to it.


    "Are you two rted?" One of the adventurers asked


    ''He actually asked it! I was wondering the same thing.'' They all simultaneously thought


    "No." Both the guild Master and Hexo simultaneously replied


    "What makes you think that?" Hexo asked shortly after


    They looked at the clothes they were wearing. The guild master was known to wear light clothes despite being in the middle of a freezing cold blizzard and Hexo here had his robe opened allowing his abs to stick out. He was also wearing shorts and sandals.


    "N-Nothing." Said the Adventurer as he stepped back.


    "¡­?"


    "Well then, are we all ready to leave?" Asked the guild master


    They didn''t have any time to waste. The bright sword quickly replied ''yes'' the magician took in another puff of smoke from her pipe before nodding, hexo mmed his fist into his hand as he replied "Let''s get going. And the girl in the cloak covering her appearance slowly nodded.


    "Good, then let''s go-"


    Just as the guild-master said that. He suddenly turned his head to the Guild''s entrance where another young man could be seen walking inside.


    "Hey¡­ Isn''t that¡­?"


    "Yeah¡­ It''s the blind-guy from a while ago¡­"


    "Wait¡­ If he''s here, then what happened to the snakes?"


    Some Adventurers began muttering amongst themselves when the tall and muscr adventurer who was waiting at the entrance and convinced that there was more to him that met the eye muttered


    "Well, I''ll be damned¡­"


    Not a single wound nor injury could be seen on the man. His clothes were in the same state as before and his blindfold looked as if it hadn''t been touched at all. What''s more, his expression hadn''t changed at all.


    The first thing the guild-master noticed about the young man, was that he wasn''t normal. No presence, no magic power, even his cloak looked as if it were hiding a weak and powerless body beneath it. But for some reason, he felt a strange sense of danger.


    Hexo who saw this was also surprised, or rather, he wasn''t sure how to react.


    ''What a lucky day¡­ It''s that guy again¡­'' He thought to himself nervously


    The guild-master suddenly got up and watched as the young man made his way towards him. The other A-Ranker''s watched quietly, they were one of the few who didn''t let out a singleugh at the young man. Not because they had deemed him dangerous but because it wasn''t worth their time,ughing like a bunch of idiots at a young man''s problems.


    However, now. Seeing the young man returned, had caused them to grow slightly wary of him. A lot more than they initially expected. The air around him felt different, colder. Yet they weren''t sure why they felt that way, all of them except for Hexo.


    The Guild master''s expression turned rather serious and he became more and more quiet as the young man reached the group.


    "Hey¡­ Who is this young man???? The guild master asked as he kept his face fixed on the young man.


    The adventurers who heard this, didn''t even waste the opportunity to reply.


    "Just, some Random sacrifice for the battlefield."


    "Ha ha! That was harsh, he''s just a blind man in need of help is all."


    "At least he managed to defeat a goblin."


    The group of adventurers started tough again, and the guild master slowly began to approach the young man with a rather terrifying expression as he did so.


    "Goblin¡­? Ah¡­ I see¡­ So the report was correct¡­ Truly an Illusion¡­" The Guild Master muttered as he stood right in front of the young man


    He towered over the young man in terms of height, and definitely looked more powerful, but¡­ He had a feeling it was only looks.


    The tension began to rise in the room as they all paid attention to the guild master''s reaction. Then out of nowhere he began tough. And a loud one at that.


    "Oh man!! I can''t stopughing!! H-Ha- Wai-Ha!"


    Everyone listened in quietly, and shortly after, he stopped.


    "Oh god¡­ Ah¡­ It must be from the age¡­ Sorry¡­ It''s just¡­ I didn''t realize how stupid this generation could be¡­ What''s your name boy?" The guild master asked as he stretched out his hand at John for a Hand Shake


    The young man looked at the hand before grabbing onto his adventurer''s card within his cloak and handing it to the Guild master. In that instant, the Guild Master got to see Daggers on the young man''s waist. Yet he carried a staff on his hand. There was more to him than met the eye.


    The Guild Master looked at the adventurer''s card and was d to see that it was A-Rank. His instincts and senses weren''t mistaken. He then had a look at the name and a joyful smile could be seen disyed on his face once he was finished inspecting it.


    "Right, that''s all I needed to see, thank you." Said the guild master.


    The young man nodded, and ced his card back inside of his cloak. In that Instant, he felt an immense amount of blood lust along with a fist heading straight towards his face.


    He watched it make it''s way, and without even bothering to dodge, he slightly lowered his head. In that moment, he was sent flying back straight through the crowd to the guild''s entrance with haste.


    As he crashed into the door, surprise filled the Guild Master''s face.


    "Eh? Why didn''t you dodge?" The guild master asked


    He then looked over at his hand with the gauntlet covering it, and noticed a slight crack on it. On top of that, there was a surge of pain urring in the hand which he used to punch the young man.


    "What the hell!?"


    "H-Hey, is he fine?!"


    "D-Did he kill him?"


    The adventurers were even more surprised than the Guild-Master. Yet out of nowhere, without a wound visible on his face, the young man suddenly got up from the floor, before making his way back towards the guild master.


    "H-Hey, don''t you think it''d be better to stay down?"


    "You sure you okay?"


    "Maybe he hit his head too hard?!"


    The adventurers were thinking of stopping him, when suddenly the young man pulled back his hand and curled it into a fist. The guild master was a battle maniac, so seeing this caused him to feel a rush of adrenaline along with excitement.


    "Now it''s your turn.. Come at me, I won''t run or dodge." Said the guild master with a joyful look

 Chapter 299 - The Dark Fist

    Out of nowhere, without a wound visible on his face, the young man suddenly got up from the floor, before making his way back towards the guild master. His hand was curled into a fist and stretched back as he did so.


    The guild master was a battle maniac, so seeing this caused him to feel a rush of adrenaline along with excitement.


    "Now it''s your turn. Come at me, I won''t run or dodge." Said the guild master with a joyful look


    "H-Hey, he''s not serious right? He''s really telling a blind man to hit him?"


    "I mean, how''s he going to hit what he can''t see? And how is he still standing after getting knocked that hard?!"


    "But is he really blind though? He''s been moving around quiet easily and it doesn''t look like he''s using his staff to do it¡­"


    As the people continued to mutter amongst each other. A few adventurers along with the A-Rank magician couldn''t stand to watch this. They got in position and were about to intervene when suddenly Hexo stopped them.


    "I wouldn''t do anything if I were you." He said so as he stood in between the A-Rank magician and the Guild Master.


    He then turned to the crowd of adventurers who were nning on helping the Guild Master and said.


    "Before you guys try anything, look at this old man''s face. You think that''s the look of someone who needs help?"


    They took a moment and stared at the Guild Master''s face, and no doubt it showed excitement. He was looking forward to the young man''s next move. A battle maniac


    "Also, he punched that guy over there so it''s only Fair if the guy punches back. Let em at it." Said Hexo


    However, just as he said that. One of the adventurers quickly retorted


    "Help the Guild Master? Don''t be crazy, we''re trying to help the blind one over there." He said as he pointed at the young man who showed no signs of stopping as he slowly approached the Guild Master


    "That''s right, we''re just trying to help him."


    "The guild Master won''t kill him, but it could still get bad."


    Upon hearing this, Hexo unintentionally let out a snort having found it hrious before asking with a convinced smile


    "Help? That guy over there?" Hexo asked as he pointed at the young man.


    He then let out a sigh before shaking his head


    "You really think, that guy over there needs help? Against a former S-Rank who is way past his prime? Ha, that''s a funny joke."


    "Huh? You calling us stupid?" One of the adventurers asked as he slowly moved his hand towards the sword on his waist.


    He was around Hexo''s height and bulky, though Hexo had more muscles. The adventurer also looked rather intimidating but to Hexo, he didn''t stand out at all.


    He wasn''t a threat, however the instant his finger touched his sword''s handle. Hexo let out an abundance of blood lust and killing intent aimed straight at the man as he red at him. In that moment, the Adventurer thought twice on his next move when suddenly, another adventurer beside him, grabbed his hand to stop him.


    "Hey¡­ That''s an A-Rank, Don''t do anything stupid."


    Upon hearing this, he moved his hand away from his sword before nodding, sweat slowly poured down his face as he realized what he had nearly gotten himself into.


    "Cowards. Just Sit back and watch." Said Hexo as he turned to the young man.


    The young man was now only a few steps away from the Guild Master, yet from a normal persons view, nothing stood out. He just had his arm pulled back and ready to send a fist flying forward. Something like that from someone of the young man''s size wouldn''t even be able to make the Guild Master Flinch from all his Armour, or so everyone thought.


    However, for some reason as the young man was only two steps away, the Guild Master''s excitement began to disappear, or rather, without realizing it, he had started to umte slight fear. From his decades of experience, he felt that in that moment, he was standing on the palm of death''s hand.


    Only one step away, the young man''s hand was suddenly engulfed in a dark burning me with miniature dark electric sparks flowing through it. And in an instant, his hand curled into a fist was ced right on the Guild Master''s Chestte.


    The movement was so fast that most of the adventurers weren''t able to see it, However all the A-Rankers along with the Guild Master were. The young man sent a fist straight at the the Guild Master. It was fast, but that was all there was to it, even the mes had disappeared.


    "W-What the heck, that was so fast I could barely see it. For a second I thought that-"


    ''Newton''s Boost'' The young man thought to himself


    *Boom!* *Crack*


    A shock wave was suddenly sent through the room as the Guild Master was propelled backwards at High speeds. His face filled with surprise and confusion as he mmed into and through the wall only tond outside behind the guild.


    The entire room was shocked, no one uttered a word. They didn''t know what to say, even Hexo was surprised. He had expected something unexpected but he never expected the this type of unexpected.


    In that instant, the three A-Rankers suddenly surrounded the young man. Each with their weapons pointed and ced near his neck or vital organs.


    "You see, the guild master and I are good friends, so I must ask, wasn''t that a little too much Killing intent?" The Bright Sword asked with a forced smile


    "Do we kill him?" The Cloaked Girl asked


    "My chant is ready, just say the word." Said The magician


    Upon seeing this, the rest of the adventurers snapped out of their surprise and also reacted, bringing their guard up and preparing their weapons.


    "Let''s Ki-"


    Before the Adventurer in the crowd could finish. Hexo suddenly broke a table by mming his fist into it, rming everyone in the room. However they didn''t leave their positions.


    "You guys really trying to ridicule the Guild Master''s Pride? I don''t know much about him, but look outside. Does it look like he wants you to do all of this? It was a voluntary exchange of blows. If you allstill insist on fighting him despite it having been fair, then You''ll have to fight me too."


    "Huh, what could you even do-?"


    The instant the adventurer had finished, despite him being across the room to Hexo, Hexo suddenly appeared in front of him and said. "Try me."


    His movement was also fast, it was as if he had suddenly elerated during his leap. He also seemed to chant just as the guy spoke yet not many noticed.


    The man fell on his butt before slowly backing away from Hexo.


    "You''re siding with that guy!?" Another adventurer asked


    "I am. After all, I hate it when people get punished for doing nothing wrong. And I don''t care if I have to take all of you down here to prove it." Said Hexo


    The A-Rankers who saw this, remained in their position, after all, they knew something that the others didn''t.


    "You¡­ You''ve been casting an illusion this whole time, lucky for us, Silica was barely able to see through it. You''re the wan-"


    "STOP!!" The Guild Master Suddenly Shouted, rming everyone in the room


    His shout was strong, far too strong for someone that had been hit through reinforced magic proof walls. He slowly got up from the ground.


    "It doesn''t matter who he is, all that matters is that we need him for this quest and that he''s an adventurer!" He said so, clearly as he walked back towards the guild.


    He tried hiding his injuries, but it was hard to even walk. The blow he had sustained was internal not external. His ribs and lungs were squashed in. Had he had his guard up things would have ended different, but he took it directly and could still walk. A normal person would have died, so such was as expected of a former S-Rank.


    "So young man, I ask you. Will you join us on our quest?" The Guild Master asked, filled with expectations which had caused him to forget his pain.


    The young man nodded and in that instant, suddenly vanished off right in front of the A-Rankers before reappearing in front of the Guild Master.


    "What?"


    "When did he-"


    The guild master''s Armour pushed into his right rib indicating that it was clearly broken.


    "Argh¡­ You got me good¡­ *Cough*" The Guild Master muttered as he looked down on the wound


    Suddenly, the Guild Master noticed all his pain disappear as the young man nodded once more before turning back to the Guild.


    The guild master''s eyes then widened as he noticed this.


    ''He knows holy magic? But he used the dark element and fire element in that punch¡­ Does thew of the gods not affect him?''

 Chapter 300 - The Cave And Dragon

    The snowkes traveled along the air as it became denser. A thick fog surrounded them as the group of six continued to walk. As they ascended higher and higher up, any trail left behind including footprints were cleanly clogged, however each of them had their own way of setting their trails so they could find their way in case of an emergency.


    It was a group of six and they were currently ascending the mountain together. Each sticking to one another while keeping a good distance.


    The party was formed and the quest had started. The young man walked ahead of hate group as they couldn''t trust their backs to him. They all knew about his identity so it was understandable. Hexo however, didn''t care, he was scary and had an ominous air, but for some reason he felt little evil or bad intentions.


    The formation was two-two-two. They were in pairs and in their own order special order. In the front was The young man and Hexo, The middle was the Cloaked girl and magician and at the back was the Guild Master and The Bright Sword.


    Things had gone smoothly up until now, they hadn''t encountered a single monster.


    "This fog¡­" The Guild Master muttered to himself


    Noticing this, The bright sword turned to him while keeping his attention focused on what was around him before asking.


    "You felt it too? It''s rather unnatural isn''t it? It''s filled with magic too, either another magician or¡­"


    "A strong monster." Answered The cloaked girl


    ''It''s made to make us lose our sense of direction. But it''s fine, the young man in the front has been interrupting it from doing so¡­ He''s strong and good at magic? Whats more, where the hell is his chant'' The magician wondered


    She continued to keep her eyes on him from behind as they continued to ascend. Another thing bothered her.


    ''I''ve heard about these types of mist attracting more monsters so why is it that we haven''t encountered none? Is it his doing?'' She wondered


    The tension in the group rose as they continued to climb up. Hexo had something in his mind that he needed to tell the young man who wouldn''t stop staring at his direction.


    "W-What do you want?" Hexo asked nervously as he looked back at the young man.


    The young man pulled out a box from within his cloak and handed it to Hexo, causing Hexo to be surprised for a moment, but shortly after understanding it.


    "Oh I see¡­ You want to thank me for sticking up for you. Don''t, I don''t deserve it. I didn''t do it to help you, I just hate unfair things and besides you were the strongest one there, I sided with you to guarantee my life, that''s all." Hexo said calmly


    The other four behind them heard it and felt annoyed that they were being looked down on. Hexo still continued to believe that they wouldn''t stand a chance.


    The young man pulled back his hand with the box on it, before shaking his head. He then ced it back into his cloak.


    ''What''s with this guy?'' Hexo wondered


    They had been walking for hours and it was Ly about time that they reached their destination. The Young man at the front suddenly stopped before the fog in front of him dispersed by an intense pressure of wind.


    There stood a simple wall part of the mountain, there was a hill above it, indicating that they''d have to climb up or go around. However, that wasn''t all there was to it.


    The group stopped and the young man continued to walk forward. They were all taking in what they had just seen. Again just like in the Guild, he used magic without chanting.


    "I thought I was just imagining things earlier¡­" Said The cloaked girl


    "But after seeing this, it confirms it." Added The magician.


    The guild master then said something which stood out and caused their attention to go back to what actually mattered


    "That wall, somethings off about it."


    They then watched as the young man stood face to face with the wall, he wasn''t attempting to climb it or go around it. He simply ced his hand on it, and then with a little push, the sound of shattering resounded throughout the group as the scenery in front of them changed.


    It looked like the wall had broken like pieces of ss before dispersing into thin air leaving behind a cave in front of them. A big and ominous cave. And despite being outside, they could hear it. Strong yet quiet snoringing from within the cave.


    With each puff an abundance of magic would flow out of the cave. The amount was phenomenal, it was much more than any regr human could produce and it was just from whatever which was inside''s breathing.


    The young man then turned back to the Guild Master as if to ask what to do next and after giving it a moderately long thought he said


    "Let''s go in to confirm it."


    ''This young man¡­ He may be the key to defeating it¡­ It will take a long time Until reinforcement arrives, it''s better for us to try against it, rather than just waiting¡­ This probably confirms it, I can''t even imagine how much magic power that thing contains¡­ If it broke loose in the city¡­''


    The young man nodded and was the first to walk in. Everyone else sped up their pace to get back into formation with him, they had now entered the battlefield


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    They continued to walk through the cave, they were instructed not to use any light spells and make any sound as to not wake up the dragon. However, that only made it harder for them to navigate.


    Either way light spells weren''t needed because the further they went, the lighter the cave got, along with the overwhelming increase of magic power flowing past them.


    ''This magic pressure¡­ It''s making it even hard for me to breathe, so then how did that hunter make it all the way to the chamber? Somethings off¡­'' He thought to himself


    And he wasn''t the only one, but even still they continued to move, after all, it was their job. Now, the further they got, the colder the air was got. The temperature was slowly decreasing.


    Upon seeing this, Hexo started to slightly regret the fact that he was he left his sleeves open. He could handle the cold, but this¡­ This was freezing.


    Sharp Ice spikes could be seen around them as the ground and walls became seemingly more frozen. The snoring only continued to get louder as they got closer and the magic pressure increased.


    It was as if they were walking towards the gates of hell. But again that didn''t stop them, they continued to move on, each with their own resolve.


    Ten gold coins was definitely not the amount worth what they were doing at this moment, And the guild-master knew that, so he had better ns and rewards reserved for them, when they got back.


    But that would only be if they actually manage to get back.


    They had been walking for a few minutes now, and if the magic was reaching all the way outside despite that, they could only imagine how dense the magic of the actual dragon would be.


    Finally, after all that walking, they could start to see the end of the cave, where the chamber resided. Hexo and the young man suddenly stopped.


    Hexo was surprised, he didn''t stop his movements, it was as if something he couldn''t see had caused him to freeze. Confused he looked over at the young man, who turned back to the Guild Master.


    "Are we here?" The Guild master asked


    The young man nodded.


    ''Another illusion, huh¡­ I''m guessing if we break it, we''ll be forced to engage¡­ Not to mention it might be listening in on us right now¡­''


    "I''ll let you five decide, I''ll increase the reward. This isn''t something we should leave near the city, so how about it? Exploration to extermination?" The Guild Master asked


    Contrary to his expectations, they all nodded.


    "I see¡­ I''ll make sure you''re all properly reward, Extermination quest is in acti-"


    *Crack*


    Before the guild master could even finish, everything in their surroundings suddenly shattered, and following that, a sight which would send chills down the spine of even a former S-Rank adventurer. Appeared right in front of their eyes.


    Large blue eyes carved into the creature''s spiky angr skull stare at the group and each of it''s members, sending dread into their bones. With tworge crystals going through the back of it''s head above it''srge drawn-back ears.


    Several crystals of ice traveling down it''s short neck throughout it''s back all the way to it''s long thick tail. Arge body and limbs which only added nearly ten times the size of all the adventurers there.


    It was a dragon, simr yet nothing like a Wyvern, it was bigger and stronger.. And this very same being was stood right in front of their faces, breathing into their soul.

 Chapter 301 - The Adventurers Vs The Dragon

    Large blue eyes carved into the creature''s spiky angr skull stare at the group and each of it''s members, sending dread into their bones. With tworge crystals going through the back of it''s head above it''srge drawn-back ears.


    Several crystals of ice traveling down it''s short neck throughout it''s back all the way to it''s long thick tail. Arge body which was nearly ten times the size of all the adventurers there.


    It was a dragon. Nothing like a wyvern. It was bigger, stronger, and much more intimidating.


    As the beingid right in front of their eyes, they could feel the dense air and the dread in their bones making it harder and harder to breathe, much less move.


    Hexo''s eyes were opened wide and a nervous smile could be seen on his face as he muttered "Finally¡­"


    For a moment, everything seemed normal, the dragon did nothing but observe, but suddenly, everything took a turn when the dragon move it''s neck back and let out a loud roar.


    *ROAAAAAAAAAARRR!*


    The roar was paralyzing, being so loud they felt like it was piercing the insides of their ears. They found their bodies failing to respond as they tried to move their hands to cover their ears when suddenly.


    -


    All the sound disappeared. For a moment, they thought they had gone death, but they found out that wasn''t the case when Hexo asked


    "What¡­ What''s this field around us?"


    It was an invisible field, no one could see it, not even Hexo, but he could feel it. The young man quickly turned to Hexo upon hearing that. Hexo was the first person to be able to see His Silenced field.


    However, he quickly turned back to the dragon as they had bigger things to worry about.


    The dragon closed it''s mouth and stopped the howl before looking at the group of adventurers once more.


    ''Hm¡­? A group of mere humans dare disturb my sleep?'' Said The voice


    The voice resounded on the inside of their minds,pletely ignoring the silenced field''s properties.


    It was the voice of the Dragon. The Adventurers were all surprised when they heard it, they had heard about Dragon''s being able tomunicate, but nothing about mind-speaking.


    The Guild Master was the first to speak, he saw this as an opportunity to avoid It''s wrath.


    "Great one, we have note to fight, and we apologies for disturbing your sleep. However, we must ask that you leave this mountain¡­ The blizzard''s rampage has increased, and there is risk of the vige facing your wrath¡­" Said The Guild Master Nervously


    ''Leave? You want me to Leave? A mere human, dares ask me to leave my home?!''


    In that instant, Several Ice Crystals were formed in the air above them. It nearly filled the room. Following that, the Dragon opened it''s mouth to disy a glowing blue raying from inside. It was charging up an attack.


    They looked around but there was no where to run, they were no longer in the halls of the cave but now inside of a giant rocky frozen room with Ice crystals and rocks lying around everywhere. It seems they had reached the end of the cave.


    "Stick to the n!" The Guild Master Shouted


    In that instant, they all split up.


    Hexo, suddenly started to chant before circling the dragon, He ran right around it from the left, towards it''s back. The dragon saw this and swung it''s tail at him but he managed to avoid it in thest second by jumping over it.


    However, before he couldnd, as if it were some sort of whip, it''s tail went straight at him again, hitting him causing him to go flying towards the wall, interrupting his chant in the process.


    The cloaked girl went through the right, and also tried the option of circling it. However, right after the Dragon had dealt with Hexo, it''s tail went straight to her.


    She easily dodged the tail as it hastily swung it at her. She then jumped in closer to stab it, when she noticed the edges of her dagger turn into ice.


    She quickly pulled back and threw knives towards it''s side, but right before there was contact, the knives froze before shattering as it made contact with the dragon''s body.


    The room then lit up as a giant fireball the size of the Dragon was suddenly formed in front of it. It then unleashed, it''s beam which it had charged up straight at the magician beneath it.


    It was a blue beam as blue as ice, it froze anything it came into contact with. The magician couldn''t move, but she wasn''t worried. That was because of the Guild Master was with her, His build was Offensive Tank.


    Right before the Beam hit Her, arge Iron Shield was formed out of thin air, in front of them as the earth rose to form anotheryer of barricade aside from the shield.


    The beam froze the earth wall before breaking it into pieces, and as it began to freeze the shield. The girl suddenly, propelled, the fireball straight at it, causing it to change the direction of it''s beam up towards the Fireball.


    It quickly pierced through the Fireball, freezing it as it did so, but that was only a distraction. Hexo and the Cloaked girl suddenly jumped towards the Dragon from behind.


    However, the Dragon Reacted and out of nowhere, Ice Crystals were formed out of thin air together forming an Ice Shield made purely out of the Crystals.


    Hexo was in front of the Girl, his gauntlets lit up in raging hot fiery mes As he sent a fist straight ahead at the shield breaking it in the process. The impact however caused him to go flying back.


    However, right before he did, he grabbed the cloaked girl before throwing her threw the gap he created in it''s defense.


    "Be quick!" Hexo shouted


    It was up to the Cloaked Girl to risk her life and attack it at close Range. When she got through she pulled out her dagger before thrusting it down at the Dragon''s Skin.


    It was freezing cold, because she stood on it, with each instant that passed, ice slowly traveled through her feet to her legs.


    On contact however, the dagger didn''t pierce it''s skin and instead was pushed back. The Dragon seeing this, quickly swung it''s tail towards her, but before it could make it. It''s tail suddenly froze still in ce.


    "Sacred Treasure Art: Toxicus Venenum" She muttered as she thrust down once more.


    This time she managed to pierce just a part of it''s skin, causing it to turn slightly purple. She then jumped away back through the same area she had entered as it seemed to be the only opening the dragon had, the rest of the Areas, such as the side, would freeze whatever got close, it''s back however was defenseless.


    Infuriated, the dragon let out another roar, before the crystals in the air, were all propelled straight down at everything around it.


    There were too many, none of the adventurers had any way of being able to defend from it, except for the Guild Master. All they could do was dodge.


    The Guild Master Created Another Shield Above his and the Magician''s head before shouting.


    "INCOMING!!!"


    Right as he said that, mountains of ice crystals began to rain down on the adventurers, targeting each and everyone on of them.


    Hexo, struggled to avoid them, getting grazed ever so slightly as he moved to the left and right while tilting his body. However the more time passed, the more ice began to spread from his robe.


    The cloaked girl easily avoided it, but her feet were still partially frozen so her movements had slowed down, On top of that, her cloak slowly began to freeze up and spread the ice towards her.


    The ones who dealt with the situation the best were The Guild-Master and the Magician, but the dragon quickly formed tworge Ice crystals before propelling them straight at them.


    The Guild-Master, tried putting up another shield and creating another earth wall, but he was to preupied from the attacks above, the shield in the air was hard to maintain.


    ''Shit-''


    Right before it hit him however, the Ice Crystals broke. Not Just those ones, but all of them. The countless Ice crystals in the room, shattered, one after another. The Ice Dragon also let out a loud roar as it violently moved it''s head around.


    Then as it was distracted, the young man with his hand stretched forward, could be seen standing next to The Bright Sword who had his sword raised up in the air.


    The young man seemed to have added an elemental Enchant to the bright sword''s sword as it was engulfed in a zing inferno pointed towards the Cave''s ceiling.


    The bright sword then leapt straight at the dragon and the me began to glow a bright yellow light as he muttered the words


    "Sacred Treasure Art: Divine Purification" He muttered

 Chapter 302 - Sacred Treasure Art: Divine Purification

    "Sacred Treasure Art: Divine Purification" He muttered


    The Dragon Tried creating another ice shield to stop him from getting any closer as it wailed it''s head around in pain, but just like before, it shattered.


    No one knew what was happening, why it kept shattering or how, but they could all feel quietly shock waves flow right through the room as it did. And the more they tried to understand it, the more confused they became. However, one conclusion they all had inmon, was that it was the young man''s doing.


    He who was behind The Bright Sword, his arm stretched out, unleashing the shock waves as he moved his mouth.


    The Bright Sword had made it past the Dragon''s defenses and without wasting anymore time, he swung the sword straight down at the dragon''s back.


    "Be cleansed." He muttered


    *BOOM!*


    The bright inferno came into contact with the Monster''s sides, hitting straight at it''s wings before raging on. He continued to move the sword lower and lower as it seemed to be slowly making it''s way through the dragon.


    "AAAAARGH!!!" He unintentionally let out as he put all of his power into the swing.


    Pierce, Pierce, Pierce. The words resounded inside of his head as he forced himself to cut through it''s skin. It was their one and most important attack, it had to be executed perfectly.


    *BOOOOOOM!*


    A blinding bright light enveloped as the bright sword felt proper contact, he cut through it. However, in that instant, before he could feel or see anything else, he was suddenly pulled back like some sort of ma out of the Dragon''s radius.


    And not even a second after he was pulled back, Ice spikes extended out of the area where he was standing, before a tail swiped past there, breaking all of the spikes in the process.


    Once the light was gone and the bright sword saw this, his eyes widened. There was a bunch of steam originated from his attack which caused some of the ice to melt. Furthermore, it hid the dragon and it''s shape within the steam.


    Not being able to tell where it was looking had made the situation much more dangerous for them. What''s more he hadn''t finished it off in that single move.


    "Tsk¡­" He clicked his tongue as he suddenly found himself back beside the young man


    ''I guess it would have been too easy if I had¡­ And wait, did he pull me back here?'' The Bright Sword wondered as he turned to the young man.


    "Than-"


    *ROAAAAAARRRRR!*


    A loud roar once again, resounded through the cave, sending chills down their spine. Only this time, unlike before, they could move. They felt less afraid and more reassured of each other''s strength.


    The roar however, pierced the ears, making it harder tomunicate with one another.


    But once again, like before. The roar disappeared as a field was set around the whole Dragon.


    "ANOTHER ATTACK!!!" The Guild Master Shouted


    Everyone heard it loud and clear and were all ready. The Magician once again, began chanting up another attack. It was different and moreplex than the previous one.


    A ball of fire was formed in the air, before the air around it began to rotate at fast speeds. This caused a chain reaction, forming a zing tornado right in front of all the steam.


    But she wasn''t finished. Rocks and boulders began to rise from the ground before spinning around the tornado. And to top it off, it was allpressed and turned into the shape of a spear.


    "King-ss Triple Combination Magic: In Terra." Trantion: The Earth


    It took a lot of time to create, but oncepleted, it was one of the strongest King-ss Spell. A spear said to be created by the earth itself.


    "Go." The magician muttered


    In that instant, the spear was propelled at high speeds, straight at the Dragon''s core, aiming to finish it off in a single blow.


    And without anything to stop it, it passed straight through the steam and whatever inside, beforending straight and being submerged onto the wall.


    Steam being let off with each second that it passed there. After beingpressed, everyone got a good look at the spears shape. It looked like molten fiery rocks. Or more specifically, ava spear.


    It was truly impressive. The magician on their side was no joke.


    No one said anything as to not raise any gs. However, despite that, they still found themselves on the unfortunate end.


    The steam quickly dispersed and with their eyes widened and confusion in their minds, they quickly began looking around.


    "What¡­? Where''s the dragon?" The Magician Asked


    There was still a little bit of steam remaining on the area where the dragon was standing, but it''s giant shape could no longer be seen among the smoke. This was impossible as it''s body easily stood out in the room.


    The Dragon was gone, there was nothing left. Did she incinerate it? Or did it turn into a magic stone? Those questions popped up in their mind, but it was highly unlikely. That was because, they weren''t in a dungeon. And The Dragon was an SS Rank monster. They doubt it could be taken down with anything they could throw at it.


    But they could still feel the dense manner, if anything, the feeling became more dense andpressed.


    The guild master however, seemed to know what was up, dread traveled throughout his body as horror could be seen in his face. His eyes and mouth shaking as he shouted.


    "EVERYONE RETRE-"


    *Pierce*


    Before the guild master could even finish what he was about to say, he was pierced, straight in the guts and raised into the air, all by a single being with it''s hand.


    No one could have seen iting, a being, so fast that not even the Guild Master noticed.


    "WHA-"


    *BOOM!*


    The guild master was then suddenly kicked in the head, cracking his skull, sending him straight towards one of the wall. Ice spikes extended out of the wall, aiming straight at him and in that instant, they suddenly shattered as the young man caught him.


    He had appeared out of thin air, before catching the guild master. It was only then that everyone could see and realised what was going on.


    A grown man with long blue hair going down to his waist. Blue scales on both his legs and hands, and a long tail sticking out from his back, iling around as he seemed to try to get used to the body.


    He looked over at his hand before clenching it. There was still blood on it from his recent stabbing. Yet for some reason, he felt like it wasn''t enough.


    "It''s been a while since I''ve been in this form." The dragon muttered


    It had bepletely humanoid, having a human face and body with the features of a dragon. It also kept the exact same dense amount of magic it had when it was a dragon. In other words, it was their worst nightmare.


    And it''s speed. It''s speed was unbelievable.


    "Ah¡­ Now I see¡­ So this is why you dragons are considered stronger than wyverns¡­" Hexo muttered, unable to contain his anger.


    However, he thought twice before charging in. The Dragon was confused, now was their chance. The guild master was also injured, meaning it was now or ever to act.


    Run or fight. That was the choice of all the hunters present. That was the choice until¡­ They witnessed it.


    The young man, ced the guild master on the floor. And therge hole on his chest from being pierced by the dragon, suddenly began to close on it''s own as the flesh around it restored itself. Steam was let out of the wound as this happened.


    Everyone that watched could tell, it was the young man''s doing.


    Without bothering to Wait for the guild master to heal, the young man slowly began walking towards the Dragon. And for the first time, he decided to act alone.


    He began to let out blood lust, and not a hint of fear could be felt from him. For him it was just another quest, quests needed to bepleted and the more he wouldplete, the stronger he''d be.


    Strength, hate, rage, darkness. Those were what drove the young man, since that day where he lost everything.


    The young man made his way towards the humanoid dragon, and the dragon clearly felt his presence. An excited look could be seen on the dragon''s face as he vanished, before right in front of the young man, with a kick already extended and intended to blow off the young man''s head.


    However, the dragon was surprised to see That the young man had managed to void it, in thest second. Dark electricity flowed through the young man as his body stood right next to the dragon''s extended leg.


    And in that opening, he quickly ced his palm on the dragon''s chest before muttering.


    "Stop.. Break."

 Chapter 303 - The Dragon Massacre.

    In that opening, he quickly ced his palm on the dragon''s chest before muttering. "Stop, break."


    The Dragon then quickly leapt back in haste, quickly looking down at it''s chest as it did so. There were a few cracks in it''s scales.


    It then dropped to it''s knees as it felt an immense surge of pain, in the area where it was touched.


    The Dragon then leapt once again to the left, barely avoiding the young man who swung his fist at him from above. However, right before he couldnd. The young man disappeared and reappeared behind the dragon once again.


    But the instant, he did. Ice spikes extended out of the ground, heading straight at him, forcing him to shadow step to dodge it. But it was all part of the Dragon''s n.


    Right as the young man shadow stepped. The dragon sent a kick, straight up at the young man, hitting him straight in his heads he appeared right where he had predicted.


    *Crack*


    The kick was so hard, the dragon felt a crack. He kicked the young man straight up to the ceiling. And right before he hit it, the dragon, leapt up, reaching there before the young man, before kicking him down straight down to the ground.


    *CRASH!*


    The young man was mmed into the ground and the dragon, followed it up, by creating an ice footing above him, before using it to leap straight down at the young man.


    There was no way to dodge.


    *BOOM!*


    The sheer impact from the contact, caused a loud sound to resound throughout the cave. All the A-Rankers watched with surprise, at the sight which stood ahead of them.


    The young man stood on his feet, staring up at the dragon who stood still mid-air. He had swung his fist to finish of the young man, but he ended up getting stopped by a very hard barrier, formed out of thin air. It wasn''t made by ice yet was denser than it.


    They had all group up and stood beside the Guild-master to check on his condition.


    "Shouldn''t we help him?" The cloaked girl asked


    "No¡­ We''d only get in his way." Said the Guild-Master


    "Bullshit, I''m waiting on position till he calls. If he needs help, then I''ll be ready." Said Hexo as he mmed his fist into his palm. Truth be told, he didn''t just want to sit back and watch. He was full of rage.


    The other A-Rankers heard this before looking over at the young man. They all shared the same thought. ''Does he really need our help?''


    The dragon could instantly tell what it was, and was surprised to see it.


    "Condensed Magical Power as a shield¡­ Not to mention It''s hard to break¡­" It muttered before sending a kick straight down at it.


    The kick quickly made it''s way down, to finish it off as cracks had begun to form, however, right before it did. The shield split up and turned into shards, before being propelled straight at the dragon.


    It quickly canceled it''s quick and raised it''s guard to block it, but it was all a set up. The young man disappeared before quickly appearing at it''s blind spot.


    The young man then pulled out his dagger, before shing straight at the dragon''s arm.


    *ng*


    He couldn''t cut through. It''s skin was hard, harder than a wyverns and even rumored to be harder than that of a diamond.


    As the impact caused the young man''s hand to be pushed back having hit an object which was too hard. The Dragon used the opportunity, to grab on to the young man''s leg with it''s tail, before rotating it''s body and sending a kick straight at his sides.


    The young man, didn''t bother to dodge, he simply let the kick make it''s way onto his cloak before hitting him directly on his sides.


    *Crack*


    The young man was the one who got kicked and yet, once again, cracks began to form on the scale of the dragon''s leg as it was pushed back.


    "Return¡­" The young man muttered


    In that moment of confusion, Before the Dragon could even react to what had happened to it. The young man grabbed on to his face, before propelling them both down on to the ground as he muttered


    "Break."


    *CRACK*


    Blood spurted out of the dragon, as cracks formed on it''s humane face. It now had the look of pain on it as it''s confusion only grew.


    "Bre-"


    Before the young man could use the spell once again, he suddenly shadow stepped away. Only to reappear a few meters away from the Dragon.


    He looked down at his hand and noticed that it waspletely frozen. Not a frostbite, but actually frozen. This was a surprise as he had thermal magic active as a barricade but it wasn''t strong enough.


    For his hands to reach that state, it only indicated that the dragon was now serious, and it''s true power could reach extremely low temperatures.


    "Damn¡­ I''m tired of waiting¡­" Hexo muttered


    His blood and anger were boiling to fight. He couldn''t sit back and watch, not when there was a dragon right ahead of him.


    The dragon slightly bent down, while cing most of his wait on his dominant leg. The ice on the ground beneath it cracked as it did so.


    Something wasing, the young man raised his staff and let it go, allowing it to be sucked into his spatial storage ring. And in that instant, with a single heart beat, the dragon leapt off the ground, straight at the young man.


    His knees out, aimed straight at the young man. Only to end up hitting the air, as he went past him. The young man had dodged it, in thatst second, by fully leaning back.


    The Dragon went past, however, the attack wasn''t over. He quickly rotated his body midair, back towards the young man. Before making an ice footing out of thin air and leaping off of it again.


    As this happened. The young man''s footing was frozen as the ice beneath him, rose and entrapped his feet as ice spikes quickly extended out of the ground beneath his leaned back body.


    Two attacks simultaneously making their way towards him, from both beneath and behind. He could have shadow stepped to avoid them. But, no. He no longer wanted to drag on the fight.


    He took it head on.


    *Shatter*


    The ice beneath him, along with the rising spikes, shattered into pieces after being hit by a shock, giving him free footing.


    He then quickly turned his body back to the dragon only to get kneed straight in the face.


    *Crunch*


    "Return."


    The sound of crunching didn''te from his face getting smashed in, however, but it came from the dragon''s knee having been broken and cracked from the impact.


    "?!"


    Confused, once again the dragon was propelled back as it''s knee was pushed back by a mysterious force. It was as if the power used when he hit the young man''s face was redirected right back at him, no, that was exactly the case.


    The Dragon had only realized this now, but it was toote. Before he could get enough from the impact. Once again, he was suddenly pulled back towards the young man by a mysterious force.


    In that instant, he formed 10 ice shards around him before pointing it at the young man and propelling them at him.


    However, they shattered right before hitting him as a shock wave passed through them. That very same shock wave, caused the dragon''s eyes to turn back as it yelled out in pain


    "AAARGH-"


    But before it could properly scream, it''s face was grabbed by the young man who suddenly shadow stepped in front of it, before tightening his grip and muttering break.


    *Crack*


    Even more blood spurted out as the dragon''s humanoid face became more deformed. The young man, then mmed the dragon on to the ground again, shattering the shards which the dragon had formed above him in his blind spot.


    "Break."


    *Crunch*


    Again, the young man cast the spell, making the dragon''s humanoid face now unrecognizable. The Dragon tried kicking and punching the young man to let go, but each and every attack would only ruins it''s own body Armour as it was all redirected back at him.


    The young man had just about had enough and was going to finish it off.


    "Stop."


    He then raised his left hand, forming a miniature ck hole. All the A-Rankers watched, unable to believe their eyes. This whole fight,cked logic, but this. This was something else.


    Light disappeared from the room, as the dragon began using all it had to stop the young man. Tworge ice pirs extended out of the walls aiming straight at them to stop him. However, right before hitting him, they shattered.


    The temperature around the dragon got progressively lower, half of the young man''s being, however it wouldn''t go past a certain point. He was countering it.


    The dragon''s human deformed human mouth began to glow as it forced out another beam, but before it could bepleted. It was toote.


    "ck hole."


    "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"


    *ROAAAAAR!*


    A single roar, resounded through the room, before it was enveloped in an abyssal silence. And in that moment, with their mouths wide open. All the A-Rankers could do, was stare.


    It was a massacre. The Dragon stood no chance, Magic, Physical power, Defense. It had lost in all aspects.


    And in that moment, they all shared the same single thought.


    ''He was not someone to mess with.. If he had wanted, he could have killed everyone in the guild, after they raised their weapons at him, without wasting a sweat.''

 Chapter 304 - Post-Dragon Extermination.

    On the way down the mountain, the blizzard had gotten visibly weaker, they noticed this and assumed it to have been due to the fall of the ice dragon.


    Since the event took ce, none said a word, they didn''t know what to say or how to act. They were still all surprised.


    The only one who spoke with the young man was Hex and The guild Master.


    "That was amazing, boy! You didn''t even need our help!" The Guild Master Said so proudly


    "That''s the third time, you''ve said that today. He heard you. The question you should be asking is, how did he do it?" Said Hexo


    "Who cares about that?! We need to celebrate!" Said the Guild Master happily


    ''We do.'' They all simultaneously thought


    The Guild Master seemed to have gotten closer to the young man and opened up to him after watching him fight causing the tension around them to have lowered. That being said, the young man never answered any questions nor did he speak. He only ever responded to questions which involved him shaking his head or nodding.


    The Guild master didn''t mind it at all, he would still try tomunicate with the young man.


    An hour had passed since they leftthe cave, having exterminated the dragon rather quickly. However, it was extremely dark out, and the distance to the city would be at least another 3 hours, so they decided totake a small break.


    The Guild Master and The Bright Sword went to gather wood, leaving Hexo, the Magician, the Cloaked Girl and the Young Man alone.


    They all sat down in a circle in the small earth walls that the magician created, with a glowing light orb in the middle. The light orb barely lit up their faces, but in the beginning, no one said a word¡­ until.


    "H-Hey¡­ Why don''t we all just introduce ourselves before I have a heart-attack?" Hexo asked with a serious face


    For a moment, they all stared at him with confusion before the magician spoke up.


    "Good idea, I''ll have the honors of going first, my name is Satire Stepha, you can just call me Satire."


    "Stepha¡­ Isn''t that-"


    Hexo was interrupted by Satire who suddenly said


    "That''s right, we''re a renowned family of high-ranking magicians. We all possess arge quantity of high-rank spells which every kingdom''s after. And to top it off, we''re rich from selling the valuables, but I''m sure you already know." She said so, proudly.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ So why is a member of such a talented magician family an adventurer? Doesn''t your family have a history of working as court mages who receive the best treatment?" Hexo asked


    Upon hearing this, the proud look on Satire''s face disappeared, turning slightly more gloomy as she hung her head and replied


    "You''re pretty well informed, huh¡­"


    "I don''t travel around for nothing. Despite how I look I''m very responsi- responsible¡­" Said Hexo as he looked away.


    ''He just hesitated on that, didn''t he?''


    "¡­ Well¡­ Yeah, I didn''t be a court magician because I wanted to be free and explore the world, the same as every other adventurer." Said The magician as she gripped her staff tightly.


    They could all rte to her, that desire to explore the unknown, it was present within all of them.


    "Also, Weren''t you that guy that got stopped at the gate for not having an Adventurer''s card?" The Magician asked


    "You saw!? W-Well¡­ I wouldn''t worry about it, it happens all the time."


    "Isn''t that something to worry about?! And what happened to being responsible!?"


    "More importantly, who''s next? I already introduced myself in the guild, but I''ll do it again. I''m Hexo."


    A rather simple introduction, not more was needed as they all knew him. Still they could tell from the way he acted, that he was a good guy at heart.


    No one said anything after him, so it left him no choice.


    "Since no one is going next¡­ How about I pick? Thedy with the cloak, can you introduce yourself?" Hexo asked


    The girl nodded before removing the hood off her cloak. Surprising everyone in that moment. She still her face mask still covered the bottom portion of her face, however they were able to see her long silky light purple hair with matched the color of her eyes.


    A young and innocent looking face, which seemed no older than 16. It was dangerous, no doubt. She seemed like the type of flower which appears to have healing properties only to end up poisoning the individual.


    Looks were deceiving. They all saw this from the recent fight, as she was the one that had poisoned the dragon.


    "Shera¡­" She muttered


    "T-That''s a great name¡­ How old are you?" Hexo asked slightly blushing


    "Seventeen." She replied


    He was surprised, he had expected her to be beautiful, but this was something else. She waspletely his type.


    "Same age¡­ I''ll get straight to the point, Shera. Are you single?" Hexo asked


    "Single?" Shera asked as she tilted her head to the side


    "Are you engaged to anyone?" Hexo pushed on


    "No, wh-"


    "Let''s get engaged."


    "What?"


    "Let''s get engaged."


    For a moment, as the snow continued to drop down in the area, there was silence. And following that silence, came a single word which would forever affect Hexo''s heart.


    "No."


    She said so, clearly, looking Hexo straight in his eyes.


    *Crack*


    "W-W-Why¡­?" Hexo hesitantly asked.


    "Rtionships and engagements affect the party and sess rate of the quest." She Said so Seriously.


    "O-Oh¡­ I-I see¡­" Hexo muttered


    "H-Hey¡­ Hexo, are you okay?" Satire asked


    "Of course. Rather than being sad of the result¡­ I should be proud I tried¡­" Said Hexo, with the same smile


    "A-Are you sure?" Satire asked


    "Yeah, why do you ask?"


    ''You''re crying.'' They all simultaneously thought as they watched him


    Manly tears streamed down his face as his heart was split in two. However, he still somehow managed to form a smile. In that moment, the young man acknowledge Hexo for his act of true strength.


    "Either way, this doesn''t mean I''ve given up¡­" Said Hexo as he nced at her while wiping his tears.


    After hearing this, for a moment the two stared at each other, before she said replied.


    "Suit yourself."


    That reaction somehow managed to bandage Hexo''s heart. It somehow gave him the feeling that he still had a chance.


    "Still, to want to engage to a girl that fast because of her looks¡­ I expected differently from you." Said Satire while avoiding his look


    "What''s wrong with liking a girl because she''s pretty? People say personality is everything, how am I supposed to love her if I don''t find her attractive. First looks then personality, that''s how I live my life. Besides, if it was only looks, I would have asked you out." Said Hexo


    ''There''s another reason he likes her? Cute¡­ I wonder what it could be¡­'' Satire thought to herself


    The one to Change the subject however, was none other than Shera


    "You¡­ You''re thest one. What''s your name?" Shera asked as she looked at the young man


    For a moment there was no reply, so just as she was about to ask again, he opened his mouth.


    "J¡­ John." He muttered


    Upon hearing this, everyone felt a strange feeling of aplishment. They had got him to talk


    "John¡­ That name sounds familiar. More importantly, I have one question." Said Hexo


    The young man stared in Hexo''s direction without saying anything. The others also listened in carefully to Hexo''s question.


    "No need to introduce yourself, just tell me one thing. You''re the wandering devil, aren''t you?" Hexo asked


    Once again, a moment of silence. A question which would be an insult to ask someone, asked just like that, without consideration for the other. However, it''s not like it was asked with no reason.


    "Your characteristics. Your power, theck of logic in the way you fight¡­ Being able to solo a Dragon¡­ Answer the question, are you or are you not?" Hexo muttered


    Without saying anything, John ced his palm on his head as it began to tremble. He seemed to be in pain, but that pain suddenly disappeared as a bright glow was emitted from his trembling palm.


    This reacting was in no way normal, their first thought was that he was suffering from a mental condition.


    "Yeah¡­ I am." Said John


    In that moment, the tension in the area rose as they all turned to John in disbelief. It didn''t make any sense, he didn''t seem like the type of person to do it. Was it a joke? Who would joke like that? Satire and Shera were in doubt and wanted Hexo to ask again, but after hearing that reply, he couldn''t sit still.


    "I see¡­" Hexo muttered


    Then suddenly, In that instant, Hexo rushed up on John before grabbing on to his cloaks cor and asking.


    "So it was you¡­" He muttered before sending a right hook straight at John''s face.


    John who saw the punch, didn''t even bother to dodge and took it head on, causing his left cheek to swell as his head turned to the right from the impact


    "Why¡­? WHY DID YOU KILL THEM!? THERE WERE KIDS! FAMILIES! INNOCENT PEOPLE! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFTER YOUR HEAD BECAUSE OF IT!?!" Hexo shouted


    There wasn''t one person in the continent who hadn''t heard about the wandering devil and his act.. It was a great tragedy after all, which led to the fall of a city.

 Chapter 305 - The Devils Wrath (The Fall Of Hysta)

    "Why¡­? WHY DID YOU KILL THEM!? THERE WERE KIDS! FAMILIES! INNOCENT PEOPLE! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFTER YOUR HEAD BECAUSE OF IT!?!" Hexo shouted


    There wasn''t one person in the continent who hadn''t heard about the wandering devil and his act. It was a great tragedy after all, which led to the fall of a city.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    6 months ago, there urred an incident which would make it''s way throughout the entire continent of Gilda. The Fall of the Hysta Kingdom.


    It happened so suddenly, no one could react. On a certain morning, a devil was reporting walking down to the cities gate.


    A humanoid figure of a young man, coated in darkness with dark wings sticking out of it''s back. Two horns at the front of it''s head as it staggered while walking. A wide smile followed up by a hollow and lost look in it''s face.


    The guards, instantly regarded it as a threat, and decided to shoot it down. Launching arrows straight at it''s figures.


    However, none ofthe arrows hit, it wasn''t as if the devil was trying to avoid it, it was as if they were moved in the aired despite not having been moved at all.


    But that was their mistake, the devil feeling all the aggression and killing intent directed at it, suddenly started tough out of nowhere. It''s features bing more and more human and normal by the passing second.


    However, it derived from the look of a young man and began to look more like a grown adult. It seemed to have been transforming or progressing in some way. Yet at the same time it was trying to hold back the transformation.


    However, it seemed to have reached it''s limit. Completely.


    The devil suddenly flew up into the air, above the city, before looking down at it''s residents.


    It was a ratherrge city, there were mansions, houses, slums. All kinds of people resided on it.


    "Argh¡­ Stop trying to hold me back¡­ You already ruined my ns when I tried destroying thest city. I need to get back in shape if I want to return to the underworld." Said The Devil


    He then noticed that the connection between him and the young man which was stopping him from breaking loose had reached it''s limits.


    *Shatter*


    An excited and joyful smile could be seen on the devil''s face as he muttered.


    "Finally¡­"


    He then stretched out his hand, and arge shadow covered the city as the surrounding light disappeared.


    "Huh¡­? What is that?"


    "What happened to the sun?"


    "Mummy¡­ Daddy¡­ Look it''s a giant ck sun!"


    A Large ck sphere had suddenly formed right above the city.


    At first, there was confusion. But then, people began to panic as the surrounding buildings began to copse, before being pulled towards the sky.


    However, it wasn''t just the buildings. People began to fly up as well, while others struggled endlessly to hold on to fixed objects so that it wouldn''t happen to them.


    But it was all futile. Another Large sphere was formed right next to the ck hole, despite being simr in terms of appearance, their size and properties were different.


    This of course, was a sphere the young man had absorbed from a mermaid encounter once in the past. It''s properties brought destruction and maniption. However, it was slightly smaller.


    As that very same sphere was propelled straight down at the city. The citizens could do nothing but watched as the cmity was about to fall right above them.


    However, the city still had hope. The Adventurers and the Knights weren''t going to sit-by and do nothing as the city fell to ruins.


    Court Magicians were deployed to form arge barrier, and even high-ranking adventurer magicians too, prepared themselves.


    The highest ranking power in the city during that moment was the duke as the royal family were in the main city in Halfaust. This was just a branch of the territory and had weaker defenses. Nheless, it was still strong and formidable.


    It was but despite all their efforts, and even the fights which broke out during the destruction of the city. They weren''t able to stop it.


    After the event, the survivors which remained reported the case to the surrounding cities and world spread fast throughout the continent.


    The event came to be known as the ''The Devil''s Wrath'' and ''The Fall Of Hysta''


    And the being who caused that event, suddenly disappeared and ever since then, he was never seen again, no other city had fallen by his hands.


    But every once in a while, people would im to see the very same devil traveling around. That was how it came to be known as, the wandering devil.


    ===================


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Why¡­? Damn it man! Why''d you have to kill them!?" Hexo asked


    The young man who heard this, didn''t say a single word, he just let himself be punched and pushed around by Hexo. There was nothing he could say.


    Hexo pinned him on to the tree, before pulling his arm back. He was about to throw another punch, but right before it hit the young man. He stopped.


    Not because of any mysterious force, but by the tears which suddenly flowed down the young man''s blindfold.


    "I¡­ I know¡­ What I did¡­ It killed many¡­ Hurt many families¡­ Destroyed newborn lives¡­ I know¡­ I know¡­ I know¡­ I won''t ever forget¡­" The young man muttered with a trembling voice as tears flowed out of his blindfold.


    Hexo''s eyes widened upon both hearing and seeing this. He didn''t know what to say.


    "Isn''t that enough?" Satire asked as she walked up to them


    "Don''t forget we owe him one." Said Shera as she leaned on to the tree beside them.


    *Tsk*


    Hexo clicked his tongue before walking back to his seat, he felt conflicted. But because of this, he noticed it.


    "Huh? Hey Guys! Where the hell did the Guild Master and Bright Sword go?" Hexo asked as he turned around.


    But the instant he did, he quickly noticed that everyone had vanished. They were right behind him a second ago, but now they were nowhere to be seen.


    "Huh¡­? Where is everyone?"

 Chapter 306 - Hidden Enemy Amongst The Blizzard

    ''An illusion? Was it his doing? No, he wouldn''t need to, if he wanted me dead, I''d be dead by now.''


    Hexo then quickly looked around and wondered, where? What was it? Was it nearby?


    Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder behind him, and when he turned around. He felt like he was dragged out of something.


    "Huh?!" He asked as he opened his eyes and fell onto the ground


    "Hey, Hexo, you okay?" Satire asked


    "What happened?" Hexo asked after looking around.


    Shera remained leaned in on the tree and the young man just stood there silently without saying anything. He was most likely in deep thought.


    "Huh? I''m not sure, you just suddenly froze up on your feet so I thought I should check on you to make sure everything was okay." Said Satire


    ''She didn''t notice?''


    "Hey, satire. Can illusions target a specific individual? Without another magician nearby noticing?" Hexo asked


    "If the caster is skilled enough." Said Satire as she readied her staff


    As expected of her, she Had managed to catch on rather quickly from the hint Hexo left.


    "But it would be unwise to face someone this skilled¡­" She said


    ''And why specifically target him when they could target the whole group at once?'' Satire wondered


    "John! We might be under attack, so now isn''t the time to start regretting things! So both you and Shera get ready." Said Hexo


    Upon hearing this, Shera readied her daggers. She always kept them on her. She looked around and tried sensing if there was anyone with killing intent nearby but got nothing.


    She then quickly joined up with Hexo and the Magician before asking


    "Why is the Guild Master still not here?"


    "You''ve probably already guessed it but, they probably got attacked or ced under an illusion. Either way, we need to get out of here." Said Hexo as he put on his gauntlets


    Shortly after equipping them, the gauntlets were engulfed in a pure red me. It wasn''t a scared treasure, but a strong magical item.


    Suddenly, John appeared in between them, before cing his hand on each of them, before casting.


    ''Gravitas''


    "Eh?" Satire unintentionally let out as they lifted off the ground


    "Huh? HUUUUUUUH?" Hexo shouted out as he rapidly waved his legs.


    He had to use his elbow to cover Hexo but once they were up in the air, there were no more issues.


    They flew straight up, Hexo and Satire moving their heads and frailling around, hastily. The only calm and quiet one was Shera, she didn''t seem afraid or rather, her eyes looked excited.


    As they flew above the trees, Hexo quickly asked


    "We''re flying, no way¡­ We''re flying!" He said happily


    At first, he looked scared, but it had appeared that he was just agitated due to how sudden it was. It was a rxing moment for all of them who had just gotten out of the Dungeon.


    "H-HOW DO WE STOP!?!!" Satire cried out


    Mostly everyone.


    John made sure to cast ''Furtim'' on them before ascending. However, they were still being watched. The opponent this time, was rather skilled.


    John then quickly propelled them forward before forming an air ball above them and propelling the straight down.


    Satire screamed out in fear as they hastily descended while Hexo smiled with excitement and joy.


    No one let go of John as they could tell that their very lives would be decided whether or not they could cling to him. But before they had even realized it, they reached the ground.


    No impact or nothing. The descend just suddenly stopped.


    As they dropped to the ground. Hexo was the first to speak up.


    "If you''re going to do something like that, at least warn us-"


    However, before he could finish, his eyesid upon a sight causing them to hastily widen. All words and thoughts left his mind as he slowly walked towards the corpses.


    The Bright Sword and Guild Master,id with their heads dismembered, on the floor. They were dead.


    Hexo, slowly approached the bodies, but he was stopped by Shera and Satire who grabbed on to his shoulder.


    "It''s a trap." Said Shera as she looked around


    She could feel another''s presence, they were being watched. But she wasn''t able to pinpoint it.


    Hexo however, didn''t care. He clenched his fist, before letting out a sigh. Before he had let his anger out on the young man. But now, he was containing it.


    "Oi¡­ Stop hiding and get your ass out here. I''ll make a fucking painting out of you." Said Hexo as the temperature around him began to increase.


    Hexo''s anger and rage had just about reached it''s limit. Shera and Satire were surprised and let go of him, shortly after seeing this. He had be hotter, boiling hot.


    So hot, that the ice around him was melting, and yet he hadn''t done any chanting, nor were his gauntlets active.


    Despite his threat, the enemy continued to stay hidden. So seeing, this, without a hint of fear. He continued to walk towards the corpses.


    Satire and Shera wanted to stop him, but they had already warned him. If he was still walking, either he was a fool or had an idea.


    Either way, they were all vulnerable for standing in the open field in between the trees.


    As Hexo, stood in front of the corpses, he could feel his anger increase. In that instant, he quickly looked left, before sending a closed fist, straight at the trees.


    Fire in the shape of a fist was then propelled out of the edge of his fist, towards the trees. On impact, it broke all of the trees on it''s path, before dispersing. Not a single forest fire was caused as the mes didn''t spread.


    ''Tch, I missed.''


    However, it wasn''t futile. Thanks to that attack, a strange individual, leapt out of the trees.


    "Hm¡­ to use magic without chanting like that, that''s quite the aplishment for a human." Said the person as he bowed


    He was rather talling off at slightly over 6 ft. He wore a tidy and neat uniform which appeared to be that of a butler and wore a nk mask on his face with no design.


    "That is, if you were human." He said after staring in Hexo''s direction.


    Red scales could be seen, forming on Hexo''s skin as the snow around them began to melt.


    "I''ll kill you.." Said Hexo as he grit his teeth.

 Chapter 307 - A Draconians Rage

    Red scales could be seen, forming on Hexo''s skin as the snow around them began to melt.


    "I''ll kill you." Said Hexo as he grit his teeth.


    Hex clenched his hands into a fist, Scales, forming above it, transforming his hand into that of a dragon''s. He had gained ws.


    "No one interrupt." Said Hexo as he looked at the three


    Both Satire and Shera saw this and nodded


    A long scaly tail was formed at his back as scales formed over his legs and arms almost as if it were ayer of Armour. Hexo''s eyes began to glow as if being fueled by a strong, raging me and his hair slowly rose up after turning a bright red.


    He had sessfully transformed. No one could read the expression on the butler''s face as it''s nk masked covered it, but they sure as hell knew what they were feeling.


    Surprise and curiosity. However, they only had a moment to think about that emotion, as Hexo suddenly made the first move.


    He leapt straight at the butler, while forming arge fireball over his hands.


    "To not worry about the forest and the environment. I wonder who is the true monster here." Said the butler.


    Hexo, then unleashed the fire ball mming it straight down at where the butler was standing, melting all of the snow in the nearby area as he did so.


    However, as steam began to form from the water boiling, Hexo noticed that he had missed, or more specifically, the butler had somehow managed to avoid it, in thest second.


    The butler, appeared behind Hexo, before shing a knife at him. However, before it could even pierce his skin, the knife was deflected.


    In that opening, Hexo turned and grabbed onto the butler, only to realize that he had grabbed on to mist.


    Countless butlers, then appeared out of thin air, all heading towards Hexo. And he, from his sight alone, couldn''t tell which was real.


    Upon seeing this, Hexo punched the ground beneath him, causing mes to erupts all around him, The butler had no way to dodge, except jumping.


    As they jumped in the air. Fire balls were propelled straight at it, from Hexo.


    It was a good strategy, they were all hit. But they all turned to mist, none of them were real.


    Despite that, It was still all part of Hexo''s n. He had expected it. He did a quick turn before throwing a right hook while using his body''s rotation and weight. Causing him tond a fist straight on the butler''s face as he did so.


    Surprised, half of the butler''s face mask cracked, presenting the face of a moderately old man with a gray mustache and gray eyes on the other side.


    The man had a horn sticking out of his forehead, and as soon as it was noticed. The air around the area grew colder as Darkness started to gather around him.


    Upon seeing this, the man let out a sigh before coldly muttering


    "I was trying to avoid this-"


    Right before he finished, he disappeared before appearing in front of Hexo with his knees hitting him right in his ribcage.


    Hexo didn''t see the attack, so he was sent flying back, straight towards the trees. But he canceled the momentum as mes began to push at him from behind like some sort of Jet. Propelling him straight towards the man which had hit him.


    Unfortunately for Hexo, this was no ordinary man. Right as Hexo reached him, he did a front roll before pointing his legs at the man''s head.


    A fiery burst then emerged from the edge of his legs, hitting the man head on. But despite that, the man grabbed on to Hexo''s legs through the smoke, before twisting it and mming him down.


    *Crash*


    "!"


    The man quickly let go of Hexo''s Legs before leaping back as fast as he could. Following that, another explosive burst came, even bigger than the one from before, evaporating all around Hexo.


    The amount of steam was phenomenal and it just kept increasing due to the snow. Within this steam, Hexo''s eyes seemed to glow a bright red as his blood boiled. He was pissed.


    "I heard Draconians were weaker than True dragons¡­ But it appears, that may have been wrong." Said the old man as he looked over at his burnt hand


    The look on the old man''s face, then turned more serious as he began walking towards Hexo. His hand healed on his own but the feeling Hexo was getting from him was dangerous.


    The man leapt straight at Hexo, and Hexo who saw this, quickly raised his guard to block it. When suddenly.


    *Pierce* *Pierce*


    He was pierced on his back by two darknces which came out of the ground beneath him.


    He then felt the old man appear above him, so he quickly threw a ming punch straight up, only toend up hitting thin air.


    "?!"


    He then realized that the man had been in front of him all along, he was crouched down in front of Hexo with a dark sword formed in his hand, and the instant Hexo showed an opening, the man thrust it straight at Hexo''s heart.


    As Hexo saw this attack make it''s way towards him, he realized that he had never been stabbed by the twonces and that it was all an illusion, all made for this opening.


    It was over, he had lost. Those words the thoughts he had, but the thought about giving up with the Guild Master''s bodyying on the ground a few meters behind them, something inside him snapped.


    The dark sword was only inches away from Hexo''s chest, when suddenly, a red magic circle was formed on top of both of them. And in that instant, a war Axee crashing down at the old man, shing his hand off.


    All in an instant. Theoretically, it wouldn''t have been possible to cast or activate a spell that fast, but this battle itself alreadycked theory.


    Before the old man could even realize what had happened, or pull back. Hexo grabbed on neck with a smile formed on his mouth.


    "Oi¡­ So this is the real you¡­"


    The old man felt chills go down his spine as Hexo''s very same hand which was ced on his neck began to glow.


    But before he could even react, Hexo ripped his head out of his neck with his pure strength, causing the body to fall over to the ground.


    He then burned to head to a crisp before throwing it at the ground.. It was over.

 Chapter 308 - Time Progressed Unranked Magic: Last Dark

    He burned the head before throwing it over to the ground. It was over. He let out heavy pants as he looked over at the decapitated body of the butler.


    His head was burnt yet the horns were still visible. It wasn''t another illusion, this guy which he had killed was a real demon.


    Hexo''s form then reverted back to normal as his scales retracted back into his body. The steam around him began to dissipate as the temperatures and cold returned to normal.


    It was over. It was over and yet, he was still pissed. Why was it that the guild master and even the Bright Sword had to die? It was their fault for splitting up.


    What annoyed Hexo even more was how it all happened while he was flirting with Shera. So in other words, he was at fault.


    He quickly went over to their bodies, and his party followed behind, afterwords.


    At first they were speechless.


    "Wow¡­ so you were actually a Draconian¡­" Said Satire in disbelief


    ''What''s more he hadplete control over the fire element, so it was true¡­ Dragons didn''t need chants¡­ Does that mean John is also a draconian? But then why did you look so angry at the dragon, aren''t you one of the same kind?'' She wondered.


    "Yeah¡­" Said Hexo as he continued to stare at their corpses


    He then clenched his fist before looking at Satire and saying.


    "Let''s give them a proper burial-"


    But the instant he did, he was suddenly interrupted by John, who said.


    "Stop."


    Confused, Hexo turned to John with a rather surprised and annoyed look on his face as he said


    "Huh!?"


    "Not you." Said John as he pointed at what was behind Hexo


    *Pierce* *Pierce*


    The sound of flesh being pierced could be heard behind Hexo as Ice rose from behind him. Hexo turned and the man quickly retreated.


    If it hadn''t been for John, he would have pierced Hexo sessfully from behind. The man retreated but John''s attack wasn''t finished. Hexo was more surprised by the fact that the man was still standing, and to top it off his head was back on his shoulders.


    "!!"


    As the old demon took a few leaps back to gain some distance. He was surprised to see one of the people beside Hexo had disappeared.


    *sh*


    In that very same instant, he felt a surge of pain through his arm as it suddenly flew off. Surprised, he hadn''t evensensed the person''s presence, he quickly rotated his body in the air, barely avoiding being decapitated once more.


    *sh*


    However, in that instant, his leg was sliced off. And as if that wasn''t enough, before he could evennd, just like before, Ice spikes extended out of the ground, all heading straight towards his back.


    "!"


    At the same time, the young man who was behind him, swung both daggers vertically down at him. An attack from both directions. There was no way to rotate his body or to dodge.


    One thought came to his mind as his body experienced all of this at once. It was simply, death.


    John swung his daggers hitting him head on as the Ice Spikes pierced at him from behind, but shortly after, he turned into mist.


    It was an illusion or he somehow managed to get away in time. Upon seeing this, John stopped and the Ice spikes retracted back into the ground before he turned back and stared at the man.


    Blood dripping out of his back as two deep cuts could be seen on his chest. It had torn through his uniform, with minimal effort. The injuries he had just inflicted were there.


    "How¡­ Who-"


    Before the old man could finish. John disappeared once more, his blindfold still covering his eyes as he appeared above the man.


    Upon seeing this, the man used his previous move where he created many clones of himself again. It was another illusion.


    But right after he did, his eyes widened as he stared at the scene above him. Just like he had created countless clones of himself. So did the young man, john.


    Twice as many clones of John were formed in the air,pared to the number the old man had formed. And all Had their hands raised with magic circles above them.


    Upon seeing this, Hexo, Satire and Shera''s eyes widened as Hexo and Satire simultaneously shouted.


    "RUN!"


    They quickly backed away from the area. The demon tried to go with them too, however, he couldn''t. His body had frozenpletely in ce and he couldn''t move. There was no ice or nothing, he just couldn''t move.


    Upon realizing this, he grew more nervous as the magic circles grew in size and light could be seening from beneath the young man''s blindfold.


    "Time-Progressed Unranked Combined Magic: Last Dark." Said John.


    By the time the spell had activated, Hexo and Satire were able to get a few meters away from the area. Even still, they were caught in the attack.


    "Shi-"


    Hexo was interrupted by the suddenly realization that everything around him, had turned pitch-ck.


    "Huh? Where am-"


    "Hexo." A sweet and soothing voice called out to him


    Upon hearing this voice, Hexo''s eyes widened in the darkness. His breathing became irregr and more rushed as he muttered.


    "That voice¡­ Sis¡­?" Hexo asked with a trembling voice


    "Hexo¡­ You¡­"


    "Sis¡­? I-is that really you? A-Aren''t you dead? The D-Drag-"


    Hexo was interrupted yet again by the voice as it said


    "It''s all your fault."


    That was all it took. Just those simple words, Hexo instantly lost his cool.


    "Wha-"


    "Mum''s death¡­ My death¡­ The vigers¡­ It was all your fault."


    He couldn''t believe what he was hearing, no, he was forcing himself not to. However, no matter how hard he tried, there was no way it could slip past his mind.


    "W-Wait¡­ S-Sis, You don''t really¡­ I-It''s not-"


    "Drop dead, it''s all your fault."


    Hexo''s eyes widened in the dark as he began to tremble in the darkness.


    "I-It¡­ It¡­ S-"


    Suddenly, the voice began to echo throughout the cold room, repeating the same words over and over again.


    "All because of you."


    Hexo tried covering his ears, but it didn''t help. He could still hear it.


    "S-Stop¡­"


    "Why don''t you just drop dead?" The words coldly resounded in an echo


    "Stop¡­"


    "I wish you were never born." They resounded again


    "STOP!!!" Hexo shouted out.


    *Shatter*

 Chapter 309 - The Truth And Failed Mourning

    "Hey! Calm down!! HEXO!!" She shouted


    Suddenly, Hexo opened his eyes, only to find himself staring straight at Satire who had her hands on him.


    But quickly after his awakening, Hexo dropped to his knees as he began panting heavily. He clenched his fist on the little water which had formed from the evaporated snow.


    He then threw it on his face before looking up at Satire. She had a frightened look on her face, and it wasn''t just her. Shara, too seemed slightly off.


    "W-What¡­ What happened?" Hexo asked upon seeing this. His face full of despair and fear


    Satire who saw this, began to wonder what he could have possibly have seen as she she pointed behind him.


    "But before that¡­ your arms¡­" Muttered Satire as she looked down at his arms


    Scales could be seen forming around Hexo''s body at a fast pace, quickly covering his arm. His dragon form which he would only use in dire situations wasing out, and the reason was simple. Fear.


    He needed to calm down to keep it under control but couldn''t, or rather, if he could then he would no longer be able to consider himself anything close to human after what he had experienced.


    He turned back only to see John looking down on the headless body of the demon which had attacked them.


    "So he did this¡­ Are you kidding me¡­? That was all fake¡­? Ha¡­ Ha ha¡­ DAMN IT!" Hexo shouted as he punched the ground, evaporating the water beneath him, causing steam to form around him.


    Satire was startled, but she couldn''t take her eyes off of John, she didn''t want to miss what would happen next.


    Dark spears with electricity traveling through them were slowly formed shortly after. They were each positioned at a certain point, above the body and as this happened, Hexo noticed a me rampaging on John''s hand.


    It was a dark me and was burning on to something. After taking a closer look, Hexo noticed that what was burning was the demon''s head.


    *Snap*


    John snapped his fingers and the dark spears were propelled straight down at the body, leaving behind a trail of electricity. They were propelled urately each toward a certain point in the demon''s body, piercing it in that very same instant.


    *Pierce* *Pierce* *Stab*


    They all watched quietly as John then formed a dark trident out of thin air, before thrusting it straight down at the demon''s chest.


    *Boom!*


    The instant there was contact, arge hole could be seen on the demon''s body and ground beneath it, as it became unrecognizable. It was as if it''s being and core were scraped away.


    Even the blood itself was spurted away, yet the remaining part dyed part of John''s cloak in a crimson red as it sttered blood all over it.


    It was a horrifying sight. Not because of the deed but how John did it, he did it, effortlessly, motionlessly and without hesitation.


    Pure out of this world strength, will an abnormal amount of blood lust only possible through years of experience. A being which mustn''t be aggravated, under no circumstances. That was the impression they had all gotten from him. And it was because of that, that the distance between them felt as if it slightly grew.


    He dropped the snow-zed ground before clenching his fist and muttering "Damn it¡­" as his body reverted back to normal


    ***


    "Sorry¡­ If only I was stronger¡­" Hexo muttered as he clenched his fist


    "It''s not your fault¡­ I couldn''t even keep track of them or break the illusion ced on us¡­" Muttered Satire


    "Sorry¡­" Muttered Shera


    There was a moment of silence, which felt like itsted an eternity as they mourned the death of there,rades, despite it having been Short.


    "So? What do we do with their bodies? Do we bury them here?" Hexo asked


    "It''s better to take it back and give them a proper burial¡­" Said Satire


    "Then, let''s just carry them back." Said Hexo as he leaned forward to pick them up.


    He was stopped by satire who grabbed on to his shoulder and said


    "But carrying two dead bodies of well-known contributors to the vige all the way there¡­ The people will go into a panic¡­"


    "Then use a spatial storage¡­" Muttered Shera


    Upon hearing that, the three looked at each other before pondering about whether they should do it or not.


    "I mean, it would work but¡­" Said Hexo, considering the option.


    "Isn''t that a little too harsh¡­?" Satire added


    They then looked at the bodies once more, before looking at John.


    "Hey¡­ John, do you have any ideas¡­?" Hexo asked hesitantly


    John who had stood quietly next to Shera the whole time, walked up to the bodies before staring at them intently. The tension within the area increased as they began to wonder what sort of idea he''de up with.


    John then leaned forward before slowly cing both hands on each of their chest. As they saw this, they all had the same question pop up in their minds, however, none of them were sure, whether it''d be okay to ask.


    "Are you gonna resurrect them?" Hexo inly asked.


    That is except for Hexo. Upon hearing this, Satire and Shera flinched and looked with expectations at John who unfortunately, shook his head before replying.


    "It''s fake."


    "Huh? does that mean, if it was real you''d be able to- Wait, what?!" Hexo asked before his eyes widened.


    *Shatter*


    The bodies shattered and broke into pieces as if it was frail ss. It was the sort of effect you''d see when dispelling an illusion, depending on the illusion.


    "What?!" Satire asked in disbelief as she made a confused and surprised expression for not realising it sooner.


    But not even shortly after, they all felt their hearts fly out of their chest in surprise as the sound of rustling came from the trees in the area next to them, and from there emerged the two very people they had thought had died.


    "Is everyone okay!?" The guild master shouted as he ran right through


    He then stopped before taking a short look around and letting out a sigh


    "I guess, it''s already over¡­" He muttered


    The bright sword who was next to him, seemed surprised, but it wasn''t just him.


    "Eh?" they all simultaneously muttered

 Chapter 310 - A New Brother

    "Ha ha! I still can''t believe the enemy had managed to fool us all!" Said the guild master with joy


    "You sure seem pretty happy for someone who was supposed to be dead¡­" Hexo muttered


    "Says the one who had an outrage." Whispered satire


    "I did not¡­" Hexo replied as he avoided her gaze


    "Hm~ I see¡­"


    "There''s nothing to see."


    "Sure, sure."


    Annoyed, Hexo continued to walk, ignoring the teasingdy next to him as the group descended down the mountain.


    It was now morning, and they had all just about had enough of being there, after all, encountering a dragon and a demon in the same day was nomon experience.


    Dark circles could be seen beneath their eyes, due to theck of sleep. The only one who seemed to have been doing good was the guild master and the bright sword who hadn''t dealt with anything.


    Those who had seen it however, were unable to take their eyes off of John. But it wasn''t their fault, they had seen something which couldn''t be logically exined after all, or so they believed.


    Well, at least most of them.


    "Hey, John. How did you do that." Said Hexo as he walked up the group.


    "Don''t leave me alone at the back!" Comined Satire


    However, herints were unfortunately ignored as they failed to get past Hexo''s curiosity.


    John looked over at Hexo who now walked beside him, and tilted his head in confusion.


    "That hole¡­ The dark mes¡­ and how did you kill it?" Hexo asked


    John stared at Hexo and Hexo nervously stared back, waiting for a reply as he did so. The others also listened in as they were curious. Everyone did their best not to interrupt. But just as John opened his mouth to reply


    *HOWWWLLLLLLLL!*


    The sound of a howl, resounded throughout the forest, it came off as being very close to them and was most likely one belonging to a Great wolf. The same race they had dealt with when they were ascending the mountain.


    John, turned to the sound and raised his staff when suddenly, everyone panicked about not being able to hear the answer, when suddenly, Hexo said.


    "Don''t worry about that, just go on with what you were going to say. Forget about the puppy."


    They all nodded in agreement.


    John looked over at everyone again, before nodding and opening his mouth, only to be able to say a letter, before being interrupted once again.


    "A-"


    *GROWL!*


    A wolf suddenly leapt through the trees, straight at Hexo who was dying of curiosity. It''s mouth wide open, aiming to tear at Hexo.


    And without so much as Looking, Hexo quickly turned his body to the wolf, before shouting "SHUT UP!!!" as he grabbed on to it''s head and mmed it down into the ground, leaving behind a trace of fire remnant from the downward momentum.


    Following that, more wolves came out of the trees, leaping at the group. But Hexo wasn''t the only one that was pissed.


    The bright sword, with a rather cold smile on his handsome face, swung his sword straight down at the great wolf''s head. shing it in half in a single swing.


    Another two came in from the right side, where Shera and Satire walked. However, their faces quickly turned purple after being pierced by Shara''s throwing knives, causing them to be paralyzed in the spot.


    Satire finished them off with three quick chants. The first trapped their legs on the earth beneath them. The second, created a single earth spike right under their bellies and thest formed an earth boulder right above them.


    With a little sigh, the boulder was dropped right above their backs, causing them to fall, belly first onto the spike, allowing it to pierce right through them.


    *Pierce*


    Only one word, Brutal. The wolves let out wails of pain before eventually quieting down.


    "Sorry¡­" Satire muttered before quickly turning over to John.


    The others also did this motion as they were curious to hear it. Even The bright Sword, someone who didn''t speak much. He hadn''t even given his name yet.


    John was surprised, he didn''t expect everyone to be that focused on him, but despite that, he wasn''t sure how to exin it.


    "Dark¡­ me¡­ Fire magic and dark magicbined¡­ Hole was ck hole¡­ Unique magic¡­ Killing the demon¡­ Destroy all hearts and burn body¡­" He muttered


    That was all. After that, he faced the front and continued to walk as if nothing had happened. It had been a while since he had talked, so his figure of speech and his words felt harder to pronounce and convey, but contrary to his expectations he was still able to do it.


    Everyone was surprised, not by the reply, but by the fact that he had spoken for that long. They had thought he hated speaking and was cold-blooded, but it turns out, he wasn''t so bad. The fear they had of him was gradually starting to loosen up.


    "Is that so¡­ Then, next time I''ll make sure I burn all of it''s hearts. Either way, thanks for helping us out, Bro." Said Hexo as he put his arm on John''s shoulder


    "Aren''t you too young to be calling him your bro, Hexo?" Satire asked


    "That depends on his age, speaking of which, how old are you?" Hexo asked


    "Fifteen¡­ Probably." Replied John


    "WHAT!?!" The guild master shouted


    Everyone''s attention turned to him, and he quickly cleared his throat before turning his face away in embarrassment.


    That being said, they were all surprised, even Hexo.


    Cold sweat dripped down Hexo''s forehead as he muttered "You''re one year younger than me¡­"


    It was the most surprising thing they had heard that morning, and they would most certainly not forget it any time soon. The one most disturbed by this fact was the bright sword.


    ''Back then I was still training¡­ And I was nowhere near his level¡­'' He quietly contemted


    "Well, that''s good. I''m not very good with formalities and since we''re around the same age. That means we get to be Bro''s. Isn''t that right?" Hexo asked with a bright smile


    John who saw this, stared for a moment before nodding.


    ''I was wondering about the blindfold, but I''ll just askter..'' Thought Hexo as he walked with joy.

 Chapter 311 - Sacred Treasure Transformation

    They continued to hastily descend down the mountains as they fought off any monsters which would dare to stand on their path. The wariness and tension they had around John had also significantly decreased as they spent more and more time with him.


    The frosty snow was ever so cold as itnded on their heads, creating a small ze of pure white. It was at times like these where the fur robe would be useful to all.


    "Thank god, I paid for a fire enchantment on my robe¡­ It''s so cold¡­" Muttered Satire as she shivered


    Shara nodded in agreement upon hearing this, which was difficult for satire to understand as Shara was using a simple cloak with no fur, she was surprised Shara hadn''t made a singleint about the cold.


    "Ha ha, why do that? It''s a waste of money. Just get a simple robe." Said Hexo


    ''You''re one to talk¡­'' Thought Satire as she frowned at him


    "Finally, someone understands!" Said The Guild Master as he smiled at Hexo


    ''Hexo is one thing¡­ but how the hell aren''t you cold?'' Satire wondered as she stared at the Guild master


    Hexo wore an open short sleeve jacket sort of Armour, where as the guild master wore shorts and a simple shirt.


    "The saying goes, great minds think alike!" Stated Hexo as he smiled back


    He then looked over at John and noticed that he was being to being expressionless. Seeing this, Hexo wondered what was going on inside of his mind, he couldn''t tell what he was thinking.


    ''So he''s not the type to initiate a conversation on his own¡­ But he''s also not ignorant¡­''


    "Hey¡­ Bro, about that thing you said earlier-" Said Hexo


    In that instant, before he could finish, Hexo shut his mouth as he noticed a dark snow ke go right by his eye. Confused, he looked up to see what it was and his eyes widened.


    The others who also noticed this, looked up, and they too couldn''t believe their eyes. The snowkes which were once white, had somehow turned Pitch-ck.


    "What is-"


    Satire was interrupted by Hexo who suddenly shouted


    "The vige¡­!?"


    Their attention was diverted from the dark snow as they looked ahead, doing so only increased the already high tension around them as they noticed smokeing off in the direction of the vige.


    Dark mes had erupted inside and around the vige. On top of that, there was a faint trace of dark magic in the air.


    "Dark magic¡­! What''s going on!?"


    Something bad was going on in the vige and they could all feel it.


    Hexo clenched his fist upon seeing this before suddenly running off, straight towards the vige at full speed.


    "Wait!" Satire shouted


    But it was toote, Hexo had already started running. Splitting up right now was a bad idea, but they had no choice but to hurry. Hexo knew that he was the fastest so he ran off first, leaving the group behind.


    "I''LL MEET YOU THERE!!" Shouted Hexo before disappearing into the trees.


    Upon seeing this, they all, except for John, turned to the guild master waiting for instructions. John seemed to be looking for something in the direction of the vige, but no on knew what it was. He was interrupted by the guild master who suddenly called out to all of them.


    "Everyone listen in, we don''t have time to waste." Said The Guild Master


    As john turned to the guild master, he felt the tension rise in the air, along with a surge of blood lust. The others also felt it. It wasing from the guild master.


    "I''ve gotten a little rusty, but I''m still a former S-Rank and the leader of the Snow Guild, Fenri. The audacity to attack the vige under my protection while I''m gone¡­"


    Everyone was speechless. The guild master, who always made Jokes and was rarely seen being serious, now had an expression which sent chills down their spine. A mix of hate, anger and blood lust aimed at whatever was attacking the vige.


    The guild master then turned to John before asking "John¡­ Right? You have any transportation spells?" and upon hearing this, John nodded.


    "Good¡­ Then, I''m counting on you to take them there, Don''t worry, you and everyone here will be awarded appropriately if you participate in helping the vige. But just like any quest, the choice is up to you." Said the Guild master as he looked in the direction of the city.


    "Obviously, we''re doing it." Said Satire


    Shera and the Bright sword nodded in agreement and John also did so, while standing in between them.


    "More importantly, how are you going to make it to the city?" Satire asked


    "Don''t worry, I''ll be just fine. Sacred Treasure First Form: Crimson Ice Armour." Said the Guild Master with a smile


    Suddenly, the temperature in the surrounding area, got warmer and warmer as steam began to form around the guild master. However, what happened after, left everyone confused.


    ''The steam¡­ Froze¡­?'' Satire wondered


    Following, that a bright blue Armour engulfed in mes could be seen forming around the Guild Master, covering each and every ounce of his body.


    Once his body was fully covered, the guild master''srge physique began to slightly shrink, as if it was beingpressed from the inside.


    Everyone watched with surprise as a smile could be seen in the bright sword''s face.


    "So you''re finally getting serious¡­" He muttered


    Before the Guild Master''s Form could bepleted, he suddenly disappeared. A split second after, the trees ahead of them were frozen and the guild master was nowhere to be seen.


    Everyone remained quiet as they watched what it meant to anger an S-Ranker, even if he was a former one. But by the time they even realized it, he was gone.


    "We should get going now." Said The bright sword as he looked over at John


    And John who heard this, nodded in response.

 Chapter 312 - The Villages Chaos

    "EHHHHHHH!?!?" Satire shouted out as they soared through the clouds


    The strong gust of wind, knocking onto their skin, gave them a refreshing feeling as the snowy mountain scenery looked as if it hade straight out of a fairy tale. It was phenomenal.


    Unfortunately, there was little to no time to appreciate it, as they had bigger concerns on their mind.


    "Calm down, we''re nearly there." Said The Bright Sword


    "T-THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!! YOU KNEW ANCIENT FLIGHT MAGIC!?" Shouted Satire full of surprise and amazement


    The shadow tform which they stood on, had now suddenly started to descend at fast speeds, scaring the wits out of her. Shera and the Bright Sword on the other hand, were doing just fine.


    In fact, the Bright sword seemed to have his eyes focused on something beneath them, but there were too many things going on for the others to notice.


    "We''re here." Stated John


    "Hey¡­ John¡­ That''s not fair¡­" Muttered Satire as she held in her urges


    Confused, John tilted his head as he faced her and she shook her head in response. Now wasn''t the time to get distracted, and she knew that clearly.


    "Flight too...? How overpowered can you get?" She whispered


    The Dark tform they were on, suddenly stopped in the middle of the air out of nowhere. They were all rmed, but they quickly went to check the edges of the tform to see what was happening as barely any time had passed since they first got on to the tform.


    However, when they did, they felt their stomachs sink. Beneath them was the vige and there was only one word in that moment, to describe what they were seeing.


    "It''s Chaos." Said The Bright Sword


    Many of the buildings were covered in a dark me, some guards could be seen panicking while others could be seen actively trying to put out the mes with water magic, however it was ineffective.


    However, that wasn''t even close inparison to the bone chilling sight of the burnt corpses and screams of paining from all over the vige.


    ''Where are the adventurers?'' Shera wondered as she scanned the area


    Her eyes widened at the sight along with the others as they saw that the adventurers guild was engulfed in mes. Upon seeing this, a cold re was formed on her face as she aimed her sights on the strange figures moving from the within the guild to the outside.


    "What are those¡­? Shadow summons?" Satire asked


    They were strange shadow figures, submerged in the ground, their shapes were irregr but humanoid, each of different sizes. Some had risen from their shadows and were ying anything in their sight, in one clean sweep.


    As she watched this, Satire realized that they weren''t what Satire had originally considered. After getting a closer look, she realized something odd about these shadow figures. However, before she could tell them, she noticed Shera was already on the verge of leaping off.


    "Wait those aren''t regr-"


    *Swoosh*


    Before Satire could stop her, Shera leapt off the tform which was over 100 meters in the air, heading straight down on the adventurers Guild.


    As she did so, she gave a quick scan of the surrounding once again and in that instant, she found them.


    The adventurers, they were all gathered up near the entrance of the vige as there seemed to be an even greater threat there.


    *Crash*


    She crashed straight into one of the food stalls,nding safely in the process. She then gave a quick look around, and noticed a bright crimson glowing off from the entrance of the vige, alongside the adventurers.


    A smile was formed on her hidden face as she muttered. "I''ll leave it to you¡­"


    She then let out a sigh, letting out a strange purple breath as her purple eyes began to glow. She then gave a quick look around before grabbing onto her daggers which were also glowing.


    She was surrounded, by strange shadow figures with a glowing white core imnted in their chests. She didn''t know what they were, so underestimating them right now with the vige undergoing destruction wasn''t an option.


    She was going to go all out.


    "No civilians nearby, check¡­ Sacred Treasure First Form¡­" She muttered


    Purple mist began to gather around the young girl as her daggers began to glow more and more. The mist engulfed everything around it including the girl, causing her figure to disappear within it, along with the shadow figures.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "She just charged straight in¡­" Satire muttered in disbelief


    "Ha ha, I should probably get going too." Said the bright sword


    "About that¡­ Will she really be fine? Splitting up is a bad idea¡­ Those things¡­ They''re not regr summons¡­ They''re lesser demon summons¡­"


    Lesser demons were a race rtive but inferior to the of demons and great demons. This race, like other demon races, could be summon via a dark ritual involving dark magic. Although as a summon, it would be significantly weaker.


    "Who, Shera? She already finished them off." Said the bright sword as he pointed at the ground.


    As satire looked down, her eyes widened. There was a thick purple fog moving throughout the city at fast speeds. Whatever the fog came into contact, would either melt or be corroded.


    Despite being a simple fog, it rampaged through everything like a wild beast. It even appeared to take the form of a strange dragon-like creature who''s shape was undefinable.


    What was more bizarre about it, is that once it got near to civilians, the fog would clearly make it''s way around the civilian to avoid it, so that they wouldn''t get killed by the cross-fire.


    "Y-You''re telling me, that''s Shera¡­?" Satire asked


    "Yeah¡­ It''s thanks to her sacred treasure¡­ Ites at a great risk though¡­"


    "Risk?" Satire asked


    "You don''t have a sacred treasure yet, so you wouldn''t know¡­ The first form can only be achieved when confronting your Sacred Treasure." Said The Bright Sword


    ''Confronting¡­?'' Satire wondered


    "That said, It''s about time I join in¡­ Shera and other adventurers are handling the lesser demons in the vige¡­ So I guess I''ll do some searching¡­ Satire, you''re good with long range spells right? Stay up here." Said The Bright Sword


    Before Satire could reply, The Bright Sword suddenly leaped off the tform. Heading straight down into the vige.


    "I see¡­ understood."

 Chapter 313 - The Unexpected Shadow Visitor

    Right after the bight sword left, before Satire could gather her thoughts. John suddenly vanished.


    "Eh?" she unintentionally let out


    ''H-He was right there and just disappeared? W-what will happen this tform? Isn''t it going to drop?!''


    *Sigh*


    After her faint sigh, she looked down at the ground once more and raised her staff


    ''Searching huh¡­ For the culprit behind this¡­ How will he even find the culprit in this chaos¡­? To be able to pull something like this¡­'' Satire thought to herself


    Magic circles were formed in the air, each in front of her staff at an equal distance from one another.


    "This vige doesn''t really mean much to me, I''m also just passing by but¡­"


    Anotheryer of strange pattern circles were formed over the already formedyers of magic circles. One was red while the other was blue.


    As this happened, Satire''s mouth was moving In an iprehensibly fast manner without letting out a single sound.


    "No point in holding back when so many people are in trouble¡­" She muttered as pointy edges began to slip out of the magic circle.


    She closed her eyes and let in a deep breath once she was finally ready.


    "E-Emperor ss Summoning Magic¡­ Phoenix"


    *GRRRRRRR¡­*


    A quiet growl could be hearding from the magic and blue magic circle as it increased in size. Upon that, wings began to stick out from the magic circles.


    "Kill all the demons you see. Go." Said Satire with a cold tone


    Following that, a loud deafening screech was let out as a zing red blur dashed out of the magic circle at high speeds.


    "Don''t kill any normal people¡­ Seriously¡­" Said Satire with a nervous smile.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The temperature in the whole vige had risen to the point where the ice on the rooftops were melting. As this phenomenon happened, everything in the vige had gotten lighter and brighter.


    The sound of a screech was heard by all, those who were in pain screaming for help and those who were quiet, hiding in their homes, doing their best not to attract the attention of whatever was rampaging outside.


    And then there were the adventurers.


    "ARGH¡­ My EARS! What is that?!" Asked one of the adventurers as he turned to the source of the noise.


    "FUCK! Another enemy!?" Asked another adventurer


    "WHERE IS IT!?" A third asked


    They all turned to the source of the sound which was above their heads before their eyes widened. Supreme. A being which could destroy them with a single stroke of it''s wings.


    Arge bird engulfed in mes, no, saying it was engulfed would be simplifying it. More urately it was as if the mes were the bird itself.


    A long fiery tail which had the appearance of a whip. Long zing wings, which appeared to ignite the air around it. Strange glowing scales on it''s chest and a fiery peck which had a weird magic circle around it.


    They were left speechless at the sight. Some had frozenpletely still as they wondered whether or not they were going to have to fight that too.


    "DON''T GET DISTRACTED!!!" A Voice shouted as it dashed right past them.


    The instant this happened, the lesser demons in front of them, all suddenly froze up before breaking into tiny pieces as a cold gust of wind passed by them. They weren''t able to see who it was, but they recognized him.


    "That voice¡­ That''s the guild master!" Said one of the Adventurers who''s opponent had been shattered


    "Wait¡­ If the guild master is here¡­ Than that means we''re safe¡­"


    Or so they thought, but just as the thought of resting passed by their minds, they heard an unfamiliar voice


    "Safe? Most have evacuated into the refugees which are being guarded but why not just destroy it? The guild master can''t be everywhere" Said the voice


    The attention of the five adventurers there turned to the source of the voice, and from there, they saw a man who walked straight out of the shadows


    Short spiky ck hair and a straight lined scar going down his right eye straight to his mouth. He wore a ck cloak instead of a robe despite all the cold. On top of that, he had a strange pattern on his forehead. It seemed like a strange square with spikes flowing out of it. But the more you''d stare at it, the more it''d appear to change.


    He looked over at his pocket watch before giving a quick look around. There were more lesser demons which were starting to surround them yet again, even though they had just finished the others.


    "*Sigh* I lost the bet¡­They''re working perfectly¡­ Fuck¡­ Why''d I have to gamble so much money¡­?" Asked the man as he closed his pocket watch


    "H-H-Hey!! W-Who are you!? D-Don''t you know the vige is under attack!? Unless you''re an adventurer, get to safety!"


    "Yeah! Get out of here!! We''ll hold them off for you!!"


    Ignoring the warning of the two adventurers, the man looked at the sky and a smile reced the bored look on his face.


    "Whoa¡­ What the fuck is that?!" He said with an excited look as he stared at the sky


    Arge bird on fire which was pping it''s wings. Each time it pped, more and more fiery feathers would be formed beneath it. It had been stacking up feathers to the point where it had reached a surreal amount.


    "It''s saving them all up for an all out attack¡­ Looks like things are about to get fu-"


    The man was interrupted by one of the adventurers who grabbed his shoulder. He was a rather tall and bulky adventurer with a magic sword gripped tightly onto his right arm. He was definitely strong and didn''t seem any weaker than a B rank adventurer.


    "Didn''t you hear us just now?! We told you to-"


    However, before he could even finish his sentence, he suddenly stopped. And in that instantA spine chilling sound could be heard as spikes flowed out of him, ripping and tearing through his flesh as if they were looking for freedom.


    *Crunch* *Spurt*


    His blood spurted before his body was engulfed and devoured by the man''s shadow. Yet it wasn''t over. Dark swords were formed above the shadow, before piercing it like some sort of killer coffin, finishing his already finished body off.


    As this happened, the man clicked his tongue.

 Chapter 314 - The Battlefields And Pain.

    His blood spurted before his body was engulfed and devoured by the man''s shadow. Yet it wasn''t over. Dark swords were formed above the shadow, before piercing it like some sort of killer coffin, finishing his already finished body off.


    As this happened, the man clicked his tongue.


    There was nothing the man could do, he couldn''t even scream. Not even a trace of blood was left behind as this happened, nothing. The body just disappeared into the man''s shadow.


    The adventurers were speechless. Their eyes widened as they let out quick and heavy pantswas no point in giving them any attention. They were petrified,pletely petrified from fear. They couldn''t even breathe properly without feeling a strange pain in their chest.


    "M-M-M-M-Monster¡­!"


    "That''s not a h-human¡­ That''s¡­ THAT''S A DEMON!"


    With the little voice in their paralyzed from fear bodies, they shouted with everything they had.


    "Correct!" Said the man as he turned to them


    *Pierce* *Spurt*


    In that instant, they were pierced straight in the neck by dark swords formed out of thin air. On contact, the sword turned into a shadow which engulfed them, once again, putting them in the position to be devoured. All in a few seconds.


    "I wish that you humans could be a little more quiet¡­ Can''t have him, knowing that I''m here." He said with a smile


    He then appeared beside the shadowb which engulfed their bodies and soon after it was forcefully dragged into his shadow.


    "Well then, on to the next spot." He muttered before he disappeared into his own shadow.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The guild master arrived at the scene, leaving behind a trail of ice. Only to stop at the sight in front of him.


    "T-The Guild''s Master''s here!" Shouted an adventurer who was on his knees with joy


    "F-Finally¡­!"


    "T-Thank god¡­" Another adventurer muttered before copsing


    Blood. Everywhere. Bodies which were torn to shreds, decapitated heads lying around. The entire snow was once again, dyed in a crimson red. The blood seemed to have no end as part of it continued to flow and eventuallynded on the Guild Master''s Leg before being frozen off.


    There were less than ten adventurers still standing.


    As the guild master saw this, he felt his heart sink. His eyes widened and his hands began shaking. He was speechless to his core. But it wasn''t because of fear.


    "Sorry I''mte¡­ You''ve all done well, protecting the vige. I''ll make sure to inform your families and don''t worry about the rewards, You all deserve it. All of you¡­" The guild master muttered as he hung his head.


    *ROOAAAAAAAAAR*


    Following the Guild Master''s speech, a loud and powerful roar resounded thought the area, it was directed at the adventurers and paralyzed them with fear. They were in front of the vige gates, and there stood arge, over ten feet tall monster, heavily geared in a strange dark Armour.


    The guild master turned over to the monster while gritting his teeth. An expression full of anger was disyed all over his face as he red with hateful eyes at it.


    It was a monster whose form and appearance appeared to have been made out ofplete darkness. It''s form was difficult to describe. A mixture of different types of monsters allpressed into one.


    A dark cloud surrounded the horn on it''s bull-like head. The closest thing the head resembled was a minotaur, but it was nothing like it.


    Dark wings sprung out of it''s muscr back, it''s legs were that of tigers while it''s arms and chest were that of a gori.


    What made it even more horrifying was the fact that it had the intelligence to wield a weapon.


    ''I see¡­'' The guild Master thought to himself as he looked at the dark radiating giant sword on it''s hand..


    It gripped it tightly, and showed no signs of letting it go. It''s eyes were glowing red and foam could be seening out of it''s mouth.


    "O-Oh shit¡­ It''sing again¡­"


    "Please¡­ Make it stop¡­"


    Just by simply standing in front of the gates, the people both on the inside and outside, could feel chills being forced down their spine.


    The guild master walked straight at it with the same resolved and angered look in his face. The monster upon seeing this, tightened it''s grip of it''s sword before swinging it straight down at the guild master.


    *CRASH!*


    It missed the guild master by a few inches as turned his body to avoid it, all while keeping his eyes on the monster.


    In that instant, all the adventurers witnessed the true power of an S-Ranker. The guild master vanished, before appearing directly behind the monster.


    Following that, the monster could be seenpletely frozen, from it''s waist up. The guild master then turned, his arm glowing a bright red as he sent a ming fist straight at the frozen monster figure. Shattering it''s top half into little pieces as he did so.


    *Shatter*


    The guild master then let out a cold frosty breath as he quickly turned to check on the condition of the adventurers, when suddenly, his eyes widened.


    The monster who waspletely missing everything from it''s waist up, had started to regenerate, despite having lost it''s head.


    The guild master was surprised to see this, however, there was no fear present in his eyes.


    "So you can regenerate¡­ It''s useless." He muttered as he walked up to it and ced his hand over it''s wound which it was trying to regenerate.


    Pure red zing hot mes engulfed it''s top half, before scorching it, giving it a charcoal-like look.


    It stopped regenerating as this happened. However, it wasn''t over.


    The guild master, watched as dark spikes rose from the monsters shadow, aiming to pierce through his Armour and finish him off. However, the spikes froze and shattered before it could even get close enough.


    "Sacred Treasure Art: Grand Burning Impact." The Guild master muttered


    Magic circles formed above both the guild master and the monster while they all watched. Following that, came a blinding light.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Ah, John. Took you long enough.." Said The Bright Sword as he took another sip of his beer.

 Chapter 315 - The Bright Swords Transformation

    "Ah, John. Took you long enough." Said The Bright Sword as he took another sip of his beer.


    John remained quiet as he watched The Bright Sword carelessly enjoy his drink.


    "Want some?" The bright sword asked.


    There was no reply.


    "Is that so¡­" He muttered as he filled his cup again.


    They were in the middle of an underground pub. It was empty and mainly dark from the inside. It also wasn''t known by many adventurers and there were rarely new customers aside from the regrs.


    That being said, at this time of day, it waspletely empty. The bright sword was pondering as to how John had found him.


    "So, you knew, huh?" The bright sword asked


    Upon hearing this, John made his way over to the empty seat next to the bright sword, before wordlessly sitting still.


    The bright sword who noticed this, raised his cup up to his mouth to take another sip, when suddenly.


    *Crack*


    It shattered to pieces, causing sharp ss shards to rain down on the table.


    "How long have you known?" He asked


    The question was ignored and followed up with a simple order.


    "Let him go and stop all of this." Ordered John


    "It''s toote for that the magic circle is already active unless you break it, lesser demons will just keep pouring out." Replied The Bright Sword before reaching out for another cup.


    John was unsatisfied by the answer and began to release blood lust. His patience was running out.


    "If you''re talking about my body, it''s toote for me. He already had control over my own thoughts, Haha¡­"


    A wide unbing grin was formed on the bright sword''s face as he muttered


    "I''m sure you know what that''s like, judging how you''ve experience it." Said the bright sword as he let out a few giggles


    The calm blood lust which was being directed at the bright sword had leapt to another level bing more intense and concentrated. John''s intentions weren''t being hidden at all, he wanted to kill it.


    However, the bright sword ignored this.


    "I''m more concerned about how ''that'' demon lord hasn''t taken over your body yet¡­ Actually,e to think of it, there were reports that he did, yet somehow you took-"


    Before he could finish, he was interrupted by John who suddenly appeared behind him and mmed his face on the table.


    *m!* *Thud!*


    "I''ll just force him out-"


    Before he could finish, John leapt a few feet back,nding on top of a table, before leaping off of it.


    Not even a second after, the area in which he was standing was struck by countless pointy shapes. formed by darkness which had emerged out of the shadows. There were swords, spears, poles, anything sharp which you could think of.


    What''s more itpletely blended in with the environment, having made it nearly impossible to detect.


    "I knew something was up. Good thing I came, huh?" An unknown voice asked


    John turned to the stairs where the voice wasing from and from there, he saw it.


    Short spiky ck hair and a straight lined scar going down his right eye straight to his mouth. A man in a cloak. He stopped right at the bottom of the stares. His attention wasn''t on John, but rather, what was behind him.


    *ng*


    The Bright Sword who had tried tounch a surprise attack on the distracted John, ended up hitting something hard in the middle of his swing, something which he couldn''t see.


    Following that, weapons emerged out of the shadows at high speed, each aiming straight at John. However, all they ended up hitting was each other, as John vanished without a trace.


    The man who had stood at the bottom of the stairs, then looked up only to see john above him, with a swing from his dagger, in motion heading right at him.


    *sh*


    John felt connection, but that quickly after turned out to only be the trace of darkness left behind as the man vanished.


    "That was close!"


    His voice came from the other end of the room where the bright sword was standing. John tightened his grasp over his dagger before turning over to them.


    It was a two versus one and they were still holding back, things were definitely going to be rough for John but he didn''t care.


    "This form is killing me¡­" Muttered the bright sword


    Shortly he said that, there was a quick and sudden change in the fluctuation of magic in the room. Condensed and pure darkness emerged. The darkness was intense and heavy that it caused The air to turn impure.


    As this happened, the Bright Sword''s entire form began to change. His Blonde hair had now turnedpletely dark. His deep blue eyes had turned pitch-ck and the metal of his Golden sword had somehow began to peel.


    He was transforming, however for John, now was the time to strike.


    John shadow stepped directly in front of the Bright sword, with two vertical swings in motion, heading straight towards The bright sword''s head, when suddenly.


    *ng*


    He ended up hitting something hard in the air, he took a nce at it, before shadow stepping next to The bright sword and swinging again.


    *ng*


    He was stopped again. It was some form of condensed dark magic which kept blocking him. Upon seeing this, John sent a kick straight at the other ck-haired man only to hit thin air.


    He had disappeared once again. The instance that this happened, a cut was formed on John''s cheek as he tilted his head back.


    He had barely avoiding a sword thrust which was aimed straight at his head, before shadow stepping back to the stairs.


    Upon seeing how there was no way to physically get past their defense, he decided to settle it all in one heavy attack.


    A strange dark Armour began to form over the Bright sword who''s sword was turning darker and darker, The grin on his face showed no signs of fading.


    "What''s wrong? Not gonna-"


    *VOOOM!*


    The bright sword was interrupted by a dark trident which was propelled straight at them. He wasn''t sure why, but despite having a barrier to block attacks, his instincts and senses were screaming at him to dodge it.


    But it was too fast.


    *Splurt*


    They were underground so the trident went past the bright sword and disappeared into the earth. Leaving behind apletely shocked Bright sword behind.


    *Whistle*


    "He really got you with that one." Said the ck haired man as he watched


    *Splurt*


    Blood spurted out of the Bright Sword dying the wooden floors and tables in a dark red as it did so. The bright sword slowly turned down to look over at his wound, to see how big it is and his eyes widened when he did.


    His entire right arm was missing. What kind of magic was it? He wondered.


    ''If I hadn''t avoided it in thest second I would be-''


    The bright sword didn''t even bother to finish the thought when he noticed countless magic circles forming in front of him. All of them had the very same trident forming inside of them.


    There was no where to run or hide. His transformation wasn''tplete so beating them in speed would be unthinkable. He had miscalcted.


    "FU-"


    The bright was interrupted for a third time as for a moment, his vision was clouded by darkness. Next thing he knew, he was standing right outside in the shadow infested roads of the vige.


    "Why did you help me¡­?" The Bright sword asked


    "Because I lost the bet, now I don''t owe you anything, right?" He asked before pulling out his clock watch.


    "H-Haha¡­ Al-"


    *Crack*


    Two horns suddenly grew out of the bright sword''s head, causing him to quickly lose conscious. He fell over backwards onto the ground, his breathing bing more and more frequent as he did so.


    In that moment, as if he were some sort of ma, all of the darkness in the area around him, was being forcefully dragged into him. No amount was enough, it just kept on sucking everything in. The sound of metal being banged could be heard as his dark Armour began to develop, and grow.


    His dark sword had also began to grow as it fed on the lesser demons which roamed the street, they were all gathering up and heading towards him. He was absorbing their power.


    "So it''s starting¡­" The ck haired man muttered as he hung his head. "That''s just perfect¡­" He then added with a grin


    He then looked up at the blue sky before muttering.


    "Staying here might get be caught up in the cross-fire¡­ I guess it''s time I-"


    *m!* *Crash*


    He went crashing into the building beside him as he was kicked straight in his blind spot, while distracted. However, it wasn''t over.


    As he flew from the momentum, John appeared over him was again, with an Axe kick in motion,nding perfectly in the middle of his face before he was mmed straight down onto wooden floor of a shop they had broke through...

 Chapter 316 - The Dark Sword

    As he flew from the momentum, John appeared over him was again, with an Axe kick in motion,nding perfectly in the middle of his face before he was mmed straight down onto wooden floor of a shop they had broke through¡­


    The ck haired man gasped in pain as John proceeded to throw him up in the air and massacre him.


    He shadow stepped above him, while using light to fill the room and prevent him from being able to use his magic. Before shing straight at his neck.


    In that moment, using every ounce of will power he had Left he was able to avoid it by tilting his body mid air, however not fully.


    *sh* *Spurt*


    Blood spurted out of the man''s neck as he felt a dagger pierce his back. John had vanished once again.


    Confused and in pain, he quickly turned around with his arms engulfed in a pure red me, so that he could scorch John alive, only to see that he was gone once again. His eyes widened as he could tell it was going to end in the next move.


    "ck hole."


    *VOOOM!*


    A ck form was quickly formed and instantly dispersed leaving nothing behind.


    "Tsk, got away." John muttered as he clicked his tongue


    The instant the ck hole had formed all light from the room got sucked inside. He used that opportunity to enter his shadow.


    As he did this however he had his middle finger pointed at John and a nervous grin on his face. John could have stopped him, but didn''t as he could deal with it at any time.


    But that was only as long as he didn''t go berserk. John felt something while fighting the guy. It was the presence of a demon, something which he knew clearly.


    He had also learned that dark spirit inside of him was a demon and there were countless other demons. Including the one outside right now.


    John shadow stepped outside to go finish the other man off. And the instant he did, he raised his guard with both daggers, blocking a sword swing just as he did so.


    *CLANG!*


    It was heavy, so much that it sent John flying back through the roads. As he was about to Shadow step to strike back, he noticed that his hands were still trembling from the impact, and in that instant.


    *THRUST!* *CRASH*


    He was suddenly impaled as he was stabbed and forced down into the ground. It was fast, way too fast.


    John''s blood began to flow down his mouth as he could feel his energy getting sucked out of him. He grabbed onto the sword to pull it out but had no luck, it was etched deeply into his chest, barely missing his heart.


    That didn''t make it any less painful. The sword had entered one side and left before digging into the ground on the other.


    He stared at the person who had just done this, and noticed something off the moment he did. A dark scaly Armour covering his whole body, two horns at the front and a helmet which showed glowing red eyes inside.


    The presence inside the Armour was the same as that of the bright sword, He became apletely different person.


    Dark mes began to gather at the top of the sword, indicating that he was about to finish him off, when suddenly John raised his hand and pointed it towards him.


    "ck hole." He uttered


    In that instant, a ck hole was formed there and then, right beside the Dark knight, however to John''s surprise, nothing happened.


    And after realizing why, he let out a sigh. It wasn''t the first time he had encountered someone who could withstand the ck hole, they were able to survive it because they possessed a sacred treasure with anti-magic properties.


    John hadn''t heard from that person in a long time, and being in that situation had reminded him of it. Making him quite happy in the process of all the pain.


    Once the dark knight had finished gathering dark mes at the top of the de, he decided to finish it all at once, in one single burst.


    John was pinned down and immobilized, no matter what, it was over for him.


    "Die." The voice which came from the inside of the Armourmanded as before the sword burst down in mes.


    In that instant, Earth spikes rose up, all aiming to pierce the dark knight''s Armour, yielding no effect as it did so.


    However, that was a distraction which had surprised the dark knight for but a single second. It was enough for John however, He sunk down into the ground, ignoring the mind numbing pain of the sword leaving his body as he sunk further and further down.


    After the sword had let his body. Steam began to leave out of his wound. However, as this happened, a wave of dark mes were quickly making their way down the hole John had formed on his descent and forgot to close.


    Because of this, John closed the earth above him, before propelling himself through the earth and doing a curve inside of it before leaping through and out.


    He looked like some kind of earth fish with the way he flowed through thend. It was as if he was one with it, however, what waited for him outside however didn''t seem to care.


    John broke through the ground, onto the roads again, only to get attacked the instant he did


    *ng*


    Another heavy and fast swing which he parried, however right as he was propelled back from the impact. It was followed up by another swing from the dark knight.


    Only to miss and end up cutting through the air, as John used the wind to propel himself further back.


    But that was it''s objective, not even a second after the swing waspleted. Dark mes with the shape of the swing were propelled straight at John.


    John was in the air, the one way to avoid it would be to propel himself away from it using wind magic. However, he took the riskier option and shadow stepped beneath the dark knight and before grabbing onto his legs.


    However, the instant he did so. Dark spikes ejected out of the Armour''s leggings, piercing both Of John''s hands in the process.


    In that instant, the dark knight thrust his sword down to finish John off. John watched as the sword, made it''s way towards his right eye.


    This time it was definitely over, there was no way he''d be able to dodge in that situation. Or so the dark knight thought, until it heard it.


    *Tic*


    And just like that, he ended up hitting into thin air, John was no longer there.


    Confused, the dark knight turned to look behind him, where he could feel John''s presence when suddenly it lowered it''s guard.


    Blood spurted out from the inside of the Armour, letting the dark knight know that it had suffered internal wounds.


    It''s right arm which it used to hold the sword was broken. And it had been shed through the faintest gaps in the Armour.


    All of this happened in a fraction of a second.


    "Fulgurationem, Modero, Propero." Said John from behind the dark knight.


    He then ced the edge of his dagger next to the white knight''s Armour covered neck as he threatened it.


    "Let him go, and I won''t kill you." Said John as Lightning flowed through his body.


    He had spoken at a much faster and iprehensible speed as he had Sloan down time for others and sped up time for his own self, so the dark knight most likely didn''t understand a single word he had said.


    Despite that, the dark knight''s next move showed that it showed no signs of letting the body go.


    His Armour began to turn and both look more lively as something began to move inside of it, changing it''s outer structure as it did so.


    It moved around the whole Armour, stretching andpressing the Armour out as it did so.


    As this happened, the Armour''s helmet began to move around uncontrobly and disorderedly making the impression of it being possessed much bigger.


    John then watched as the Dark knight hung it''s head and becamepletely motionless. Seeing this, John stretched his arm out to the bright sword, only for it to get sliced off the instant he did so.


    *sh*


    John watched as his arm fell to the ground. As this happened, the helmet began to resemble less of a helmet and more of a monster''s face as it''s mouth opened and it let out a loud roar.


    It was an ear-piercing war cry which alerted many throughout the city. While the dark knight was distracted with it''s roar. John shadow stepped over to his hand, and grabbed it before he muttered.


    "Then¡­ Death."


    As he said that, he ced his fingers on top of his blindfold before pulling it down.

 Chapter 317 - Johns Transformation. The Light Of Darkness.

    It was an ear-piercing war cry which alerted many throughout the city. While the dark knight was distracted with it''s roar. John shadow stepped over to his hand, and grabbed it before he muttered.


    "Then¡­ Death."


    As he said that, he ced his fingers on top of his blindfold before pulling it down.


    In that instant, a blinding light emerged from within John, before bursting out to the sky above, piercing through the clouds. The light was filled with magical power, and that light alone was enough to alert everyone.


    However, that was just the beginning. Then another surge of magical power came from the middle of the light, and this one waspletely different, it was full of darkness.


    The blinding beam of light had nowpletely merged with darkness, creating a mix of light and darkness piercing the sky and clouds above.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Huh¡­? That beam¡­ That''s definitely John''s magical power¡­ Who knew it was so dense¡­" Muttered The guild master


    He then looked down and with the back of his feet, kicked the head of the monster while he sat on it as he asked. "Don''t you think so too?"


    That was the only trace of the monster which remained. It''s head had also been scorched, removing any possibility of it being able to regenerate it''s wounds as it''s lifeless eyes stared at the sky.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "H-Huh¡­?! What''s going on!? That magic power!! Is that John?!" Satire asked as her eyes widened at the sight


    ''Just what could have possibly happened for him to release it all? And was he really holding back against the dragon? This is on a whole other level¡­'' She thought to herself


    The darkness had sent chills down her spine, it wasn''t something she''d ever think to see on a human.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Shera who was currently poisoning every lesser demon summons she could find in the city was the closest one to the beam, formed by John.


    Even she was surprised, she knew he was strong but this was on apletely other level than the one he had shown in their fight against the dragon. And that had annoyed her somehow.


    Despite that, she kept moving, relieved that he was on their side. As she noticed this however, the question hidden in the back of her mind, surfaced.


    ''Where''s Hexo?'' She wondered


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Well I''ll be damned¡­ He actually had more to him." Muttered Hexo as his eyes fell upon the light


    In that opening, his attacked vanished before appearing in front of him with a swing in motion, aimed straight at his head.


    *ng* *Thud*


    Hexo who saw thising, kept his guard raised and blocked the sword''s swing using his scales, but was pushed back leaving his whole torso wide open from t he impact. The attacker didn''t cease to take this opportunity.


    He sent a kick straight at Hexo''s Ribs, while his arms were still in the the air. However, it was a set-up.


    Right before the attacker couldnd their hit, there was an outburst of fire magic which came from Hexo, causing the attacker to withdraw in thest second.


    He vanished, and reappeared a few meters away from Hexo, leaving behind a trace of Light as he did so.


    He wore a nk expressionless mask which covered his face, and a simple sword. What was strange about the sword was how it wasn''t a sacred treasure or anything, just a simple steel de.


    The man looked down at his left leg which was nowpletely burnt before looking over at Hexo and the area around him.


    The Snow around the area and trees began to melt even more as Hexo''s true form began to show itself.


    "If brother is giving it his all¡­ Then¡­ I guess I''ll get serious too." Said Hexo as the scales around his body became denser and harder


    It was as if he was engulfed in a bright me, attacking him now would be futile. Upon realizing this, the masked man looked at the beam of light and darkness, before leaving his fighting stance.


    "We''ll finish this another day." He said so clearly, before disappearing with a trace of light.


    Hexo tried to stop him before he could disappear, but rather than it being speed, he had an actual technique which allowed him to teleport in a short range. There was no catching him in that sense.


    "Tsk, he got away¡­" Muttered Hexo


    He then looked over at the beam, before rushing towards the city. ''What''s happening there? If even John is showing us his true power?'' Hexo wondered


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The beam of light and darkness faded, showing a single being levitating in the sky above the city. Being was the term used as it was unsure whether or not it was really a person, with the way it looked.


    A wing made purely of light, rested on the left side of it''s back. It was an angel''s wing. While a wing of darkness stood on it''s right side. It was the wing of darkness.


    Long glowing ck and white hair could be seen on this being and with it''s shape it was recognizable. It was John.


    He had a single horn resting on the side and a halo of light resting on top of his head.


    Then thest noticeable change in his features, were his eyes.


    His iris was emitting a bright golden glow, as it appeared to resemble the sunrise and golden sky itself. While his pupil had changed shape from round to vertically slit. In contrast to his iris, his pupil emitted and intense amount of darkness.


    Just the sheer intensity being emitted from his eyes alone as he looked down at the dark knight was enough to make him flinch.


    John raised his hand as he stared straight at the dark knight. As it saw this, it began to both think and worry about John''s next move.


    *snap*


    With a snap of his fingers. The wing''s on John''s back began topress themselves, changing their shape as they did so.


    *Crack* *Crack*


    A hideous sound followed up by a change in what could be seen behind him. Now there were no longer wings, but two crystals. One made of light and the other made of darkness.


    John''s transformation was nowplete. He stretched out his hand towards, the dark knight who felt chills go down his spine as he did so.


    And as he opened his mouth to speak, the dark knight suddenly vanished, before appearing above John, with a swing heading straight down at his head.


    For a moment, john hadn''t reacted. The dark knight thinking that he had caught John off guard, decided to pour it all into this attack.


    And that was what he did.


    *sh!*


    He cut john, straight in half, from the top of his head, all the way to the bottom. Splitting his whole halo and body as he did so.


    Or so it seemed.


    *Tic* *Toc* *Tic* *Toc*


    The sound of a clock could be heard, and before he even realized it, what he had cut was not John, but simply the air.


    "Fall." John muttered


    The dark knight was hit by a strange overwhelming pressure, propelling him straight to the ground as it did so. It felt as if he had countless buildings on it''s shoulder''s.


    However, just as he was about to crash. He noticed John standing on the ground beneath him, with earth spikes rising from the ground to pierce it on it''s fall.


    *CRASH!*


    Had it not been for it''s Armour, it''s back would have been pierced from the impact. Thanks to the Armour, not a single scratch was ced upon it or him


    He was then pulled by another strange force, out of the ground into a nearby building. Smashing into it, in the process.


    Before it could rpose itself, the very same force dragged it back from that building, towards John''s hand


    Seeing this, the Dark knight quickly ced it''s sword in front of itself, in an attempt to thrust at John. However, right before it pierced his head.


    *ng*


    The sword was pushed back, and it''s armoured throat was grabbed by John. John began to clench it and tighten his grip around it, breaking and forming cracks on the Armour around the neck as he did so.


    As this happened, it swung it''s sword at John once again to attack him.


    *ng*


    It happened again, the force ended up hitting a strange invisible shield which caused it to get pushed back.


    "Zestari." Said John


    John then nodded in reply to himself, before he muttered "Bind."


    The instant he said the word. Golden chains were pushed out of the ground beneath them, before heading straight towards the the dark knight, each wrapping itself around a limb of his.


    After they had sessfully binded him, the chains froze in ce.


    "Stay." Ordered John as he pulled back his arm while clenching the dark knight''s neck.


    In that instant, they separated.


    The bright sword''s body now back to normal, was thrown aside onto the floor next to john, leaving behind a single humanoid shape of a shadow standing there.

 Chapter 318 - Divine Judgement / Advanced Time Regression.

    After they had sessfully binded him, the chains froze in ce.


    "Stay." Ordered John as he pulled back his arm while clenching the dark knight''s neck.


    In that instant, they separated.


    The bright sword''s body now back to normal, was thrown aside onto the floor next to john, leaving behind a single humanoid shape of a shadow standing there.


    The shadow couldn''t properly keep it''s physique on it''s own without a body, so john had maintained it for him.


    It was the shape of a demon. Upon realizing that it was able to maintain it''s shape, the demon looked confused, and looked at itself in doubt.


    "Huh? M-My form¡­ It''s iplete but¡­ It''s fixed."


    The demon was confused as to why John would do this and surprised by how John could do this. Giving him a form wouldn''t benefit John in anyway, in fact, it would mean the Demon would finally be able to do what it wanted, and freely too.


    He thought John was an idiot. Until, he realized it.


    "Yeah. I fixed your form." Said John as he raised his hands.


    The clouds were moving in a strange manner, circting and forming a hole in the sky above them. Inside of the circle, there was light.


    Now that he had a form, he could be destroyed.


    "N-No¡­ HEEEEEELP!" The demon shouted out as loud as he could, letting out a deafening screech as it struggled to get out.


    The screech had attracted all of the nearby lesser demons summons causing them all to gather and charge straight at John.


    However, the instant they were within a fifteen meter radius of him.


    *VOOOM!*


    A ck hole was formed in front of one, dragging all of the ones nearby into it. The ck hole then dispersed before it could do anymore damage to the nearby buildings.


    He could feel all of their locations, he didn''t even have to look.


    Earth spikes began to rise throughout the city, piercing mainly the lesser demons right in their core, while avoiding damaging anything else.


    Shadow spikes extended from the inside of the remaining demons finishing them all off in an instant.


    All this happened without John having raised a single finger, and this was only the beginning to the extent of his power.


    After the demon had exhausted it''s energy with it''s shout. John let go of him, before turning his back to it and crouching down beside the bright sword who was unconscious.


    His hair was back to normal along with his features. As he saw this, he muttered a single word.


    "Judgment."


    *BOOOOOOM!*


    A beam of light came down from the Sky crashing straight into the demon with full force.


    "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! STOP!!!!" The demon cried out in pain


    The light however, only increased. The smell of something burning was present in the air, as steam began toe from the middle of where the light was concentrated. This was where the demon was at.


    With each passing second, it only got stronger, no matter how much it tried to run and escape, it was bounded heavily by the chains.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" It screamed out with a demonic voice


    And that was it''s final cry, before it''s whole entire shape hadpletely evaporated.


    *Snap*


    With a single snap of his fingers, the light dispersed. Leaving behind a crispy ck circle along with a small hole on the floor. The demon was gone, it didn''t return to the underworld but had it''s existencepletely erased instead.


    John stood there before giving a quick look around. The lesser demon summons had all disappeared at once along with the main demon who John just destroyed, however, the vige had beenpletely destroyed. It was in ruins.


    Even though John hadn''t been here for long enough, leaving the vige in this condition wasn''t something that would sit well with him.


    ''John.'' Called out Zestari.


    John nodded in response, he already knew what Zestari meant when she called out to him.


    "I''ll be careful." He muttered before crouching down.


    The vige was mainly empty, those who had stayed, had hidden away inside of their homes, however the chance of this next spell hurting them was low. Meaning it was very unlikely.


    Right as he was about to leap up to activate it, he remembered about the Bright Sword and decided to deal with him first.


    "Heal." He muttered


    For a moment a bright glow was emitted from John''s eyes before The Bright Sword''s unconscious body began to glow.


    Seconds after, his eyelids slowly cracked open, greeting him with the light blue sky.


    "Get up." Said John


    The Bright Sword was then suddenly pushed up by some strange force along with a hint of wind from his back, before standing straight up.


    He was surprised but sluggish, his body waspletely worn out and that wasn''t something John would have been able to heal. He was lucky John healed all the pain which he was supposed to experience after, however even he did not know this.


    At first he was disorientated, however upon seeing John, his eyes widened.


    "I HUMBLY APOLOGIES FOR HAVING CAUSED YOU SO MUCH TROUBLE!" He shouted out as he quickly bowed in front of John


    His whole body trembling as he did so. It was a sight unfitting of an A-Rank adventurer, however it was a genuine apology.


    It appears that he had remembered everything which he had done while he was possessed. That was good for John as it saved him time from having to exin himself.


    "It''s fine. Raise your head." Said John


    As he raised his head, John noticed tears flowing down his face. As he too realized this, he began to clear his face with his hands. His blue eyes were starting to swell from all the tears.


    "Thank you¡­ Truly¡­ Thank you so much for stopping me¡­ I¡­ Because of me¡­ All those people¡­ I have failed the church¡­ And our lord''s teachings¡­" He muttered as he moved over towards his Sword.


    John watched as he moved over to one of the sword''s lying on the floor, just a few feet away from him. After grabbing on to it, with trembling hands he ced the edge of the sword next to his neck.


    His hands wouldn''t stop trembling. John could tell as he too had gone through the same experience. It wasn''t trembling out of fear, but out of guilt.


    John couldn''t bare watching this any longer, however, he also didn''t want to get involved in the Bright Sword''s decision. His only Job was to save him, what he did after with his life was his choice.


    It would be much better to end it all than to live with the guilt. John had picked thetter and has suffered everyday since. Even he didn''t know when was thest time he was able to have a good night''s sleep.


    "So are you going to end things?" John asked


    His voice alone was overwhelming, just from hearing it, anyone could tell that it carried great power. Upon hearing it, The Bright Sword had flinched before nodding.


    The tears just wouldn''t stop flowing.


    "I''vemitted a grave sin¡­ I have no other choice¡­" He muttered


    "Live with the guilt. Spend every day reflecting and thinking back on your actions, suffering as youe to realize how horrible of a person you are." Said John


    "Then, what would be the point of living¡­?" He asked


    To this, John simply hung his head as he muttered. "I don''t know. I''m still looking for mine."


    He then ced his hand on his chest before looking The Bright Sword straight in the eye and saying. "But you already have yours." Said John as he turned to the left and looked down the road.


    There, he could see it. A young girl with long ashy blue hair braided along the back with sharp sweet violet eyes. She was currently heading to them at full speed using wind some sort of wind spell to propel herself.


    Her mouth was moving constantly showing that she was chanting and her eyes had tears flowing down her bright red cheeks as she was overwhelmed by emotions.


    When the Bright Sword saw this, his eyes widened and before he had realized it. He had let go of the sword.


    "Silica¡­ She- I see¡­ Haha¡­ Ha¡­ That girl¡­ So that''s how you knew, she asked you for help, didn''t see?" The bright sword asked.


    John replied with a simply nod before looking over at him and saying. "She never gave up on you. So don''t give up, for her." Said John


    Shortly after that, John leapt up, soaring through the sky as he ascended at a fast rate. After a few seconds, and he was at a good enough distance above the city. He raised his hand.


    In that instant, arge wide blue circle could be seen, with numbers and patterns written all over it. After giving it closer look, anyone would have been able to tell that it was a clock.


    It spread out throughout the sky, covering as much distance as it could, being nearly as wide as the whole city.


    "Advanced Sacred Treasure Art: Regressus" Muttered John / Trantion: Regress.


    Everyone witnessed what happened next, and no one could believe their eyes.

 Chapter 319 - Repairing The Village

    Arge wide blue circle could be seen, with numbers and patterns written all over it. After giving it closer look, anyone would have been able to tell that it was a clock.


    It spread out throughout the sky, covering as much distance as it could, being nearly as wide as the whole vige.


    "Advanced Sacred Treasure Art: Regressus" Muttered John / Trantion: Regress.


    Everyone witnessed what happened next, and no one could believe their eyes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Mum¡­ What''s going to happen to us¡­" A young boy asked his mother while crying.


    "Don''t worry¡­ We''ll be fine¡­ We''ll find a new home¡­ And¡­"


    "But I don''t want a new home¡­ I want our home¡­" He muttered


    The mother''s hands wouldn''t stop trembling as she held her son. She didn''t know what to tell him.


    They were one of the countless families in the refugee just outside of the vige. The refugee was being protected by countless adventurers, and had been created by Earth Magicians in thest moment.


    It prevented anything from getting in from around, however it wasn''t perfect. They weren''t going to be able tost much longer.


    As they stood and rested confined in that shallow filled space. They noticed arge blue magic circle appear a moderate distance away from and above the vige. At first it looked like a regr magic circle, however, after getting a closer look they realized that it resembled a clock.


    *Tic* *Toc* *Tic* *Toc*


    The sound of ticking could be heard as the second hand, moved along the clock. The minute hand followed behind with each minute that passed. It was a properly functioning clock.


    "What the hell is that thing doing there?"


    "What''s that clock doing above the vige?"


    "Mummy, is that safe?"


    Questions began to raise themselves amongst the vigers, however, after the final tic. They were all speechless.


    *Tic*


    The hour hand on the clock, along with the minute hand and second hand, began to move anti-clockwise. The hours were going back, and as this happened, the viges structures, buildings and mes all began to fan out and move in reverse.


    It was hard to understand what was happening at first, but after a while, the vige had appeared to be fixing itself on it''s own. Reverting everything back to normal.


    Construction which would take years to fix, fixed in mere seconds. It seemed almost like a divine blessing or miracle from god as the buildings reconstructed themselves.


    "My god¡­"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hey¡­ As if that beam of light wasn''t enough¡­ What the hell am I even looking at?" Satire asked as she stared down at the vige before looking at John who floated in the sky with his hand in the middle of the magic clock circle.


    ''Construction magic? Is that even a thing? No¡­ Wait, the way the buildings are constructing themselves¡­ It''s almost as if it''s moving in reverse¡­''


    Upon realizing this, her eyes widened.


    "No¡­ He couldn''t have¡­" She muttered in disbelief


    ''A clock, moving backwards and the vige is moving in reverse¡­ He''s rewinding time¡­''


    The moment she considered this fact, she could feel her curiosity grow once more, she absolutely had to find out how he did it. Hell, she was tempted to fly over to him right now just to see how he was doing it.


    "Argh¡­ Why did I call back phoenix!?" She shouted in regret


    She then let out a sigh before looking down, as she muttered. "It was for the better¡­"


    Phoenix was an Emperor ss Summon. She could only control around ten percent of it''s full power, any more than this and she''d lose control. Not only would that have endangered the entire vige, the phoenix could probably rampage throughout the continent.


    This was why she was reluctant on using it at first, but after seeing what John was capable of, she doubted that even at one hundred percent of it''s power. It would be able to handle him.


    "That guy¡­ What do you have to do to reach that level? He''s long surpassed the strength of the Average S Ranker which is the highest known rank, even though officially it''s the third highest."


    ''Not that it matters as you can only count the number of people above the third highest in one hand. And there''s only been one to reach the first highest rank which made so many people unaware of it.''


    "Argh¡­ Why is life soplicated? If he''s this strong why does he always look like he''s suffering¡­"


    John was the weirdest person she had met, by far. Weird because he lived outside of the realm ofmon sense. Even with all of his power, he never abused it nor arrogantly swayed it around. A strange person indeed.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hm?"


    After realizing that it was all over, the toxic fog dispersed and Shera emerged from the inside of it. Only to watch as everything around her, began to move in reverse.


    The buildings around her, they all began to fix themselves. The vige was returning to it''s former glory.


    No corpses could be seen as they had all been devoured whole by the lesser demons. Even the blood which had been spilled across the walls and roads had mostly disappeared.


    Shera then stepped to the side, only for the rubble and debris which she was standing on, to raise itself and move return itself back onto the building it had broken off of,


    She then looked up at the sky and noticed John, floating in the sky, in the middle of arge magic circle which resembled a clock. She watched as the minute and hour hand, moved anti-clockwise.


    Upon seeing this, she quickly covered her head with the hood of her cloak and formed a small smile as she walked towards the vige entrance.


    Maybe she''d find the Guild master, Bright sword and Hexo there. That was her aim at least. She could tell that Satire was still on therge floating tform in the air above the vige.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Looks like the fight is over." Said the Guild Master as he got up.


    The instant he said so, there was a quick change in the mood.


    "It''s over? Really¡­?"


    "The guild master was able to take care of the Chimera, the beam of light is gone and the ground stopped shaking, I''m guessing the fight in the city is over." One of the adventurers who was also sat down on the cold floor asked.


    Short brown hair spiky above his orange eyes underneath the scar on his forehead. He carried arge sword on his back, and wore light Armour.


    He was worn out, and didn''t seem at all scared in regards to what had just happened. After all, the guild master had exined to everyone that an S-Rank adventurer, stronger than himself, so he and the other adventurers were all reassured.


    There were around thirty adventurers there. Ten were unconscious, fifteen were injured and currently being treated as they spoke by any avable healers and holy mages and thest five including the guild master were just getting some rest after having exhausted themselves.


    They watched the city fix itself as there was nothing else to do. It was strangely rxing.


    "Yeah. The fighting is over. You see thatrge magic circle up there? It''s what''s fixing the city as we speak.". He muttered calmly.


    "I''m d to have had you guys fighting by my side¡­ You all did a great job¡­" Said the guild master


    "G-Guild Master¡­" Muttered one of the injured adventurers whoid on the floor. He was starting to tear up.


    "It''s all thanks to you¡­ Boss!" Said Another adventurer who was also injured, he too had started to tear up.


    Adventurers who were just as big as the guild Master, were tearing up. Not because they were afraid or scared, but because they had just survived another strong fight alongside theirrades. The guild-master''s words had struck deep.


    A scout which the guild master had sent out, had then finally returned, bringing him great news.


    The guild master then got up before raising his right hand and pointing it to the sky before suddenly shouting.


    "TONIGHT WE DRINK, IT''S ALL ON THE GUILD! THE CASUALTIES WERE KEPT TO A MINIMUM AND MOST OF THE VILLAGERS WERE SAFE!!! IT''S OUR WIN!!"


    His voice resounded throughout the area around them, making it''s way throughout the vige. He had a truly loud voice, yet somehow it didn''t pierce their ears and instead, motivated and strengthened them.


    "YEAAAAAHHH!!!" They all simultaneously shouted as they raised their hands.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    *Tic* *Toc* *Tic*


    The ticking had then suddenly stopped, before the magic circle disappeared. As he floated in the same spot, John gave a quick scan of the vige, making sure everything was back to normal.


    Once he realized it was all back to normal, he was about to cancel out his spell and descend, when suddenly.


    *Thump*


    Mountains of unthinkable pain, followed after a single heart beat, surged into John''s body.


    "Argh¡­. AAAAAAARGH!"

 Chapter 320 - Johns Retribution And Punishment / Zestaris Return

    Once he realized it was all back to normal, he was about to cancel out his spell and descend, when suddenly.


    *Thump*


    Mountains of unthinkable pain, followed after a single heart beat, surged into John''s body.


    "Argh¡­. AAAAAAARGH!"


    Everyone watched as small shape of the Hero who saved them, started to descend at a an increasingly fast rate. The way he was falling, didn''t seem like it was intentional. Especially when he was heading head-first down.


    Satire who saw this, quickly acted. She ran before leaping off of the floating tform, quickly chanting as she did so.


    "King-ss Summoning Magic: Wind Griffin." She muttered


    A surge of wind began to pile up in the air in the air beneath her, As she quickly fell, shended on the wind which was now shaped exactly like a Griffin.


    She didn''t waste any time, and charged straight diagonally down in the area where John was falling towards.


    Lucky for her, she was close to him, and he was at an even greatertitude than her, so it would take time before he reached the floor. However, with each passing second, he''d fall faster, making it harder to save him.


    ''Come on¡­ Make it in time¡­!'' She begged herself


    With the griffin moving at an incredibly fast speed, just as she had hoped. She had reached it in time.


    As she stood right beneath the area, John was about to fall. She noticed that his eyes were closed, he was most likely unconscious.


    ''No matter how strong he was, heading head first into a rock hard ground, would definitely kill him. Probably.''


    She quickly started her chants after reaching the ground, the earth beneath her, started to soften and began muddy. The wind in the area in front of her, began to rotate uncontrobly at fast speeds.


    A tornado was forming, and a pool of water could be seen forming inside of the earth, as it dug it''s way down. A 10 meter deep pool of clean water surrounded by soft rock which appeared to be mud.


    Once the tornado was formed above the pool, a small vortex could be seen forming on the water due to all the winds and rotation, however Satire managed to stabilize it.


    She waspletely focused, her mouth wouldn''t stop chanting. John''s life, rested on her hands and after everything he had done for them. There was no way she wasn''t going to repay him.


    *Swoosh!*


    Like some sort of missile, John plummeted into the spiral of wind, slowing down the eleration of his fall by a lot as he did so.


    *Ssh!*


    As his body sunk into the water, John cked out.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    He opened his eyes, only to find himself inside ofplete emptiness. He couldn''t hear anything, feel anything, or smell anything.


    He could only see two doors, in front of him. It wasn''t the first time he had been put inside of such a situation, it was a mind game being yed by a certain thing in his head.


    In any case, he had to choose the right door, otherwise he''d suffer great consequences.


    Without a hint of hesitation, John walked up to the right door and ced his hand on the doorknob, before turning it and walking inside.


    The instant he did, he was greeted by a blinding light and found himself inside of brightly lit nk room.


    It would have beenpletely empty, if not for the person standing a few meters away, with her back turned to the young man.


    The young man walked towards her, and she turned to greet him.


    "Wee back, John." She said with a smile


    A brightly litdy whose body shape and hairstyle was the only thing he could use to discern her from another. Her facial features were easier to see than before, but her face was still too bright making it harder to make out. Not even her hair color.


    However, he could tell that she was indeed smiling.


    "I''m back, Zestari." John replied with a small smile on his face.


    After greeting him, the smile quickly faded from Zestari''s face before she asked. "How long has it been? A year maybe?"


    John nodded his head in response, and he could clearly feel that she was unsatisfied by this.


    "I believe I told you about the consequences. Why did you remove the first seal?" Zestari asked.


    "Sorry¡­ I had no choice, I wanted to save them even if it means, tolerating all that pain." Said John. He then ced his hand on his chest, above his heart before he muttered. "It all disappears after time, anyways."


    Zestari didn''t know what to say, she couldn''t find herself to be mad at him, especially with the sorrow in his voice.


    "I understand wanting to save them, but don''t forget, your magic power is too much for your body to handle but there''s more to it¡­ Something I haven''t told you." She said seriously


    John curiously stared at Zestari, waiting for the answer,


    "As you know, I''m an angel. Your magic power merged with mine making it divine¡­" She said


    Seeing how, John was paying close attention, she carried on.


    "If a human uses divine magic power from the heavens, there will be a great burden cast upon his body. The burden will be much much greater, if his body contains any demonic power or dark magic." She said


    She then took a step closer to him, before saying it clearly. "I don''t know how you did it, but in the fight you were able to perfectly bnce that, incredibly dense amount of darkness along with the angelic power inside of you."


    Because of this, John had acquired great strength, which both of them knew, however, it woulde at a much greater price, than simply using one of the forms on their own, without bncing them.


    Even without saying it, John already knew what Zestari meant. However, what sort of price would he have to pay?


    This was unfair in a way as John had done it subconsciously, he had nned to only use his angel form, However that demon managed to get in his way again and brought out his demon form. It knew, and did it on purpose.


    "What''s going to happen to me?" John asked


    He didn''t use any dark spells and mainly used Light, However he was partly in his demonic form, so there was no way he was getting out of this lightly.


    "I don''t know¡­ You''ll definitely be facing, a type of Divine Retribution of your own and it will be painful. There''s a high chance that it could kill you, however even if you''re lucky enough to survive, things won''t end there."


    Confused, John asked her clearly. "What do you mean?"


    At first, Zestari was hesitant to reply, unsure of whether or not she should say it, but decided to go with it, as it wasn''t something she could keep from John.


    "You''re human, but at the same time you''re not. You''ve be a Hybrid between a Human, A demon and An Angel. The Gods don''t know of your existence and You''vee from a different world, so that makes you an anomaly."


    John listened in closely without muttering a word.


    "However, now that you''ve be a hybrid. You''ve be an even greater anomaly. If the heavens were to discover of this, they would in no doubt try to get rid of you. I''m not sure if this fell within the expectations of the God which brought you here, but he''s done a great job at keeping it under wraps till now." She continued.


    It was a lot to take in. Finally discovering that it was indeed a god that had brought you over to this world and how you would be chased and executed for existing. It wasn''t something that John had expected to hear so suddenly.


    "I see¡­" He muttered


    "Huh? Just that?" Zestari asked, surprised.


    "Thank you for telling me this." Added John


    "Again? That''s it? You''re not mad at me for making you a potential target?"


    John shook his head before he replied. "I had already expected something like this. You probably merged your magic power with mine to save me. If it weren''t for you, I''d still be possessed, which would be no different than being dead. Besides¡­"


    John then took a step closer and stared at Zestari straight in the face with unwavering eyes as he as said.


    "Until I find what I''m searching for¡­ Even if I have to go against, The heavens, or hell even. I also have that promise I made to you to keep, so don''t worry."


    Zestari was speechless. Ever since she had first seen him, There was something strange about John, which she couldn''t put into words. She had always felt a sort of superficiality in the things which he did or said.


    However, whenever he talked to her, most of the words which woulde out of his mouth was genuine. He didn''t think badly of her at all. At first she assumed he was just easy to manipte or someone who was too trusting, but as she grew up, she realized it was nothing like that.


    "Is that so¡­ You truly are strange¡­ I thought you had lost your ambition but apparently it''s still here. Very well, don''t say I didn''t warn you." She said with a smile


    After that, John disappeared, leaving her alone in the empty room.


    "The promise, huh¡­ So he hasn''t forgot¡­ A strange one he is¡­" She muttered to herself, still smiling. However, the smile disappeared from her face as she remembered how truly grave his situation was

 Chapter 321 - The Wrath Of The Heavens

    "The promise, huh¡­ So he hasn''t forgot¡­ A strange one he is¡­" She muttered to herself, still smiling. However, the smile disappeared from her face as she remembered how truly grave his situation was.


    "I''m sure he''ll be able to survive the retribution, but¡­ There are angels and even gods who absolutely mustn''t find out about his existence. I doubt that at this stage he''d be able to even put up a fight¡­" She muttered


    But at the same time, she wasn''t sure. John was getting stronger at an incredibly fast rate. Even his new form was something not to be reckoned with.


    "*Sigh* He''s always giving me so much work." Sheined


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "H-Hey!? What happened to him?!"


    "I-I cushioned his fall using wind magic and a water pool but¡­ He hasn''t woken up."


    "Did he drown?!"


    "No, the moment hended I got him out of there with a water bubble."


    "So then why isn''t he waking up?!"


    "Calm down, Hexo. We don''t know."


    As the young man stood silently inplete darkness. He found himself paralyzed, being unable to move and only hear the muffled voices of hisrades.


    They were so muffled that by voice alone he could barely distinguish between them, but he could Still tell who it was that was talking.


    ''Wake up¡­'' John thought to himself


    However, he still couldn''t move. He could feel the darkness within him, creeping in the back, as it enjoyed holding him down.


    Upon noticing this, John took in a deep breath in the darkness and said the words again. This time, more resolved.


    ''Wake up''


    John suddenly opened his eyes as he sat up before coughing out all the remaining water in his system.


    "*Cough* *Cough*"


    For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Confused, John gave a quick look around him and noticed that a surprised look on everyone''s face.


    The first to speak was Hexo who even stuttered on his words.


    "H-He''s awake! He''s awake!!!" He shouted


    Satire and Shera both breathed a sigh of relief while a big smile was formed on the guild master''s face.


    "I told you he''d pull through!" Said Hexo


    "Weren''t you the one literally panicking a while ago?" Satire asked as she gave him the stare


    "N-No¡­" Hexo muttered slightly embarrassed


    "As expected of our Hero, even drowning is no match for him!" Said the guild master


    "He didn''t drown!" Satire responded


    The party was filled with Joy the moment they saw that John was still alive.


    "Hey John, tell them that you didn''t-"


    Once Satire had turned to John for help, she was taken aback andpletely forgot about finishing her sentence.


    The same happened for the others who noticed this. Once they saw the look on John''s face, they were all taken aback.


    Long spiky dark and white hair, and sharp eyes with glowing irises which resembled the sunrise and a pupil which resembled the night sky. They could see his eyes now that the blindfold was off, but that wasn''t what had taken them aback.


    A smile could be seen formed on his face as a tear flowed down it. Never could they have ever imagined seeing such an expression on John''s face.


    John had only noticed this now, quickly wiped his eyes before muttering.


    "Sorry¡­ I just remembered something¡­"


    However they still remained speechless. The one to first break the silence was Satire.


    "John, you¡­ You''re-"


    Before she could finish, Satire was interrupted by John who shouted.


    "GET BACK!"


    As this happened, golden electrical currents could be seen flowing through and around him.


    "Eh-"


    *BOOOOOOM!*


    Yellow lighting, struck right where John was standing, electrifying John as it did so. The clouds in the sky had turned dark and began to circle in the sky above John.


    Following that, more and more lightning strikes were fired down upon John.


    *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOOOOOM!*


    "ARGH¡­ AAAAAAARGH!" Just shouted in pain


    Burns began to form on his body, as his consciousness began to fade. He wasn''t just being hit by regr lightning. It was a kind which was striking at the demon part of him, making him feel a type of pain he could have never imagined.


    Burn marks were starting to form all over his body, each strike rendering him More and more useless. It was the wrath of the heavens.


    "GUILD MASTER!" Hexo shouted as he dashed over at John


    Just before the lightning had striked him, They were all dragged away from John by a strange force. Hexo knew that it was John who had pushed them away and wouldn''t forgive himself if he didn''t help him right now.


    Hexo stood in front of John with his guard raised as he did so, his draconian scales came out, serving as an instor. This caused the following lightning strikes to get intercepted and hit Hexo directly instead.


    *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOOOOOM!*


    Before the lightning could hit them, Arge metal shield was forming in the air above them, to block it, however the lightning passed right through the shield.


    "WHA-"


    ''It went past my shield!?''


    One after another, lightning continued to strike, It''s wrathnded on Hexo, burning at his scales. It hurt, there was no doubt, even if his partial draconian form, it hurt like hell. However, Hexo knew it would hurt John more. A human wasn''t as resistant to lightning as Draconians.


    "DAMN IT¡­ WHAT''S WRONG WITH THIS THING!?" Hexo shouted


    *BOOM!* *BOOOOOOM!*


    Hexo''s began to grit his teeth in pain as the strikes kepting. Thankfully, they were no longer hitting John, however, John''s pain hadn''t stopped.


    "AAAAARGH!!!! H-HEXO! M-MOVE! I''M AH- FINE!" John shouted as he struggled to handle the pain.


    Hexo found it strange how John was still in pain despite the lightning not hitting him and how it didn''t stop him from saying stupid shit.


    "King ss Earth Magic: Great Defender" Said Satire as she just finished her chant.


    The earth from beneath Both John and Hexo became unsteady, before they were eventually grabbed arge rock golem which was formed beneath them.


    It had a peculiar design and look, with a strange glowing core in the middle of it''s chest.


    As this happened, the guild master quickly leapt in front of Both John and Hexo, taking the attack from the lightning as he did so.


    *BOOM!*


    Steam could be seening off the guild master''s arms which were the first toe in contact with the lightning. That was when he realized how painful it was.


    It wasn''t something as simple as getting electrocuted or even getting striked by lightning. The guild master had gotten struck by lightning, but that lightning which he had gotten struck by, now felt like a simply zap inparison.


    This was true lightning, conducting itself all the way throughout his body.


    ''That kid¡­ He dealed with 6 strikes from this?! That Hexo too¡­ Just one of these strikes made my arms gopletely numb¡­ More importantly¡­''


    "TAKE JOHN AND RUN! I DON''T KNOW WHAT''S HAPPENING BUT HE''S BEING TARGETED!" Shouted the guild master.


    The earth golem which carried both John and Hexo, moved at fast speeds for it''s height, allowing it to quickly breeze past Satire and Shera.


    Satire and Shera knew they weren''t being targeted so they didn''t run after them. They Had a different objective, and that was to find whoever it was that was doing this.


    Or so she tried, but no matter how much she did. She couldn''t trace it. There was no magic power in the air around them, leaving only two exnations.


    One, he was getting attacked by a long-range user. But even then she''d be able to trace the location through his magic, if itnded near her. Or two, it wasn''t something being done by a magician, but rather, something already set in stone or programmed to happen.


    The will of the heavens. Satire had heard stories about it, but never did she believe it was real. What could John had done to incite the anger of the heavens?


    Suddenly, the lightning strikes, stopped.


    "I-Is it over¡­?" The guild master asked as he let out heavy pants. The strikes had disorientated him, and he could still feel the pain through his insting Armour. His entire body was numb.


    Just as he was about to feel a sigh of relief, he felt his heart sink as he heard Hexo''s words.


    "OI! JOHN! WAKE UP!"


    Filled withplex emotions, the guild master quickly turned back. Only to see, the group surrounding John whoid on the floor.


    Satire was giving John CPR. His body fully covered in burn marks was now motionless. Upon seeing this, the guild master quickly rushed to John, his whole body aching as he did so, before dropping on his knees beside him.


    "H-He''s not breathing¡­" Said Hexo hesitantly


    "Wake- Up! Come- On! John!" Satire shouted as she continued to give him chestpressions


    "Can''t you just use a healing spell?!" Hexo asked


    "I-I Can''t¡­ His heart¡­ It¡­ Stopped¡­"

 Chapter 322 - Johns Death.

    "Can''t you just use a healing spell?!" Hexo asked


    "I-I Can''t¡­ H-His heart¡­ It¡­ Stopped¡­" Muttered Satire


    The instant the word stopped was mentioned, everyone had felt like they had taken a punch to the liver. Hexo wasn''t buying any of it.


    "W-What are you talking about? Satire, this is bro we''re talking about¡­ He soloed a dragon in it''s true form¡­ Do you know how many people could do that?" Hexo asked


    "Hexo, check it yourself. His heart, has stopped." Said The guild master after cing his hands on John''s wrist.


    Hexo couldn''t believe it, he didn''t want to believe it. He was hesitant to check, but had no other choice.


    He ced his hand on John''s wrist and ced his head above his heart, using his superhuman senses to see if he could hear something.


    *¡­* *¡­* *¡­*


    Nothing. Not a single heart beat.


    "No way¡­ He''s¡­ dead¡­?"


    ********


    In the middle of a popr continent, a youngdy could be seen gearing up. She had just gotten out of the showers and had finally gotten dressed.


    She ced her golden white wand in the sheathe tied to her leggings, and ced arge book before looking at her reflection on the mirror ahead of her.


    Moderately long silky silver hair and deep silver eyes. Arge witch hat which sat on top of her hair, hiding her ears. She wore shorts which were easy to move in along with a shirt and a cloak over it.


    She walked out of her room, and noticed a youngdy dressed in a maids outfit, sweeping with a broom through the corridor. Long pink hair tied back into a bun with sweet pink eyes.


    Once she saw that the youngdy had left her room, she quickly stopped what she was doing before greeting her.


    "Young mistress, good morning." Said the maid as she bowed.


    "Good morning, Lydia. And I told you to stop calling me that, just my name is fine." Replied the youngdy


    "I must apologise, but that would be imprudent. I am working for you, after all." Lydia replied


    Upon hearing this, the youngdy frowned before eventually letting out a sigh.


    "If you say so¡­ Where are the kids?" She asked


    "They''re currently sleeping in their rooms."


    "Tell them I said good morning when they wake up."


    "As you wish." Replied Lydia before she bowed


    Upon seeing that everything was prepared, she quickly set off, leaving her small house as she did so.


    "I''m off."


    "Have a safe trip."


    As she opened the doors and stepped onto her front porch, she could see a young man, around his early twenties, standing on her front yard.


    Long purple hair with blue eyes. He was tall and wore a cloak covering both his frame and possessions, however the long detailed staff on his back stood out, defeating the whole point of a wearing magician wearing a cloak.


    She closed her door and walked down the stairs of her porch. Walking right past the young man and ignoring him as she did so.


    "Ignoring me? That''s harsh even for you, S-Rank adventurer, Golden Empress Of mes. Or should I say, Serena."


    "Be quiet-"


    The instant she finished her sentence, Serena quickly back, facing the direction of the house, before cing her hand over her chest.


    There was no one around except for them and arge field, so why was it that she felt that feeling?


    "Hm? What''s wrong?" He asked as he stood beside her and stared in the same direction.


    "Nothing¡­" Serena muttered before shaking her head and turning around.


    Serena walked on with her mind focused on what she had just felt. Even though it was for a brief moment, she was certain of the feeling.


    ''Why did I get such a sad feeling, just now¡­?''


    ************


    John opened his eyes only to find himself paralyzed and glued to the dark floor beneath him.


    Darkness everywhere he looked, he couldn''t see anything aside from his own body which somehow stood out from the dark despite there being no light.


    As he struggled to move, a figure was suddenly formed in front of him. A dark shadowy figure with no body and a strange humanoid shape. It''s back was turned to John and it seemed to be watching something in the ceiling but John couldn''t see it.


    "Hm, I didn''t think you''d be back so soon, how long has it been sincest time?"


    John didn''t reply and continued to struggle to get out of the bind and paralysis, but no matter how hard he struggled, his body wouldn''t respond.


    "Struggling is useless. More importantly, I have an offer." Said the demon


    "When did you be so professional?" John asked as he managed to form a middle finger with his right hand and pointed it at the demon.


    The demon turned to John before crouching down beside him.


    "It''s been two minutes since your heart stopped. At this rate, you''ll really die. Or not, you have demon blood and useless angel blood in you, after all." Said the demon


    He then moved in closer to John''s ears and whispered


    "However, you''re still human, are you sure you want to test that theory?"


    Upon hearing this, John froze. This reaction was expected, no one would want to die. Between choosing to lose a life or stay alive, the natural decision would be to stay alive.


    The demon was taking advantage of this unexpected opportunity to persuade John.


    "Hey¡­ You''ve given me a lot of trouble in the past, but I''m willing to forget that¡­ I''ll help you, in exchange for a new contract. How does that-"


    Before the demon could finish he was interrupted by john who gave a blunt "No."


    Visibly irritated, the demon decided to let out a sigh and calmly ask. "Why not?"


    "The contract won''t change. You''ll be stuck in here for as long as you''re needed. Then after that, I''ll send you back to the underworld where you came from.


    The underworld, or so it was called by many, others called it hell. The number of people who knew that it truly existed were few. In fairy tales, it''s exined that it is a ce which is


    home to demons. John had only recently discovered of it''s existence, and it was this demon''s home. If he went back there, he would probably get everything he wanted and get revenge on John.


    "John, I know you''re smarter than this, we can-"


    "I''m not repeating myself."


    John had realized that the only way to deal with this demon was by not showing any weakness. It fed and grew stronger through his fear which is why it simted a memory from the past in John''s mind before.


    "Very well¡­ I warned you, now I''d like to see how you''ll survive in this situation." Said the demon


    "If I''m going to die, I''m taking you with me." Said John as he red at the demon


    A dark cold grin could be seen formed on the shadow''s face as it suddenly vanished before appearing right beside John and pushing his head onto the floor.


    "Don''t get too cocky, brat." Said the demon as it let off some blood lust and anger. It''s power was no joke.


    He was theplete opposite of Zestari. Filled to the brim with darkness. Even John wouldn''t know what would happen if he released him into the public again.


    For a moment, there was nothing but silence, until.


    "Hey¡­ John, why do you think you lost both Serena and Ari-"


    The instant the word Serena was mentioned. John''s eyes widened ring straight at the dark spirit with hateful eyes. An immense amount of blood lust was being released as this happen. Darkness began to cloud John''s eyes as this happened.


    "Oh, so that''s yournd mine. No point in getting mad at me, that only makes me stronger, you know." Said the dark spirit as it pushed John further into the floor.


    Or at least it thought it did. John wouldn''t budge. John''s right hand then grabbed onto the spirit''s hand before it began to glow a bright yellow color.


    Upon seeing this, the spirit quickly let go of John before vanishing and reappearing a few meters away from John.


    As this happened, John got up. He looked the dark spirit dead in the eye as he said.


    "Say either of their names again. I''ll give you hell for each letter on their name." Said John as he continued to re at the spirit.


    "Haha, rx, It was just a question." Said the dark spirit as it walked up to John. It ced it''s hand on his shoulder, unafraid of John''s right glowing hand.


    "Don''t forget you''re in my territory now. Zestari can''t save you here anymore. Unless you want her to die-"


    A sharp fast right hook,nding perfectly on the side of the demon''s face. Sending him flying to the side.


    He then appeared behind John,ining about the pain.


    "I can''t say that too? Damn you''re picky."


    John turned around and noticed that the side of it''s face was letting off steam. He definitely injured it.


    "Don''t you want to know the answer? Why you lost everything important to you?"


    John leapt at the demon, sending another straight Punch at it, only to end up hitting thin air as the demon vanished.


    "It''s simple." It''s voice came from behind John. John quickly turned his head only to be staring face to face with the demon.. "Because you''re weak." The demon added

 Chapter 323 - The First King / The Contract Of Anmon

    "Don''t you want to know the answer? Why you lost everything important to you?"


    John leapt at the demon, sending another straight Punch at it, only to end up hitting thin air as the demon vanished.


    "It''s simple." It''s voice came from behind John. John quickly turned his head only to be staring face to face with the demon.


    The demon gave John a flick on his forehead before staring at him face to face as he said.


    "Because you''re weak."


    The words John had least wanted to hear and hated the most. Weakness. Because he was weak, he couldn''t stop Zestari. Because he was weak, he couldn''t stop the demon inside of him. Because he was weak, he lost the two most precious people in his life.


    All of because he was weak.


    "Shut up¡­" John muttered


    "It was all your fault."


    "Shut up¡­"


    "Your master."


    "Shut up¡­"


    "Zestari"


    "¡­"


    "That girl you took in to help. Even though you were weak, Hahaha!"


    "Shut-"


    "And most importantly that girl that confessed her love to you, what was her name again? Ah, I said it a moment ago. Serena-"


    The demon''s eyes widened as it took a step back once more. The floor in front of him, then quickly lit up with light, as the light from John''s right arm spread through his right arm throughout his whole body and eventually the floor.


    "I told you didn''t I? That if you didn''t stop saying useless shit. I''d give you hell." Said John as he took a step forward.


    "I was right¡­" Said the demon,pletely fearless about the beating it was about to take.


    John took another step, before creating eight light projectiles in the air around him.


    He took yet another step and the whole room lit up in light. Making the shadow spirit, the only dark spirit in sight.


    Steam began to flow out of it''s body due to the light, however it didn''t let out a single screech of pain.


    John raised his arm, ready to begin it''s torture as he swung it down, when suddenly the demon said.


    "Look at yourself. You just got stronger." Said the demon with a smile


    Confused, John looked down at himself and noticed that he was glowing. However, he didn''t think much of it, it was only Zestari''s power after all.


    "It''s not my power." Said John as he swung his arm down.


    Just as the light projectiles began charging up and were about to fire down, he stopped when the demon muttered. "No, it''s yours alright."


    John stopped and decided to let it finish.


    "Speak."


    "You should know better than anyone, your emotional state triggers the seal. You''ve subconsciously broken the secondyer and started gathering magic power from it. Otherwise, how else would you be able to light up My entire domain? My domain." Said the demon


    John looked over at his right arm again, before clenching it. He already knew about this power, Zestari told him she had sealed it because his body wouldn''t be able to handle it all.


    "Is that all?" John asked


    "Huh? You don''t seem very surprised. That strength you''ve been looking for all along is within you." Said the demon


    "I already knew it existed. My body can''t handle it, so it''s sealed." Replied John


    "Can''t handle it? That''s what she told you, isn''t it¡­?" The demon asked


    "¡­" John remained quiet


    "Hahaha! Oh man- Even after all those betrayals, you still have it in you to believe every word you hear. No wonder people used to take advantage of your kindness."


    "¡­"


    "Hey, you know what else is the cause of your weakness?" The demon asked as it got closer. It then stopped right in front of John before pointing at his chest. "This, this soft heart right here."


    "¡­"


    "Don''t you remember what happened when we had mergedpletely? We were able to take down that city as if it were nothing. Even that S-Rank adventurer died. It put up a good fight though."


    "¡­"


    "That bitch has been putting things in your head again. Stopping you from using your full power, blocking your growth. Stopping me from guiding you. She-"


    The demon''s face was the grabbed and swung down to the ground, it was nearly mmed into the ground but was able to avoid that by vanishing in thest second. It then appeared above John.


    However, John had already seen thating and appeared above it before kicking it down. The ground then rose up in glowing white spikes, piercing the demon all of it''s body as this happened.


    "Fuck! That hurts like hell!" It shouted before vanishing from the spikes and appearing behind John. "The hell was that for?" It asked


    "You know why." John replied


    "Tsk, anyways, are you sure you can trust her? Remember what happened with your previous master?"


    "Yeah, I remember. Just like I remember what happened with you."


    Took over John and made him go berserk for a full year, ughtering anything on his sight. Like a true demon. It was a surprise that it didn''t go noticed by the heavens, but when John used his new form, he was instantly noticed.


    "We''re not getting anywhere with this. Look, I''ll just to the point. I don''t want be returned to the underworld as we agreed on in the contract." Said the demon


    "That''s not your up to you to decide." Said John.


    "I know we got off bad terms, but think about it. You''re going to need me. You saw what happened just now. That was just an automatic defense system set up by the heavens. That alone was enough to stop you in your tracks. Even with your whole party defending you, they couldn''t stop it."


    "¡­" John listened in without uttering a sound.


    "That''s only a tiny fraction, of what you''ll be dealing with. Now that the heavens know of your existence. You''ll be hunted as an anomaly, day and night. People who are close to you, will get involved. Your very existence became a taboo. And this is all because of Zestari, that little bit- angel who ran away breaking the contract."


    "Contract?" John asked


    "Yeah, the contract of Anmon."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Long ago, the world had spent everyday living in chaos. Hundreds of deaths daily as the main races, were caught in the war between the underworld and heavens. Viges and cities were destroyed, thousands of lives were being taken.


    The whole world had be a wastnd. The war was never-ending. Itsted for centuries. Until one day, a hero appeared. He was known as the first king, the only one to ever reach SSS rank in the adventurers guild. He challenged both the heavens and the underworld, offering and convincing them to sign a contract of peace.


    Ever since then, demons weren''t allowed to leave the underworld without permission and the angels weren''t allowed to leave the heavens. If the rules were broken, the one who broke it would suffer grave damages.


    That was the contract which had stopped the never-ending war.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    For a moment, John didn''t say a word after having heard the story. It was a lot to take in, but it all made sense now. Things were finally starting to add up.


    "I see¡­" He then muttered aftering to a decision.


    "You get it now, don''t you?" The demon asked


    "Yeah, I''ll just send you back to the underworld, and tell Zestari to head back to the heavens." Said John as he grabbed onto the demon''s arm.


    Seeing this, the demon let out a sigh before looking at John.


    "It''s toote." Said the demon.


    John stopped and decided to hear what he had to say.


    "The angels, nor the demons, gods or the devils. None of them see eye to eye. Just the fact that one of the rules were broken will be enough to find an excuse to start war again. Besides, demons had already been breaking the rules for a while now, my existence is proof of that. Even if I was sealed by adventurers."


    "So you''re telling me, because of you and the other demons left the underworld, breaking the rules and Zestari left the heavens, the all out wall will begin again? And there''s nothing I can do to stop it?" John asked


    "Yeah." Replied the demon.


    John stared at the demon, unable to believe what he just heard. However, he could tell. Most of what he had said was true, he didn''t seem to be lying, but he was definitely hiding something from John.


    Either way, at this point, John had no choice to believe it.


    "There is one thing you could do¡­" The demon muttered with an excited grin.


    "¡­"


    "Do what the first king did. Create your own kingdom of powerful warriors and fix the contract."


    "¡­"


    "Think about it. I''ve fixed your heart, you''re free to wake up now. Don''t forget to prepare a new contract for us." Said the demon as it started waving it''s hands


    John''s figure then disappeared from the room, quickly darkening it again. Once John had disappeared, the demon dropped to it''s knees letting out heavy pants as it did so.


    "Didn''t anyone teach that kid how to hold back¡­?" He asked before looking at the ceiling once more. "At first I nned to take over him, but now that the heavens are taking action, I''ll have to be more cautious¡­. Fuck that fake angel bitch."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    John opened his eyes and couldn''t believe his eyes.

 Chapter 324 - The Beginning Of A Journey Of Creating A Kingdom

    "Hey bro, you ready?" Asked Hexo as he ced his bag on his back


    He had just finished packing and had an excited air around him.


    "Yeah." Replied John as he took the bag off of Hexo.


    "Huh? Is it too big-"


    *Swoosh*


    In that moment, The bag was dragged inside of the ring on John''s pinky finger, Hexo was surprised when he saw it.


    "Or that¡­"


    ***


    "Make sure youe visit every once in a while" Said the guild master with a smile.


    "Yeah." John replied


    "You bet we will." Added Hexo


    "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Don''t you have any other replies in your vocabry? What happened to that cute emotional John fromst week?" Satire asked dejectedly


    "Maybe it''s because of the blindfold." Said Hexo


    "You''re right¡­ Hey, John. Let me check something really quick." Said Satire as she approached John. She ced her hand on his blindfold and he didn''t show any signs of resistance.


    ''I''m guessing that means I can pull it off¡­?''


    She then slightly pulled at the blindfold to lift it up, but was surprised when she realized that it wouldn''t budge.


    "Huh?"


    She began applying more and more force, but it just wasn''t moving. John then shook his head causing the blindfold to m into her finger.


    *Smack!*


    "Ow!" Satire unintentionally let out


    ''W-What the hell, that''s creepy¡­ kind of blindfold is that¡­?'' She wondered to herself


    "Shera, do you have everything ready?" Hexo asked


    She gave a slight nod to Hexo as she pulled out something out from her index finger. Hexo''s eyes widened as he inspected it.


    The bag was her height and much wider, what could have possibly been inside of it.


    "¡­That''s a big bag¡­" Muttered Hexo


    Tue g89d caster wu0 0served tuu0w Tue grip[ interacted with one another, couldn''t help but feel a slight sense of nostalgia.


    Despite that he couldn''t help but wonder what sort of team they would be. They were all weird in their own ways, but were all strong. Very strong in fact.


    ''Are you really nning on doing it, John? Making a kingdom¡­''


    The road he was going down wasn''t an easy one. Especially if he caught the attention of neighboring kingdoms. He had to be careful not to ovep anyones territory as it might start a war.


    During these times where most spots in a continent was imed. The guild master couldn''t help but wonder how he was going to do it. Maybe it was just a childish dream?


    He couldn''t help but feel that it wasn''t the case. And deep down, he could tell, that even he was afraid.


    ''A kingdom created by a monster¡­''


    "Let''s go." Said John as he turned to the entrance.


    The sun was starting to set so it was better to get moving. Especially before anyone else could notice since John had be quite a celebrity with not only the adventurers but also the people.


    ***


    After leaving behind their thanks, the newly formed group left.


    "I wonder how far it''ll be able to go. Especially when there are so many bigger monsters in the sea¡­ Good luck, all of you." Muttered the guild master.


    ¡­


    A week earlier, after John woke up.


    John had opened his eyes and found the whole group mourning his loss with the look of sadness on their face. They had thought he was dead. Hexo was especially angry, he med himself.


    When they saw John get up as if nothing had happened, they felt like idiots for mourning his death or being sad even. Satire went as far to shout "Give me back my tears!"


    But theyughed it off after. At night, the whole vige was brought back inside. The vigers were filled with questions but no one could answer. No one except for the Guild Master who purposely told them it was John who had saved them.


    John wasn''t at all pleased with it, but it was toote to say anything. The Adventurer''s views on John changed immensely. They celebrate, danced, yed songs. It was a great sight.


    When it came to partying, not many could stand up to adventurers. Many drank all night. Hexo, Satire and The Guild Master got wasted, while John and Shera drank orange juice.


    Andstly, after the party was over, on their way home. John made an announcement to his group.


    "I''m¡­ Going to be leaving. I¡­ Found it." Said John.


    They all listened carefully, despite most of them not being right in their mind as John said.


    "I''m going to build a kingdom."


    "PFFT- Ahahahaha! AH-Ah Ah¡­ Oh. You''re not joking." Muttered Hexo after seeing how no one wasughing.


    "For that I''m going to need help¡­ Can you join me?" He asked


    Usually he did things alone, but even he wasn''t crazy enough to think he could manage a kingdom alone. There were areas they were more knowledgeable in than him, it was an overall good idea. Besides, even if they didn''t want to, it would be fine. He was going to build it either way.


    For a moment there was nothing but silence, but that silence was quickly broken By Hexo, who casually said.


    "Sure bro."


    "¡­"


    Again, he failed to read the mood. But John owed him his thanks.


    "Aren''t you a fast one." Said Satire


    "I mean, I was nning on leaving this ce anyways. Traveling is fun and besides¡­ I feel like I''ll get to learn lots of things if I Join him." Said Hexo


    Satire was dumbfounded, she ced her palm on her face as she couldn''t help but smile.


    "I''m going to need some time to get things ready, can you give me a week?" She asked


    John nodded, and then turned to Shera who was thest one remaining. He knew that the guild Master wouldn''t be able to join him, so she was hisst bet.


    The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity until Shera suddenly nodded.


    That''s right, she just nodded. Nothing more, nothing less.


    And that was how, the founding group of John''s kingdom, was formed.


    ***


    "I know we said we decided that we''re going to go look for an open spot to start off, but how will we even get theeeEEEREEE!"


    Right before she could finish her sentence, the ground above them raised up in the form of a pir, pushing them up into the sky. It was so sudden that Satire couldn''t help but scream from the surprise.


    Shera remained quiet and watched as a chunk of earth detached itself off of the pir and went right after them.


    They quickly began to fall shortly after, and in that moment, the chunk of earth situated itself beneath them, causing them tond butt first on the cold and solid stone ground.


    *Thud* *Thud* *Thud*


    They allnded on their feet with no issue, all except for Hexo who remained in the air above them, pping his wings.


    "You had wings!?" Satire asked as she watched him p them around.


    "You don''t?" Hexo replied with a confused look as he lightlynded


    "Of course not!"


    "Haha, I know. I''m joking." Hexo added


    "¡­"


    "More importantly¡­" Hexo muttered as he turned to John. "Where are we going?"


    The chunk of earth which they were on was being propelled forward by a strange force which obviously had to do with John.


    But it just caused them to question they''re destination, and how long it would take to reach it.


    "Wait, do you even have a location In mind?" Hexo asked


    "¡­"


    There was no reply. Instead John simply stared at him.


    Cold sweat dribbled down Hexo''s forehead as he muttered.


    "Y-You''re joking, right¡­?"


    John shook his head in reply.


    "Haha¡­ We''re lost¡­" He muttered to himself


    "It''s fine, there''s plenty of spots for us to find here in the Finra continent. That is¡­ If John wants to build it here."


    John stared at the clouds for a moment before he turned to Satire.


    "Not this continent¡­"


    "Why not?" Satire asked


    "I don''t want to ruin it."


    The moment she heard this, she flinched.


    "I-I see¡­ W-Well, There''s Gilda-"


    "Too corrupted."


    "Tempest-"


    "Too windy. Ufortable for the people¡­"


    "Resta¡­?"


    For a moment there was no reply, but just as she breathed a sigh of relief, John said.


    "There''s a bounty¡­"


    "Bounty? You want to go bounty hunting to get some more funds?"


    "No, Bounty on me."


    "A bounty on you? W-Why- Oh¡­ It''s that continent isn''t it¡­"


    "Yep, that''s the continent where the boss let loose." Said Hexo


    "¡­" John muttered


    "O-Oh¡­ W-Well then, the only continents left are the magical continent and Dia. Looks like we''re building a base in the magi-"


    "Dia."


    "Say what now?"


    "The continent we''re going to, is Dia."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Inside of a small and dark shop, the young silver haired elf could be seen seated on a table, opposite to a young dark haired women with a red gem on her forehead.


    A crystal ball stood on the table in between them.

 Chapter 325 - The Crystal Ball

    No one except for the Guild Master who purposely told them it was John who had saved them.


    John wasn''t at all pleased with it, but it was toote to say anything. The Adventurer''s views on John changed immensely. They celebrate, danced, yed songs. It was a great sight.


    When it came to partying, not many could stand up to adventurers. Many drank all night. Hexo, Satire and The Guild Master got wasted, while John and Shera drank orange juice.


    Andstly, after the party was over, on their way home. John made an announcement to his group.


    "I''m¡­ Going to be leaving. I¡­ Found it." Said John.


    "Sure bro."


    "¡­"


    Again, he failed to read the mood. But John owed him his thanks.


    "Aren''t you a fast one." Said Satire


    "I mean, I was nning on leaving this ce anyways. Traveling is fun and besides¡­ I feel like I''ll get to learn lots of things if I Join him." Said Hexo


    Satire was dumbfounded, she ced her palm on her face as she couldn''t help but smile.


    "I''m going to need some time to get things ready, can you give me a week?" She asked


    John nodded, and then turned to Shera who was thest one remaining. He knew that the guild Master wouldn''t be able to join him, so she was hisst bet.


    The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity until Shera suddenly nodded.


    That''s right, she just nodded. Nothing more, nothing less.


    And that was how, the founding group of John''s kingdom, was formed.


    ***


    "I know we said we decided that we''re going to go look for an open spot to start off, but how will we even get theeeEEEREEE!"


    Right before she could finish her sentence, the ground above them raised up in the form of a pir, pushing them up into the sky. It was so sudden that Satire couldn''t help but scream from the surprise.


    Shera remained quiet and watched as a chunk of earth detached itself off of the pir and went right after them.


    They quickly began to fall shortly after, and in that moment, the chunk of earth situated itself beneath them, causing them tond butt first on the cold and solid stone ground.


    *Thud* *Thud* *Thud*


    They allnded on their feet with no issue, all except for Hexo who remained in the air above them, pping his wings.


    "You had wings!?" Satire asked as she watched him p them around.


    "You don''t?" Hexo replied with a confused look as he lightlynded


    "Of course not!"


    "Haha, I know. I''m joking." Hexo added


    "¡­"


    "More importantly¡­" Hexo muttered as he turned to John. "Where are we going?"


    The chunk of earth which they were on was being propelled forward by a strange force which obviously had to do with John.


    But it just caused them to question they''re destination, and how long it would take to reach it.


    "Wait, do you even have a location In mind?" Hexo asked


    "¡­"


    There was no reply. Instead John simply stared at him.


    Cold sweat dribbled down Hexo''s forehead as he muttered.


    "Y-You''re joking, right¡­?"


    John shook his head in reply.


    "Haha¡­ We''re lost¡­" He muttered to himself


    "It''s fine, there''s plenty of spots for us to find here in the Finra continent. That is¡­ If John wants to build it here."


    John stared at the clouds for a moment before he turned to Satire.


    "Not this continent¡­"


    "Why not?" Satire asked


    "I don''t want to ruin it."


    The moment she heard this, she flinched.


    "I-I see¡­ W-Well, There''s Gilda-"


    "Too corrupted."


    "Tempest-"


    "Too windy. Ufortable for the people¡­"


    "Resta¡­?"


    For a moment there was no reply, but just as she breathed a sigh of relief, John said.


    "There''s a bounty¡­"


    "Bounty? You want to go bounty hunting to get some more funds?"


    "No, Bounty on me."


    "A bounty on you? W-Why- Oh¡­ It''s that continent isn''t it¡­"


    "Yep, that''s the continent where the boss let loose." Said Hexo


    "¡­" John muttered


    "O-Oh¡­ W-Well then, the only continents left are the magical continent and Dia. Looks like we''re building a base in the magi-"


    "Dia."


    "Say what now?"


    "The continent we''re going to, is Dia."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Inside of a small and dark shop, the young silver haired elf could be seen seated on a table, opposite to a young dark haired women with a red gem on her forehead.


    A crystal ball stood on the table in between them.


    The young dark haired women began moving her hand over the crystal, in the motion of a circle.


    The little magicmp in the room began to lighten up and then dim itself down, repeatedly. Wind began gathering and flowing around the room. A cold sweat could be seen forming on the dark haired womans face.


    Her mouth then opened and she began to speak.


    "Ah¡­ Yes¡­ I see it¡­ A young man¡­ Long Dark Hair, eyes darker and more hollow than the abyss¡­ He seems to be heading somewhere¡­ Alone¡­? No, I see another¡­ I hear a name¡­ Di- Dia? A-And another name¡­"


    *Crack* *Crack*


    Cracks began forming on the crystal ball as a dark mist could be seen forming inside of it.


    "T-The wandering¡­ Devil-"


    *Shatter!*


    The crystal ball shattered into tiny pieces, letting out a dark mist.


    "Seal!" The dark haired woman shouted


    Highlighted runes began glowing on top of the table, before the mist dispersed.


    Serena hadn''t said a single word throughout the whole process. She was speechless and didn''t want to disturb the young woman''s concentration.


    At first she had thought it was another scam or fake psychic. But this girl''s powers¡­ They were the real deal. Although it was faint and was just for a moment, just a single moment, she had definitely felt John''s presence and something else.


    "It''s over¡­" Muttered the psychic as she let out heavy pants.


    Blood could be seen flowing down the corner of her lips.


    "Thank you." Said Serena as she ced her hand over the Psychic''s shoulder. A golden me passed through the edge of Serena''s hand over to the Psychic before enveloping her whole body.


    "Hm¡­ This is¡­"


    "Yeah¡­ Sacred mes, it''s good for the body and provides top-notch healing."


    "No, I know what it is, I just didn''t notice you had it."


    "Yeah, that''s pretty much the point." Replied Serena


    "¡­ Thank you¡­"


    "No, Thank you¡­ If it wasn''t for you, I''d have really ended up believing that, that idiot was dead¡­" Muttered Serena


    The psychic looked up at Serena''s face and noticed tears swelling up in her eyes.


    "I see¡­ I''m d I was able to help¡­ I won''t ask you what sort of rtionship you have with this person, but I must urge you, if you n on going after whoever this is, be careful. He''s¡­ Dangerous, not of this world¡­ And there''s something even more dangerous hidden inside of him¡­" She muttered


    Serena wiped away her tears and with a smile said.


    "Yep, that''s John alright. Don''t worry about me, I''ll be fine." Said Serena


    The Psychic doubted Serena''s words in the beginning, but after looking at the determination in her eyes, she had gained faith. She didn''t speak through arrogance but a genuine believe in her abilities.


    "Is that so¡­"


    "Mhm, so, I''m guessing I''ll have to go to Dia? The continent? I heard you mention it." Said Serena


    "Yeah¡­ That''s right. That way, I''m sure you''ll find him." Said the Psychic. "He somehow noticed me peeking after all¡­" She added


    "I see¡­ As expected of John¡­"


    The psychic was speechless when she noticed Serena''s change in both expression and attitude. When she first walked into the room, all she could feel was a deep sadnessing from her, and yet now¡­ Her air hadpletely changed.


    ''It''s more lively, just what does it mean to her?''


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    John and Hexo were sitting beside each other on the floating tform heading north east at around 90 Miles per hour.


    No words were being exchanged in the beginning as they were just trying to appreciate the fresh breathe and the natural environment.


    They were approaching another vige, but nned on passing it without making a stop as they had done for the previous city they had reached.


    Behind them was Shera and Satire talking to each other, they seemed pretty excited for the trip, or at least Satire did. Satire was probably the only one who could tell what Shera was thinking.


    "Hey, boss. Remember that girl who was with you in the vige? The blue grayish hair girl?"


    John nodded.


    "Did you sort things out with her? Did she not want toe on this trip?" Hexo asked


    Upon hearing this, John hung his head and with a slight smile said.


    "No, There''s someone that needs her more."


    A smile was formed on Hexo''s face as he


    "Then who? Before you said you were guilty, so unless that there''s someone that can control you¡­" Hexo muttered


    "There was¡­"


    When he heard those words, his eyes widened.


    "What¡­? How?"

 Chapter 326 - The Mythical Beast.

    Inside of a small and dark shop, the young silver haired elf could be seen seated on a table, opposite to a young dark haired women with a red gem on her forehead.


    A crystal ball stood on the table in between them.


    The young dark haired women began moving her hand over the crystal, in the motion of a circle.


    The little magicmp in the room began to lighten up and then dim itself down, repeatedly. Wind began gathering and flowing around the room. A cold sweat could be seen forming on the dark haired womans face.


    Her mouth then opened and she began to speak.


    "Ah¡­ Yes¡­ I see it¡­ A young man¡­ Long Dark Hair, eyes darker and more hollow than the abyss¡­ He seems to be heading somewhere¡­ Alone¡­? No, I see another¡­ I hear a name¡­ Di- Dia? A-And another name¡­"


    *Crack* *Crack*


    Cracks began forming on the crystal ball as a dark mist could be seen forming inside of it.


    "T-The wandering¡­ Devil-"


    *Shatter!*


    The crystal ball shattered into tiny pieces, letting out a dark mist.


    "Seal!" The dark haired woman shouted


    Highlighted runes began glowing on top of the table, before the mist dispersed.


    Serena hadn''t said a single word throughout the whole process. She was speechless and didn''t want to disturb the young woman''s concentration.


    At first she had thought it was another scam or fake psychic. But this girl''s powers¡­ They were the real deal. Although it was faint and was just for a moment, just a single moment, she had definitely felt John''s presence and something else.


    "It''s over¡­" Muttered the psychic as she let out heavy pants.


    Blood could be seen flowing down the corner of her lips.


    "Thank you." Said Serena as she ced her hand over the Psychic''s shoulder. A golden me passed through the edge of Serena''s hand over to the Psychic before enveloping her whole body.


    "Hm¡­ This is¡­"


    "Yeah¡­ Sacred mes, it''s good for the body and provides top-notch healing."


    "No, I know what it is, I just didn''t notice you had it."


    "Yeah, that''s pretty much the point." Replied Serena


    "¡­ Thank you¡­"


    "No, Thank you¡­ If it wasn''t for you, I''d have really ended up believing that, that idiot was dead¡­" Muttered Serena


    The psychic looked up at Serena''s face and noticed tears swelling up in her eyes.


    "I see¡­ I''m d I was able to help¡­ I won''t ask you what sort of rtionship you have with this person, but I must urge you, if you n on going after whoever this is, be careful. He''s¡­ Dangerous, not of this world¡­ And there''s something even more dangerous hidden inside of him¡­" She muttered


    Serena wiped away her tears and with a smile said.


    "Yep, that''s John alright. Don''t worry about me, I''ll be fine." Said Serena


    The Psychic doubted Serena''s words in the beginning, but after looking at the determination in her eyes, she had gained faith. She didn''t speak through arrogance but a genuine believe in her abilities.


    "Is that so¡­"


    "Mhm, so, I''m guessing I''ll have to go to Dia? The continent? I heard you mention it." Said Serena


    "Yeah¡­ That''s right. That way, I''m sure you''ll find him." Said the Psychic. "He somehow noticed me peeking after all¡­" She added


    "I see¡­ As expected of John¡­"


    The psychic was speechless when she noticed Serena''s change in both expression and attitude. When she first walked into the room, all she could feel was a deep sadnessing from her, and yet now¡­ Her air hadpletely changed.


    ''It''s more lively, just what does it mean to her?''


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    John and Hexo were sitting beside each other on the floating tform heading north east at around 90 Miles per hour.


    No words were being exchanged in the beginning as they were just trying to appreciate the fresh breathe and the natural environment.


    They were approaching another vige, but nned on passing it without making a stop as they had done for the previous city they had reached.


    Behind them was Shera and Satire talking to each other, they seemed pretty excited for the trip, or at least Satire did. Satire was probably the only one who could tell what Shera was thinking.


    "Hey, boss. Remember that girl who was with you in the vige? The blue grayish hair girl?"


    John nodded.


    "Did you sort things out with her? Did she not want toe on this trip?" Hexo asked


    Upon hearing this, John hung his head and with a slight smile said.


    "No, There''s someone that needs her more."


    A smile was formed on Hexo''s face as he


    "Then who? Before you said you were guilty, so unless that there''s someone that can control you¡­" Hexo muttered


    "There was¡­"


    When he heard those words, his eyes widened.


    ''Oi¡­ You''re kidding me, right? You''re telling me that there''s someone that can control you? What kind of monster is he?'' Hexo wondered


    "Was¡­ So that means he doesn''t control you anymore right?" Hexo asked nervously


    John gave a nod, and Hexo let out a sigh of relief, until it was stopped half-way, nearly choking him as John said. "For now."


    "H-He won''t try to kill us, right?" Hexo asked


    John turned towards Hexo, and remained silent. Hexo on the other hand, could hear his heart beating out of his own heart beating out of his chest.


    In that moment, he let out another sigh.


    "Guess I''ll just beat him out of you, if hees back." Said Hexo as he mmed his fists together.


    "Yeah, thank you." Replied John


    John didn''t doubt Hexo''s abilities. He knew there was still a lot left to be shown. In fact, he genuinely believed Hexo had much more potential than the dragon they had taken out.


    asionally, a strange aura would radiate out of Hexo. It would happen whenever his emotions fluctuate or be unstable. An example of that would be


    ''Anger.'' John thought to himself.


    ***


    "John, on your right!" Shouted Satire


    The wolf leapt through the trees, lunging itself at John. Since the hunting had begun, John had stoodpletely still.


    The reason? Simple, to make himself a target.


    "AAAWOOOOOO!" The wolf howled


    It''s fangs stood proud as they were about to pierce into the neck of the young man ahead of them. However, the moment they stepped within a one meter radius.


    *sh*


    They went right past John. One went through the left, while the other went through the right. However, it was no longer in one whole shape. It had been cut cleanly, right down the middle.


    You could see it''s severed organs as it''s corpseid dead on the floor.


    While this happened, the others also finished their fight. Hexo mmed a fist into it''s jaw before grabbing it''s wide open mouth and tearing it open. It was a brutal sight.


    Shera, didn''t use her poison as they were nning on eating it. Instead, she decapitated it in a single leap.


    Satire took out the remaining four in one single spell.


    Fire, water, earth, and airnces were all formed above her, each aimed at a specific wolf.


    The moment the first wolf lunged, it was pierced right in the middle of it''s head. Excellent precision and aim.


    The wolf following after that, and the one after that all suffered the same fate. One hit kill.


    "Is that all?" Hexo asked


    "No." Satire and John simultaneously replied


    The two then turned their head towards the trees behind them. They had left the snowy biome, so it wasn''t unusual to start seeing some more monsters.


    However, they hadn''t quite expected this.


    A Large white tiger with stripes running down all over it''s body. Tiger was used, but at the same time, John couldn''t help but think of it as a panther from the way it sneaked around them.


    Whatever it was, It wasn''t a regr beast, that was for sure.


    It remained hidden amongst the trees, but John could see it clearly.


    "Hey, John. Do we fight-"


    Satire didn''t bother to finish the question after giving a quick nce in his direction. He was no longer there.


    ''Where''d he¡­''


    She then noticed him heading straight to the trees, in the direction of the dangerous presence. He was carrying one of the dead wolf corpses.


    He then stopped right in front of the trees in it''s direction, before cing it down.


    Hexo, somewhat understanding what was happening thanks to his sense, gave John a thumbs up, while Shera and Satire both remained clueless.


    The tiger went out from it''s hiding and walked out of the trees.


    Satire''s eyes widened when she saw it. It was big, over three times the size of John. It could probably swallow him whole in one bite.


    Shera readied her daggers in case of confrontation, but Satire reassured her that it would be better to wait and watch.


    John and the tiger panther stared at each other for what felt like hours, before it eventually took the corpse in front of him and left.


    "Let''s go." Said John after appearing beside another corpse and picking it up. He froze off the wound so that the blood wouldn''t get on him.


    "What was that? Am I hallucinating?" Satire asked

 Chapter 327 - Interconnections

    Hexo, somewhat understanding what was happening thanks to his sense, gave John a thumbs up, while Shera and Satire both remained clueless.


    The tiger went out from it''s hiding and walked out of the trees.


    Satire''s eyes widened when she saw it. It was big, over three times the size of John. It could probably swallow him whole in one bite.


    Shera readied her daggers in case of confrontation, but Satire reassured her that it would be better to wait and watch.


    John and the tiger panther stared at each other for what felt like hours, before it eventually took the corpse in front of him and left.


    "Let''s go." Said John after appearing beside another corpse and picking it up. He froze off the wound so that the blood wouldn''t get on him.


    "What was that? Am I hallucinating?" Satire asked


    "Nope, that was real. More importantly, why does it feel like we''ve been standing here for a long time? It''s kind of sad when I think about it." Replied Hexo as he noticed a tear flow down the side of his cheek.


    "So wait¡­ A Griffin just appeared out of the woods and left without trying to attack us? Did John use mind control on it or something?" Satire asked


    "Huh? What''re you talking about? That was an earth dragon. There weren''t any wings. And didn''t you hear what I just said?" imed Hexo


    "What''re you talking about? An hour isn''t a long time and that was definitely a Griffin. The body of a lion, feet and the head of an eagle. What part of that was a dragon? Earth dragons don''t have wings¡­ More importantly, if it were an earth Dragon, we''d be fighting right now."


    "An hour?! It felt like a month! And How the hell was that a Griffin?! I felt the vibrate with it''s every step! If griffins were that heavy, then they might as well put cosmetics on their wings."


    "Month?! We just got here! And I''m telling you, you''re the one who saw it wrong!"


    While the two argued over what they had seen. Shera looked over at her dagger before cing it back inside of it''s sheath on her hips.


    She then looked over at her hand before clenching it as she gazed into the woods.


    "Fox¡­?" She muttered


    "Yeah." John replied


    John''s sudden unannounced voice which came from behind her, deeply started her and sent a shiver down her spine causing her to simultaneously leap forward and draw her dagger once more.


    The sudden movement alerted the two who were arguing, making them quickly raise their guards and draw their weapons.


    "What''s wrong? Enemy?" Hexo asked


    Shera quickly nced at John before letting out a sigh. She only realized that it was him after drawing her own weapon so now she felt bad.


    "N-No¡­ Sorry John, instinct." Muttered Shera as she ced her dagger back in it''s sheathe while she hung her head.


    Her purple hair seeped out of her hoodie and covered her clearly troubled face.


    "It''s fine." Said John before he turned his head back towards the trees.


    He could feel something approaching them.


    Once she heard that she was forgiven, she let out a sigh of relief. Truthfully, she wasn''t very good at working in teams. Mainly because of her background.


    As she raised her head, she felt Hexo approaching.


    "Hey, Shera¡­ I don''t know if I said this earlier but¡­ Yourbat style, the way you use your poison and dagger¡­ urately and stealthily aiming for vital points, while making as Little sound as possible, you''re an assassin aren''t you? " Hexo whispered as he ced his hand on her shoulder


    She stood thinking about how to reply, she didn''t necessarily want to hide it but she''d usually have bad experiences whenever someone would find out. Assassins weren''t held in a good regard after all.


    She gave a slight nod with the same troubled and hollow look.


    "Is that so¡­ That''s¡­"


    She could already see what he was going to say. It was too dangerous, she was going to be a hindrance to the team. He couldn''t fully trust her with it. Such was the norm. After all, Assassins were assassins. They kill people for money. Opposite of Adventurers who save people for money.


    "So cool!" Said Hexo


    Confused, Shera looked up at Hexo only to see an excited look on his face. She didn''t understand.


    "What?" Shera asked, surprised.


    "No wonder It''s hard to keep track of your presence and movements. You must be quite the skilled one, huh¡­"


    Satire who watched and listened from afar, frowned at how clueless Hexo was being. ''Does he think it''s some kind of joke¡­?'' She wondered


    Shera didn''t know what to say. She looked down, nervously trying to think of what sort of words shoulde out of her mouth next. She was never much of a speaker, and now she was put on the spot in the middle of a conversation she had never experienced before.


    ''He''s¡­ Not mad¡­?'' Shera wondered


    "Huh¡­? What are you going on¡­ About¡­? Do you think this is funny¡­?" Shera asked


    "Shera?" Hexo muttered


    ''Oh boy¡­ That idiot¡­'' Satire thought to herself as she ced her palm on her face.


    Shera''s confusion had all beenpletely turned into anger which clouded her thoughts as she began to speak her true thoughts.


    "Cool¡­? It''s cool¡­? Tell me¡­ Tell me what about it is cool!? I kill people for money, murder! It doesn''t matter if they''re bad or not, I take lives! I ruined everything which meant everything to me because of it, and now I have nothing!" She shouted.


    She then red at Hexo as she muttered. "If you still think that''s cool¡­ then somethings wrong with you¡­"


    After the words hade out, Shera had finally realized what she had said. She had lost her cool again, even though it was something she was taught countless times to never do.


    She looked up to see the look on Hexo''s face, thinking or assuming that he''d have realized and regretted his words by now, but he still had that same smile on his face.


    Right before she could say anything however, he spoke up.


    "Yeah¡­ You''re still cool. I mean¡­ What''s not cool about doing whatever you can to survive?" He asked.


    Shera had always been good at reading expressions. She could tell when someone was pitying her or sympathizing with her. But the smile on his face, didn''t seem like it was either of those. It was a smile filled with sorrow, almost as if he had experienced something simr.


    When she saw it, she didn''t know what to say in return. Even Satire didn''t expect that reply. Satire was even beginning to wonder if she should have even been there.


    Shera opened her mouth to say something, but that moment was quickly interrupted by John who appeared out of nowhere in between them.


    "Let''s go." He muttered,pletely oblivious to the mood as he stretched out his hands to them.


    Satire who saw this was dumbfounded but at the same time felt saved.


    ''Perfect timing¡­'' She thought to herself.


    Shera nodded and so Did Hexo. They didn''t say any other words and grabbed on to John''s hand. Satire who saw this, did the same.


    Once everyone got a firm hold over John, they all levitated up heading straight towards the small floating Earth tform they had prepared.


    As they made their ways up into the sky, Satire could feel her heart sink, and in that moment she remembered. ''Aren''t we forgetting something?''


    ***


    Minutes, Hours and Days pass as they continued on their journey. The destination getting ever so closer with each passing second.


    Currently, they were traveling at around 120 Miles per hour on the floating tform.


    John had given the tform small walls around A meter tall just in case of any idents and four earth vaults which contained each of their luggage.


    Each once was in each corner of the tform to bnce it, but due to the difference in weight from each luggage It became harder to control the tform and keep it bnced, but he soon-after got used to it.


    There was no development in the rtionship between Hexo and Shera, the two were hadn''t been talking much if not when necessary.


    The whole mood between the group was rather tense, and satire was the only one trying to liven it up.


    However, she didn''t have to do much as the view itself yed a great part.


    "Hey¡­ Is that, what I think it is?" Hexo asked as he stared into the distance.


    Shera who had been doing maintenance on her weapons and Satire who had been reading a book, looked over to see what they were talking about.


    The moment they did, their eyes widened. The sun rising from the direction of arge, deep blue ocean which stretched out as far as the eye could see.


    In that one moment and for just that one moment, The scenery along with the sun rising, had lifted all of the weight of their minds, as they all shared the same thought.


    "Beautiful¡­" Satire muttered as a tear could be seen forming in her eye.


    They had finally done it.. They had reached the ocean.

 Chapter 328 - Heaven?

    In the middle of arge, golden luxurious and magical hallway. Two wide doors could be seen. The floors were made of clouds and the entire area itself seemed to have been made out of thin air. It''s existence gave off a faint preesence, but it was there.


    In the middle of that hallway, the sound of footsteps could somehow be produced over the clouds as a youngdy made her way over the doors.


    Her white hair and eyes glowed in resonance with the feathery white wings on her back. A golden halo could be seen floating just inches away from her head.


    A white mark could be seen printed onto her shoulder however it''s shape or design was unable to be discerned through a normal person''s eyes.


    The weak points in her body, all covered by weightless Armour made by an ore unessible by the mortal world. It radiated divine energy.


    She continued to walk paying no attention to the two guards who stood ahead in front of the doors before heading into the room. They too had feathery wings.


    Once she entered, the doors behind her shut, she ignored the chilling darkness in the room as familiar words quickly escaped from her mouth.


    "Father-"


    However, before she could say anything else, she was interrupted.


    "What did I tell you about walking in without knocking?" The masculine voice asked


    A Cold voice which carried atent wrath inches away from revealing itself. Through the sheer coldness and power of the voice, the youngdy, quickly dropped to her knees before giving bowing down and apologizing.


    "Forgive me, Father. I got ahead of myself."


    Upon saying such words, the coldness in the room left as it began to light up, slowly disying a man sitting on the throne. It was too dark to see his face but only the outline of his body and the white robe covering it.


    "You may speak, raise your head." He replied coldly


    Upon hearing that, the youngdy began her exnation.


    "The other day, an anomaly was detected in the barrier. The barrier reacted and attacked it." She stated


    "Hm¡­? So is it dead?"


    "We don''t know¡­" She replied


    The man was intrigued, for it had been a while since the barrier reacted. It would only react to high-level demons, but they were a rare encounter.


    "As expected, the demon''s weren''t able to keep their end of the contract." He added


    "About that¡­ It wasn''t a demon¡­"


    The instant those words left her mouth, she felt a surge of blood lust fill the room.


    "Was it ''him''?" The man asked with blooming anger


    The sudden blood lust took her by surprise causing her to get confused by who he meant. However, there was only one man who could make her father feel such anger and she knew it all too clearly.


    "N-No! It wasn''t him¡­" She replied


    "Then who is it?" He asked as his anger dissipated.


    "We don''t know¡­ But¡­"


    The youngdy was hesitant to say it as she didn''t know how her father would react. However she had no choice in the matter.


    "But, we detected both holy divine energy and dark demonic energy from it."


    "What?" He asked even more intrigued


    "At first we thought it was a fallen angel, but they lose the ability to use holy divine energy. It wouldn''t have been detected, but not only was it detected, but arge amount was detected while at it."


    The moment she said that, the man''s eyes widened.


    "Who knows about this? Do the other gods know about this?" The man asked


    "No, I believe they haven''t noticed either." Said the youngdy.


    A smile could then be seen growing on the man''s face.


    "Go down, find out what it was and bring it here¡­ I think it''s about time we end the contract." Said the man


    The moment he mentioned ending the contract, the Youngdy felt her heart drop. Did she hear him clearly? She wondered.


    "Father, what did you-"


    In that instant, the man suddenly appeared in front of her, towering over her before grabbing her neck.


    It was so fast she couldn''t react.


    "Is there a problem?" He asked increasing his grip with every second.


    She couldn''t breathe, much less open her mouth to speak. She slowly shacked her head as she could feel the pain surge throughout her neck.


    "I-I''m S-So-sorry¡­"


    He suddenly let her go, causing her to fall to the ground. As sheid there helplessly, she could do nothing but cough as she listened to his words.


    "Do not question me. Do not report back until you''ve done your mission. Are we clear?"


    She could do nothing but nod as she got up.


    "Good, I have great expectations for you."


    "Thank you¡­ F-Father¡­" She muttered before she left the room. Hand marks had been left on her neck due to the pressure, however they faded on their own.


    She left without saying anything else, and when she did, the man looked up at the ceiling.


    "So it''s started¡­" He muttered. "This will be fun." He added with a wide smile


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    As they flew over the vastrge ocean, Hexo stared at the deep blue sky while he counted the clouds. He had nothing to, so he justid there, next to John.


    He looked over in John''s direction and could see him looking into the far distance as always. Well he wasn''t sure whether he was looking or not as the blindfold covered his eyes. But he assumed it did.


    He then looked up with his head still on the ground, to see what the other two behind him were doing.


    Satire seemed to be practicing incantations while Shera was fast asleep. Most of her face was covered except for her eyes, so he couldn''t really see her sleeping face, as much as he wanted to.


    But despite that, he couldn''t help but stare. It was as if he had been put in a trance. She no longer used her worn out cloak and now wore a simple strange outfit.


    ck boots with purple stripes going around it, ck shorts and a ck sleeveless top which also had stripes going around it. The design looked incredibly cool, but there was more to it. The stripes formed a mark on the back. A purple fog.


    Hexo who saw this assumed it to have something to do with where she''s from. Maybe it was her n or family emblem or something. No matter how hard he tried to think, he couldn''te up with anything.


    There was also no point in asking as it was none of his business.


    He let out a sigh before sitting up and looking back at John. There was really no telling what he was thinking.


    ''Do I ask him for advice¡­?'' He wondered to himself as he continued to stare at him. ''Maybe not.'' He added before turning towards the ocean.


    The moment he turned however, he felt a chill go down his spine as there was a sudden change in John''s presence.


    He quickly turned to John only to see a faint bright glowing out from beneath his blindfold. And in that moment, for just a single moment, he was able to feel it.


    "W-What¡­?"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    In a city known well for it''s trades. A youngdy and man could be seen walking around soaking in the fresh air and culture.


    The scent of the grilled sea food, filled the air, attracting more and more customers with each passing second.


    A lively ambient merged with the sound of calming waves. It was a nice change for the youngdy, something to soak in. However, it didn''t have much of an effect on her.


    The same look remained on her face as if nothing had changed whatsoever.


    "We''ve finally reached portshell and you still have that look¡­" Said the man as he let out a sigh.


    The girl ignored him and continued to walk, showing no interest in anything in her surroundings.


    The man gave a quick look at her face as he recalled the expression she had made a few days prior.


    ''That bright smile she had after finding out that guy she''s searching for is alive sure was a sight to see¡­ It''s a shame it disappeared after discovering that she couldn''t find out anything about her other friend.'' He thought to himself


    ¡­


    "What do you mean you don''t know?" Serena asked


    "I don''t know¡­ I doubt I''ll be able to use fortune magic for a while now¡­ That guy who you''re looking for¡­ He definitely noticed me prying¡­ I think it''s best to take a break¡­"


    "W-Wait, Just one more¡­! I''ll pay extra, I need to know if she''s fine or not! I need to know if Ariel is-"


    Serena''s eyes then widened when she realized that there was no hope. Thedy was absolutely terrified. So much that her whole body was trembling.


    Just what was it that she had seen?

 Chapter 329 - Zestaris True Intentions.

    Just what was it that she had seen?


    ¡­


    As the young man thought about these things, he couldn''t help but be captivated as they went to a stop.


    They stood at the edge of the port, where they could see sailors and captains preparing their ship.


    There were also countless guards, and adventurers keeping guard or mounting the boats as usual. Portshell was a famous city in the magical continent, known well for it''s import and export. most of the important resources which came from other continents passed by this port. Thus was why the security was tight.


    However, none of that seemed to catch the young man''s eyes as he found himself staring at youngdy. She stared into the distance, her mind seemingly drifting away with each passing second.


    Suddenly, he reflectively turned his head away once she caught his gaze. He too was surprised by what he did.


    "What, is there something on my face?" She asked


    "No, nothing at all." He replied with a smile


    "Alright, now that we''re finally here. We can go¡­ And then¡­ I''ll find him¡­"


    As he heard those words, the young man let out a sigh before saying.


    "Yeah, Let''s go¡­" He muttered


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The moment Hexo turned he felt a chill go down his spine as there was a sudden change in John''s presence.


    He quickly turned to John only to see a faint bright glowing out from beneath his blindfold.


    "W-What¡­?"


    The light faded over and over in a rhythm. Something was happening beneath the blindfold, but he had no clue as to what it could be. On top of that, John''s presence felt as if it was fading.


    "H-Hey, John¡­" Hexo muttered as he stretched his hand out towards John.


    [Don''t touch him.]


    In that instant, he quickly retracted his arm in shock.


    "!?"


    Confused, he hastily looked around to check to see who was it that had said that. It was a voice which he didn''t recognize.


    He looked and looked quickly turning his head, however what he found, was nothing. The other two were fast asleep.


    ''Shit! When did they!?''


    "HEY! EVERYONE WAKE-"


    [Sleep.]


    Hexo''s eyes rolled back as he fell over.


    *Thud*


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    In the middle of a brightly lit room, two figures could be seen quietly standing opposite to each other.


    One was John, the other was-


    "Zestari?" Said John, confused.


    Ahead of him stood Zestari, he wasn''t sure why he had been brought back here or what it meant but something felt off.


    Zestari slowly raised her arm and hand before pointing them towards John.


    Her now, slightly more recognizable facial features showed her mouth moving at an iprehensible speed. Something was wrong.


    As he saw this, fear began to rise in John''s heart. The experience which he had tried to seal off began to surface again.


    He instinctively took a step back but was suddenly forced to a stop as she muttered.


    "Stop."


    In that instant, as John stood there paralyzed, a drop of water fell on his forehead. His eyes still free to move, slowly moved up only to then widen at the sight of what was above them.


    A ice Spike the size of an ice berg split into four parts. The ice colored in a crimson red with sinister patterns going around them.


    A yellow wave seemed to resonate throughout the ice with every passing second. Just by looking, John could tell, if that thing hit him, he wouldn''t be able to handle.


    But why? What was happening? No matter how hard he tried to think, he couldn''t understand.


    *Ba bump* *Ba dump* *Ba bump*


    His heart began to beat faster and faster as he got closer and closer to a conclusion. No, he already knew it but didn''t want to believe it.


    Zestari was about to betray him. What he didn''t know was why, why would she do it now when she had all those opportunities in the past?


    "So you too¡­ You of all people¡­? Zestari?" John asked


    "What are you talking about? Dodge it." She said


    In that moment, the ice bergs were all propelled at John.


    "Eh?" John let out


    In that moment, the ice bergs were all propelled at John.


    Without being able to move a single muscle, John could do nothing but stand there as they made the ice bergs made their way towards him.


    "Release Magic Seal''s First Layer - ck Hole" He muttered


    In that instant, a 10 Meter wide spherical ck hole was formed above John''s head, right beneath the Ice berg as it was meters away from him.


    The ice bergs were sucked in a sh. Color faded away from the room and all that could be heard was a sound akin to that of a sh bang. A high-pitched screech.


    Zestari then turned her head to the right as John was no longer standing where he was.


    ''He broke through my magic? Interesting.''


    In that moment, she flew up, barely avoiding the ice spikes which rose from the ground beneath her.


    "What are you doing, Zestari?" John asked with a sharp re


    The voice came from behind her, upon hearing this, a smile formed on her face as she let out a sigh.


    "John, that''s what I should be asking you." She replied


    In that instant, six golden chains with pointy edges rose from the ground heading straight at John. John quickly leaped back to avoid them, but they chased right after him, mid air locked on to him.


    John instinctively tried to shadow step only to fail, by the time he realized that he couldn''t ess his [possessed] state. It was toote, the chains were inches away from his body.


    He reflexively used the wind to propel his arm and legs in thest second, allowing the chains to only scrape by him withoutpletely piercing him.


    It was a close-call and the cuts were deep but it didn''t hurt at all. The pain was so weak that he didn''t even realize that he had been cut.


    The chains which went past him, quickly changed directions mid-air and turned back to pierce him from behind.


    But they quickly lost track of John as he suddenly vanished.


    Or so it seemed. John simply propelled himself higher by mixing gravity and wind magic before they turned back. However, despite doing so, they quickly caught track of him again and began their pursuit.


    This time, they were much faster. Moving at over 60 miles per hour.


    John flew around the room with his eyes on Zestari, watching her as she remained motionless. He continued to dodge the endless amount of chains which wouldn''t stop flowing out of the ground.


    He had grown tired of being on the defensive and began to leave magic circles behind everywhere few seconds he flew around. He was preparing an attack. As Zestari saw this, a smile was formed on her face.


    ''Let''s see what you can do¡­'' She thought to herself


    John circled around Zestari, there were around ten magic circles around her, each within a certain radius.


    Matter began to take shape in front of each circle. One had fire, the other had water, then came earth, and air, electricity, sound, ice and so on.


    ''Each magic circle has it''s own elemental affinity. Good but¡­''


    Magic beams of each affinity, burst out of each magic circle each heading straight towards Zestari. Rather than beams, high frequency sound wavesunched themselves at her, in an attempt to paralyze her.


    The sound waves reached before anything else, however to John''s surprise, they had no effect. Instead, a surge of wind bursted away from Zestari as the sound of *crackles* could be heard.


    ''They were canceled?'' John thought to himself as he remained airborne


    In that instant, the other elemental attacks allnded on Zestari who hadn''t moved an inch from her spot, creating arge smoke cloud.


    Worried that he might have hurt her, John quickly changed his course and began propelling himself towards her.


    When suddenly, he froze.


    ''Mid-air?!''


    "Bam."


    John''s heart sunk as he quickly turned to the direction where the voice came from. It was right behind him. However, before he could even see what had happened.


    *Boom!*


    He was suddenly hit by an immense pressure which caused him crash into the ground. He didn''t see it nor could he feel it. It was almost as if it was-


    "Gravitas." Said Zestari. It was John''s own spell. "X1000" She added.


    John''s body grew heavier and heavier by the second, causing his whole body to be nted on the floor from the sheer pressure.


    No matter how much he struggled, he couldn''t lift a single muscle.


    "Hey, John." Said Zestari as she suddenly appeared in front of him.


    She crouched down at his helpless figure before muttering.


    "If you don''t take this seriously, you''ll die."


    The moment he heard those words, his eyes widened.


    "Not by me, but by the other angels who are probably on their way right now to hunt you. Today, and tomorrow and every other day from now, you will be trained for one hour in this room with me. You mustn''t lose a single time, nor must you release the 2ndyer of the seal.. Are we clear?" Zestari asked.

 Chapter 330 - The Thrill Of A Fight

    "Hey, John." Said Zestari as she suddenly appeared in front of him.


    She crouched down at his helpless figure before muttering.


    "If you don''t take this seriously, you''ll die."


    The moment he heard those words, his eyes widened.


    "Not by me, but by the other angels who are probably on their way right now to hunt you. Today, and tomorrow and every other day from now, you will be trained for one hour in this room with me. You mustn''t lose a single time, nor must you release the 2ndyer of the seal. Are we clear?" Zestari asked.


    After asking such, the pressure of gravity suddenly left John, leaving him lying on the floor.


    ''So that''s what it was¡­'' John thought to himself as a smile formed on his face.


    "Yeah¡­" He muttered as he got up. He did a few stretches before staring straight at Zestari as he said "Thank-"


    *Boom!*


    John was interrupted as an intense surge of pressure burst into him, causing him to head straight towards the wall at unbelievably high speeds.


    In that one moment, John rotated his body mid-air into a position where he would be able to propel himself at Zestari like a cannon when suddenly.


    *Crash!*


    He crashed into the white wall. Confused he got up and looked back only to see that he had already reached the end of the room.


    ''!?''


    John was surprised because the room was big. Arge cubic room at least a kilometer cubed in area. He was standing in the middle of the room and wasn''t even traveling that fast, so how did he suddenly hit the wall?


    Did he teleport? No, even if it was faint, he would have noticed it. John looked around and his eyes widened when he did so


    ''Don''t tell me¡­''


    "Yeah, that''s right¡­ This is your consciousness but I have full control over this space." Said Zestari as she began walking towards John. "You know what that means, don''t you?" Zestari then asked


    It wasn''t that John had gotten teleported towards the walls, but rather, the walls in the room had moved towards John.


    As John realized this, he noticed that Zestari had already began her chant for another wave of attack and while this happened, drops of water began to fall over from the ceiling.


    John looked up only to be surprised once again by therge clouds which had formed in the ceiling. He could feel surges of electricity spark around Zestari and the air as the space around her started to be distorted.


    Zestari began letting off masses of overwhelming pressure, being able to counter and overpower that of his own. John was speechless. Even he couldn''t believe whether or not he''d be able to defeat such an unstoppable force.


    "Wrath of the thunder dragon." Zestari muttered


    0.1 seconds


    *BOOM!*


    Suddenly, lightning in the shape of a dragon came crashing down from the clouds straight onto John. It happened fast, too fast. Faster than he was able to react.


    The dragon crashed into him, violently digging it''s fangs made of pure electricity into John''s shoulder. It was in no way holding back it''s power.


    The sound of thunder and static shocks could be heard as it dug it''s fangs further and further in.


    Following that, arge sh came as the attack dispersed.


    A quick end. John could be seenying on the floor, motionless.


    "Get up. I know that wasn''t enough to finish you." Said Zestari.


    "True Fulgurationem." John muttered as he got up. Trantion: True Lightning sh


    In that instant, electricity started to surge through his body. John''s ck hair seemed to be spikier due to the shock.


    ''That was close. If I hadn''t predicted that move and deployed Fulgurationem in time, the fight would have ended.'' John thought to himself


    A dimensional rift then opened in front of John waiting for his next move. Zestari watched as he ced his hand inside, pulling out his sacred treasure as he did so.


    There was something about it that had always bugged her. It''s appearance, always seemed to surprise Zestari. She recognized it, but didn''t remember where from. Despite that, she kept it to herself and decided to keep it until she could remember.


    A dagger, with a clock frame ced on the de, just over it''s handle. A ck and blue metal de with iprehensible ruins and patterns embedded on it. It was a very peculiar weapon, however she didn''t let her curiosity distract her.


    Zestari ceased the opportunity where John was distracted to attack.


    *Pierce*


    John was suddenly pierced in the back by the ground from behind. It had risen in the shape of a Spike and attacked at his blind spot when he wasn''t paying attention.


    Confused, John looked down at the edge of the spike which had pierced it''s way through his stomach. It was a surprise to see that there was no blooding out. But that was the least of his worries, for now he couldn''t move. Or so it seemed.


    "An illusion¡­" Said Zestari as she turned to the right


    A few hundred meters to the right of her, John could be seenpletely unaffected and unwounded with his sacred treasure in his hand.


    She then looked back at the figure of John which had been pierced only to see it disperse and disappear, almost as if it had been a distortion in the space the whole time. Exactly as it was.


    "Where are you looking?" Asked John as he suddenly appeared beside Zestari with a full swing in motion.


    Without hesitation, in one fellow sweep he shed straight at Zestari''s neck. He assumed that it wouldn''t be a problem for her since they were in his mind.


    However, he had bigger things to worry about. He had used the dull end of the de and yet he sliced right through. It was a fake.


    ''An illusion-''


    "Bam." Said Zestari


    The voice came from behind.


    *Boom!*


    John was suddenly hit again by a surge of pressure from the right sending him flying to the left. He subconsciously tried to shadow step as there was no other way to avoid it but failed again.


    As he tried to rpose himself again mid-air, still ufortable with being unable to shadow step, he was hit by a surge of pressure from an invisible force, this time it hit him from above, forcing him to m straight down onto the ground.


    Just as that happened, A pir rose from the ground, heading straight towards John''s neck. It''s edge was pointing, and with the force acting upon him, he had no choice but to move body to dodge.


    "Stop."


    But by the time he realized it, his muscle and body wouldn''t budge. At the same time, through the corner of his eyes, he could see the golden chains heading straight at her.


    He was trapped.


    Zestari watched paying attention to every fraction of a second, making sure she wouldn''t miss it. Just what was it that he''d do in such a situation? Usually, he''d just shadow step to dodge it, but what if he wasn''t able to?


    What if there''de a time where she herself wouldn''t be able to help him? Such was the point of this first day of training.


    As those thoughts passed through Zestari''s mind. The pir got closer and closer to John''s neck. But right before it could pierce him. Both it and John, stopped.


    ''Hm?!''


    John simply stood there, motionlessly, levitated. Pir seemed to have been blocked off by something. After getting a closer, look Zestari noticed a small magic shield formed from condensed mana.


    "Law of inertia." Muttered John.


    The Law of inertia. Aw which states that if the forces acting upon an object are bnced, then the eleration of the object will be 0 m/s. In other words, the object will be at equilibrium.


    John countered the force acting upon him while using magic to generate another force, pushing against him on the opposite direction of the force generated by Zestari.


    ''Hm¡­ But now how will you deal with the chains?'' She wondered. ''Let''s make it harder.'' She thought to herself.


    Another five pirs rose from the ground, each aimed at a vital part of John''s body as they did so.


    It was over.


    That''s what it was supposed to be, however, that was far from the truth.


    *Ba dump* *Ba dump*


    ''How long has it been since I was in such a situation¡­?'' John wondered.


    His heart began to beat faster and faster as the thrill of battle started to return. Thanks to possession, he had long forgotten the feeling. The exhrating feeling which he''d gain in a fight.


    Ever since that incident, he stopped feeling it. He had stopped feeling anything. And so, why was it that now, it had suddenlye rushing back?


    John couldn''t contain the emotion, he couldn''t contain the thrill. But most of all, he couldn''t harbor the thought of losing.


    He had sworn. Since the day he was betrayed by his master, the day he separated and lost both Serena and Ariel. He swore to never let anything like that ever happen again.


    *Ba bump* *Ba dump* *Ba dump*


    The rest of the pirs which had risen were blocked by other shields of condensed mana urately formed right where they were needed to stop it.


    *Tic* *Toc* *Tic*


    John''s daggers began to glow. The sounds of clock ticking could be heard. In that moment, Zestari felt a chill go down her spine.


    "Sacred Treasure Release¡­ Partial Awakening."

 Chapter 331 - The Godly Artifact Of Time: Chrono

    *Ba bump* *Ba dump* *Ba dump*


    The rest of the pirs which had risen were blocked by other shields of condensed mana urately formed right where they were needed to stop it.


    *Tic* *Toc* *Tic*


    John''s daggers began to glow. The sounds of clock ticking could be heard. In that moment, Zestari felt a chill go down her spine.


    "Sacred Treasure Release¡­ Partial Awakening."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So, he''s really gone huh¡­" Muttered the bright sword as he stared at the wine in his mug


    "Feels like it all happened just yesterday." Said the guild master before chugging down what was in his.


    The loud and heavy gulps showed along with the smile and relief on his face showed just how good it was.


    "Haha, yeah¡­" The bright sword muttered before getting up. "It''s gettingte, I don''t want to keep her waiting." He added as he also chugged down the rest of the wine in his mug.


    "You really don''t. Women can be scary when they''re worried." The guild master said with a smile as he motioned for more.


    The bartender got the message and poured some more in his mug


    "She''s still shaken up from what happened, so there''s nothing I can do." Said the bright sword as he let out a sigh


    "Haha, must be nice to be young."


    The guild master took another gulp before getting up and giving the bright sword a handshake.


    "Tell your sister that I said that I won''t let anything happen to you, or anyone in this vige. So she won''t have to worry anymore." Said the guild master with a determined look in his eyes.


    The bright sword could feel just how heavy the weight of his words were and just how much it would take to carry them.


    "Even when drunk you''re still able to make that face. As expected of you, Hugo." Said The bright sword.


    "It''s been a while since I heard myst name¡­ I nearly forgot it. Sagard"


    "Yet you somehow remember mine¡­"


    "How could I forget?" The guild master asked with a smile


    The bright sword, Sagard. Let out a sigh before turning towards the entrance. He did so to hide the smile in his face.


    "I''ll see youter. Make sure you don''t get too drunk and cause any trouble."


    "How old do you think I am?" The guild master asked as he let out augh.


    Sagard raised his hand to motion a wave as he nced back before he leaving.


    ***


    As he walked along the dimly lit empty roads, thoughts ran through his mind.


    ''I''m really back¡­ If it wasn''t for that person¡­ John, I would''ve¡­''


    He continued to walk without paying attention to his surroundings, he waspletely absorbed in his thoughts.


    Because he was possessed by that evil spirit, he had caused many lives to be lost and done things which no man should ever do.


    "Roads are empty¡­ People are still afraid toe out ever since that happened¡­ Because of me, the people are still worried and afraid¡­ Even if I was possessed, I havemitted unforgivable sins¡­" He muttered as he stopped in his tracks. "Great Lord¡­ Will I¡­ Will I truly be able to be forgiven for my sins¡­?" He questioned as he gazed upon the cross on his ne


    Just as he asked this, his eyes widened as they gazed upon the beauty which stood ahead of him.


    Long white hair and eyes which glowed in resonance with the feathery white wings on her back. A golden halo floated just inches away from her head.


    "A-An Angel?" The Bright Sword muttered in disbelief.


    Sagard knew he had drunken a few mugs but not enough for him to be hallucinating to this level. She was literally lighting up the roads, right ahead of him. He couldn''t believe his eyes.


    She wore unusual battle Armour made from a metal which he also couldn''t recognize. On top of that, she carried arge battle Axe on her back. It''s size wasrger than her entire frame and yet there wasn''t a hint of struggle on her face. A strange glowing unrecognizable mark could be seen on her shoulder.


    Was he really awake? Was he in a dream? Was what stood in front of his eyes, truly real?


    The youngdy had a determined look as she gazed up at the sky. However, before he even realized it, she had disappeared.


    "W-What was tha-"


    The bright sword''s eyes widened as he was interrupted by a voice which came from behind him.


    "Evil detected."


    Confused, before the bright sword could even react to what he had heard.


    *sh*


    Everything went nk.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    John''s consciousness returned and he suddenly got up. He let out heavy pants as he moved his head around.


    He could feel a strong breeze, as a familiar feeling swept up from below. The tform he had made was moving, and at a fast rate too.


    His eyes widened beneath the blindfold as he realized what was happening. They were falling.


    "Gravitas." He muttered calmly


    In that moment, the tform suddenly stopped in it''s tracks, inches away from the top of one of the trees beneath it.


    John then ced his hand on his head as he felt surges of pain flow through it. He had a killer headache.


    ''What¡­ What happened?'' He wondered to himself


    He then turned his head towards the others who were fast asleep. He was the only one who was awake.


    ''Did Zestari do this?''


    Thinking about such made him recall what happened during the fight when they were training. He clenched his hand into a fist and squeezed it tightly after doing so.


    "I¡­ Lost¡­ Again¡­" He muttered with a cold look.


    He then took that fist and pulled it back before swinging it right at his face.


    *Smack!*


    He punched himself once, and then again.


    *Bam!*


    And again.


    *Bash!*


    And he repeated such until pools of blood began dripping down his face.


    "Fuck¡­"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Inside of John''s consciousness, Zestari stood there dumbfounded.


    ''What? What was that'' Zestari thought to herself in disbelief. ''How did that happen?''


    In that moment, where John released his sacred treasure. The golden sacred chains who were making their way towards John had slowed down to the point where they had eventuallye to a stop.


    The colors in the room had changed into gray along with the feeling of air around them. The sounds of the clock ticking had stopped as a magic circle with the design of a clock had appeared behind John. It had been roughly his size in diameter.


    Lastly, the cold and overwhelming pressure that had beening out of John, who''s eyes seemed to drift away.


    Time hade to a stop. That was what had happened. She was certain of it. Yet before she even realized it. All of that suddenly disappeared. Time resumed itself, the clock behind John disappeared and the golden chains had begun to move again.


    John who had been levitating suddenly stopped and the force of gravity which Zestari had been using on him overpowered him causing him to m straight down onto the pirs which Zestari had made.


    *Pierce* *Pierce*


    John remained motionless both before and after getting pierced by the pirs. It was only then that Zestari had realized what had happened.


    "He fainted¡­?"


    She quickly appeared beside him to check and her suspicion was correct. He was out cold. On top of that, his mana pool was empty.


    He had used up all his magic. She couldn''t believe it. When was thest time which he had used it up? When was thest time which he had fainted from not paying attention to how much magic power he had left in him?


    It was when he first came to this world. Back then he would run out of mana easily due to the seal Zestari had ced in his body. And yet now, even after he released the first seal. He still fainted, after only a second.


    Just how much magic power did that one move use? But more importantly, just how was he able to do it?


    "That was a first¡­" Zestari muttered. A smile then followed up, forming itself on her face as she then said. "But this confirms it." She added as she stared at the daggers which he still held onto tightly despite having fainted.


    ''Those daggers¡­ They''re not regr sacred treasures¡­ That''s a divine relic, an artifact which belonged to the god of time. The artifact which could freely manipte time, Chrono.''


    "How? How did such an artifact end up in that dungeon? how was John the one who was able to find it? Could it be fate? After all, he''s the only human who would be able to use it. Any other person would have died in John''s situation after using that much mana¡­"


    Zestari then looked at the ceiling before a smile was formed on her face. ''Perhaps, we do stand a chance of survival.. Although it''s small.''

 Chapter 332 - The Ocean Storm And Pirates.

    "How? How did such an artifact end up in that dungeon? how was John the one who was able to find it? Could it be fate? After all, he''s the only human who would be able to use it. Any other person would have died in John''s situation after using that much mana¡­"


    Zestari then looked at the ceiling before a smile was formed on her face. ''Perhaps, we do stand a chance of survival. Although it''s small¡­''


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    In the middle of a vast ocean, a ship could be seen sailing approaching a storm. The sailors didn''t like the looks of it.


    "The hell¡­? We have to deal with another one?" Asked the captain as he clicked his tongue.


    He looked over at the passengers on board. There were around fifteen. The ship was rather big so there wouldn''t be any problems amodating for them.


    The problem would be handling this storm.


    One of the sailors quickly ran up towards the captain who was deep in thought.


    "Guess I''ll have to let loose." Said The captain with a wide smile.


    The captain a tall old man. Despite his age, his muscles were still in top shape. Asrge and defined as they were in his prime. His beard, long and old seemed to dance as it was blown along the wind. The sea was his territory and home. Ain''t no storm going to scare him.


    ''I ain''t traveled the seven seas all my life for nothing.'' He thought to himself


    "Captain!" One of the sailors suddenly called out to him.


    "What is it? Can''t you see I''m busy?" The captain asked as he steered the steering wheel


    "T-This is serious! We have a problem!" The sailor shouted


    "What problem?!" The captain asked


    "P-Pirates!" He shouted


    "Calm your horse down! The prophecy said that there''d be no pirates on this route." Said the captain


    "Then what''s that!?" The sailor shouted as he handed the captain the spyss while pointing ahead of them.


    The captain''s looked through the spy ss and his jaw dropped. Arge fleet could be seen heading in their direction.


    ''It''s far, we still have some time to turn back.''


    "Hey, go alert the rest of the crew and tell the passengers that we''re turning back." Said The Captain.


    The sailor nodded, but right as he was about to do as he was told. It happened.


    "W-What''s this?" The sailor asked


    The boat began to shake heavily. The captain who had his hand on the steering wheel, struggled to turn it over as something began dragging the boat towards the pirate fleet.


    "What now!?" The captain asked


    "A Vortex! A vortex suddenly appeared!" Shouted the sailor


    "WHAT?! OUT OF NOWHERE!?" Shouted the captain


    It was just as the sailor said. A vortex appeared and it had began dragging the ship in. The captain was lucky that the vortex wasn''t big enough to sink the ship, but that wasn''t necessarily a good thing.


    As the ship began to spin around in the vortex, the passengers began to worry.


    "What- What''s going on?"


    "Where did this vortexe from¡­?"


    "Why isn''t the captain saying anything? Is this normal?"


    "You''re crazy if you think this is normal."


    The captain who saw this, left the steering wheel before making his way to the top of the deck.


    "Silence!" He shouted interrupting everyone.


    Suddenly, it became quiet. He now had their attention.


    "I need you all to cooperate with me. Do not panic." He spoke calmly


    His voice was loud enough for them all to hear and despite the boat shaking and turning rapidly, he was able to stay perfectly bnced despite not holding onto anything.


    "The ship is under attack from pirates. I want you all to hide inside and wait until I tell you it is safe toe out. Me and my crew will do our best to stop them." Said the captain.


    "What can a mere captain do!?" Someone suddenly shouted


    "That''s right! I Paid good money for this! I Don''t want to do die!"


    "Yeah, What he said!"


    The passengers began to take the side of the person who had shouted. They were furious by that fact that they were going to be raided by pirates. However, the captain did not care.


    "You fools! He isn''t just any captain, he''s-"


    The crew member was interrupted and stopped by the captain who suddenly said.


    "I understand, this is my mistake so I''ll be doing my best to clear it up." Said the captain as he lowered his head. He knew he was in the wrong. "But if anyone has anyints to make, then you best want to help us out and take it out on the pirates who are after our belongings." He then added with a cold look.


    "¡­"


    No one said anything else, they didn''t know what to say. It didn''t matter if they made anyints now, especially when they would be dead by the end of the day. Now their best option would be to do as they''re told.


    Such was what they realized.


    "Mummy¡­ What''s happening¡­?" One of the passengers asked


    It was a little girl, she was with her mother who held on tightly to her.


    "It''s nothing sweetie, we''re just stopping for a moment." The mother reassured her.


    The captain who saw this, let out a sigh.


    "It''ll be fine. I won''t let them take over this ship." Said the captain as he turned over to the pirate fleet.


    "Big words,ing from a sailor¡­" One of the passengers muttered.


    It was the same one who had asked what a mere captain could do. Upon hearing this, one of the crew members got annoyed.


    "Stop calling him a mere captain! Even though he retired he used to be an A-"


    The captain suddenly red at the crew member who was about to reveal his identity. The crew member got the message and instantly shut his mouth.


    "I-I apologies, I just couldn''t handle such disrespect, the audacity to say that¡­" He muttered


    "Worry not, we have bigger things to worry about. Hurry up. They''reing¡­ And Fast¡­" Said The captain as he looked ahead of the fleet.


    One of the crew members opened up vault door which led to the inside of the deck. The passengers hurriedly made their way inside. Struggling not to lose bnce from the vortex which was still spinning strongly.


    As this happened the captain kept his eyes locked on the iing pirate ship as he watched them approach. There was something strange and unnatural about the vortex. Through his years of experience it was obvious it was done by magic.


    Then came the ship who was moving towards them at high speed. The water behind it was being pushed away at fast speeds. The ship wasn''t being carried by the wind, but rather, the water.


    There was only one way for such a thing to be possible.


    "They have a mage¡­ A strong one at that."


    It wouldn''t be long now until they reached the captain and his ship.


    ''Shit, was this nned? By who?''


    The captain let out a sigh before opening a small vault beneath the steering wheel. There stood a weapon which he quickly grabbed and pulled out.


    "It''s been a while since I''ve had to use you." He muttered before getting in position.


    He then looked back at his crewposed of seven members and saw that they were all already equipped, just waiting for his signal.


    "Are you ready boys¡­? It''ll be just like the good old days! Let''s go cook some pirates!" The captain shouted


    "YEAH!!!"


    With their morales high, they prepared for impact. The pirates weren''t going to sink the ship cause their aims were always the same. They wanted the valuables. So the n was to wait for them toe and finish them off.


    Such was the n until-


    "Hey- Captain¡­ Are those what I think they are¡­?" One of the members of the crew asked as he pointed at the circles in the air beside the ship.


    The captain turned to the side and his eyes widened. Six pure blue magic circles were formed In the air besides the ship.


    They wererge, each being able to stand out on it''s own. As this happened a path of iceing from the pirate''s ship suddenly made it''s way towards the captain''s ship as they were only a hundred meters away.


    The ice not only froze the ocean water but also froze the vortex, causing the pirate''s ship to get stuck in ce.


    "I can''t believe it¡­" The captain muttered with wide opened eyes. Drops of rain began to fall andnd on his face as the storm approached. "We''re in the middle of the ocean where the waves are at their strongest¡­ What kind of mage can they possibly have which can do all of this¡­?" The captain added.


    The pirate''s ship continued making it''s way towards the captains ship as long chains of ice extended out of the magic circle.


    It seemed as if they were going to pierce the ship to further lock it in ce. But with the size of those chains even the captain could tell that the ship wouldn''t be able to handle it.


    "THEY''RE GONNA SINK IT!" The captain shouted


    "I think not." Said one of the passengers.


    In that instant, the giant chains of ice, evaporated.

 Chapter 333 - The Blizzard Princess

    It seemed as if they were going to pierce the ship to further lock it in ce. But with the size of those chains even the captain could tell that the ship wouldn''t be able to handle it.


    "THEY''RE GONNA SINK IT!" The captain shouted


    "I think not." Said one of the passengers.


    In that instant, the giant chains of ice, evaporated.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Looks, like the bait has finally arrived." Said the captain of the pirate ship.


    A tall muscr man with an eye patch, who surprisingly didn''t have a hook for an arm. He wore a hat with the design of a white skull with serpent fangs sowed into it and carried a single sword on his waist.


    He had scars all over his body, as marks from the challenges which he had ovee.


    "Are ya ready everyone?! Look at the size of that ship! We''re feasting tonight!" Shouted the captain


    The crew who heard this then cheered as they raised their weapons.


    "HELL YEAH!!!"


    "LET''S TAKE EVERYTHING!"


    The captain''s Joy was at his peak, after all. He had something that would give them a huge advantage. It was the main trump card of tonight''s event. The reason everything was flowing so perfectly.


    Beside the captain, stood a humanoid ice figure. It''s shape was exactly that of a human female. One which wore a robe, however the presence it gave off felt nothing like it. It gave off a strong and overwhelming presence, one which wouldn''t budge.


    "The A-Rank monster, Blizzard Princess."


    ''To think that I could have such a powerful being on my side¡­ Haha¡­ Hahaha¡­ It''s all thanks to this artifact¡­'' He muttered as he looked at the strange tool in his hand.


    A simple white spherical shaped tool which held immense value.


    He gave it a few kisses as their ship got closer and closer to their target''s. When suddenly, he noticed six magic circles form around their target''s ship.


    "Hey! Careful with the ship, if it sunks that''ll make this whole trip worthless!" Shouted the captain.


    Despite doing so, the blizzard princess still activated the spell and ice chains extended out of the circle before quickly making their way towards the ship.


    ''SHIT! I Still can''t properly control it-''


    "STOP!" The captain shouted


    In that instant, the ice chains evaporated.


    The captain and the rest of the crew let out a sigh of relief as they saw this.


    "Looks like It was able to listen to mymand and cancel the spell at thest second¡­" He muttered, not realizing that had truly happened.


    He then looked at the blizzard princess before giving it a smack on the back of it''s head and saying. "Don''t scare me like that¡­ You''ve already done enough by freezing them in the vortex. We can handle the rest. Stand back until I call for you." Said the captain


    The blizzard princess did as it was told and did not move another muscle. It only continued to propel the ship.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Wha-What¡­?!"


    The captain couldn''t believe his eyes. They had been wide opened so he hadn''t missed a single detail. Right before the chains made contact with the ship, a bright golden glow appeared and they evaporated in an instant.


    ''That was at least a saint-ss spell if we counted all six of those circles and chains together. And yet¡­ they were taken out in a sh!?'' The captain thought to himself in disbelief.


    He was confused, very confused, but he didn''t have much time to think about it as the pirates had already arrived. They stopped their ship right beside the captain''s ship and threw over ropes and a bridge which connected both ships together.


    ''Shit- They got here sooner than I expected, there are still a few passengers left¡­ What''s taking them so long to go inside the deck!?'' The captain wondered as he looked back.


    As he thought this, a loud voice came from the other ship as the rain began to pour more and more heavily.


    "YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK BY PIRATES! YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS! EITHER GIVE US ALL YOUR GOLD AND VALUABLES OR DIE!"


    The captain looked over only to see that it was a tall muscr man with a strange hat who had made the statement. He was already on top of the bridge making his way towards the ship.


    ''That''s most likely that captain¡­ The other''s of his crew seem to be waiting on his order to attack¡­ Now''s my chance-!''


    The captain who had been hiding his trident. Gripped it tightly before throwing it as hard as he could at the leader of the pirates. Despite his old-age and him having gotten a little rusty, his aim was precise and spot on.


    The trident quickly made it''s way towards the pirate leader''s face. However, right before it could hit him-


    *Crackle*


    A shield of ice was formed mid-air in front of the pirate, stopping the trident right in it''s tracks.


    ''A-Again!? But how?! No ordinary mage would have been able to chant and deploy a spell that fast!''


    It was his one and only opportunity, and he missed it. Following that, a humanoid ice figure could be seen standing on top of the pirate''s ship, just behind the bridge.


    It was only in that moment, that both the crew and the captain realized how bad their situation was.


    "Hahaha¡­ KUHAHAHAHA! YOU FOOL! I HAD GIVEN YOU AN OPPORTUNITY AND YOU DARED TO ATTACK ME! NOW THERE IS ONLY ONE OPTION FOR YOU ALL, DEATH!" The pirate captain shouted.


    He was enjoying it. So much that he hadn''t even flinched when the trident stopped inches away from his face.


    "PFFT, way to go captain. Your acting skills are still top-notch. Acting as if killing them wasn''t the n from the beginning." Said one of the pirates.


    The crew captain could do nothing but watch with fear as the pirate then shouted.


    "Hahaha¡­ Boys¡­ LET''S HAVE SOME FUN!!!" The captain shouted as he raised his sword.


    The moment he did, with a cold look of excitement, all the pirates rushed on board. Using either the ropes of the bridges to get onto the ship.


    "D-DON''T LET THEM HURT THE PASSENGERS! FIGHT BACK!" The crew captain shouted as he grabbed one of the weapons from the nearest crew member.


    It was the beginning of a fierce Battle. The pirates rushed in like savages and overpowered the crew members through their numbers. The members gave it their best to be able to protect the passengers who were hiding in deck.


    But with the way the tide of the battle was going, it would be impossible for any of them toe out alive. The blizzard princess didn''t need to make any moves. It was one sided.


    The one who was doing the most damage and taking out most of the pirates was the crew captain. He would manage to take out at least five pirates every minute. His movementspletely bnced despite standing on top of the unstable deck.


    No, maybe that was why it was bnced. A former A-Ranker who traveled the seven seas. He was the pir holding the ship together.


    He boosted the morale of the team, and allowed the to push back with minimal casualties, despite it only being 7 of them. The crew also seemed experienced with fighting so they weren''t going down easily.


    Since all the passengers, were inside the deck. They could let loose without worrying about anyone getting hurt. Or at least that''s what they thought. They failed to notice two passengers still sat on the deck. They hadn''t moved an inch.


    The leader of the pirates was surprised to see this. They had a total of thirty pirates and yet the numbers were being skimmed down faster than he had expected.


    Despite that, he wasn''t afraid. In fact, it was the opposite.


    "MEN! FALL BACK!" He shouted


    The pirates having understood, why. Quickly retreated, leaving the crew and the captain confused.


    ''W-Wait, he''s not nning to-''


    The pouring drops of rain turned harder and harder as they began to freeze due to the effect''s of the blizzard princess''s spell.


    They were all drenched from their sweat and the rain. Such was an unfavorable situation for them. Especially when the other side had an ice mage.


    [Frost Genesis]


    In that instant, before any of them could react. All the crew members including the captain. Froze from the bottom up. They couldn''t move a muscle.


    ''SHIT!!! WE WERE SO CLOSE!!''


    *p* *p* *p*


    The pirate leader began pping his hands as he made his way towards the ship captain. He continued to p as he held tightly onto his sword before slowly raising it over the ship captain''s head.


    "That was quite the performance you put up for yer age. Shame it ends now." Said the leader of the pirate before preparing for a swing.


    "WAIT! DON''T KILL HIM!" Shouted one of the crew members.


    It was this exact shout which inspired the others.


    "WE''LL HAND YOU ALL THE VALUABLES! PLEASE JUST LET HIM GO!"


    "HE''S AN OLD MAN ALREADY, LET HIM DIE FROM AGE!"


    "THERE''S NOTHING TO GAIN FROM KILLING HIM!"


    The crew members began to shout and do their best to convince and stop the pirate. Even if it meant selling their pride and begging, their captain''s life was much more Important than that.


    The captain who saw this, grit his teeth before shouting.


    "YOU IDIOTS! WORRY ABOUT YOURSELVES!"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Next chapter preview


    "Serena, what should I do with this guy?" The cloaked person asked as he held on tightly to the pirate''s de with his finger tips. A masculine voice.


    "Do as you wish. I''ll deal with the ice monster." Said Serena.


    Serena raised her arm into the air. Ignoring the shards of ice and drops of rain which would evaporate as they got within inches of her body.


    [Scorched Sun.]

 Chapter 334 - The Empress Of Flames.

    The crew members began to shout and do their best to convince and stop the pirate. Even if it meant selling their pride and begging, their captain''s life was much more Important than that.


    The captain who saw this, grit his teeth before shouting.


    "YOU IDIOTS! WORRY ABOUT YOURSELVES!"


    "You''ll hand me the valuables? Let him go? Why should I do that? What''s more, now that you''ve gone through the effort of asking me not to¡­ It''s just made me want to do it even more¡­" The pirate said so clearly as he couldn''t help but contain his smile.


    ''Shit¡­ I don''t mind dying but¡­ Just like me, they all have families to return to¡­ If I die now, what chance will we have¡­?'' He wondered. A smile was then formed on his face as he then thought. ''Guess I''ll have to use ''that''¡­ It might end up killing me, but I''m dead either way.''


    The pirate then quickly swung his sword as he looked at the face of despair formed on the crew members.


    ''After this, we''ll kidnap the girls and sell them. They should fetch high prices along with the valuables. Even after we''ve had our fun¡­'' The pirate leader thought to himself


    It was over. The feeling of satisfaction would have been just like that of finding a great treasure. That was until he realized, there was no sh.


    "Huh?"


    Confused, the captain noticed that his swing had been stopped, by cloaked individual''s fingertips.


    How long had that cloaked individual been standing there? When did he get there? How did he not notice him sooner?


    Such questions flooded the pirate leader''s mind as he failed to notice another cloaked individual walk past him.


    The person stood on the bridge and then lowered the hood of their cloak. Disying moderately long silver hair with golden edges and silver eyes with a hint of gold in them.


    "Serena, what should I do with this guy?" The cloaked person asked as he held on tightly to the pirate''s de with his finger tips. A masculine voice.


    "Do as you wish. I''ll deal with the ice monster." Said Serena.


    "Hahaha¡­ HAHAHAHA! ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU REALLY THINK YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO BEAT AN A-RANK MONSTER?! KILL THEM!! KILL THEM ALL BlIZZARD-"


    His sentence was interrupted as he fell over to the ground. Multiple cut wounds had been sustained on his body before he even ounted to them. When the pain receptors finally realized it. It all came in at once, and in the most excruciating way possible.


    "GAAAHHHH!!" The leader of the pirates shouted as he grit his teeth


    It was too painful, he could do nothing buty there and watch. The other pirates who saw this, didn''t know what to do. More importantly, they didn''t know what he could do.


    The captain of the ship was also confused, he hadn''t even seen the movement and yet.


    "I cut all your vitals and stabbed your pressure points." The cloaked man muttered as he sat on the pirate leader whoid motionlessly with his whole body trembling on the floor''s back.


    His eyes had rolled back from the excruciating pain alone. He had fainted.


    ''What am I looking at right now. What''s been happening today? In all my years, I''ve never seen this. Perhaps we do stand a chance of winning.''


    "That''s what I''d like to say¡­ But¡­"


    The captain began to tremble as he looked over at the blizzard princess.


    The captain''s thought was interrupted as the cloaked man told him.


    "Don''t worry. She''ll deal with them."


    ''Huh? Is this person crazy? Deal with a blizzard princess alone? Is that possible? Even though it was given an A-Rank, it can use high level spells which make it harder to deal with than some S-Rank and yet¡­''


    The man in the cloak then noticed the other pirates approach while trying to conceal their presence.


    "Fools¡­" He muttered as he let out a sigh.


    [Void step]


    The cloaked man then vanished from his spot. His movements once again too fast to be seen. However in that instant, one thing was incredibly obvious for the human eyes.


    All the pirates who had been approaching them, dropped at the same moment. Each with a stab wound precisely in it''s heart. Despite that, there was no blood. The crew captain couldn''t believe it, much less see it. He was dumbfounded.


    In that very same moment, the blizzard princess began making it''s move. Since it was released from his control, his veryst order was heard clearly and directly transfered to it''s mind as a will. The magic power in the dead pirate''s body then transfered to the blizzard princess, allowing for a troublesome process to ur.


    Flowers of ice began forming on it''s own around the air as snow began to fall at a much stronger rate. Thunder began to strike around as the storm had now reached them.


    The Blizzard princesses appearance began to change. The robe it wore became much more defined with many different patterns going through it. It grew a foot taller in height and now had a crown on it''s head, unlike before.


    It had evolved. It was now a blizzard empress


    The seas had gotten much more powerful and out of control as the waves crashed into the boats making it seem as if they were going to fall over as they destroyed the ice path which had been previously made by the blizzard princess.


    Now that it had evolved and was free from the clutches of human control, it could finally let loose, thinking that there would be no human that would be able to stop it. It now held a deep resentment for having been controlled.


    It then noticed the boat ahead of it and thought of it as a perfect opportunity to get rid of the resentment. The resentment grew even stronger when it noticed the body of the pirate who had been controlling herying there.


    Filled with rage, the blizzard empress let out an ear-piercing scream as she opened her mouth.


    *SCREEEEEECH!*


    It was so loud that the crew members and passengers on the deck were forced to their knees.


    Following that, without any magic circle forming. Countless icences began to form and manifest themselves around the ship. There were over 20, they were long and big. There was no path or way to escape from it.


    Because of the climate, the strength of the ice got stronger as the bottom of the ship began to freeze.


    But that Blizzard empress was not finished. Arge magic circle was formed in the sky, directly above the crew''s ship.


    It''s size spoke for itself. What was going toe out was big.


    The blizzard empress had no need for chants. It raised it''s right arm and the tip of a incrediblyrge, red ice spike could be seen. It was the size of the whole ship.


    Once it hadpletely manifested itself. The blizzard empress lowered her Haydn and they were all propelled at the ship.


    ''Shit- In the end nothing changed-''


    The crew captain was interrupted as a bright glow came from the middle of the ship.


    "I feel like I''m being forgotten¡­" Muttered Serena as she snapped her fingers.


    In that instant, red magic circles were formed all around the ship. They weren''t formed at random but rather, each one urately formed ahead of each and every icence.


    The Icences which went into contact with these circles,pleted evaporated, letting out an abundance of steam.


    Following that, anotherrge red magic circle was formed above the ship just beneath the giant Ice spike. But it failed. It broke into pieces allowing the ice spike to go through it.


    "If that''s the case¡­"


    [Scorching Sun]


    A blinding light, lit up the whole boat. It was so bright that normal eyes wouldn''t have been able to see what was happening. However, the blizzard empress saw it clearly. The snow and ice drops from the rain had started to melt. Not just that, but all the ice around as a heat-wave was released.


    The climate had a whole other feeling to it.


    Arge sphere of pure golden mes could be seen. It''s appearance was grand and it truly resembled the sun. It was formed just beneath the giant ice spike.


    The moment there was contact, itpletely evaporated.


    As this happened, Serena quickly made her way over to the blizzard empress.


    The blizzard empress couldn''t believe it, she didn''t want to believe it. It''s pride didn''t allow it.


    It''s target was Serena, it was somehow able to trace that the magic wasing from her. Because of this, she became her target.


    [Ice dragons]


    Ice in the shape of a dragon head, rose out from the water, making it''s way towards Serena. They wererge and the presence was overwhelming. But Serena didn''t falter.


    She snapped her fingers once more, and fire in the shape of dragons head also formed in the air, targeting the ice dragons.


    [me dragons]


    The spells canceled each other out after making contact, and Serena got on top of the bridge.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Next chapter preview


    Countless magic circles were formed in the air around them. Ice spears, Icences ice tridents all manifested themselves. Chains of ice were formed and propelled straight at Serena. Arge ice shark leapt out of the water from beneath the bridge with it''s mouth wide open, aiming to take Serena''s life.


    But it was all futile.


    "Sacred mes." Serena muttered.


    [Golden Heat Wave]

 Chapter 335 - Unparalleled Heat.

    She continued to walk over to the empress,pletely unaffected. The blizzard empress began to panic, and throw everything it had at her.


    Countless magic circles were formed in the air around them. Ice spears, Icences ice tridents all manifested themselves. Chains of ice were formed and propelled straight at Serena. Arge ice shark leapt out of the water from beneath the bridge with it''s mouth wide open, aiming to take Serena''s life.


    But it was all futile.


    "Sacred mes." Serena muttered.


    [Golden Heat Wave]


    A was suddenly released from Serena as a sphere of mes enveloped her. The heatwave, passed through spells, both the ones which had manifested and the ones which had yet to be manifested.


    When they came into contact, all that was left was steam.


    The sun which remained manifested also provided a boost in the heatwave.


    "What¡­ What am I looking at right now¡­?" The crew captain asked


    "You''re looking at the empress of mes, it''s also rare but she appears to be in a very bad mood."


    Before the blizzard empress even realized it, Serena was already standing in front of her. It''s body began to shake as fear filled it''s heart. Everything it threw at her was countered. Even the sun had already started to melt it''s body.


    Temperatures so high, she couldn''t believe it. Yet somehow the other humans were unaffected. How? Just how was such a thing possible?


    "Sacred mes¡­ mes which burn and heal whatever I want. Even I''m not sure how high it''s temperature can reach. But I know that it can easily melt through even the toughest of metals."


    The sphere of mes which had been formed around her, disappeared as she ced her hand on the Ice empress''s ice cold belly.


    "Sorry¡­ You may rest now¡­"


    In that instant, a glow came from the tip of Serena''s hand and the ice empress evaporated into steam.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    John''s eyes opened wide beneath the blindfold only to close shortly after as he quickly looked around him. The others were all unconscious and motionless.


    Confused, he quickly checked up on them. The first being the nearest person to him. Hexo.


    He ced his hand over Hexo''s head before letting out a sigh of relief. He was just asleep.


    He repeated this and checked with the other two and they two were fast asleep.


    After making sure everyone was okay, John stopped the tform from moving. For some reason it Hadn''t stopped even when he fainted, that could only be thanks to Zestari.


    John then realized that Zestari was probably the one who put them all to sleep in the first ce. Either way he wouldn''t be able to tell, thanks to the blind fold. A seal which prevented him frommunicating with either of them unless it was an emergency.


    A seal which made him feel less and less like himself. However, he had no choice but to use it.


    ¡­


    [John, from now on, use that blindfold¡­ Always, as much as you can. No matter what, you mustn''t take it off¡­] Said Zestari


    John nodded and was about to put it on without asking neither why or for the details.


    [Wait.]


    This somewhat annoyed Zestari so she exined it herself before he could.


    [It''s a seal. As you know, your powers have grown a lottely¡­ Your emotions have made a big impact on these changes. It''ll feel strange at first, but don''t pay it too much mind. This seal is going to affect them in the same way as [possession.]. It''ll also allow you to keep control over your body.]


    John gave another nod as he quickly ced it over his eyes and wrapped it at the back.


    [John Wai-]


    Zestari was interrupted as her presence seemed to have been cut off. And in that instant, John could feel it.


    Heaviness. His muscles and bones were all heavy. His thoughts were clear, but at the same time, filled.


    He was himself yet hecked so much.


    But most importantly the pain had stopped. The pain and grief which he had felt for all that time, just disappeared. Just like that.


    He was finally able to stop caring and it felt great. He felt great. His heart was finally repaired. But at what price?


    All of his emotions, he couldn''t even shed a tear after thinking about all the grave sins he hadmitted.


    ¡­


    It was the thing he needed the most, or so he had thought.


    Now he couldn''t help but feel like maybe using it was a bad idea.


    "I need to clear my mind¡­" John muttered as he stopped the flying tform


    He got up and stood by the edge before vanishing, leaving a trace of darkness behind.


    It was his most used move, shadow step. It allowed him to teleport to anywhere and everywhere with footing within a 200 meter radius. It used to be 50 meters but he was able to train it to increase the distance.


    A useful ability with the only downside being it only worked during his possessed state and you weren''t able to teleport too far into the air. The range was 200M only on ground, while in the air it was 20 meters at most. Unless, you could use the person as footing or there were objects big enough to use as footing in the air.


    It was only after shadow stepping however, that John remembered. They were in the middle of the ocean.


    ''!?''


    *Ssh!*


    John went plummeting into the ocean, creating a small wave shock wave as he did.


    However, that didn''t slow him down one bit as the moment he had entered the sea. He quickly began his move, swimming down wards while using aqua to propel himself.


    He could sense other life forms in the vicinity thanks to both ''possession'' and his search spell.


    It was thanks to it, that he noticed something unusual lurking in between the water.


    John could breathe freely thanks to the increase of his magic control. He could freely exchange the gases in his body by removing the carbon dioxide from his mouth into the water and taking the oxygen molecules from the water and sucking it in through his nose.


    Again, he would separate it, so he would essentially be breathing underwater. He didn''t have a name for this move Asa it was a rather simple process which he could do subconsciously.


    ***


    He continued to descend More and more until he eventually reached the sea floor. It wasn''t that far down as they were not that far off from the coast, but it was still quite far.


    Around 2000 meters far down.


    John had seen sharkicorn and dolwhales and other strange sea creatures on the way down, but ignored them all for he was looking for something in particr.


    Prawns. John had already collected a few small ones on the way and put them inside a water bubble above his head. But he could feel an unusual presence simr to that of prawns at the sea floor. Just a few meters away from him.


    He looked turned his head around and noticed that it was trying to mask it''s presence. The sea floor waspletely dark as well, giving it an advantage.


    However, such an advantage wouldn''t work on someone like John, who lived his daily life in darkness.


    John felt five, no six distortions in the water around him. And quickly shadow stepped away, from the area only to feel water piercing the area where he was standing before.


    Whatever had tried to attack him, noticed that it had missed as it was able to clearly feel his presence. Because of this, it then formed an underwater vortex which began to drag and pull in the water nearby.


    John shadow stepped again, in the opposite side of the water vortex and a tornado of water had already been formed waiting for him.


    "¡­"


    ¡­


    [Stop relying on shadow step.]


    ¡­


    It was only then that he had remembered what Zestari had said.


    ''Understood.'' John thought to himself.


    [Water Removal] [Water Bubble]


    Two spells casted in an instant. They didn''t seem like they equated to much, but the result was unbelievable.


    All the water within a two hundred meter radius, vanished. This left behind a huge underwater hemisphere without water. Following that, before the water around them could go back and fill hemisphere.


    John casted water bubble which stopped the water froming inside and reinforced the hemisphere.


    A simple elementary ss spell being used in such a way was unheard of. The spell water removal was also unable to be used in such a way due to the mana restrictions. Only John, who''s mana pool whose size was undetermined would be able to perform such a feat.


    A 200M hemisphere wasn''t that big, he had already done it before when fighting the mermaids, the problem came in maintaining it. Being able to maintain it was the hard part.


    Either way, it was worth it because it was now only John, the unusual sea creature which he had felt and a few fish which were dropping from the top of the hemisphere that were inside of it.


    John quickly shadow stepped in front of the sea creature and he couldn''t help but feel like drooling.


    A gigantic prawn. Nearly 20 meters in length.. John knew what he was cooking for dinner tonight.

 Chapter 336 - The King Prawn

    Either way, it was worth it because it was now only John, the unusual sea creature which he had felt and a few fish which were dropping from the top of the hemisphere that were inside of it.


    John quickly shadow stepped in front of the sea creature and he couldn''t help but feel like drooling.


    A gigantic prawn. Nearly 20 meters in length. John knew what he was cooking for dinner tonight.


    ***


    *Sniff* *Sniff*


    Hexo''s nose began to react as the sweet vor-filled scent filled the air. He then started to drool and only shortly after did he Wake up.


    "Huh¡­ What happened¡­?" Hexo asked as he let out a yawn


    He quickly looked around and noticed that the other two girls were still asleep. The only ones awake were him and John.


    Despite that, he wasn''t worried or rather. He was too hungry to think. How long was he out for? Such a question didn''t evene to his mind as his nose was the only thing doing the thinking in the moment.


    "What''s that smell¡­?" He wondered as he got up.


    The tform had grown. There was now another tform next to it. The ground made of stone. It sort of resembled a stone-kitchen. There a furnace could be seen and a boiler, which seemed to be boiling something.


    Next to it, there was arge frying pan filled with cooking oil. It seemed to be frying something, but Hexo was too distracted to realize what it was.


    He was distracted by therge piece of prawn levitating above the kitchen tform. It just stood still in the air, moving at the same constant speed as the tform. It was so constant that it almost looked as if it wasn''t moving.


    The tform was moving and despite that, John was cooking. Hexo was surprised. The fact that John could cook surprised him more than the fact that there a big ass Prawn above them.


    *Gulp*


    He couldn''t help but gulp down as he watched John cook. John pulled out the ingredient out of his spatial rings with care, one by one. Before throwing them into the air and muttering words to himself as he swung his knife at insanely fast speeds.


    [Slow-down] [Fulgurationem] [Ventus]


    Hexo could feel sparks of electricitynded on his face, but he was too focused on the scene to pay any attention to it.


    "Bro¡­ You can cook¡­?" He muttered to himself.


    "Yes." John replied as he ced the onions and the chopped up tomatoes into a cooking pan as the other ingredients levitated in their spots and waited.


    ''Why¡­? Why does it smell so good¡­?''


    His eyes and hunger were already starting to deceive him as he could picture angelic wingsing out of John''s back.


    ''An angel¡­ An angel of food¡­?''


    The more time passed, the more he watched. The more conflicted and doubtful he became.


    Suddenly, he raised his hand and closed it into a fist before swinging it straight at his own face.


    *Wam!*


    He dropped to the ground as his cheeks swelled from the impact.


    ''!?''


    Surprised, John stopped what he was doing to check on Hexo, only to let out a sigh when he realized that he was fine.


    "Oh good, I''m not dreaming." Said Hexo.


    ''This isn''t like one of those things where it looks like it''s going to be good and smell good but ends up bad right? I''m worried now¡­ I subconsciously raised my expectations from the smell alone¡­ Bro isn''t only talented in magic but also cooking¡­ How scary.'' Hexo ht ought to himself.


    "How much longer till it''s done?" Hexo asked


    "Around half an hour." Replied John.


    ''T-That''s too long!''


    "H-Hey¡­ Bro. Can you put me back to sleep like you did before?¡­?"


    Confused, John tilted his head as he looked at Hexo. After somewhat having understood that he was most likely referring to Zestari, he nodded and ced his hand in front of Hexo''s face.


    John had never tried it before without the help of Zestari so he wasn''t sure whether or not it would work but he gave it a try.


    Sleep is a natural recurring state of the mind. To force the mind into such a state, john would have to clearly visualize it. Or so he thought.


    No matter how hard he tried to visualize it. He couldn''t get a clear image. Just what sort of form does sleep take?


    "Bro, is something wrong-"


    Just as Hexo had asked that, with time still moving at a slower rate and Fulgurationem still active. John used the opportunity which Hexo was distracted to quickly go behind him and hit him in the back of the head as hard as he could, knocking Hexo out in one single blow.


    "Eh-"


    Those were Hexo''s finally words before he dropped.


    "It worked." Said John before he went back to cooking.


    He then remembered that he Hadn''t healed Hexo after the recent blow, so he went back just to cast heal on him.


    ***


    "What is this?" Shera asked


    "So it was real¡­ I thought it was a dream." Hexo added


    "Did John pull out a chef from his magic spatial storage ring?" Satire questioned


    In front of them, stood a tform with a somewhatrge table and four seats. On top of the table, luxurious sea food dishes could be seen.


    There was boiled prawn soup, boiled prawn with rice, fried prawn, fried rice. Bread. Special made sauces such mayonnaise and ketchup and barbecue sauce. They didn''t recognize the sauces, but they recognized some of the dishes.


    So many different kinds of meals to choose from. They couldn''t believe it.


    "John, this isn''t an illusion, is it?" Satire asked


    John shook his head before sitting down on the chair.


    "Are you sure it''s okay if we just eat? Isn''t it going to unbnce the tform if we all stand on that side?" Satire added.


    John simply shook his head and motioned for everyone to have a seat.


    Hexo and Shera quickly had a seat while Satire hesitantly did.


    They watched as John pped his hands together before quickly grabbing a piece of fried prawn and cing it on his te.


    The others took that as a sign that it was okay to eat. And like starving wolves, they quickly put all the delicious food they could find on their te as if it could disappear any second now.


    Satire was still hesitant, so she only got a few pieces to try out herself.


    The reason for such was due to an experience she had lived through when she was in her early years of being an adventurer. She had a party member who cooked once, it looked extravagant. But the taste¡­ The taste was bad enough to put those who ate it in the hospital.


    Satire watched as Hexo, Shera and John all took a bite of the fried shrimp at the same time. In that instant, their eyes opened wide.


    A surge of vor went seeping into their mouths. They couldn''t believe it. IT was simply-


    "DELICIOUS!!!" Hexo shouted


    Surprised, John looked over at Shera to see what she thought, and she gave two embarrassed nods. It was good.


    The two, quickly began taking more and more fried shrimp pieces, quickly draining down the number.


    Satire who saw this, quickly took a bite, and light could be seen bursting out of her eyes as she stood there dumbfounded for a few moments.


    When she came to it, she quickly finished the piece in her mouth before quickly shouting. "WAIT! S-stop! You''re taking all the pieces! Leave some pieces for me!"


    That was just the beginning. They tried the fried shrimp with the sauces, and then moved onto the next meal which was boiled prawn soup with rice.


    The tastes seemed to sh inside hater mouths as their taste nds made the most of a vor they had never experienced before.


    "SO Goooood~!"


    ***


    "I''m full¡­ Argh¡­" Said Hexo as he gave his belly a few pats


    "Me too¡­" Added Satire as she ced her hand on her now round belly


    Shera gave a few nods as she too rubbed her belly in satisfaction.


    The three all then looked at John who was gazing off into the sunset. They were all really at a lost for words, all except for Hexo.


    "Bro, thanks for the food. It was great! The tastiest thing I had ever eaten in my life!"


    "That''s true¡­ It was certainly in the same level as food made by master-ss royal chefs. If not higher."


    Shera nodded in agreement.


    "Thank¡­ you." Said John as he gave them a nod


    "Eh- Ah¡­ you''re wee¡­?" Said Satire, slightly confused.


    "Oh~ Is that what I think it is? We''re approachingnd." Said Hexo as he pointed far off into the sunset."


    "Really? I can''t see anything." Said Satire as she strained her eyes.


    John gave another nod as he said. "We''re here."


    The four gazed off into the sunset curious to get a better view of thend. They had finally arrived in the continent of Dia. The continent known for it''s dangers.


    What sort of adventure would now await them?

 Chapter 337 - Reliving The Lost Past.

    *Ba dump* *Ba dump* *Ba dump* *Ba dump*


    John''s eyes grew darker and emptier as he stared at the sight in front of him. His arms trembling and tears flowing down his eyes as he panted.


    No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t breathe.


    "What''s the meaning of this¡­?" John asked


    "I¡­Idiot¡­ S¡­Sorry¡­"


    From beyond his eyes, John saw a sight which had been engraved in his mind for years. A sight, which no matter how hard he tried. He couldn''t forget.


    In front of him, stood Ms Sylvia gripping tightly onto her dagger which had pierced through both Serena and Ariel.


    ''¡­? What¡­? What''s going on¡­? Why am I seeing this again¡­? Let go¡­''


    "Let go¡­ Master¡­" John muttered as he clenched his fist. Just seeing the pained faces of his twopanions as his master tilted her dagger, was enough to make him snap. "Let go."


    John''s hand moved precisely and swiftly as he leapt forward. His hand and grip positioned to grab master Sylvia''s face and m it down with all he had.


    He was in no position to think, his body acted before his mind had even realized it. His anger had taken control. However-


    *Swoosh*


    John''s hand ended up going right through her.


    ''!?''


    John pulled his hand back and then forward again, before trembling.


    It was an illusion, he couldn''t feel them. He could see the emotionless face of Master Sylvia as she kept her grip on the dagger.


    "DAMN IT!!!" John shouted in rage as he swung at the ground.


    His anger remained as his hand passed right through.


    "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!? WHY ARE YOU SHOWING ME THIS!?" John shouted out


    However, there was no reply. No reply except for a familiar voice which came behind him.


    "S-Serena¡­?" Ariel¡­?" The familiar voice behind John muttered.


    Wanting to divert his attention away from the sight, John turned around only to see himself standing there filled with despair.


    The dark and white hair, with dark green eyes, sacred dagger, torn gloves and vast magic power. John could both see and feel it. There was no doubt he was looking at himself. A younger and shorter version of himself.


    It was thanks to now that he could see himself from a different perspective that he was able to trulyprehend the horrible state which he was in.


    Animosity, rage, hatred, despair. A mixture of every negative emotion was forced out. His eyes darkened, his body shaking, his gasps for air as steam was purged from his body.


    He was staring at himself and yet, it felt nothing like him.


    "Why¡­?" John''s mirror image asked as tears began streaming down his face. "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why!?" He repeated.


    He raised both hands before mming them down in rage, releasing a burst of dark energy in the process.


    Following that, he raised his head and gritted his teeth as he let out a loud roar filled with anger and blood lust.


    "WHYYY!? MASTER!!!!!!!!"


    His mirror image stood up, the expression of rage and hatred quickly shifted into that of a nk one as he stared straight at Master Sylvia.


    John''s mirrored self''s eyes clouded themselves in darkness is his hair turned pitch ck and grew longer. His muscles began to slightly expand as he let out a wave of blood lust.


    "I did everything you asked¡­? And yet¡­ You of all people¡­ Betrayed me¡­?" John asked with the same nk expression


    *Thump*


    Despite his anger however, The vast darkness which was being pushed out of him slowly began to contain itself. John''s mirage was fighting the anger back.


    It was then that it happened.


    *BOOM!*


    Dark mes erupted from behind John, he quickly turned his sight away from his mirror image only to see that a dark me had engulfed Sylvia, Serena and Ariel''s figure.


    John''s heart throbbed in pain as he watched. He remembered this part clearly too, it was where his memory came to and end. Blood began flowing down his mouth as he dug his teeth into his lips in an attempt to control himself.


    This was where his memory ended. But the hallucination wasn''t over.


    *Crack* *Crack*


    John turned back to the sound of cracking, only to see his mirrored self in a deplorable state. No, deplorable was an understatement. John couldn''t even believe that he was looking at himself.


    Tears of blood could be seen flowing down his eyes. Broken down wings began to expand out of his back and fix themselves. A strange mark began forming on his chest. Despite it''sck of shape, it could be perceived yet remained iprehensible.


    All of this happened with the unchanging nk expression on his face.


    John could no longer call the being which was himself human, as he witnessed this. No, he couldn''t even call it himself.


    "God¡­ It always fucking hearts¡­" John''s mirrored self muttered.


    The voicepletely different, the magic flow different, the expression was different. John could tell it wasn''t him. He recognized who it was, right away.


    "So this happened and you kept it from me¡­ Huh¡­ demon¡­?" John muttered as he could do nothing but watch. "If that''s the case¡­ Why are you showing me all of this now?! What are you trying to gain!?"


    Just as he asked that, a familiar voice came from behind him again. His eyes widened as he hadn''t heard the voice in such a long time, a voice which he hated to his core.


    "Finally¡­ I can¡­ Kill you¡­" She muttered with tears of happiness.


    He grit his teeth as he looked back and stared straight at the expression on the face of his master. He couldn''t believe it.


    ''She''s smiling¡­? Haha¡­''


    "Hahaha¡­"


    John beganughing to himself. The bodies of hispanions had disappeared, all he could see was Master Sylvia standing there. She burned their bodies to ash.


    "So she really did kill them¡­" John muttered as he ced his palm on his face. "I was too afraid to look but I guess there''s no need now¡­ Hahaha¡­" John added.


    Tears began to flow down his face.


    "Alright¡­ It''s your win¡­ We''ve already gone way over the contract deadline anyways¡­ There''s no more reason for me to live¡­ I''ll give you my body, demon¡­" John muttered


    He then hung his head and with a nk expression, said.


    "But before that, I''ll have to track my Master down and kill her. I don''t care how long it takes."


    ''After all¡­ This hatred¡­ Is the only thing I have left.''


    Suddenly, just as John had lost all hope-


    "WAKE UP JOHN!" The voice shouted


    Another familiar voice, only this time, rather than bringing him anger, it brought him nostalgia.


    John turned to the left, away from both his mirrored self and Master Sylvia only to see the figure of hispanions.


    The one who had shouted was the one who had been with him since the beginning, it was Ariel.


    John''s eyes widened as he saw this. He stretched his hand out in disbelief.


    "A-Ariel? H-How?" John asked


    It was then that he noticed it, he found it strange how it was a hallucination and yet he could still feel it. The flow of darknessing out of Ariel, her magic flow was the same and yet it felt different. Just like in John''s case.


    ''Don''t tell me¡­''


    Ariel dropped to her knees, letting out heavy pants as she grasped her Armour around her chest and stomach. The wound was still there and in mes.


    ''What are you doing¡­? Ariel¡­?''


    "R-Run away¡­ RUN AWAY!!" John shouted


    But his voice didn''t reach her. Beside her on the groundid Serena, who was unconscious.


    Fortunately, Master Sylvia paid no attention to them and simply stared at John''s mirrored self while grinning. She was obsessed with revenge. Nothing else mattered to her.


    "Hm? They''re still alive? Shame. I''ll deal with them after." John''s demon self muttered. He then turned to Master Sylvia who was already ready tomence her attack. "Ah, Sorry to keep you waiting. Don''t worry, I''ve fully consumed him so I''ll be able to kill you now." He added.


    "Before I kill you I''ve got something to ask¡­ Why''d you do it?" Master Sylvia asked.


    "Why''d I do what?" Demon John asked, confused.


    =====Preview


    Master Sylvia grit her teeth before asking again.


    "Why''d you kill them!?"


    Confused, the demon tilted his head before saying.


    "I don''t know who you''re referring to¡­? But do you need a reason to kill?" The demon asked. A bright smile then formed on his face as he added. "It''s just fun."


    "I see." Master Sylvia muttered before letting out a sigh.


    She suddenly vanished leaving a trace of darkness behind as she appeared above the demon. A swing with her dagger already in motion, aiming right at the horn on his head.


    However, without so much as moving from his spot. The demon stopped Master Sylvia''s swing with simply two fingers.


    "Rak.." Trantion: Dark Burst.


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